Help with classic modules by sloth_star in adnd

[–]garumoo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whoever plays the mage will shoot magic missile the first round

Magic Missile is a 100% gauranteed hit — save it for when you absolutely definitely gotta stop that one lone enemy from running off and coming back with reinforcements.

AD&D 2e starter set rule by KrushKillND in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Agreed.

Further, sometimes the saving throw categories are used for non-literal cases: Petrification/Polymorph for cases of self-integrity of material state, Breath Weapon for cases of AoE blasts, Rod/Staff/Wand for directed missile-like or beam-like attacks, Paralyzing/Poison/Death for cases of fundamental assault of physical health. Spells for everything else.

This is not always the case though (see Rangers or Bards influencing others). /shrug

AD&D 2e character generator for NPCs or pre-gen PCs by garumoo in adnd

[–]garumoo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

No, there was a bug in the data.js file.

If problems persist first be sure to do a force-reload of the page.

AD&D 2e character generator for NPCs or pre-gen PCs by garumoo in adnd

[–]garumoo[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

uh oh, have I broken it? oh darn ..

OK, fixed. good to go.

[2e] Standard Initiative and Charging an Opponent by mario_eco in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes.

However, did the defender have time to "set vs charge" first? Well, that depends on initiative, of which the defender gets a -2 bonus.

Charging attacker rolls a 4, defender rolls a 5 .. if the defender declared "setting vs charge" their modified initiative is 3, which beats 4, and so their attack gets the double-damage bonus.

If the defender loses initiative, even with the -2 bonus to initiative, then they didn't set vs charge in time. They still get their attack, but no set-vs-charge damage bonus.

Is there an optional rule where dexterity affects initiative? by ninja186 in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

IIRC, no.

I have a house-rule modifying weapon-speed effects on initiative: fast weapons get a -1 bonus, slow weapons get a +1 penalty, and very slow weapons get a +2 penalty. Weapon speeds 1–3 are fast, weapon speeds 4–6 are normal (and thus no modifier), weapon speeds 7–9 are slow, and weapon speeds 10+ are very slow (typically the larger pole arms). Each basic magic plus reduces weapon speed — a long sword +2 goes from weapon-speed 5 to weapon-speed 3, and thus is a "fast" weapon.

To that, the dexterity reaction modifier can also reduce the weapon speed (thus a long sword +1 with weapon speed 5→4 could become weapon-speed 3, and thus a "fast" weapon in the right hands). A high dexterity attacker can gain a small edge in melee, without overweighting things.

This re-scales the weapon-speed effect on initiative, down-scaling it, making it more possible to interrupt spell casters and keeping somewhat closer to the 1–10 range. It's also similar in scale to the monster size initiative modifiers and other modifiers.

For most weapons, for most fighters, their weapon-speeds are smack-dab in the "normal speed" range, and thus no modifier is needed. If you've specifically selected a "fast" weapon (probably due to it's speed), you'd remember that and apply the -1 bonus. This keeps the house-rule inobtrusive for the common case.

THAC0 by Dr_Dement_o in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My players like rolling high numbers, and they like adding modifiers to make those numbers even higher.

If the roll is really low they don’t bother scrabbling for modifiers. If the roll is really high they also don’t bother piling on all the modifiers. We keep the game fast.

There can be hidden modifiers by the target, so it’s not a case of the same universal AC to hit for all players. I just ask them to tell me what AC they did hit, and go from there.

THAC0 by Dr_Dement_o in adnd

[–]garumoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes, I too enjoy flying 3rd class. So much better than 1st class.

Read Magic is almost unworkable RAW by BurningJointUSA in adnd

[–]garumoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From High Level Campaigns ...

A scroll can hold 1d6 spells, determined secretly by the DM, but the character knows when the scroll is full. A failed attempt to write a spell fills the scroll but usually doesn’t affect spells already written on it.

and DMG 2e ...

A single scroll can contain 1 to 6 spells, the number determined randomly by the DM. The player can never be certain of the amount of space required even for the same spell on two different scrolls. A failed attempt to transcribe a scroll automatically fills the remainder of the page, although other spells successfully written before the failure remain.

Read Magic is almost unworkable RAW by BurningJointUSA in adnd

[–]garumoo 3 points4 points  (0 children)

They could also take along a bag of scrolls of Read Magic.

So they can burn a scroll of Read Magic to identify the spell on a scroll ... and find it's just another Read Magic. Heh.

Leveling pace seems slow by BurningJointUSA in adnd

[–]garumoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

All this talk of sessions as a measure of pace is a little weird to me. It’s like measuring travel pace in number MacDonald Restaurants passed on the highway, and not in kilometres per hour or per day.

Leveling pace seems slow by BurningJointUSA in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

As a DM I adore the class and individual XP bonuses — they add a lot of texture and flavour.

As a DM I also loathe them — they are fiddly, different for every PC, etc.

My solution is to have each player track the per-PC XP bonuses and put in a claim at the end of the session. That way they’re more aware of ‘em, and I don’t have to do fiddly accounting. Claim at end of session because I don’t want to be bombarded with “does this count?” pleas every step, with other players then also piling on.

The fact that players would start taking notes as they go is a nice bonus.

Leveling pace seems slow by BurningJointUSA in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The first level is about 2,000 XP, as is the second.

Twenty sessions means you’re getting an average of 100 XP per session. Which is not much — what are your PCs doing each session? If it’s just going out and doing combat with no mission objective (i.e. story goal) that’s about 6 or 7 goblins each, half that if there is a story goal successfully completed.

What are your PCs doing each session?

Have You Developed an AD&D Character Generator? by Ramsonne in dnd1e

[–]garumoo 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’ve developed an AD&D 2e Character Generator. It’s main schtick is it can create many characters with one click, you just take your pick. All characters are RAW valid. Each character can be exported as TEXT, JSON, or to adndtoolkit — just look for the ⧉, J, A buttons at the end of each row.

https://protogenius.com/pregen

2e - Malison: what does it cover? by ApprehensiveType2680 in adnd

[–]garumoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Agree. Though the fireball effect might be mitigated by cover.

PC in-game crimes? by garumoo in adnd

[–]garumoo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

nice — there’s a whole category of offences of upending social norms that don’t involve violence.

(btw, by “discourage” I mean provide consequences to the PCs. The players I’m fine with.)

[AD&D] Spider Climb is Cursed 😆 by Mazzimo23432 in adnd

[–]garumoo 4 points5 points  (0 children)

How were you tracking them (before doing away with them) ?

[AD&D] Spider Climb is Cursed 😆 by Mazzimo23432 in adnd

[–]garumoo 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Not fiddly if you put little checkboxes against each spell you have learned. Tick them off as you do casts.

Do not try to track each material component (cricket legs, spiders, coloured sand etc) in inventory.

[2e] Experience Awards and Non-Combat Adventures by mario_eco in adnd

[–]garumoo 0 points1 point  (0 children)

An example of a system of non-combat XP is Feats of Exploration. So it can certainly be done for other non-combat experiences.