HD in BtPG

The many faces of a HD

Remember when you started playing D&D and you first came upon the term "level"? D&D gets a lot of mileage out of that term. Character level, spell level, and dungeon level, and those three types of levels are used frequently. Until you learned the particular context associated with each one, it could be confusing.

I am afraid that a similar situation will exist in Hordes & Whores. The term Hit Dice (or HD) is getting a lot of use. Now, being that these are essentially my house rules for kitbashing a variety of subsystems, I'm fine with it. I know what the term means each time I use it. However, for those of you trying to follow this development, or even interested in using these mad ideas, perhaps a little disambiguation is in order.

The first thing one must understand about Hit Dice is that they are not rolled to determine hit points. The character simply has 1 hit point per Hit Die (hit point may be modified, but that's another post).

Hit Dice, not level, are used to judge a character's relative ability in combat. In this context, they are literally Hit Dice, being the dice used to determine hits. For example, a character with 6 HD may potentially roll 6d6 when attempting to hit an opponent in combat.

Considering the second point, there are several effects that may alter the number of HD a combatant has. For example, a magical defense may "reduce attacker's HD by 2". This would mean that the 6HD character from the previous example would only roll 4d6. Likewise, there are factors that may make an opponent more formidable, granting bonus HD on an attack. Hit Dice referred to in this context have absolutely nothing to do with hit points.

Anytime HD are listed with a modifier directly attached, such as an ogre, having 4+1 HD, the "plus" is added to hit points. So, the ogre attacks as a 4HD creature and has 5 hit points. The "plus" is also applied to one of the d6's rolled on the Combat Table. So, our erstwhile ogre with his 5 hit points would roll 4d6 when attacking, one of which would receive a +1 modifier.

I think that about covers it. If I think of any other issues with the term, or if any of you encounter any confusing usage, I'll try to clear it up. Let me know if you have any problems, I'm not always the most concise communicator.

Chainmail Magic Design Notes

Considering the rather terse introduction I gave to these house rules, I thought maybe a little more insight was in order.

My main goal was (and has been for a long time) to come up with a tweak of the magic system in Chainmail that was unpredictable, wide open, and carried an element of danger.

I started with the casting table straight from Chainmail. I took the numbers for a Seer casting a complexity I spell and added +1 to all the numbers. That was my baseline. The extra +1 to the numbers offsets the fact that most any character worthy of being called Wizard should have at least a +1 mod to the casting roll. Next, I looked at the spells-per-day table and plugged that baseline in whenever a new spell level was attained. So, for example, the baseline is used for Rank III spells for level 5 Wizards. Then, I just extrapolated the numbers up or down as needed for spells of higher or lower rank.

I could have just used some formula, but that requires math on the front-end, then more math at the table as mods are considered. Besides, tables are much more old-school. There was another reason, too. I wanted the raw number rolled to mean something when compared to the roll that was needed. Specifically, the chance to lose the spell and the chance to fail catastrophically. That becomes harder to track at the table when the casting roll is just based on pure math. Not terrible, but enough to slow things down.

Speaking of those raw rolls, with the 2d6 bell curve, keeping track of the original number needed was important. If your base chance to cast-with-delay was a 7-8, then you'll lose the spell on a roll of 7, which is roughly 16% of the time. If that was based on the modified roll, then bonuses would quickly make losing spells highly unlikely.

That's it for now. As many of you know, a Chainmail based game has been an elusive dream of mine for some time. That combat modification that I linked to at Howling Tower a few posts back really got me started back looking at it. Now that I have a magic system I like, the project is gaining critical mass. I have character generation ideas almost done (at least conceptually).

Taking those three components and mashing them up with whatever other subsystems I like will likely be the way to go with it, for now. I may or may not try to work up my own advancement, equipment, endgame, and other subs, but for now, I'm happy using my combat, magic, and character subs houseruled into other rulesets.

Alternity for S&S: Initial Thoughts

(I wasn't going to post this, and just keep these notes here as a back-up. I think, though, that I will post them. If I keep them as back-ups I'll delete them and this design history will be lost. I find it very beneficial to trace the genesis and development of these things, especially when I get off track or need inspiration. Please forgive me if these "designer's notes" are a little more stream-of-conscious than usual. That's just how I roll.)

Broad skills for the types of magic as in ZeFRS. They are "free", point-wise, but each comes with Compulsion. This is not a Flaw in the traditional sense, and does not grant bonus points. I'm not sure what it is, beyond the cost of learning magic. At any rate, Every time a sorcerous character increases in magical power (such as improving his broad skill, learning a new spell, unlocking the mysteries of an enchanted item, etc), he suffers a permanent one-step penalty to the roll. Compulsion checks against WILL whenever the character is presented with an opportunity to increase his power and ability.

Spells should be pre-defined rituals, except for Summoners. They command demons to their bidding.

The Cost of Doing Business I want to study up on the cyberpsychosis rules to see about using them as a model for how sorcerers lose their humanity as a result of trucking with dark forces.

All spells are rituals, to some degree. Some are relatively quick, some may take days, but none are able to be cast in combat. Sorcerers employ a variety of tricks and tactics to bring magic into combat, but no matter how the trappings may differ, mechanically, it all comes down to the same thing:

Foci
A Focus is an item enchanted to be a receptacle for spells. There are an endless variety of Foci. Some examples are:

• Knotted ropes
• Wands
• Staves
• Corked jars
• Flash paper
• Rings of power
• Crowns or helms
• Crystals

Pretty much anything, as long as it is of sufficient quality can be enchanted to hold at least one spell of modest power.

As a general rule, the more spells that are attempted to be placed into the focus, the more likely it will be destroyed in the attempt. Each spell increases the chance of failure, it isn't some flat rate. The relative power of the spell also has an effect.

Obviously, combat is not the only instance where a sorcerer may need to bring magical power to bear in short order. There are many other foci, such as those used in divinatory magic, that are designed for uses other than combat.

That's it for preliminary thoughts. I don't want to reinvent the wheel, so I want to keep the core systems as intact as possible, reskinning where necessary.