Let’s face it, playing a Fighter level after level can get a little boring. A good DM will include some pretty interesting magical items, but aside from that it’s likely that your strategy in battle tends to be “attack the nearest enemy.” A few things have been tried in the history of D&D to make the Fighter a little more interesting and give them something to look forward to.

Fighter Combat Options seem to have been a combined attempt at codifying the kinds of maneuvers that characters can make in a board game-like battle, and to give fighters a couple of extra moves so they can do something besides roll 1d20 in a fight.

(more…)

With 4th edition just around the corner, I thought I’d give my impression of 3rd Edition and the d20 system.

Good Ideas

The d20 system has several good ideas that make it easier to understand and more easy to play.

• Positive AC. A larger AC is better than a smaller one makes more sense.
• Magic. I like the idea of the effectiveness of saving throws being based on spell level. This makes more powerful magic inherently harder to avoid than less powerful magic, and it makes a lot of sense. I never liked the way a sixth level spell like Death could be simply shrugged off by a Save vs Death Ray, the easiest saving throw to make.
• Saving Throws. Having saving throws based on “reflex” or other descriptions of how a character may actually avoid a situation is clearer.

(more…)

Recently I’ve wanted to learn how to use Scribus to do page layouts. Scribus is a free, open source page layout software. So here is my first production with Scribus: a landscape oriented character sheet based on the classic D&D character sheet.

Simple Character Sheet made with Scribus

(more…)

First of all, this system may seem a little complex at first, but try to read it and see where it’s going. If it’s too much, simplify to suit your needs, but try to keep game balance (either through the rules, or through who obtains chi powers).

Chi (Ki) Powers

Chi powers increase by (level – level_you_learned_power)/2

Chi powers is an ability added for OD&D, providing much of the same kinds of ideas that psionics/sorcerors do. As psionics in D&D3, chi powers are considered to be equivalent of magic and are subject to similar restrictions (dispelled by dispel magic, cancelled by anti-magic, blocked by anti-magic shell, etc).

(more…)

Upon reaching 9th level, a Neutral traveling fighter may elect to become a Ranger. The following requirements must be met:

1. The character must live in a wild location. Rangers do not live in cities and they rarely visit them. Rangers will occasionally pay visits to the nearby village for supplies and to sell furs, or whatever necessary to maintain contact with rural humans. Rangers must do whatever they can to protect their chosen homeland and the people that live there.
2. If the ranger’s Wisdom score is 13, or greater, the character can cast druid spells as if he were a druid of one-third his actual experience level (round any fractions down); if a fighter becomes a ranger right at 9th level, he’ll immediately gain the spells of a 3rd level druid. A 17th level ranger can cast spells as if he were a 5th level druid.
3. A ranger may only travel with a number of hirelings equal to, or less than, his druid level. In other words, if he can cast spells as a 5th level druid, he can have five hirelings accompany him.
4. Rangers can Move Silently and Hide in Shadows as a thief of one-third his actual experience level (round any fractions down.) Rangers can also Find and Remove Traps as a thief of one-third his actual experience level, but only in a woodland environment.

This system is based on the premise that characters may try to use weapons either 1 handed or 2 handed, and may have some amount of success. Wherever the damage is not applicable (n/a) it means the damage would be the same or it is impossible to use the weapon this way.

by BAHUMUTH

Duch Year: 982

The huge saber crashed against the center of the iron sword, throwing its holder back a few steps, and then again in an overhand strike. The tall, plate-mailed knight brought down his steel broadsword down with all his might. The muscular, dark-skinned island-man threw his crude sword to parry, catching the broadsword at its hilt.

The Kikapa island-man, although naked, was very seasoned with his hilt less sword. Comparatively, the knight, mailed in white satin-draped field plate, definitely held the advantage. The Kikapa allowed the knight to come in at him and then fell back against the weight of the knight, causing the knight to lose his balance. He then used this advantage by stopping the collapse of the armor on himself with his leg and then swiped his sword hard against the knight’s head.

(more…)

Tired of the tedious wandering monster charts in the Rules Cyclopedia that take forever to roll, and seem to produce the same monster over and over?  Try out these encounter tables instead.

1. Roll 1d20 per day to determine if there is an encounter on that day.  Compare this to the chance of an encounter based on the type of terrain (for example there is a 6 in 20 chance of an encounter).
2. Roll 2d10 to determine the encounter below.
3. The DM can assume a 10% chance of bad weather when the encounter occurs.

(more…)

The purpose of this document is to provide the DM with a system for handling poisons that can be as complicated or as simple as desired. Different ways of handling poisons range from instant death (as found in the Dungeons and Dragons game) and the simple 1 point of damage per round (as found in video games like the Ultima series). These are both very simple, but not realistic ways of handling ALL poisons. Some games have cumbersome charts that still have their limitations. And even with a chart, poisons shouldn’t be completely random. So hopefully this document will help the DM come up with a satisfactory method of handling poisons. This is by no means a scientific analysis of poison or any attempt for reality. This is merely for game play. (more…)

Originally published by February 2001, the Wizard’s Codex contains a collection of custom spells created by authors at Heroes Only. All of these spells have been used and tested within the gaming environment, but of course you should consider their effects on your own campaign before adopting them.

This list of spells is updated from time to time, with the “last modified” timestamp appearing at the end of the article. (more…)