Introduction................................................ 5
What Is Role-Playing?................................. 5
Setting Up............................................ 5
Cyclopedia Organization............................... 5
Character Creation Section
Chapter 1: Steps in Character Creation..................... 6
Roll for Ability Scores............................... 6
Prime Requisites...................................... 6
Choose a Character Class.............................. 6
Adjust Ability Scores................................. 7
Roll for Hit Points................................... 7
Roll for Money........................................ 8
Buy Equipment......................................... 8
Determine Other Numbers and Rolls..................... 8
Armor Class....................................... 8
Attack Rolls...................................... 8
Saving Throws..................................... 8
Note Adjustments for Ability Scores................... 9
Strength.......................................... 9
Intelligence...................................... 9
Wisdom............................................ 10
Dexterity......................................... 10
Constitution...................................... 10
Charisma.......................................... 10
Choose Character Alignment............................ 10
Select Name, Personality, and Background............. 11
Determine Character Height and Weight................. 12
Earn Experience....................................... 12
Hit Dice and Hit Points............................... 12
Prime Requisites and Experience Points................ 12
Chapter 2: The Character Classes.......................... 13
Understanding the Tables.............................. 13
About the Classes..................................... 13
Cleric............................................ 13
Fighter........................................... 16
Magic-User........................................ 19
Thief............................................. 21
Dwarf............................................. 23
Elf............................................... 24
Halfling.......................................... 26
Druid (Optional)................................. 28
Mystic (Optional)................................. 29
Chapter 3: Spells and Spellcasting.................... 32
Introduction to Spellcasting...................... 32
Clerical Spells................................... 33
Clerical Spell List............................... 33
Druidic Spell List............................... 33
Magical Spell List............................... 34
Druidic Spells................................... 41
Magical Spells................................... 43
Chapter 4: Equipment.................................. 62
Money............................................. 62
Weapons........................................... 62
Armor............................................. 67
Adventuring Gear.................................. 68
Land Transportation Equipment..................... 70
Water Transportation.............................. 70
Siege Equipment................................... 72
Chapter 5: Other Character Abilities.................. 75
Weapon Mastery.................................... 75
General Skills.................................... 81
Rules Section
Chapter 6: Movement....................................87
Time...............................................87
Distance...........................................87
Movement...........................................87
Land Travel........................................88
Water Travel......................................89
Aerial Travel......................................90
Chapter 7: Encounters and Evasion......................91
Exploration and the Game Turn......................91
Travel and the Game Day............................91
Encounters.........................................91
Surprise...........................................92
Monster Reactions..................................93
Wandering Monster Encounters.......................93
Evasion and Pursuit................................98
Balancing Encounters (Optional)....................100
Chapter 8: Combat.....................................102
Order of Combat....................................102
Initiative.........................................102
Morale (Optional)..................................102
Combat Maneuvers...................................103
The Attack Roll....................................105
Missile Combat.....................................108
Magic..............................................109
Hand-to-Hand Combat................................110
Two Weapons Combat (Optional)......................110
Unarmed Combat.....................................110
Aerial Combat......................................114
Naval Combat.......................................115
Underwater Combat..................................115
Siege Combat.......................................115
Chapter 9: Mass Combat................................117
The War Machine....................................117
The Siege Machine..................................122
Chapter 10: Experience................................127
Experience From Role-Playing.......................127
Experience From Achieving Goals....................127
Experience From Monsters...........................127
Experience From Treasure...........................128
Experience From Exceptional Actions................128
Rate of Experience Gain............................129
Maximum Hit Points.................................129
Paths to Immortality...............................129
Creating High-Level Player Characters..............129
Chapter 11: Nonplayer Characters.....................132
Retainers..........................................132
Mercenaries........................................132
Specialists........................................132
Chapter 12: Strongholds and Dominions.................134
Dealing With the Authorities.......................134
Titles.............................................135
The Construction Process...........................135
Stronghold Retainers...............................137
Stronghold Staff...................................138
After the Stronghold Is Built......................139
Dominions..........................................139
Chapter 13: Dungeon Master Procedures.................143
Ability Checks.....................................143
Aging..............................................143
Alignment Changes......................................143
Anti-Magic Effects.................................143
Arguments and Complaints...........................144
Charm Person Spells................................144
Climbing...........................................145
Clues..............................................145
Creating Characters................................145
Damage to Magical Items............................145
Demihuman Clan Relics..............................145
Doors..............................................147
Equipment Not Listed...............................147
Haste Spell........................................147
Listening..........................................147
Magic-User Spell Choice............................147
Mapping............................................148
Multiple Characters................................148
New Items and Monsters.............................148
Overusing Dice.....................................148
Reality Shifts.....................................148
Record Keeping.....................................148
Retiring Characters................................149
Special Character Conditions.......................150
Thief Abilities....................................151
Transferring Characters............................151
Chapter 14: Monsters..................................152
How to Read Monster Descriptions...................152
Special Attacks....................................153
Special Defenses...................................154
Monster Type.......................................155
Monster List.......................................156
Changing Monsters..................................214
Monster Spellcasters...............................215
Undead Lieges and Pawns............................217
Chapter 15: Immortals.................................219
Immortals and Spheres of Power.....................219
How the Immortals Interact With Mortals............219
Immortal Statistics................................220
PCs Becoming Immortals.............................222
Chapter 16: Treasure..................................224
Dividing Treasure..................................224
Choosing Treasures.................................224
Coins..............................................226
Gems...............................................226
jewelry............................................227
Special Treasure...................................228
Magical Items......................................228
Potions............................................232
Scrolls............................................234
Wands, Staves, and Rods............................236
Rings..............................................237
Miscellaneous Magical Items........................239
Armor and Shields..................................242
Missile Weapons and Missiles.......................243
Swords.............................................244 ...
Miscellaneous Weapons..............................
Additional Weapon Modifiers........................
Artifacts..........................................
Cashing Treasure...................................
Making Magical Items..............................
Making Magical Constructs..........................
Making Huge Magical Constructs.....................
Spell Research.....................................
Experience From Spells and Enchantment.............
Chapter 17: Campaigning...............................
Campaign Tone and Goals............................
Player Character Goals............................
Designing the Setting..............................
Adapting the Game to the Setting...................
Designing Adventures and Dungeons..................
Running Adventures.................................
Chapter 18: The Planes of Existence...................
Arrangement of the Planes..........................
Interplanar Adventures.............................
The Ethereal Plane.................................
Elemental Planes...................................
Effects on Magic...................................
The Outer Planes...................................
Beyond the Multiverse..............................
Chapter 19: Variant Rules..........................
Ability Scores and Saving Throws...................
Demihuman and Mystic Experience ...................
Nonlethal Combat...................................
Appendices
Appendix 1: The D&De Game World.......................
The Known World...................................
The Hollow World...................................
Appendix 2: AD&D@ Game Conversions....................
Why Convert?.......................................
Game Differences...................................
Converting Between the Games.......................
Characters.........................................
Monsters...........................................
Magical Items......................................
Immortals and Deities..............................
Measurements.......................................
Appendix 3: Record Sheets.............................
DM's Character Card..............................
Character Record Sheet.............................
Spell Book Sheet.............................
Adventure Record Sheet.............................
Hex Mapping Paper..................................
Appendix 4: Indices..................................
Index to Spells....................................
Index to Tables and Checklists.....................
General Index......................................
Credits Credits
Rules Compilation and Development: Aaron Allston pilation and Development: Aaron Allston
Editorial Coordinator: Steven E. Schend Coordinator: Steven E. Schend
Editing: Steven E. Schend, withjon Pickens and Dori "the Barbarian" Watry
Project Coordinator: Bruce Heard
Art Director: Peggy Cooper
Front Cover Art: Jeff Easley
Back Cover Art: Robin Raab
Interior Art: Terry Dykstra
Cartography: Dennis Kauth and Frey Graphics
Graphic Design: Stephanie Tabat and Robin Raab
Typography: Angelika Lokotz and Trauey Zarnagne
Production: Sarah Feggestad
Acknowledgements
The D&D Cyclopedia is a derivative work based on the original DUNGEONS &
DRAGONS game by E. Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The Cyclopedia has also been
drawn from the works of and benefitted from the input of the following
people: Jim Bambra, Brian Blume, Tim Brown, jonatha Caspian, David Cook,
Troy Denning, Anne C. Gray, Ernie Gygax, Allen Hammack, Bruce Heard, Kevin
Hendryx, John Eric Holmes, Harold Johnson, Tim Kask, Jeff Key, Rob Kuntz,
Alan Lucien, Steve Marsh, Frank Mentzer, Tom Moldvay, Mike Mornard, Steve
Perrin, Jon Pickens, Brian Pitzer, Michael Price, Patrick L. Price, Paul
Reiche, Evan Robinson, Gordon Schick, Lawrence Schick, Don Snow, Edward G.
Sollers, GaM Spiegic, Stephen D. Sullivan, Ralph Wagner, Jim Ward, jean
Wells, and Bill Wilkerson.
Additional thanks go to the Cyclopedia's commentators and helpers: Mark
Bennett, William W Connors, Alan Grimes and the Role Players Guild of Kansas
City, Bruce Heard, Rob King, Dirk Remmecke, and Luray Richmond.
ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, DRAGONLANCE, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, D&D,
FORGOTTEN REALMS, and WORLD OF GREYHAWK are registered trademarks of TSR,
Inc.
CREATURE CRUCIBLE, DARK SUN, FIEND FOLIO, HOLLOW WORLD, RAVENLOFT,
BATTLESYSTEMS, and SPELLJAMMER are trademarks of TSR, Inc.
LANKHMAR is a trademark owned by Fritz Lieber and is used with
permission.
Random House and its affiliate companies have worldwide distribution
rights in the book trade for English language products of TSR, Inc.
Distributed to the book and hobby trade in the United Kingdom by TSR Ltd.
Distributed to the toy and hobby trade by regional distributors.
911991 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
1-56076-085-0
This work is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of
America. Any reproduction or unauthorized use of the material or artwork
presented herein is prohibited without the express written consent of TSR,
Inc.
Printed in the United States of America.
Introduction
The D&D Cyclopedia is as accurate a name as you could want for this book.
A "cyclopedia" is an encyclopedia, and this book is an encyclopedia of all
major D&D game rules.
This book is intended to be a reference volume for those who already play
the D&D game. You'll find it much more convenient to look up a specific rule
here than in earlier versions of the game. just about everything appearing
in the boxed sets is here-but in a more convenient format. For example, all
the game's spells are in one place, and all the details of creating a
fighter- class character are in one location.
However, though this book is aimed at the experienced user, it is
possible to learn to play the D&D game from these pages. The Cyclopedia
lacks many of the examples and the patient explanation you'll find in the
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS boxed sets, but you can still learn to play from these
rules.
What Is Role-Playing?
Before television, there was radio. Audiences earlier in this century sat
in front of their radios and thrilled to the exploits of bigger-than-life
radio heroes. Since it was radio, they couldn't see what was going on, but
they didn't need to-all the action was described by dialogue, narration, and
sound effects, and was translated by the imaginations of the listeners into
scenes they could see, experience, and remember.
Role-playing games are much like radio adventures, except for one
important detail: they're interactive. One player provides the narrative and
some of the dialogue, but the other players, instead of just sitting and
envisioning what's going on, actually participate. Each player controls the
actions of a character in the story, decides on his actions, supplies his
character's dialogue, and makes decisions based on the character's
personality and his current game options.
The DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game is a fantasy role-playing game. This means
that it's set in a world where men and women can wield powerful magic, where
monsters like dragons thrive, and where heroes like Sinbad, Hercules, and
Lancelot abound.
When you play the D&D game, one player will become the Dungeon Master
(also known as the DM or referee). He or she will create the world and
setting in which the adventures will be taking place and will create a
variety of characters to populate the world. The DM will also develop
situations taking place in that world and will then run adventures-acting as
the main narrator of the stories in which the other players' characters will
participate.
The other players will create characters-the heroes of the DM's story.
The DM will present their characters with situations, and they'll decide how
to react to those situations. Several situations progressing toward a
conclusion become an adventure or story; a number of adventures played one
after another become a campaign.
Setting Up
When a group gets together to play, everyone should bring what they need,
including dice, pencils and papers, and characters (preferably on character
sheets).
A table is normally used, the DM sitting at one end with information
about the dungeon. The DM often uses an upright piece of staff card
There are no two- or three-sided dice, but we and maps of the dungeon so
they are not accidentally seen by the players.
The players sit around the table, away from the DM, where they can all
easily see any maps made during the adventure, the order of the figures (if
used), and so forth.
During the game, players should be allowed to refer to any player's aids
whenever they wish, including the character creation section of the
Cyclopedia (Chapters 1-5). However, they should not be allowed to see
everything in this book. The mystery and excitement on unknown monsters and
magic can be spoiled if someone looks up all the details during the game.
Mapping and Calling
Although each person will be playing the role of a character, the players
should also handle the jobs of mapping and calling. Any player can be the
mapper or caller.
The mapper is the player who draws a map of the dungeon as it is
explored. One or more of the characters should be making maps, but one of
the players must make the actual map. The map should be kept on the table
for all to see and refer to. Pencil should be used when making the map, in
case of errors or tricky passages.
If the party's movement carries it into new and unmapped territory, the
DM will describe the area in detail so the party's mapper can map it. If
something such as a secret door or treasure item is discovered, the DM
describes it and announces the results if the characters examine it.
The caller is a player selected by the other players to describe party
actions so the DM doesn't have to listen to several voices at once. He or
she tells the DM what the party is doing this turn. If the DM prefers, each
individual player can describe his own actions. The caller is just a
convenience in many campaigns; it's not a game rule that players have to
use.
Using the Dice
Often the characters want to do something that involves an element of
chance. Say someone wants to leap onto a galloping horse. He might make
it-or he might not! You can roll dice to decide if the action succeeds. In
the D&D game there are many kinds of dices: four-, six-, eight-, ten-,
twelve-, and even twenty-sided dice.
A four-sided dice looks like a pyramid. Drop it on the table. Read the
numbers that are face up along the bottom of the dice. This number is the
result of the roll.
When rolling any dice with six sides or more, one side always lands face
up. This number is the result. On the ten-sided dice, the number 0 is
usually read as 10.
You can use a ten-sided dice to find a percentage (a number from 1-100).
Roll the dice once. Read the result as the "tens" digit, counting a 0 as "no
tens." Roll a second time and read the result as the "ones" digit. If both
rolls are zeroes, the result is 100.
We often use abbreviations to refer to various kinds of dice: a "d"
followed by the number of the dice's sides. For example, "d6" refers to a
six- sided dice. We use "d%" or 1d100 to refer to percentage dice.
We use a coin for a d2- heads is 1, tails is 2. To make a d3, roll a d6,
and then divide the result by two and round up.
Often, a number appears before the "d" as well as after it. This shows
the number of times you should roll the dice. (For example, 2d8 means roll
the eight-sided dice twice.) When you roll a dice more than once, add the
results of the rolls together. So, 3d6 means roll the six-sided dice three
times and add the results. For example, a 3d6 roll of 3, 5, and 1 is 9 (3 +
5 + 1 = 9).
Cyclopedia Organization
This book is divided into the character creation section, the rules
section, and the appendices.
Character Creation Section
In this section of the book, we're going to describe everything needed to
know in order to create a player character-a character played by any player
except the Dungeon Master. The DM, too, will find this section useful when
creating human and demihuman nonplayer characters.
In this section, Chapters 1-5 give you a basic understanding of the D&D
game rules; a thorough description of the way human and demihuman characters
are created; information on the spells, skills, and equipment the characters
use to accomplish their objectives; and information on the things players
and their characters need to do in the course of a game.
Rules Section
This section of the book, covering Chapters 6- 19, gives detailed
information on handling movement, encounters, and combat; It also covers
procedures such as mass combat, granting experience, and playing nonplayer
characters. Its largest components include all information needed for
monsters, Immortals, and treasure.
In addition, this section discusses Dungeon Master procedures,
campaigning, variant rules, and the planes of existence.
Appendices
The appendices hold valuable information regarding the D&D game world and
also on converting characters over to the ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game.
You'll find supplemental record sheets, useful forms, and indices for spells
and rules.
Pronoun Note
The mate pronouns (he, him, his) are used throughout this book. We hope
this won't be interpreted by anyone as an attempt to exclude females from
the game or to imply their exclusion. Centuries of use have made these
pronouns neutral, and we feel their use provides for clear and concise
written text.
Sooner or later you will want to make up your new character. Before you
start, get a the multisided dice used with the D&D game. You will also need
a blank character sheet (or a piece of notebook paper) to keep track of the
details. A sample character sheet is found in Appendix 3.
If you are using a blank piece of paper, copy the form of the character
sheet onto it-in other words, allow a space for your name and the
character's name at the top left, a place for character class, level, armor
class, and hit points below that, and so forth. The Dungeon Master should be
present and should watch the creation of any player character, including all
dice rolls.
Your first try at creating a new character will probably take an hour
or so. Even when you are used to the procedure, it will still take 10-30
minutes. If the Dungeon Master is just beginning a new campaign, he should
call everyone together for a session where all players create their
characters and where he describes the campaign world in which the others
will be playing. Once the campaign is underway, a player shouldn't try to
create a character at the beginning of a play-session (unless the DM
specifically asks him to)-it delays the start of the game. All the rolling,
adjusting, buying, and so forth should be done beforehand. n
The following is a list of the steps to take when making a new
character; each step is then explained in detail.
Steps to creating a character:
1. Roll for ability scores
2. Choose a character class
3. Adjust ability scores
4. Roll for hit points
5. Roll for money
6. Buy equipment
7. Determine other numbers and rolls
8. Note adjustments for ability scores
9. Choose character alignment
10. Select name, personality, and background
11. Determine character height and weight
12. Earn experience
Roll for Ability Scores
Roil 3d6 for each ability:
Strength
Intelligence
Wisdom
Dexterity
Constitution
Charisma
Many of the attributes that make up a character-for instance, his
physical might and his level of intelligence-are represented by numbers in
the game. Six of these are the character's abilities: Strength,
Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma. Strength (Str)
is the character's physical might. It affects the amount of damage the char.
acter does with hand-to-hand weapons (such as swords and clubs) and thrown
weapons (such as thrown spears and knives), affects his chance to hit with
hand-to-hand weapons, and determines his ability to do such things as break
down locked doors.
Intelligence (Int) is the character's mental might. It affects the number
of languages the character can learn.
Wisdom (Wis) is the character's strength of understanding of the world,
the way things work, the forces of nature, and so forth. It affects the
character's natural ability to resist magical spells.
Dexterity (Dex) is the character's nimbleness and grace. It affects the
character's ability to wield missile and thrown weapons (such as bows and
throwing knifes@) and can make it harder for enemies to hit the character.
Constitution (Con) is the character's physical health and vigor. It
affects the character's hit points score (i.e., his ability to survive being
injured).
Charisma (Cha) is the character's force of personality and presence. It
affects the way other characters, especially nonplayer characters controlled
by the DM, react to the character.
You roll dice to find each ability score. This is done by rolling the
six-sided die three times and adding the results. Or, if you have three six-
sided dice, roll the dice together. (This is normally referred to in the
text as "rolling 3d6.")
For example, if you toll ones each time, the the total score is 3, the
least score possible. If you roll all sixes, then the total is 18, the
highest score you can have.
You should end up with six numbers, each between 3 and 18. These are your
character's ability scores. Write the scores down as you roll them, next to
the names of the abilities.
High ability scores can help the character in certain things. For
example, high Strength allows a character to deal out more damage in combat;
a high Constitution helps a character survive injury; a high Charisma helps
a character attract friends. Low scores have exactly the opposite effect.
We'll discuss these effects in the Bonuses and Penalties for Ability Scores
Table.
You can adjust the ability scores in Step 3 ("Adjust Ability Scores"),
but first you must decide what class your character will be.
Prime Requisites
Each character class requires prowess in one of the abilities-in other
words, each class has its ability that is of utmost importance to that
class. (For example, a fighter's most important ability is Strength and a
cleric's is Wisdom.) These are known as prime requisites.
Each character class has its own prime requisite. This means each class
is talented at certain things, such as fighting (fighters because of their
Strength), healing (clerics because of their Wisdom), sneaking about
(thieves because of their Dexterity), and so on. The higher a character's
prime requisite score, the more skill he will have in his class (his "job").
Prime requisites for each class are listed with the character class.
Choose a Character Class
A character class is a character's main profession in the campaign.
Think of each character
6
class as a sort of stereotype. For instance, all warriors in books and
movies have some features in common and those specific features, translated
into the D&D game terms, are what make up the fighter character class.
The player character (PC) classes available for you to choose include
four human classes (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief), three demihuman
classes (dwarf, elf, halting), and two special character classes (druid,
mystic).
You've probably noticed that the names of the demihuman character classes
sound more like race or species names than professions. That's because
demihumans are more limited in thief options than humans are, so the entire
face can be represented by a single character class.
Types of Character Classes
Most characters will be humans. In most D&D game campaigns, humans are the
most widespread of all intelligent beings. Any new character can belong to
one of the human classes (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief), regardless of
his ability scores.
Character Classes and Ability Requirements
Table
Character Prime Other
Class Requisite(s) Requirements
Cleric Wisdom None
Fighter Strength None
Magic-User Intelligence None
Thief Dexterity None
Dwarf Strength Constitution 9
Elf Strength, Intelligence 9
Intelligence
Halfling Strength, Dexterity 9,
Dexterity Constitution 9
Druid Wisdom Neutral align-
ment, obtain
9th level as a
cleric
Mystic Strength, Wisdom 13,
Dexterity Dexterity 13
Demihuman characters (dwarf, elf, and halfling) should be a little less
common: these races are supposed to be somewhat reclusive and mysterious.
They are known as "demihumans" because they are so similar to humans. Each
demihuman character class has specific ability requirements. If a newly
created character does not have high enough scores in some specific
abilities, he can't belong to the demihuman classes.
The special character classes (druid and mystic) technically belong in the
set of human character classes, but they have such stringent requirements
and unusual guidelines t@at they're set aside for you to look at separately.
The DM might not want to use them in his campaign; it's easier for him to
make and enforce this decision if they're set aside.
Descriptions of Character
Classes
A Cleric is a human character who has dedicated his life to a great and
worthy cause. Often, this cause is the cleric's alignment. A Lawful cleric,
for example, would be dedicated to spreading law and order throughout the
campaign world. The cleric wields magic, and he can use almost as many
weapons and armor types as a fighter. The cleric's prime requisite is his
Wisdom.
A Fighter is a character whose main skill is his prowess at arms. A
fighter can be a heavily armored knight or a lightly armored swashbuckler,
but it's his extraordinary skill in combat that makes him special. In the
game, a fighter's prime requisite is his Strength.
A Magic- User is a character who wields magic. He has little or nothing
in the way of fighting ability, and in the early part of his career he has
little in the way of magical ability either. But as he gains in experience,
he becomes a powerful character and can wield powerful magical spells. The
magic-user's prime requisite is his Intelligence.
A Thief is a character who has spying abilities. Whether he actually
makes his living stealing from other people, he has many skills appropriate
to that livehood. He can move stealthily, climb sheer surfaces, pick locks,
and so forth. He has combat abilities better than a magic-user's, but he's
not a strong combatant. The thief's' prime requisite is his Dexterity.
A Dwarf is a sturdy, squat demihuman. He resembles the fighter in many
details, but has many special abilities and special restrictions that set
him apart from human fighters. The dwarfs' prime requisite is his Strength.
Also, a dwarf character must have a Constitution score of q or more. If the
character you're creating has a Constitution of 8 or less, he cannot be a
dwarf.
An Elf is a lean, nimble demihuman. He is a very capable combination of
the fighter and magic-user classes. He's not quite as tough as a human
fighter, nor will he ever achieve the great magical ability of a human
magic-user, but he does have most of the abilities of both classes. He has
other special abilities and restrictions that set him apart from the human
classes. The elf has two prime requisites: Strength and Intelligence, and
the Intelligence score must be 9 or more. If the character you're creating
has an Intelligence of 8 or less, he cannot be an elf.
A Halfling is a small demihuman. He has many abilities similar to a
fighter, but he is also noted for his ability in woodsmanship. He's not as
tough as a fighter, and he has special abilities and restrictions that set
him apart from the fighter class. The halting has two prime requisites:
Strength and Dexterity, and the Dexterity score must be 9 or more. Also, a
halting character must have a score of q or better for his Constitution.
A Druid is a special type of spellcaster who devotes himself to the
needs and preservation of Nature. However, you can't start a character off
as a druid. A druid character must start off as a cleric-in fact, as a
cleric of the Neutral alignment (alignments are discussed in Step 9,
"Choose Character Alignment")-and earn a lot of experience (up to 9th
experience level) as a cleric. Only at that point can he become a druid.
A Mystic is a type of warrior-monk. He lives a monastic life, devotes
himself to philosophy and the mastery of his physical body, and trains
himself to become a master of unarmed fighting. Mystics are not appropriate
to all campaigns, so the DM has the option of refusing to allow mystics in
his world. The mystic's prime requisites are Strength and Dexterity. Also, a
mystic c acter must have scores of 13 or better in both Wisdom and Dexterity
abilities.
All these character classes will be describe greater detail in Chapter 2.
If you don't know enough about these classes to decide your new character
should be, you can ahead to Chapter 2, then return here and your choice.
When you've decided what character class your character will be, continue
with next step.
Adjust Ability Scores
You can trade two points from an ability score you don't want to raise
your prime requisite by one point. You can perform trade as many times as
you want, so long you do not lower any ability below a score 9. You cannot
lower your Dexterity, Constitution, or Charisma. You can only raise your
Character's prime requisite score.
Once you've rolled your character's ability and decided on his character
class, it is possible to raise his prime requisite by lowering of ability
scores. This is sort of like training hardly improve one skill while letting
others become neglected. (For example, a magic-user might spend all his time
studying hard, neglecting his exercise; he'd end up with a higher
Intelligence and a lower Strength.)
These are the rules for exchanging ability points:
1. The prime requisite goes up 1 point for each 2 points that another
ability score goes down. If a character has two prime requisites, both can
be raised.
2 .Constitution and Charisma points cannot be exchanged with others.
3. Dexterity cannot be lowered (but it may be raised for a thief or
Halfling character).
4. No score can be lowered below 9. If it is already 10 or less, it
cannot be lowered.
Example: An elf has Intelligence and Strength scores of 12 and a Wisdom
of 13. His player wants him to be both stronger and smarter. He drops the
Wisdom score by 2, to 1 1, so 1 point can be added to Strength. Then he
drops the Wisdom again, to 9, and adds 1 to Intelligence. This results are
Intelligence and Strength scores of 13 and an adjusted Wisdom of g.
A cleric with Strength and Wisdom of 15 drops the Strength by 6 (to 9)
and raises the Wisdom by 3 (to 18).
If you want to exchange any ability score points, you must do that now
before you go any further in making the character. No such adjustments can
be made later. Remember that you do not have to adjust any ability scores.
This is an option, not a requirement.
Roll for Hit Points
Your character's hit point score represents his ability to survive
injury. The higher his hit point score, the more damage he can sustain
before dying. Characters who survive long enough to
gain a good deal of experience typically gain more and more hit points;
therefore, an experienced character lasts longer in a fight or other
dangerous situations than does an inexperienced character.
A character's profession (his character class) dramatically affects the
number of hit points he receives. Fighters and dwarves receive a lot of
hit points. Magic-users and thieves receive only a few. The other classes
receive a medium amount.
Find your character's class on the Character Class and Hit Dice Table, and
then roll the type of die indicated in order to find your starting hit
points. Note that your character's Constitution score can affect the number
of hit points he will have. Look for the Bonuses and Penalties for Ability
Scores Table and apply the appropriate number to the number of hit points
rolled for your character.
Character Class and Hit Dice Table
Dice for
Character Class Hit Points
Cleric 1d6
Fighter 1d8
Magic-user 1d4
Thief 1d4
Dwarf 1d8
Elf 1d6
Halfling 1d6
Druid
Mystic 1d6
Does not apply.
Roll for Money
Starting gold piece
Your character starts out with no possessions except for normal clothes
and a little money, saved up over many years. You will need to go shopping
for equipment, but first you must find out how much money you have.
Roll 3d6 (three six-sided dice), and multiply the total by 10. (For
example, if you roll 12, the total is 120.) This is the number of gold
pieces (gp) that you start with. Write that on your character sheet. If
you're using a hand-written sheet write down the word "Money" on the back
an@ put beside it the number you've just rolled.
Buy Equipment
Now that you have your money, you can spend it on the equipment you need
to go adventuring. There is a complete list of equipment in Chapter 4 later
in this book. Be sure to ask your Dungeon Master if everything on that list
is available in his campaign. If his campaign deviates a lot from the
"standard" D&DO game campaign, he could have a very different list of
equipment, which he should provide for you.
There are restrictions on what items your character is allowed to have,
especially on armor and weapons. Before you go shopping, be sure you have
read the full description of your character list, later in this chapter.
For example, a magic-user cannot wear any armor at all and can only use
a few types of weapons. It would be a waste of money for a character of this
class to buy a sword or shield; instead, his money can be saved or spent on
oil, torches, and other items. Thieves, however, must buy thieves' tools to
use their Open Locks ability. On a piece of piece paper, write down all the
equipment you Want to buy and add up the cost.
If it costs more gold pieces than you have, you must erase something
from the list. When you can pay for your list of equipment, subtract the
cost from your money, and write the equipment down on your character sheet.
Be careful when shopping! You may forget to buy rope, for example, and
suddenly find a need for it during an adventure-and if you didn't buy it,
you don't have it. Ask the other players and your DM for advice on what to
buy-and what not to buy. Remember that money can be saved for buying
expensive equipment later.
Don't Forget Spells
If your character is a spellcaster, he will also need to equip himself
with the spells he knows. Magic-users know one spell at their first level of
experience, while clerics learn their first spell at second level. Ask your
DM for the spells which your character knows. Magic-users also need to have
spell books to record the spells they know. A magic-user's first spell book
is free, a gift of the wizard who taught him. Clerics do not need spell
books.
Determine Other Numbers and Rolls
Armor class, attack rolls, and saving throws are numbers-numbers which
you'll calculate from the character's other attributes or find on provided
tables-which are important to the way the character performs in combat.
Armor Class
Armor class, sometimes abbreviated as AC, is a number indicating how tough
it is to hit your character. With the armor class, unlike most numbers in
the D&D game, a low number is good for a character, and a high number is
bad. Your armor class is a combination of the type of armor you are wearing,
plus any adjustments due to Dexterity. First, find your armor type on the
Armor Type and Armor Class Table.
Armor Type and Armor Class Table
Armor Type Armor Class
No armor 9
Leather armor 7
Scale armor 6
Chain mail 5
Banded armor 4
Plate mail 3
Suit armor 0
Shield Subtract 1*
* If using a shield, subtract 1 from the AC
number. Example: chain mail alone is AC 5,
but with a shield it is AC 4.
Once you know your armor class as provided by your armor type, you can
determine adjustments to your armor class from your Dexterity. Find your
Dexterity score on the Bonuses and Penalties For Ability Scores
table. For every + 1 on the table, subtract 1 from your armor class. For
every -1 add 1 to your armor class.
Example: If you are wearing chain mail and a shield (AC 4), but have a
Dexterity score of 15 (+ 1 bonus), your armor class number improves and goes
down, to 3. If you are wearing plate mail and shield (AC 2) but have a
Dexterity score of 5 ( - 2 penalty), your armor class worsens and goes up to
4.
Remember: The lower the AC number, the harder you are to hit. A penalty to
armor class actually raises the number, making you easier to hit. If your AC
is even better than zero, then negative numbers, or "minus" numbers, are
used. For example, a character with a Dexterity Score of 18 (a + 3 bonus,
which translates to - 3 to the AC) and wearing plate mail and shield (AC 2)
would have an AC of "minus one"
Attack Rolls
An attack roll is a number representing how easy or difficult it is for
your character to hit other targets. In combat, when your character is
trying to hit another character, you roll 1d2O; this is known as his attack
roll. (In some game supplements, it's also called the "hit roll," " to-hit
roll," or "roll to hit.") Once you know the number you've rolled on the die,
you add any bonuses your character gets from high ability scores, magical
weapons, or other factors. You'll compare that final result to the number
required to hit the armor class of your character's opponent. If you reach
or exceed that number, your character has successfully hit his opponent.
But how do you find out what number you need to hit a certain armor class?
That's simple enough: We provide it to you on handy tables. Take a look at
the Attack Rolls Table on page 106. Go ahead and flip forward to that table
and return here when you've looked at it. To use the table, cross-reference
your character's experience level and character class with his opponent's
armor class. On the table, "MU" stands for magic-user, "C,TD" stands for
"clerics, thieves, and druids," "F" stands for "fighters" (and also
includes mystics and low-level demihumans), and "DH" stands for "demihumans"
(and is used for high-experience demihumans). The numbers " 19" through 20"
Stand for the opposition's armor class.
A 1st level fighter attacks an enemy with an armor class (AC) of 2. On
the Attack Rolls Table in Chapter 8, go to the "F" (for fighter) column, go
down to where it says "1-3" (which means "Experience Levels I through 3"),
and then go right to the column corresponding to AC 2. You need to roll a 17
to hit that armor class.
Attack Rolls Tables vs. THACO
Now, record your character's attack rolls on the character sheet. There
are two ways to do this. One is for beginning players and for players who
sometimes have a hard time juggling numbers; the other is for experienced
players who don't have trouble juggling numbers.
Attack Rolls: With the first way, you write down your character's rolls to
hit several armor classes. Instead of recording all the listed armor classes
(19 to -20), we usually record only ACs 9 to - 5; these are the armor
classes most commonly encountered in a game.
On your character sheet, you'd make a small, simple table listing the
attack rolls for your character's level and character class. An example
given on this page of the attack rolls for a first level fighter; for all
characters, refer to the main table in Chapter 8, then write down the
pertinent information on your character sheet. This way, when your first
level fighter is attacking an AC of - 2, you'd be able to look down on his
character sheet and see immediately that he needs to achieve a roll of 20 to
hit his target.
THACO: The abbreviation THACO stands for "To Hit Armor Class O." There's
nothing mysterious about it: It's just the number your character needs to
hit armor class 0. On the table immediately above, for example, you see that
a 1st level fighter needs to achieve a roll of 19 to hit an armor class of
0; therefore, his THACO is 19.
Some experienced players will not want to have an entire table cluttering
up their character sheets; they'll just record their characters' THACO
number. Additionally, many abbreviated descriptions of monsters used in D&D@
game adventures will use the THACO number.
To use THACO, you have to do some adding and subtracting during combat.
You subtract your modified attack roll (the number rolled on a 20-sided die
plus any bonuses) from your THACO, and the result is the armor class your
character hits.
For example, Ruggin is a 3rd level dwarf, and he's fighting a hobgoblin
clad in chain mail (AC 5). Ruggin's THACO is 19, and he rolls a 16; Ruggin
successfully hits his opponent's armor class (19 - 16 = 3) since he hit an
AC 3 (two better than AC 5).
Likewise, instead of figuring out which AC your attack hits, you can use
THACO to determine what number is needed to hit a specific armor class.
Subtract the defender's armor class from the attacker's THACO. If the armor
class is a negative value, add the armor class number to the attacker's
THACO. The result is the number the attacker needs to hit his opponent. e
For instance, Ruggin the 3rd level dwarf needs a 19 or better on a
20-sided die to hit a monster with AC 0. Ruggin is facing a troll (AC 4) and
he needs a roll of 15 of greater to hit the monster (19 - 4 = 15).
If you're a beginning player, you should stick to the larger table; when
you're comfortable with it, you can practice using the THACO number. When
you're equally comfortable with THACO, you can stop recording the whole
table on your character sheet, and merely record THACO.
Find your character's class and experience level on the Saving Throws
Table in Chapter 8. Move across to the column representing the type of
attack your character is sustaining. The number shown in that column is is
your saving throw. Roll that number or better on 1d2O to avoid or diminish
the effects of the attack.
A saving throw represents your character's attempt to avoid the effects of
some sort of unusual attack-poison, magical spells, the flaming breath of a
dragon, and so forth. A successful saving throw means that the character
either sustains a reduced amount of damage or suffers no harmful effect at
all, depending on the type of attack. An unsuccessful saving throw means
that the character sustains the full damage or effect of the attack. The
saving throw is rolled on 1d2O when specified by the DM.
A character doesn't have just one saving throw number; he has a different
one for each of five different categories of unusual attacks. Those
categories include "Poison or Death Ray," " Magic Wand," "Turning to Stone
or Paralysis," "Dragon Breath," and "Spells or Magic Staff."
Saving throws are based on your character's class and experience level. You
can find your character's saving throws on the Saving Throws Table on page
109 of Chapter 8. Go ahead and flip to that table, look it over, and return
here.
To find the saving throws for your character, simply took up his class and
experience level. For example, if your character is a 1st level elf, his
saving throws would be:
Death Ray or Poison: 12; Magic Wand: 13; Paralysis or Turn to Stone: 13;
Dragon Breath: 15; Spells or Staff: 15
Write the saving throws appropriate for your character on his character
sheet.
High Wisdom and Saving Throws
If a character has a Wisdom score of 13 or more, he receives a bonus to one
of his saving throws; if his Wisdom is 8 or less, he receives a penalty.
Take a look at the Bonuses and Penalties for Ability Scores Table below.
If your Wisdom score is high or low enough for a bonus or penalty, record
that on your character sheet beside your Wisdom score. This bonus or penalty
affects your character's saving throws vs. spells. When rolling your saving
throw vs. spells, you can add the character's Wisdom bonus to his saving
throw (or must subtract the penalty, if he has a penalty instead).
Note Adjustments for Ability Scores
You've already seen, on several occasions, that high abilities give your
character special bonuses, while low ones give the character special
penalties. Below are the character's abilities and notes on what sorts of
adjustments high and low abilities will bring him.
When you have high scores in abilities, note the specific adjustments
which result from them; if you're not,using a character sheet which already
has blanks for these adjustments, place them beside the abilities (Strength,
etc.) which grant them to the character. The Bonuses and Penalties for
Ability Scores Table shows ability adjustments.
Now, let's go through each of the abilities and see what high scores will
do for each ability.
Strength
High Strength affects how well a character hits with melee weapons - that
is, hand-held weapons. It affects how much damage the character does with
melee weapons, and with thrown weapons like hurled knives and spears. And it
affects how often a character can budge stuck doorways.
The character's adjustment for a high Strength score is applied to any
roll he makes to hit someone in melee combat.
For instance, if a character has a Strength of 17 (therefore, a + 2
adjustment), and rolls a 9 on his 1d2O to hit someone, he gets to add his
Strength adjustment to that roll. He has actually achieved a roll of I 1 (9
+ 2 = 11). If the character has a Strength of 8 (therefore, a - 1 penalty)
and tolls a 9, he has to subtract his penalty; he has actually achieved a
roll of 8 (9 - 1 = 8).
The character's adjustment for Strength is also applied to damage he does
with melee and thrown weapons.
For example, let us say a character with Strength 18 (adjustment + 3)
hits someone with a sword and does 8 points of damage. He adds his Strength
bonus to the damage, and so has actually done 11 points of damage. Likewise,
a character with a Strength of 5 (adjustment - 2) who rolls 8 points of
damage has actually only done 6 points of damage (8 - 2 = 6).
Finally, the character gets his bonus or penalty to his Open Doors roll.
The Open Doors roll is the character's ability to force open stuck doors.
(The DM can optionally use it to decide whether the character is strong
enough to perform similar feats of strength, such as moving obstructions.)
The Open Doors roll is tolled on a 1d6, with a roll of 5 or 6 meaning
success; the character with high Strength applies his adjustment to the
number he rolls on the dice. However, a natural, unmodified "6" on an Open
doors roll will always open a door, despite any penalties to the contrary.
Abilities and Adjustments Table
Ability Adjustments To:
Strength Attack Rolls (Melee Weapons and Unarmed
Combat), Damage Rolls
(Melee and Thrown Weapons), Opening Doors
Intelligence Languages, General Skills (Optional)
Wisdom Saving Throws vs. Spells
Dexterity Attack Rolls (Thrown and Missile Weapons),
Armor Class
Constitution Hit Points per Experience Level
Charisma Reactions from NPCs
For example, a character with Strength 13 (adjustment + 1) tries to
budge a stuck door. On his 1d6, he rolls a 4. This isn't enough; it's not
a 5 or 6. But he adds his + 1 adjustment, his 4 becomes a 5, and suddenly
it's enough: He can budge the stuck door. Similarly, a character with
Strength 3 (adjustment - 3) tries a similarly stuck door. On his 1d6, he
rolls a 5, normally a success. But he must apply his - 3 adjustment and
his 5 suddenly becomes a 2, a failure.
Intelligence
High Intelligence affects the number of languages a character knows. If
the DM is using the optional general skills rules, high Intelligence also
affects the number of general skills the character knows.
A human character of "average" Intelligence (a score of 9-12) knows two
languages: the Common tongue -and an alignment tongue. The character can
read and write those languages. (The Common tongue is the "standard"
tongue for the campaign. A campaign set in modern America would have
English as its Common tongue, for example.) Demihuman characters usually
know additional languages, as described for each demihuman character
class.
if the character receives an adjustment from an Intelligence over 12 (a
bonus, in other words), this is the number of additional languages the
character can read and write. Your Dungeon Master will tell you what
languages are available. You must choose your added languages before you
play the character in a game.
If the Intelligence adjustment is a penalty, then the character has
trouble writing and perhaps speaking.
In either case, look at the Intelligence and Languages Table.
Intelligence and Languages Table
intelligence Use of
Score Languages
3 Has trouble speaking, cannot read or write
4-5 Cannot read or write Common
6-8 Can write simple Common words
9-12 Reads and writes native languages (usually two)
13-15 Reads and writes native
languages, +1 additional
language
16-17 Reads and writes native
languages, +2 additional
languages
18 Reads and writes native
languages, +3 additional
languages
If your campaign makes use of a lot of languages-especially common in a
campaign where the player characters travel through a lot of foreign lands,
or where there are a lot of talking monster species character's ability with
languages can be very important.
Wisdom
The effects of a high Wisdom are discussed above, under "High Wisdom and
Saving Throws." Adjustments for high Wisdom scores affect the character's
saving throws vs. spells.
Dexterity
The effects of a high Dexterity are discussed above, under "Armor Class."
Adjustments for high Dexterity scores affect the character's AC.
They also affect the character's ability to hit with missile weapons-any
thrown weapons or weapons launched through the air. The character's
adjustment for a high or low Dexterity is applied to his roll to hit when he
is using missile weapons.
For example, a character with a 17 Dexterity (adjustment + 2), using a
bow, is trying to shoot a distant enemy. He needs a 13 to hit his enemy. On
his 1d20 attack roll, he rolls a 12. He has failed. But now he adds his
bonus for high Dexterity ( + 2) and his 12 becomes a 14: He has actually hit
his opponent.
Constitution
Your Constitution score can affect the number of hit points you have.
Look earlier in this chapter for the Bonuses and Penalties for Ability
Scores table, and apply the bonus of penalty to the number of hit points you
rolled. But whatever the adjustments, your hit points cannot be lowered to 0
(zero); you will have at least I hit point for each roll.
Each time a character gains a level of experience (a measure of how
experienced he is), roll for more hit points. And each time you roll, you
adjust the roll according to your Constitution score.
Eventually, your character will stop gaining dice of hit points every
time he earns a level of experience, and will no longer gain bonuses for a
very high or very low Constitution score. Instead, he'll start getting a
preset number of hit points every level, and his Constitution bonus will not
apply to that number. But that's off in the future; don't worry about it
right now.
Charisma
A character's Charisma score will affect how others, whether characters
or monsters, react to him-when the character is talking to them (but not
unless he is talking). If he tries to hire retainers (bodyguards,
assistants, and so forth), his Charisma will determine the number he can
hire, and how loyal they will be. Your Dungeon Master will tell you if any
retainers are available, and will play the roles of the retainers your
character finds and (possibly) hires.
Whenever your character is talking to any creature (monster or character)
controlled by the DM, tell the DM what your reaction adjustment is. If your
Dungeon Master allows the use of retainers and you attempt to employ some,
you will need to tell him your character's maximum number of retainers, as
well as the Retainer Morale score (which is a measure of loyalty and
courage). Reaction adjustments due to high Charisma never adjust any rolls
you make; they only affect rolls made by the Dungeon Master, so he needs to
know this information.
Choose Character
Alignment
An alignment is a code of behavior or way of life which guides the
actions and thoughts of characters and monsters. There are three alignments
in the D&De game: Law, Chaos, and Neutrality. Players may choose the
alignments they feel will best fit their
characters. A player does not have to tell other players what alignment he
or she has picked, but must tell the Dungeon Master. Most Lawful
characters will reveal their alignments if asked. When picking alignments,
the characters should know that Chaotics cannot be trusted, even by other
Chaotics. A Chaotic character does not work well with other PCs.
Alignments give characters guidelines to live by. They are not absolute
rules: characters will try to follow their alignment guidelines, but may not
always be successful. To better understand the philosophies behind them,
let's define the three alignments.
Law (or Lawful)
Law is the belief that everything should follow an order, and that obeying
rules is the natural way of life. Lawful creatures will try to tell the
truth, obey laws that are fair, keep promises, and care for all living
things. If a choice must be made between the benefit of a group or an
individual, a Lawful character will usually choose the group. Sometimes
individual freedoms must be given up for the good
of the group. Lawful characters and monsters often act in predictable
ways. Lawful behavior is usually the same as "good" behavior.
Chaos (or Chaotic)
Chaos is the opposite of Law. It is the belief that life is random and
that chance and luck rule the world. Laws are made to be broken, as long as
a person can get away with it. It is not important to keep promises, and
lying and telling the truth are both useful.
To a Chaotic creature, the individual is the most important of all things.
Selfishness is the normal way of life, and the group is not important.
Chaotics often act on sudden desires an( whims. They have strong belief in
the power of luck. They cannot always be trusted. Chaotic behavior is
usually the same as behavior that could be called "evil." Each individual
player must decide if his Chaotic character is closer to a mean, selfish
"evil" personality or merely a happy-go-lucky, unpredictable personality.
Neutrality (or Neutral)
Neutrality is the belief that the world is a balance between Law and
Chaos. It is important that neither side get too much power and upset this
balance. The individual is important, but so is the group; the two sides
must work together.
A Neutral character is most interested in personal survival. Such
characters believe in their own wits and abilities rather than luck. They
tend to return the treatment they receive from others. Neutral characters
will join a party if they think it is in their own best interest, but will
not be overly helpful unless there is some sort of profit in it. Neutral
behavior may be considered '.good" or "evil" (of neither).
Alignment Behavior
Take this situation as an example: A group of player characters is
attacked by a large number of monsters. Escape is not possible unless the
monsters are slowed down.
A Lawful character will fight to protect the group, regardless of the
danger. The character will not run away unless the whole group does so or is
otherwise safe.
A Neutral character will fight to protect the group as long as it is
reasonably safe to do so. If the danger is too great, the character will try
to save himself, even at the expense of the rest of the party.
A Chaotic character might fight the monsters or he might run away
immediately - Chaotics are, as always, unpredictable. The character may not
even care what happened to the rest of the party.
Playing an alignment does not mean a character must do stupid things. A
character should always act as intelligently as the Intelligence score
indicates, unless there is a reason to act otherwise (such as a magical
curse).
Alignment Languages
Each alignment has a secret language of passwords, hand signals, and other
body motions. Player characters and intelligent monsters always know their
alignments. They will also recognize when another alignment language is
being spoken, but will not understand it. Alignment languages have no
written form. A character may not learn a different alignment language
unless he changes alignments. In such a case, the character forgets the old
alignment language and starts using the new one immediately.
Select Name, Personality, and Background
You may have been thinking about this all during the character-creation
process, but now it's time to give your character his name, personality, and
background-the traits which make him a real character.
Name
You should give your character a name appropriate to the world in which
he'll be adventuring. Ask your DM if his campaign setting is based on any
real-world civilization; if so, use a name appropriate to that civilization.
(If you're not familiar with that civilization, ask your DM for help.) Or if
you are adventuring in an Arabian setting, such legendary names as Ali Baba,
Sinbad, and Saladin are appropriate names.
Many campaigns are straightforward fantasy with elements drawn from a
number of sources, yet these campaigns may not be strongly based in any of
those sources. In that case, you need merely make up a fantasy-sounding name
and ask the DM if it sounds appropriate to his campaign. Such names can be
made up of interesting-sounding syllables like Adragan or Nissia. Or, and
especially in the case of lyrically named elves, they could be composed of
descriptive words like Silverglade or Woodshadow.
Choose a name carefully. It should represent the character in some way,
or at least be a name you like. You might find yourself playing this
character for years, and if you give him a silly or inappropriate name, you
might regret it later.
Personality
Alignment isn't all there is to a character's personality. You should
think about your character, about his mannerisms, the way he speaks, the way
he dresses, how he spends money, what sort of people he likes, how he likes
to spend his non-adventuring time, and so on. The more attention you invest
in imagining your character, with all his traits, virtues, and vices, the
more interesting and "real" you will make him. Sure, it's useful for your
character to be the mightiest warrior in the world ... but none of the other
player characters will care whether he lives or dies unless he has a
personality.
Background
At some point, you'll need to decide on your character's background:
where and when he was born, how he was reared, who his family is, who his
friends were, and what he did up until the time he enters play.
This isn't a solo effort-it's a cooperative effort between you and the
DM. He knows more about his campaign-world than you do; you know more about
your character than he does. The two of you have to work together to
integrate your character into his world.
This means that the DM may recommend or even insist on some changes to
your character background in order to make him fit better into the campaign
world. You should normally accept any recommendations that don't seriously
interfere with your concept of your character, and should negotiate on the
ones which do.
For example, you may have decided that your character's family lived in
a small fishing village in a small, distant island far, far away. Your DM
may prefer that he lived in a small fishing village on the coast of the main
continent, not quite so isolated. This probably won't alter your character's
personality or personal history, and will allow your DM to fit your
character more fully into the campaign, so this is the sort of change you
can acquiesce to without any worries.
But let's say your DM wants to establish something else about your
character: That when he was ten, a werewolf with a distinctive red-and-
silver coat burst in through the door of the family hut and killed all the
family except your character, and that your character was raised by the
family of your mother's brother.
It's obvious here that your DM is setting you up for some future
encounter with that selfsame werewolf-perhaps it will be far in the future,
or perhaps the hunt for that monster will be used as the event which will
bring all the player characters together in the first place. Whichever, he's
not trying to kill your character's family for frivolous reasons, but for
reasons related to plot. However, you've been imagining that your character
is emotionally strong and unscarred, and still has a good relationship with
his parents and siblings, and the DM's changes would seriously affect your
concept of your character. You explain this to him. This is where
negotiations enter the picture.
He may counter, "All right, let's say instead that the werewolf attacked
the local pub, and your father was among those killed. As the oldest son,
you suddenly had to become the man of the family, and now, after you've been
the main provider for years, your brothers and sisters are old enough to
take over, and you can leave to make a life for yourself at last."
This still leaves your character with a tragedy in his past, but he
didn't lose his entire family, and wasn't present to see his father
destroyed by the monster, which would tend to leave him much healthier
emotionally. So you could agree to this change, and both your purposes and
your DM's are served.
Another thing you can do, and your DM may be doing so as well, is to
establish that your character already knows some of the other player
characters. Talk with the other players to find out something about their
characters. When the players have come up with similar backgrounds, you
might suggest that those backgrounds intersected with yours, and then try to
work out the details. Perhaps another player thought of his character as
growing up in a fishing village, in which case you might suggest that it be
the same as your character's. Perhaps another character has been in the
army, and you conceived of your character as having briefly been a soldier.
See if you can put your character in the same unit.
This sort of thing helps establish connections between your characters.
These connections can keep an adventuring group from falling apart is high
over trivial incidents of mistrust and confusion.
Determine Character
Height and Weight
The player can choose any height and weight for his character which the
DM agrees is appropriate. The Character Height and Weight Table will give
you an idea what height and weight ranges are average for character races.
For use with later encumbrance rules, all character weights are given in
coin-weights: one coin equals one-tenth of a pound, so a character weighing
2,000 cn actually weighs 200 lbs.
As characters go through a lot of adventures, however, some they
gradually get better and better at what they characters' experience.Everyone
learns to fight better (especially all fighters). Everyone learns to
withstand damage, the DM better (more hit points and better saving cision
ahead throws), and so forth. This is all accomplished add through the use of
experience points and experience levels.
At the end of every game-session or complete adventure story (the DM will
decide which), the Dungeon Master will award experience points (abbreviated
as "XP") to the characters. Experience points are awarded for accomplishing
goals in the course of the adventure story.
Every so often, a character will have earned enough experience points to
attain a higher experience level; this is often referred to as "going up a
level." Each time the character goes up a level, he gains more abilities.
Under no circumstances can a character advance more than one level per
adventure; all experience beyond one level of advancement can be retained up
to one point short of a two level advance. Any additional experience is
lost. Take a look at the Fighter Experience Table on page 16, then return
here.
As you can see on that table, a fighter with no experience points (0 XP)
is a 1st level fighter. During his adventuring career, he'll earn experience
points. Once he reaches 2,000 points, his player should inform the DM that
he's reached his 2nd experience level; once he reaches 4,000 experience
points, he can tell the+ DM that he's reached 3rd level; and so on. The
number of experience points the character must earn, becomes proportionately
greater and greater. Don't be alarmed by this. The character's rise through
experience levels will slow down, but not as much as this table suggests. As
he becomes tougher, he can undertake tougher and tougher quests, which will
earn him proportionately more experience points.
Hit Dice and Hit Points
After a character reaches 9th experience level (often referred to as "Name"
level), the player no longer rolls dice to gain additional hit points for
the character: For each level of experience earned, a given number of hit
points (instead of Hit Dice) will be gained. The number of hit points gained
each level (after 9th) will be shown later in the next chapter; it differs
from character class to character class.
Each player will roll Hit Dice for his character from 1st experience level
to 9th (or 8th, in the case of the halting character, who can only go up to
8th level). Starting with 10th level, the character will receive a pre-set
number of hit points appropriate for his character class.
Constitution adjustments to hit points apply only to the Hit Dice the player
rolls; they do not apply to the hit points added at higher levels.
Maximum Levels and Experience Points
Dwarves and elves may not progress beyond 12th level. Halflings may only
rise to 8th level. Druids may only achieve 30th level (and only then after a
special challenge, which is described in the next chapter), while mystics
can only reach 16th level. The other four human classes (cleric, fighter,
magic-user, thief) may continue -all the way to 36th level.
Once a character reaches his maximum experience level, he does not stop
earning experience points. Characters can always earn more experience
points. Players should keep records of all the experience points their
characters earn.
Prime Requisites and Experience Points
If your character's prime requisite is high enough, he will get extra
experience points. The Experience Bonuses and Penalties Table will serve as
your rule of thumb for calculating how much extra experience clerics,
fighters, magic- users, and thieves get for high prime requisites.
Experience Bonuses and Penalties Table
Character Prime Requisite and
Class Experience Bonus
Cleric Wis 3-5: -20%
Wis 6-8: -10%
Wis 13-15: + 5%
Wis 16-18: +10%
Fighter Str 3-5: -20%
Str 6-8: -10%
Str 13-15: + 5%
Str 16-18: +10%
Magic-User Int 3-5: -20%
Int 6-8: -10%
Int 13-15: + 5%
Int 16-18: +10%
Thief Dex 3-5: -20%
Dex 6-8: -10%
Dex 13-15: + 5%
Dex 16-18: +10%
Dwarf Str 3-5: -20%
Str 6-8: -10%
Str 13-15: + 5%
Str 16-18: +10%
Elf Str 13-18 and Int 13-15: + 5%
Str 13-18 and Int 16-18: +10%
Halfling Str 13-18 or Dex 13-18: + 5%
Str 13-18 and Dex 13-18: +10%
Druid Wis 3-5: -20%
Wis 6-8: -10%
Wis 13-15: + 5%
Wis 16-18: +10%
Mystic Str 3-5: -10%
Str 6-8: - 5%
Str 13-15: + 5%
Str 16-18: +10%
For example, a fighter's prime requisite is Strength. If he has a
Strength of 3-5, he loses 20% of all the experience points he earns. If he
has a Strength of 6-8, he loses 10%. If his Strength is 13-15, he earns an
extra 5 %. And if his Strength is 16-18, he earns an extra 10%. If a fighter
with a Strength of 16 were to be given 100 points of experience, his player
would add in an extra 10% (for a total of 110 experience points) before
writing the amount down on his character sheet.
Calculating Experience Bonuses
Unless your DM tells you otherwise, you will always calculate your
character's experience bonus ... or experience penalty. However, some DMs
prefer to keep a close eye on characters' experience gains, and may decide
to calculate all such bonuses themselves. In such a case, the DM needs to
tell his players about this decision ahead of time; otherwise they might
accidentally add in their experience bonuses again.
The character professions, or "character classes," are described below.
They include the basic human classes (cleric, fighter, magic-user, thief),
the three demihuman classes (dwarf, elf, halfling), and two special human
classes (druid, mystic).
Each character class is presented in the following fashion.
Boxed Material: This box shows abbreviated information about the
character class for players who are already familiar with the game and only
need to be reminded of certain details.
Description: The class is described in terms of the traits, goals, and
abilities common to all members of the profession or race.
Experience Table: This table shows the maximum experience level a member
of this character class can attain, the number of experience points it takes
to achieve each experience level, and the number of magical spells the
character acquires at each level (in the case of spellcasting character
classes).
Saving Throws Table: This table shows the character's saving throws at
every experience level the character can attain.
Class Details: This text talks about many of the class' special
characteristics: its prime requisite, its Hit Dice, restrictions or
advantages with armor and weapons, and any other significant details.
Special Abilities: This text talks about any special abilities which the
character class possesses. Some classes can cast magical spells; some can
see in the dark; some have no special abilities at all. Some special
abilities will require tables and tables of their own.
At Higher Experience Levels: Finally, this text describes special
characteristics and responsibilities the character acquires when he reaches
higher levels of experience.
Understanding the Tables
Take a look at any of the experience tables in the following pages.
Here's an explanation of those tables' column headings.
Level: This column shows the experience levels which characters of this
class can attain. Most human classes can reach 36th level; some classes are
more restricted.
XP: This column shows the number of experience points it takes for the
character to attain each experience level. A starting character has 0
experience points and is at 1st level.
Attack Rank: Not all experience tables will have this column; only the
demihuman tables have it. Attack ranks are measures of a demihuman's ability
to improve his fighting skill if even when he's reached his maximum
experience level. Each attack rank corresponds to a fighter's experience
level when you determine how well the demihuman hits in combat; see the
Attack Rolls Table on page 106 to see how well demihumans attack at
different attack ranks.
Spells/Level: Not all experience tables will have this column-only the
tables belonging to spellcasting character classes. As you'll see in Chapter
3, spells are arranged in levels-just as there are 1st level characters,
there are 1st level spells, for instance. The table shows how many spells
of which spell level a character can know.
About the Classes
Here are some notes on the three categories of character classes-humans,
demihumans, and special-before you progress on to the actual class
descriptions.
Human Classes
In the D&D@ game, humans are the most prolific race. They are also the
race with the greatest potential. While demihuman character classes can only
attain moderate experience levels (8th, 10th, or 12th level, depending on
the class/ race), each of the four basic human character classes can attain
36th experience level.
In many D&D game campaigns, human civilization is similar to the
civilizations of Western Europe in the late Middle Ages and early
Renaissance period. In such campaigns, you can expect to see most humans
living in kingdoms ruled by a king and queen and organized in feudal
domains, with a rising middle class of traders and craftsmen in the cities.
However, your Dungeon Master may decide not to follow that standard; he
may prefer for his human civilizations to resemble ancient Egypt,
feudal Japan, conquistador-era Mexico, a culture from a specific fantasy
novel, or something created from his own imagination. Be sure to ask your
Dungeon Master about the nature of human cultures in his world; the more you
know ahead of time, the better you can fit your character into the existing
setting.
Demihuman Classes
Demihuman characters are more limited than human characters. They can't
rise to very high levels of experience (dwarves are limited to 12th level,
elves to 10th, Halflings to 8th). Elves cannot learn very powerful magic;
they can only learn up to 5th level spells, while humans can learn up to 9th
level spells.
Clans: The demihuman race of dwarves, elves,and halflings have a different
way of life than humans. They usually live longer, have a stricter way of
life, and find security in large family groups called Clans. A Clan may
include several hundred demihumans. The head of the Clan is always the
oldest member, male or female, assuming that member is fit to rule.
Day-today tasks are usually done by those best suited to do them. Unlike
many human communities, few demihumans are lazy; everyone has a job, with
Clan duties and responsibilities, and "goofing off' is nearly unthinkable.
The DM may choose to develop many other aspects of demihuman family life
(such as marriage customs, industry, clan-to-clan relations, and so forth)
as needed).
Demihuman Relations: Elves and dwarves don't usually like each other.
This dislike usually surfaces as verbal battles, rather than physical. Both
get along fairly well with halflings.
The DM will decide why elves and dwarves don't get along in his own
campaign. In the D&D game's Known World setting, it's because they are so
physically and emotionally different (elves are tall and willowy, dwarves
short and stocky; elves love freedom and the outdoors, dwarves love
organization and caverns, etc.), and because the two races had many clashes
which they've never forgiven one another. But the reason can be different in
your own campaign; a DM can decide, for instance, that in his own world the
elves and dwarves are the best of friends!
All demihuman races trade and interact with humans; though men can be
dangerous, many are also trustworthy and have good points.
Special Abilities and Maneuvers: All demihuman races receive special
abilities, which make them much more effective than humans in certain
situations. The special abilities of each race are detailed in the
description of each character class.
Special Classes
There are two other human character classes, the druid and the mystic,
which are described separately from the cleric, fighter, magic-user, and
thief. We present them separately because the DM may not wish to include
them in his campaign.
The druid is a little complicated, because druid characters start play as
clerics and then change their character classes to become druids.
The mystic, a monastic specialist in unarmed combat, is not appropriate
for all campaigns. Some of their special abilities mimic those of other
human classes, but many are unique to this class, including their
increasingly powerful unarmed combat tactics.
Cleric
Prime Requisite: Wisdom.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Wisdom 13-15, 10% for Wisdom 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9th level. Starting with 10th level,
+ 1 hit point per level, and Constitution adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 36.
Armor: Any, plus shield.
Weapons: No edged or pointed weapons; all others permitted.
Special Abilities: Turning undead; clerical spells.
A cleric is a human character who is dedicated to serving a great and
worthy cause. This cause can be an Immortal being dedicated to a specific
goal or attribute; sometimes the cleric is serving only his alignment, and
has no interest in immortal beings. The D&D game does not deal with the
ethical and theological beliefs of the characters in the game.
All clerics belong to orders, or clerical societies, made up of clerics
serving the same ends.
A brand-new cleric character is at the very bottom of his clerical
organization; as he gains experience levels, he will also gain new powers
and responsibilities pertaining to his clerical order. The DM will decide,
and will inform you, how the clerical orders of his campaign are arranged.
A cleric can learn to cast spells after gaining a level of experience. A
1st level cleric cannot cast any spells; once he reaches 2nd level, he can
begin to cast spells. A cleric's spell powers come from the strength of the
cleric's beliefs. The cleric sits and meditates, and magically learns
spells. These spells can then be used during an adventure. Most clerical
spells are for healing, protection
and gathering information. Clerical spells are different from
magic-user spells. Clerics can use only their own type of spells; they never
utilize magic-user spells.
Clerics have good fighting skills and can fight monsters. A cleric can
wear any type of armor, like a fighter; he can use many types of weapons,
but cannot use edged or piercing weapons of any sort. Unlike magic-users,
whose spells are often used during battles, a cleric's spells are usually
needed after battles (such as cures) or for general exploring (such as
detecting things).
If your party has enough fighters, your cleric should not need to
fight often. But he is equipped for fighting if his combat skill is needed.
Watch for ways that his spells can help before, during, and after battles.
For the first three levels of experience, a cleric's power is very
limited. But as they advance (to a maximum of 36th level), clerics obtain
more spells of greater power, due both to practice and the strengthening of
their beliefs. It is very important for clerics to be faithful to their
beliefs. If a cleric behaves in a manner that is not consistent with the
character's alignment or beliefs, the cleric may be punished by the order-or
by even greater powers. This punishment could be a penalty on attack rolls',
a dangerous quest that must be completed, or even a lack of spells.The DM
will tell you what the character must do to regain his good standing.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: A cleric's prime requisite is Wisdom. If a cleric has a
Wisdom score of 13-15, the character gains a 5 % bonus to experience points
earned in every adventure; if his Wisdom is 16-18, he earns a 10% bonus to
XP. Hit Dice: Roll a six-sided die (1d6) to determine a cleric's hit points.
A cleric starts with 1d6 (1-6) hit points (plus any Constitution bonus) and
gains 1d6 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience. One
additional hit point is gained for each level after 9th level.
Armor: A cleric can wear any kind of armor, and can use a shield.
Weapons: A cleric cannot use any weapon with a sharp edge or point; this is
forbidden by the cleric's beliefs. This includes arrows and quarrels. But
the cleric can use any non-edged weapon.
Special Abilities
A cleric has two special abilities: turning undead monsters and casting
clerical spells.
Turning Undead
A cleric has the power to force certain monsters called the "undead"
(skeletons, zombies, ghouls, wights, and other types) to run away, or even
to perish. This special ability is called "turning undead." When a cleric
encounters an undead monster, the cleric may either attack it normally (with
a weapon or spell), or try to turn it. The cleric cannot both attack and
turn undead in one round. When you want your cleric to try to turn undead,
just tell your Dungeon Master "I'll try to turn undead this round." The
power to turn undead is inherent in the cleric; he does not need the symbol
of his faith or any other device to do it, unless the DM declares otherwise.
Undead monsters are not automatically turned by the cleric. When the
encounter occurs, the player must refer to the cleric's Turning Undead table
to find the effect the cleric has. When the cleric tries to turn an undead
monster, find the cleric's level of experience across the top of the table.
Read down the left column until you find the name of the undead monster. If
you see a "-" in the column, then you cannot turn the monster. If you see
anything else, you have a chance to turn the monster, or perhaps several
monsters. See immediately below, under "Explanation of Results:' to learn
how to find out if you have turned the monster. Apply the results
immediately. If the attempt succeeds, one or more of the undead monsters
will retreat or be destroyed. But don't forget, if the monster is turned, it
hasn't been destroyed; it may decide to return soon....
If you try to turn a specific undead monster (for instance, one specific
vampire) and fail, you cannot try again to turn it in the same fight. At
some later encounter, you can try to turn that individual again.
Explanation of Results
7, 9, or 11: Whenever a number is listed, the cleric has a chance to turn
the undead monsters. The player rolls 2d6 (two six-sided dice). If the total
is equal to or greater than the number given, the attempt at turning undead
is successful.
When the attempt at turning undead is successful, the Dungeon Master (not
the player) will roll 2d6 to determine the number of Hit Dice of
undead,monsters that turn away. At least one monster will be turned,
regardless of what the DM rolls on his dice.
Example: A 1st level cleric has just encountered a group of seven
zombies. Zombies (as you
Turning Undead Table (Roil 2d6)
Cleric's Level
Undead 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9-10 11-12 13-14
Skeleton 7 T T D D D D D D D + D +
Zombie 9 7 T T D D D D D D D +
Ghoul 11 9 7 T T D D D D D D
Wight - 11 9 7 T T D D D D D
Wraith - - 11 9 7 T T D D D D
Mummy - - - 11 9 7 T T D D D
Spectra - - - - 11 9 7 T T D D
Vampire - - - - - 11 9 7 T T D
Phantom - - - - - - 11 9 7 T T
Haunt - - - - - - - 11 9 7 T
Spirit - - - - - - - - 11 9 7
Nightshade - - - - - - - - - 11 9
Lich - - - - - - - - - - 11
Special - - - - - - - - - - -
Undead 15-16 17-20 21-24 25-28 29-32 33-36
Skeleton D + D + D + D # D # D #
Zombie D + D + D + D + D # D #
Ghoul D + D + D + D + D + D #
Wight D D + D + D + D + D +
Wraith D D D + D + D + D +
Mummy D D D D + D + D +
Spectra D D D D D + D +
Vampire D D D D D D +
Phantom D D D D D D
Haunt T D D D D D
Spirit T T D D D D
Nightshade 7 T T D D D
Lich 9 7 T T T T
Special 11 9 7 T T T
7,9, or 11 = number needed to turn successfully
T automatic turn, 2d6 Hit Dice of undead
D automatic Destroy, 2d6 Hit Dice of undead
D + automatic Destroy, 3d6 Hit Dice of undead
D# automatic Destroy, 4d6 Hit Dice of undead
can learn in Chapter 14) each have two Hit Dice (2 HD). The cleric tries
to turn the zombies.
On the Turning Undead Table, a 1st level cleric vs. a zombie yields a
result of 9: The cleric must roll a 9 or greater on 2d6 to turn the zombies.
The cleric's player rolls 2d6 and achieves a 10-he has successfully turned
undead.
The DM now rolls to see what sort of results the cleric achieves. He
rolls 2d6 and achieves an 8; in other words, the cleric turns 8 Hit Dice of
zombies. Since each zombie is a 2-Hit Die creature, the cleric has turned
four zombies. Four zombies turn and begin shambling away from the cleric as
fast as they can move. This leaves the cleric with only three to fight. Next
round, he can attack them with weapons of spells, or he can try to turn
them, too.
T. The attempt at turning the undead automatically succeeds; the cleric's
player does not need to roll for success. To determine how many undead will
be turned, the DM rolls 2d6 as described above; regardless of his roll, at
least one undead will be turned.
D: The attempt at turning the undead automatically succeeds-in fact, it
succeeds so well that the affected monsters are destroyed instead of merely
turned. To determine how many Hit Dice of undead will be destroyed, the DM
rolls 2d6 as described above; regardless of his roll, at least one undead
will be destroyed. (The DM decides what happens when the monsters are
destroyed: They might fade away, burst into flame and crumble away, or
disintegrate like a vampire in sunlight, for instance.)
D +: This is the same as the "D" result above, except that the DM rolls
3d6 to find out how many Hit Dice of undead will be destroyed. Regardless of
the roll, at least one undead will be destroyed.
D#: This is the same as the "D" result above, except that the DM rolls
4d6 to find out how many Hit Dice of undead will be destroyed. Regardless of
the roll, at least one undead will be destroyed.
Using Clerical Spells
Starting at the 2nd level of experience (having earned 1,500 XP or
more), the cleric can use spells. The procedures by which the cleric learns
and casts his spells are described in Chapter 3.
Higher Experience Levels
When a cleric reaches Name level (9th), he is called a patriarch (if
mate) or matriarch (if female). At this point in his adventuring career, he
has several options available to him.
If the character is a Neutral cleric, he can decide to become a druid
instead (see the description of that character class below); he certainly
does not have to change his class.
If the cleric is a Neutral who does not want to become a druid, or if he
is Lawful or Chaotic alignment, he must decide whether to build a clerical
stronghold approved by his clerical order.
Depending on how the DM has set up his campaign, the cleric might have
built himself a
home, even a lavish castle, long before. However, that was his personal
home, regardless of how big it is or what he has done with it. Here, we're
talking about a stronghold sanctioned by the cleric's order, one which will
be built and maintained to further the goals of the order.
Land-Owning Clerics
A cleric who decides to build a stronghold with the sanction of his
clerical order is called a "land-owning cleric." (Note: This is merely a
convenient term. A land-owning cleric can go adventuring with his footloose
friends; he is not tied to his land.) There are advantages and disadvantages
to setting up a clerical stronghold.
Advantages: The character can progress up through the ranks of his
clerical order. The character may receive financial aid from his order
toward the building of the stronghold. The character may be able to increase
his lands and build strong settlements there, which could result in him
becoming a very wealthy character indeed.
Disadvantages: The character will be the chief clerical authority (for
his clerical order) for the lands around his stronghold. This means that he
has clerical responsibilities to all the people living on and around his
lands-responsibilities which may interfere with his desire to travel with
his old adventuring friends of which may confront him with difficult
problems.
Traveling Clerics
A cleric who decides not to build a stronghold sanctioned by his order is
referred to as a "traveling cleric," even if he is not always on the road
traveling. There are also advantages and disadvantages to being a traveling
cleric.
Advantages: The cleric does not have to tie himself down to any one place
or group of people; except when acting on official requests from his
order, he may go where he pleases.
Disadvantages: The cleric may not rise to or above the rank of a
land-owning cleric, and may not achieve much political influence within his
order. (He doesn't stop earning experience points, experience levels, or
personal power; he just cannot climb any higher in the clerical order's
hierarchy.) The cleric still has responsibilities to his clerical order,
naturally; as before, he may be required at any time to uphold the beliefs
and accomplish the goals of his order.
Becoming a Land Owner
If the 9th level cleric decides to build a stronghold, he must report to a
superior of some type, either an official of his order or a ruler of the
nation where he wishes to settle, to ask for land. This ruler should
willingly grant the land, unless the cleric has had problems with him in the
past; if so, the ruler may requite some service of the cleric (such as a
quest) before he grants the land. (The DM must decide whether the cleric's
order has the power to make such grants, according to the civilization of
his campaign world.)
If the cleric has never been punished for misbehavior, either by his
order or by the powers that grant him his spells, his order can (at the DM's
discretion) help him with the cost of building the stronghold. Such help
usually involves the order paying for up to any amount the DM feels to be
reasonable (the standard is 50% of the stronghold's construction). The
player should design the stronghold the way he wishes to see it built. The
DM will calculate how much it would cost to build, determine to his own
satisfaction how much of the design is good and necessary planning (and how
much is extravagant overexpenditure), and decide what proportion of the cost
the clerical order will assume.
Regardless of how much the clerical order pays, the stronghold is
technically the cleric's property. The cleric can't deny access to the
property and its facilities to members of his order-normally, he shouldn't
ever wish to do so-but it's his land, and he can't just be assigned to some
other stronghold against his will.
A number (typically 1d6) of lower level clerics will come to the
stronghold once it is built, to assist and serve the cleric in operating the
stronghold's clerical functions. (See Chapter 11 for more on this.)
Naturally, he'll get fewer or no assistant clerics if he has a reputation
for abusing or endangering his retainers. These clerics have arrived with
the intention of helping to operate the stronghold, not to travel with the
cleric on his adventures. The DM should create each of these clerics as an
individual, with his own name, personality, background, goals, and
abilities.
If the cleric manages his land well and serves his order equally well, he
will probably rise in power in the bureaucracy of his clerical order. In
addition, he may be awarded more land; more normal men will settle the area
around the cleric's stronghold, and the cleric will receive more tax income
from the settlements.
Choosing to Travel
A cleric who decides to travel may follow one of two routes: in civilized
lands, or in wilderness. A cleric who travels within the boundaries of the
civilized world usually looks for ways to help those of the same alignment
(whatever that may be). The cleric may travel alone, with retainers, or with
other clerics.
A cleric who travels to the wilderness usually searches for enemies of the
clerical order, to convert or destroy. This cleric normally travels with
other characters as an adventuring party (though the others may all be
NPCS).
Changing Back and Forth
Once a player decides to be a traveling or land-owning cleric, only a
major development in the campaign or in the character should change that
status. The DM should discourage frequent or casual changes of the cleric's
status.
Fighter
Prime Requisite: Strength.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Strength 13-15, 10% for Strength 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d8 per level up to 9th level. Starting with 10th level,
+2 hit points per level, and Constitution adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 36th.
Armor: Any; shields allowed.
Weapons: Any.
Special Abilities: Lance Attack and Set Spear vs. Charge maneuvers,
Fighter Combat Options (see Chapter 8).
A fighter is a human whose main ability is fighting skill. Fighters often
have greater Strength than other characters. They usually hit opponents more
often in combat, and inflict more damage.
In the D&D game, fighters protect their weaker friends and allies. A
party made up only of fighters would probably survive most dungeon and
wilderness encounters, even those where magic would be useful. Every group
of explorers should have at least one of two fighters.
In group adventures, the fighters should stay in front and act as the
"front line" in combat situations. If there are three or more fighters in
the party, one should stay in the back, in case the characters' party is
approached from the fear by enemies. In battle itself, fighters have a
better chance at surviving physical damage, since they have more hit points
than most other classes.
A fighter character should be able to use a variety of weapons. Unless
your conception of your fighter character Omits him to one class of weapons,
you should equip him with both hand-to- hand and missile weapons.
Fighters may advance as high as 36th level. Their rapid advances, both in
combat ability and in their amount of hit points, make them natural leaders
in human settlements, especially small ones. High level fighters spend a lot
of their time training and leading men-at-arms, clearing the wilderness of
monsters, and expanding human settlements.
Prime Requisite: A fighter's prime requisite is Strength. If a fighter
has a Strength score of 13- 15 of more, the character gains a 5 % bonus to
experience points earned in every adventure; if his Strength is 16-18, his
bonus is 10%.
Hit Dice: Roll an 8-sided die (1d8) to determine a fighter's hit points.
A fighter starts with 1d8 (1-8) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any)
and gains 1d8 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience.
Two additional hit points are gained for each level after 9th level.
Armor: A fighter can wear any kind of armor and may use a shield.
Weapons: A fighter can use any kind of weapon.
Special Abilities
Beginning fighters initially receive only a couple of special abilities
and need no other special abilities to survive and prosper. Their great
strength, hit points, strong armor, and many weapons make them a powerful
character class without additional special abilities. At higher experience
levels, though, they do receive some additional fighting abilities.
The two special abilities they do receive immediately are the Lance
Attack maneuver and Set Spear vs. Charge maneuver. These maneuvers are
described in Chapter 8.
At higher experience levels, some fighters receive specific special
abilities, including Fighter Combat Options and other abilities; these are
also described in Chapter 8.
Higher Experience Levels
A fighter with enough money may build himself a home, even a castle,
before he reaches 9th experience level. However, this home has no official
sanction; even if it is a castle, the character is not a ruler or a
nobleman.
When a fighter reaches Name level (9th level), the character is, owing to
his great abilities and reputation, addressed as Lord (if male) or Lady (if
female). This is status within his community even if it is not a formal
title; it is for the DM to decide whether or not it is a formal title
bestowed upon the fighter by the nation's rulers.
At Name level, the fighter will have to decide whether he intends to be a
"land-owning fighter" (i.e., a ruler in his own right, and lord of a region
of land) or a "traveling fighter" (one who may own homes but not rule land,
and has no especially strong responsibilities to the nation's rulers). Don't
be confused by these names. A land-owning fighter may spend a lot of time
traveling and adventuring, and a traveling fighter may spend a lot of his
time at home.
Land-Owning Fighters
There are two ways for a fighter to become a land-owning fighter:
independently or in fealty to a greater ruler.
The DM decides on what sort of government is used in his campaign.
Assuming that it's based on medieval Europe, as is the case with many D&D
game campaigns, a nation's government consists in part of a king and queen
ruling a strong court of dukes, counts and barons, each of whom rules a
smaller territory or domain.
In order to become a ruler within an existing country, he will have to
petition the country's rulers for a grant of land. If he has already done
them great services in the past, they may give it to him immediately and
gratefully, but if he is not already their friend of ally, they may send him
on a difficult quest so that he can prove himself to them. Once he has been
granted the land, he may build his castle upon it (at his own expense). The
land may be occupied or not; if it is unoccupied, the prospective ruler had
best try to lure settlers there soon, so that his dominion will begin
receiving tax revenues.
At the very least, a land-owning fighter within an existing country will
be granted the title of Baron (if male) or Baroness (if female), or the
equivalent. If he continues to expand his land within the nation's laws and
to make his dominion an increasingly strong and rich one, he may receive
greater titles, such as Count/Countess and Duke/Duchess.
If the fighter wishes to make his dominion in a wilderness which is not
within an existing country, he may call himself anything he wants- baron,
duke, king, emperor. However, be aware that a too-glorious title will make
others laugh at him. If he takes a title, it should be appropriate to the
size and strength of the dominion he is ruling; he may wish to change his
title as it increases in size and prosperity.
Traveling fighters
If, at 9th level, a fighter does not decide to make a dominion for
himself, he chooses to become a traveling fighter (you can use the term even
if he really doesn't do a lot of traveling).
Traveling fighters don't usually have the political
power that land-owning fighters do, but they can receive special abilities
to help compensate for that. (Note that we said can. They don't receive
these abilities automatically.)
The alignment of a traveling fighter determines special abilities and
other characteristics.
Paladins
A Lawful traveling fighter may be known as a paladin if he meets the
following requirements. If he does not meet those requirements, he may
become a knight (described below).
The fighter must sweat fealty (an oath of service) to a Lawful clerical
order to gain paladin status. The fighter must be of Name level or greater
to be accepted by the clerical order. Thereafter, the paladin may be
summoned by the order's leaders at any time, and must do as they command, as
long as the service aids the powers of Good.
2 .A paladin can detect evil (as per the cleric spell) as often as once
per round, simply by concentrating. (Range: 120'. The paladin cannot use
this ability and attack in the same round.)
3. If the paladin's Wisdom score is 13 of greater, the character can cast
cleric spells as if he were a cleric of one-third his actual experience
level (round any fraction down); if a fighter becomes a paladin right at 9th
level, he'll immediately gain the spells of a 3rd level cleric. A 17th level
paladin can cast spells as if he were a 5th level cleric. If his Wisdom
score is 12 of less, the fighter can still be a paladin, but cannot cast
spells.
The paladin learns how to meditate and cast spells from the clerics of
the order. The clerics will refuse any offer of compensation or payment for
this service.
4. A paladin can turn undead, as if he were a cleric of one-third his
actual experience level (round all fractions down). Therefore, a 6th or 7th
level paladin can turn undead with the same ability of a 2nd level cleric.
5. A paladin may only travel with a number of hirelings equal to or less
than his clerical level. In other words, if he can cast spells or turn
undead as a 5th level cleric, he can have five hirelings accompany him.
6. A paladin must assist anyone who asks for help-with two exceptions: He
does not have to help evil characters or achieve evil goals, and if the
paladin is on a mission for a higher authority (such as a quest, serving a
duke, etc.), he can offer only a small amount of help (such as sheltering or
advising the person in need of aid), along with an explanation for his
refusal. Assistance never involves donations of money or items, but only
service for a short time.
Knights
A Neutral traveling fighter may become a knight. Lawful traveling
fighters who do not become paladins, or Chaotic traveling fighters who do
not become an avengers (described below) are also able to become knights.
To gain knighthood, a fighter must swear fealty to a prince, king, or
emperor. In return, the ruler will declare the character a knight; that
ruler then becomes the knight's "liege."
In most campaigns, knights are the most common sort of traveling
fighters. The following rules apply to knights.
1. If summoned by his liege the knight must report to him as quickly as
possible, and must serve as the liege orders.
2. If the knight ever refuses to obey the liege, or ever swears fealty to
any other liege, the knight loses three levels of experience. (The DM may
increase this penalty if the offense warrants it.) The previous liege may
even order the offender slain for his treachery. In addition, rumors and
tales of the "traitorous knight" may haunt the character forever after; the
character may find it difficult to find help in places where his reputation
is known.
If his liege dies, the knight is free to choose another. Additional
benefits (lands, money, etc.) may be awarded to knights who swear fealty to
the successor of a liege who dies.
A knight may petition the liege for a peaceful end to his oath; however
rarely granted. The knight would be banished, at the least, and could be
stripped of all possessions as well.
3. A knight may visit any castle, of any territory, and request
sanctuary. The castle owner must, by the customs of the land, give the
knight a place to stay for up to three days, along with food and drink. He
does not have to be friendly to the knight, but, according to this custom,
may not challenge, attack, or refuse sanctuary to the knight. (Note that the
knight cannot challenge or attack his host or members of his host's court or
family, either. Should he do so, his sanctuary is at an end, and his host is
now free to punish him.) In campaigns modeled after medieval Europe, this
custom is nearly universal, but the DM is free to indicate that the custom
is not present if his nations are not similar to Europe's.
4. If a call to arms sounds (a call for knights to battle for justice),
the knight must respond. This declaration can only be issued by the ruler of
a large town (Mayor) of territory (Archduke or greater status), and the
knight need only respond if it sounds in the area through which he is
passing or if it is called by his liege. When the call to arms sounds, the
knight must immediately travel as fast as possible to the ruling castle of
the one who made the call to arms, and fight as ordered by the ruler-within
the constraints of any knightly oaths he took in the course of the campaign.
(If the ruler who made the call to arms orders him to kill innocents or
helpless prisoners, the knight may choose to refuse, but he will make an
enemy of that ruler.) The knight is entitled to compensation for this
service; the ruler issuing the call to arms must grant the knight a gift
appropriate to the value of the knight's services. (Many rulers will offer
the gift out of gratitude; some will not. The knight has the right to demand
the gift; he does not have to demand it if he does not wish to.)
There are two notable exceptions to the custom of the call to arms. In
lands where the civilization is very different from medieval Europe, this
custom might not be used (in wilderness areas where there are no rulers, it
would naturally be unknown). If the knight is within a territory that has
declared itself hostile to the knight's liege, the knight need not
respond-if the call to arms is against the land of his liege, he must not
respond. In fact, the knight would be in great danger when the call to arms
sounds.
Avengers
A Chaotic traveling fighter may become an avenger if he meets the
following requirements. Otherwise, a Chaotic traveling fighter may also
become a knight.
1 . The fighter must make an alliance with a Chaotic clerical order. This
is not a swearing an oath of fealty, but a loose agreement of loyalty and
support; the order may decline the offer. If the order accepts, the order's
leaders may summon the avenger at any time, and he must do as they command.
If he disobeys them, he loses all special abilities and benefits of the
avenger. Even then, the fighter may regain avenger status by negotiating
with a different order.
2. An avenger can detect evil (as the cleric spell) up to once per round,
simply by concentrating. (Range: 12O'. The avenger may not use this ability
and attack in the same round.)
3. If the avenger's Wisdom score is 13 or greater, the avenger can learn
to cast cleric spells as if he were a cleric of one-third his actual
experience level (round all fractions down). Therefore, a 12th-14th level
avenger casts spells as a 4th level cleric. If his Wisdom score is 12 or
less, the fighter can still be an avenger, but cannot cast spells.
The avenger learns how to meditate and cast spells from the clerics of
the order-but at a price (the price is at the DM's discretion, but a minimum
of 10,000 gp per clerical spell level gained is recommended).
4. An avenger may turn undead as if he were a cleric of one-third his
actual experience level, but with an important difference. If the result
is "turn" or "destroy," the avenger may choose to control them instead. If
control is chosen, it lasts for 1 turn per level of the avenger-thus, a 17th
level avenger could control them for 17 turns. Undead thus controlled behave
as if charmed, obeying the avenger as if they were friends.
However, if the undead are turned or destroyed by a cleric during the
duration of the control, the control is dispelled immediately, and cannot be
renewed. If the duration of the control ends without incident, the undead
will flee (as if turned).
5 An avenger may not have human or demihuman hirelings. However, the
avenger may try to persuade monsters of Chaotic alignment to become his
hirelings. If a Chaotic creature is not immediately hostile, the avenger may
offer food or treasure, indicating (through word or gestures) friendship. If
this fails, threats or combat resulting in surrender may accomplish nearly
the same result. If the creature's Reaction roll indicates friendship, the
creature is persuaded to follow and obey the avenger. The effect lasts for a
duration identical to a charm magic-user spell; once it ends, it cannot be
renewed. The
avenger may have the number of Chaotic monster hirelings that his
Charisma score allows for; once he loses one, he may try to persuade
another.
6. An avenger may visit any castle, ruin, or dungeon known to be ruled by
an intelligent Chaotic monster or character and, using his alignment tongue,
demand Sanctuary (see knight, above). An avenger may pretend to be a knight
and request Sanctuary of other rulers; if he deceives the ruler (and is not
tripped up by some alignment-revealing magic), the ruler will provide him
with normal Sanctuary.
Changing Back and Forth
Once a player decides to be a traveling of land-owning fighter, only a
major development in the campaign or in the character should change that
status. The DM should discourage frequent or casual changes of the fighter's
status.
Magic-User
Prime Requisite: Intelligence.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Intelligence 13- 15,
10% for Intelligence 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d4 per level up to 9th level.
Starting with 10th level, + 1 hit point per level, and Constitution
adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 36.
Armor: None; no shield permitted.
Weapons: Dagger only. Optional (DM's discretion): staff, blowgun, flaming
oil, holy water, net, thrown rock, sling, whip.
Special Abilities: Magical spells.
A magic-user is a human character who studies the powers of magic.
Magic-users find spells, put them into books, and study those books to learn
the spells. Magic-users have their own spells, entirely different from
clerical spells. A magic-user has poor fighting skills, and should avoid
combat.
A magic-user concentrates on learning and casting magic spells. He'll
find that a high Intelligence is very helpful. The magic-user's other
ability scores are often low. However, a high Constitution score will help
your magic-user survive longer, because it gives a bonus to hit points-one
of the magic-user's weaker traits.
Magic-users greatly fear damage. All the other character classes can
use armor of some kind, but magic-users can only wear clothes. Thus, they
are easy to hit. They also have few hit points.
Magic-users start as the weakest characters, but can eventually become
the most powerful. Their magical spells can be used for many things-from
simple things like opening doors and locks, to impressive and dangerous
magical attacks such as throwing lightning. All details on Spellcasting are
given in Chapter 3.
However, it is often difficult for magic-users to survive. Their few
weapons and spells (at low levels) balance against the power they eventually
achieve. Therefore, magic-users must be cautious at lower levels, as few
will survive long without protection.
Your magic-user should not go on adventures alone; because of his low
defenses and hit points, one surprise could kill him. In groups, he should
always stay in the middle of the party, protected from attacks, and use his
magic in ways that will help win the fight.
Prime Requisite: A magic-user's prime requisite is Intelligence. If a
magic-user has an Intelligence score of 13-15, the character gains a 5% bonus
to experience points earned in every adventure; if he has an Intelligence of
16-18, the bonus is 10%.
Hit Dice: Roll a 4-sided die (1d4) to determine a magic-user's hit
points. A magic-user starts with 1d4 (1-4) hit points (plus Constitution
bonus, if any) and gains 1d4 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of
experience. One additional hit point is gained for each level after 9th
level.
Armor: A magic-user cannot wear any kind of armor, and cannot use a
shield.
Weapons: A magic-user may only use daggers as weapons. Optionally, at the
DM's discretion, magic-users can use the staff, blowgun, flaming oil, holy
water, net, thrown rock, sling, and whip.
Special Abilities
The magic-user's sole special ability is that he can cast magic spells.
The processes of spell book and new spell acquisitions, as well as how the
magic-user memorizes and casts spells, are described in Chapter 3.
Higher Experience Levels
At Name (9th) level or greater, a magic-user is called a wizard (if mate)
or maga (female). Also at Name level, a magic-user may create magical items.
Upon reaching Name level, a magic-user may build a tower (if he can
afford to). A magic-user who constructs a tower will usually attract 1d6
(1-6) apprentices, all magic-users of experience levels 1-3. The DM will
decide how many apprentices arrive to serve the wizard, and should create
names, backgrounds, and character sheets for them; they should be complete
characters.
If a Name level magic-user decides to build a tower, or to take up
regular residence in the home of a ruler who wishes to employ him, he is
referred to as a land-owning magic-user; otherwise, he is a traveling
magic-user (even if he actually spends more time in his own home than on the
road).
Land-Owning Magic-Users:
Independent Wizards
Magic-users who decide to live in their own strongholds, regardless of
their political affiliations or interest in the outer world, are referred to
as independent wizards. They are commonly referred to and addressed as
wizard or maga, whatever their actual titles may be.
An independent magic-user may build or seize a tower. By tradition, he
need not seek permission from the local ruler beforehand. If, however, the
wizard does seek the ruler's permission, the ruler will probably give the
magic-user a lavish gift, official title to the dominion, and possibly some
sort of official rank of nobility to keep the favor of the character. (Only
the most powerful of rulers would dare to offend a magic-user, whatever
their alignment differences.)
After the magic-user moves into his tower, he may choose to build a
dungeon beneath or near it. Most wizards and magas employ specialists to do
their mining and engineering, but may decide to create the dungeons
themselves if they know the proper spells.
Of course, any character building a stronghold could also build a
dungeon, a subterranean complex where prisoners can be kept and the
character can perform specific researches in secret. But a wizard can choose
for his dungeon to be different. If, once one or more levels of the dungeon
are completed, the wizard leaves an unguarded opening into the dungeon,
monsters will be attracted and will build lairs. Some wizards encourage this
sort of thing so that they have ready access to a variety of different
monster types (useful for research, and for staying aware of what's
happening in the realms of monsters).
Such monster-infested dungeons are not looked upon favorably by humans in
the region. Dungeons tend to make the locals nervous, and the monsters in
them often prey on nearby human communities. Wizards who create these
dungeons need to be aware that low level adventurers may take action against
the monsters of these dungeons, either to keep the region safe of simply to
fill their own coffers with the monsters' treasure.
Independent wizards do not usually live in complete solitude. They may or
may not interact with the rulers and nobles of the nations in which they
live, as they please. They may continue to go on quests and adventures with
their old friends. Other wizards may visit and correspond with them in order
to facilitate magical research and understanding. They might participate in
the operation of schools of magic. Only the most misanthropic of wizards, or
those with much to hide, build their towers in the most dangerous and
inaccessible areas and live there alone.
Land-Owning Magic-Users: Magists
If a land-owning magic-user cannot or does not want to maintain a tower,
the character may apply for a position as a magist in any existing castle or
stronghold. If the ruler does not have a magist and can afford one, he will
usually accept the application ... unless the wizard has so vile a
reputation that the ruler cannot trust the wizard. The magist advises the
ruler in matters involving magic and handles the magical needs of the ruler
and the stronghold.
To become a magist, the magic-user must first find a ruler who is willing
to hire and support him. He must negotiate payment and other benefits with
the ruler. (Standard payment is a minimum of 3,000 gold pieces per month,
with magists above 15th level commanding higher payment.) Finally, the
character must swear an oath of fealty to that ruler to become a magist.
When the agreements and terms are complete, the ruler supplies all the
magist's needs, including a place to stay in the stronghold (usually a suite
of several rooms), guards and servants, and other agreed-upon benefits (such
as magical items, either to use or as outright gifts). The ruler usually
pays for magical research costs if the item or spell researched will benefit
the stronghold. The magist must serve the ruler as ordered in all respects,
but is never required to fight or otherwise be placed in danger.
A magist may go on normal adventures if the ruler gives. permission. The
ruler knows that more experience means a more powerful magist, and will
usually give permission if no immediate magical needs are pressing.
The magist is bound by oath not to work against the interests of his
ruler. If at some, time in the future he finds that he cannot serve the
ruler, he must officially renounce his oath of fealty and depart the ruler's
home. He cannot oppose his former ruler until he has left the ruler's home.
(If he intends to become an enemy of the ruler, it's best for him to depart
in secret and send his official notification by proxy.)
Traveling Magic-Users: Magi
A traveling magic-user of either gender is known as a magus.
1. A magus may visit any land-owning magic- user to offer to help with
magical research, If the offer is accepted, items or spells researched will
be completed faster and more efficiently, as described in Chapter 3.
2. The magus will attract powerful traveling fighters and clerics, who
offer to travel with and help the magus in return for pay. The magus
attracts 1d6 such hirelings. These hirelings are of levels much higher than
normal (5th level minimum).
High Experience Levels and Spell Damage
Here's one final but very important note about high level magic-users:
Any damage-causing spell can produce a maximum of 20 dice of damage (of
whatever type is applicable). Therefore, a 16th level magic-user casting a
fireball spell can deal out 16d6 points of damage, but a 27th level caster
only inflicts the maximum of 20d6 points of damage.
Thief
Prime Requisite: Dexterity.
Experience Bonus: 5% for Dexterity 13-15,
10% for Dexterity 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d4 per level up to 9th level. Starting with 10th level, +2 hit
points per level, and Constitution adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 36.
Armor: Leather armor only; shield not permitted.
Weapons: Any missile weapon; any onehanded melee weapon.
Special Abilities: At 1st level-Open Locks, Find Traps, Remove Traps, Climb
Walls, Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Pick Pockets, Hear Noise, and
Backstab; at 4th level-Read any normal language 80%; at 10th level-cast
magic-user spells from scrolls (10% chance of backfire). For the chances of
success for these abilities, see "Special Abilities" below.
A thief is a human who specializes in stealth, lockpicking, trap
removing, and other such activities. As the name indicates, however, most
characters belonging to the thief c@s do steal. (They rarely steal from
their friends or members of their own groups, however. A thief who steals
from friends is usually not permitted to adventure with them ever again!)
Thieves belong to an organization (sometimes called a Guild). Every town
has a building, called the Guild Hall, where thieves may live and eat (for a
price, of course). Every thief learns " the Arts" (a thief's unique skills;
see "Special Abilities," below) from teachers at the Guild. Thieves are a
normal part of life in most campaign worlds because of their unique and
useful skills, but they are not usually welcome in the better parts of
towns.
The thiefs job is to use his special abilities where needed. A thiefs
skills can be very useful, and they can be used over and over. For example,
a magic-user may use a spell to open a lock, but the spell only works once;
a thief may try to open locks whenever desired. Consequently, thieves are
found in most groups of adventurers.
Most thieves have high Dexterity scores. Since this can improve their
ability to use missile weapons, most thieves use one of more types of
missiles. The thief will also find it useful to have a sword or dagger in
situations where he can't avoid close combat.
Thieves may advance to 36th level.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: A thief s prime requisite is Dexterity. If a thief has a
Dexterity score of 13- 15, he gains a 5% bonus to experience points earned
in every adventure; if his Dexterity is 16- 18, the bonus is 10%.
Hit Dice: Roll a 4-sided die (1d4) to determine a thiefs hit points. A
thief starts with 1d4 (1-4) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any)
and gains 1d4 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience.
Two additional hit points are gained for each level after 9th level.
Armor: A thief may only wear leather armor, and may not use a shield.
Weapons: A thief may use any missile weapon, and any other weapon usable
with one hand (two-handed weapons are prohibited).
Special Abilities
Thieves have numerous special abilities. They receive some of them at 1st
experience level, when they begin play, and receive others as they gain
experience levels.
At 1st experience level, thieves know the following skills: Open Locks,
Find and Remove Traps, Climb Walls, Move Silently, Hide in Shadows, Pick
Pockets, and Hear Noise. They also learn the skill of Backstabbing. The
Thief Special Abilities Table shows the development of many of the thiefs
special abilities.
The column on the left is the thiefs experience level; cross-reference his
level with the skill he is trying to use. For instance, a 6th level thief
using his Climb Walls skill has a 92 % chance.
Each number on the table above is the percentage chance that the thief is
successful in using that special ability. Tell the Dungeon Master whenever
you want your thief to use a special ability; at the DM's discretion, either
the player or the DM will roll percentile dice (d%). If the result is equal
to or less than the percentage given, the thiefs attempt is successful.
Descriptions of the Special Abilities
Open Locks (OL): With successful use of this special ability, and with
professional lockpicks (often called "thieves' tools"), the thief may open
locks. The character may try to use this skill only once per lock. The thief
may not try again with that particular lock until he gains another level of
experience. Without lockpicks, he may not use this ability.
Find Traps (FT): With successful use of this special ability, the thief
may examine a room or an object and determine whether it is rigged with
traps. He may check only once per trap, and failure prevents the character
from finding any trap in or on the object searched. (Since the DM actually
does the rolling, the player doesn't know how many traps he's rolling to
find.) If the thief finds a trap, he may use his Remove Traps ability to
remove or deactivate it.
Remove Traps (RT): With successful use of this special ability, the thief
may remove or deactivate a trap. He may not roll this ability against a trap
unless the trap has been found. The thief may try his ability only once per
trap; failure to remove a trap triggers the trap.
Climb Walls (CW): With successful use of this special ability, the thief
can climb steep surfaces, such as sheer cliffs, walls, and so forth. The
chances for success are good, but if failed, the
* Thief gains 80% chance to read any normal (nonmagical) writing,
language, code, or map
* Thief gains ability to cast magic-user spells from spell scrolls (10%
chance that the spell will backfire)
thief slips at the halfway point and falls. The DM rolls for success once
for every 100' climbed. If the roll is a failure, the thief takes 1-6 (1d6)
points of damage per 10' fallen. Falling during a 10' climb will inflict 1
point of damage.
Move Silently (MS): Successful use of this special ability allows the
thief to move silently. When the thief tries to use this skill, he always
believes he has been successful, but a failed roll means that someone can
hear his passage. The DM, at his discretion, may modify the thiefs roll at
any time: When he tries moving silently across a field of dried leaves, his
percentage chance would go down, while if he does so during a loud
tournament, his chance will be greatly enhanced. Note that it doesn't do the
thief any good to use this skill against someone who is already aware of
him.
Hide in Shadows (HS): Successful use of this special ability means that
the thief moves into and remains in shadows, making him very hard to see.
While the thief is in shadows, observers only get a chance to see him if
they look directly at him, at which time he must roll again; success means
that he remains unobserved. While in shadows, the thief may use his Move
Silently ability, but attacking someone reveals the thief. If the thief
tries to hide in shadows but fails, he will not know that his position of
concealment is a failure until someone sees him and announces the fact. Note
that if the thief is under direct observation, he can't hide in shadows
against the people watching him; they'll be able to follow his progress with
no problem.
Pick Pockets (PP): This special ability allows the character to steal
things from another character's person without him noticing. It's a very
risky skill to use. If the attempt succeeds, the thief is able to pick the
other's pockets without anyone noticing. If the roll is a simple failure,
the thief fails to get his hands on what he's seeking. If the roll is
greater than twice what th thief needs to succeed or an 00 in any case, the
thief is caught in the act by his intended victim, and possibly others.
When using the skill, subtract 5 % per level or HD of victim. (Normal
men-men and women who have no adventuring ability at all and do not belong
to any adventuring character class- are treated as being 0 level.)
Example: A 1st level thief tries to pick the pocket of a 1st level
fighter walking along the street. His chance is 20% (normal) minus 5 (5
times 1), or 15%. The DM rolls the percentile dice and rolls a 41. This is
over twice what he needed to roll, so the thief is caught in the act.
Hear Noise (HN): This special ability gives the thief the ability to hear
faint noises-such as breathing on the other side of the door, of the clatter
of distant footsteps approaching fast. The DM can rule that any loud
situation, such as a battle, prevents the thief from using this skill.
Proper Use of Thief Abilities
Watch for opportunities to use special abilities, and simply tell your
Dungeon Master when you want your thief to use one.
A stuck or exceptionally difficult lock, carefully hidden trap, slippery
wall, or very faint noise may cause a penalty to be applied to the normal
chances of successful skill use. The DM may could assign the task a penalty
of -5%, -10%, -20%, or higher depending on the difficulty of at the task.
If, after applying such penalties, the chance of success remains 100% or
greater, the DM should adjust it to 99%, allowing a 1% minimum chance of
failure in all cases.
However, the DM should not modify Move Silently or Hide in Shadows skill
chances unless 4' the thief is undertaking actions that are outside the
ability's usual functions (trying to move silently while running at full
speed or across floor covered with peanut shells, hiding when very near to
torchlight, etc.).
Other Thief Abilities
Backstabbing: If a thief can sneak up on a victim, completely unnoticed,
the thief may he backstab-if he is using a one-handed melee weapon, he may
strike at particularly vulnerable , points of his target's body. (Though the
ability is called "backstabbing," the weapon doesn't have on to be a
stabbingweapon. A thief can use this ability with a club, for example.)
When backstabbing, the thief gains a bonus of +4 on the attack roll; if
the target is hit, the damage done is twice normal (roll the damage for the
weapon, multiply the result by two, and then add any pertinent modifiers).
If the intended victim sees, hears, or is warned of the thiefs approach,
the thiefs attack is not a backstab; it is an ordinary attack, doing the
damage appropriate for the weapon used.
When no battle is in progress, a backstab attempt may require a Move
Silently ability check. The DM will make all the necessary decisions on that
matter.
Read Languages: When the thief reaches 4th level, he gains an 80% chance
to read any normal writing or language (including simple codes, etc.) dead
languages, treasure maps, and so on, but not magical writings). If he tries
but fails to read a piece of writing, he must gain at least one experience
level before trying to read it again.
Cast Spells From Magic-User Scrolls: At 10th level, a thief gains the
ability to cast magic-user to spells from spell scrolls. However, there is
always he a 10% chance that the spell will backfire, creating an unexpected
result, because of the thiefs s. imperfect understanding of magical
writings. This ability only allows thieves to cast spells from existing
magic scrolls, not to write their own.
y
Higher Experience Levels
When a thief reaches Name (9th) level, he is called a master thief
(whether male or female).
Land-Owning Thieves
Name level thieves may construct a hide-out (a fortified house in a city,
a cave network, etc.). A thief who has constructed a hide-out will attract
2d6 1st level apprentice thieves, who come to the learn from a master. These
will generally (though not always) be loyal to the thief, but will not
automatically be replaced by others if they die or leave; the character will
have to recruit new thieves himself.
At this point, a player character thief may want to consider setting
up a Thieves' Guild.
A thief who wishes to settle must contact the Thieves' Guild of the
region where he wants to settle. If the thief has not been an enemy of this
Guild (or, even if he has, if he can persuade or bribe the Guild to
cooperate), the Guild will help establish the thief as a guildmaster. He may
be the master of a new branch of the Guild, an expansion branch in a new
neighborhood, or of an established Guild whose leader has stepped down or
died.
The Dungeon Master will describe how many new thieves arrive at the new
Guild, or will describe how the existing Guild is currently organized. The
Guild will generate income from its illegal activities.
The character can, at some point, ask for control of a larger branch of
the Guild (this is recommended when 18th level is reached), and may
eventually become a powerful official in the Guild Headquarters.
Skilled (high level) thieves are always needed for difficult and unique
adventures, and the Guildmaster thief is the person adventurers contact when
such jobs are available. You, as the Guildmaster, may choose to take the
jobs or allow one or more of the Guild members to have them-but you have
first choice, in any case.
Traveling Thieves
A Name level thief who chooses not to establish any hide-out or any
station in the local Guild authority is a traveling thief, known also as a
rogue.
1. A rogue must remain a member of a Thieves' Guild, though he need visit
the Guild only once a year.
2. Once a character becomes a rogue, the character can never become a
Guildmaster in an established branch of the Guild. However, if he later
decides to settle down, and if the Guild-master permits, he may set up a new
branch of the Guild where none currently exists.
3. A rogue has a chance (checked by the DM once per game week) of
discovering treasure maps or rumors about the location of great treasures.
This chance is based on him keeping his ear to the thieves' grapevine.
4 . Likewise, the rogue may visit any branch of the Thieves' Guild to see
the Guildmaster and learn local information, tips, and rumors- if the local
Guildmaster is willing to suffer his presence in the territory. If the
Guildmaster is willing, it will only be under the condition that the
character hire assistance from several low level thieves on a temporary
basis.
Dwarf
Prime Requisite: Strength. Other Requirements: Constitution 9 or better.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Strength 13-15,
10% for Strength 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d8 per level up to 9th level. Starting with 10th level, + 3 hp
per level and Constitution adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 12.
Armor: Any; shields permitted.
Weapons: Any Small or Medium melee weapon; short bows and crossbows
permitted, but longbows forbidden.
Special Abilities: Fighter Maneuvers (Lance Attack and Set Spear vs.
Charge maneuvers at 1st level; at 660,000 XP, Fighter Combat Options); half
damage from spells at 1,400,000 XP; infravision; extra languages (dwarf,
gnome, goblin, kobold); 1 in 3 chance to detect traps, sliding walls,
sloping corridors, new construction.
A dwarf is short and stocky, standing about 4' tall and weighing about
150 pounds. Male dwarves wear long beards. Their skin is ruddy or
earth-colored and their hair is dark brown, gray, or black. 'Stubborn but
practical, dwarves are fond of good food and drink. They value craftsmanship
and love gold. Dwarves are sturdy fighters and are resistant to magic.
Although the dwarf class is different from the fighter class in many
ways, their tasks are the same. Dwarves are only able to attain a maximum of
12 experience levels at best. However, this is balanced by the dwarfs
special abilities, such as the ability to see in the dark, detection
abilities, and better saving throws. Dwarves are formidable fighters, no
matter what their level.
Dwarven families are organized in Clans.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: A dwarfs prime requisite is Strength. If a dwarf has a
Strength score of 13- 15, the character gains a 5 % bonus to experience
points earned in every adventure; if his Strength is 16-18, the bonus is
10%.
Minimum Scores: A dwarf character must have a Constitution score of 9 or
greater when first played.
Hit Dice: Roll an 8-sided dice (1d8) to determine a dwarfs hit points. A
dwarf starts with 1d8 (1-8) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any) and
gains 1d8 more hit points (plus bonus) with each experience level. Three hit
points are gained per level after 9th level.
Armor: A dwarf may wear any kind of armor, and may use a shield.
Weapons: A dwarf may use any small or medium melee weapon. (If you're
unsure as to whether a weapon is small or medium, see the Weapons Table in
Chapter 4.) They may not use longbows, but can use short bows and crossbows.
Special Abilities
Special Attacks
Dwarves are good fighters. Like fighters, they know the Lance Attack and
Set Spear vs. Charge maneuvers.
Fighter Combat Options
When the dwarfs experience points total reaches 660,000, he gains the
Fighter Combat Options (see "Combat Maneuvers" in Chapter 8).
With the multiple attacks combat option, the dwarf can make two attacks
at 660,000 experience points, and three at 2,200,000 experience
points. He can use the smash and parry combat options, but cannot use the
disarm option against a giant-sized opponent. (A giant-sized opponent is
any monster which is described as being a giant, a giant animal, a
gargantua, or is otherwise in the DM's opinion enormous.)
Dwarf Experience Table
Level XP Attack Rank
1 0
2 2,200
3 4,400
4 8,800
5 17,000
6 35,000
7 70,000
8 140,000
9 270,000
10 400,000
1я21 я0 530,000
12 660,000* C
800,000 D
1,000,000 E
1,200,000 F
1,400,000** G
1,600,000 H
1,800,000 I
2,000,000 J
2,200,000t K
2,400,000 L
2,600,000 M
* Gain Fighter Combat Options. Two attacks are possible at this level.
** Automatically takes half damage from damage-causing spell or
spell-like effect.
t Three attacks per round possible at this level.
Dwarf Saving Throws Table
Levels 1-3 4-6 7-9 10-12
Death Ray or Poison 8 6 4 2
Magic Wands 9 7 5 3
Paralysis/Turn to Stone 10 8 6 4
Dragon Breath 13 10 7 4
Rod/Staff/Spell* 12 9 6 3
* At 1,400,000 XP, dwarves automatically take only half damage from
spells, or one-quarter damage if the saving throw is successful.
Special Defenses
Experienced dwarves become more resistant to magic. When the dwarf
reaches the 1,400,000 experience point mark, the dwarf automatically takes
only half damage from any damage- causing spell of spell-like effect (such
as from a magical item or strange monster powers such as beholders' eyes but
not including dragon's breath). Divide the rolled damage by 2 and round
down. If the effect allows a saving throw, a successful roll indicates that
he only takes 1/4 damage; divide the rolled damage by 4 and round down. (If
the result is 1/2 point of damage or less, the character takes 1 point of
damage.)
Infravision
Infravision is the ability to see heat (and the lack of heat). Dwarves
have infravision in addition to normal sight and can see 60' in the dark.
Infravision does not work in the presence of normal and magical light. With
infravision, warm things appear fed, and cold things appear blue. A creature
could be seen as a red shape, leaving faint reddish footprints. A cold pool
of water would seem a deep blue color.
Characters with infravision can even see items or creatures the same
temperature as the surrounding air (such as a table or a skeleton), since
air flow will inevitably show the viewer their borders, outlining them in a
faint fighter-blue tone. Until they move, they will be very faint to the
eye; once they start moving, they become blurry but very obvious light-blue
figures.
Infravision isn't good enough to read by. A character can use his
infravision to recognize an individual only if they are within 10' distance
... unless the individual is very, very distinctive
(for example, 8' tall or walking with a crutch).
Languages
In addition to Common and alignment tongues, a dwarf can speak the
languages of the dwarf, gnome, goblin, and kobold races.
Detection
Dwarves can sometimes detect traps (specifically, traps built into
stone-work or heavy construction, not other types of traps such as
rope-traps in the forest or spring-out needles built into a jewelry box);
they can also detect sliding walls, sloping corridors, and new
constructions.
If your dwarf character wants to search for such things in an area, tell
the DM. You have 1 chance in 3 to find them. The DM will roll 1d6, and a I
or 2 will indicate success if there is anything to find; a result of 3-6
means your dwarf detects nothing. You may check once for each trap, sliding
wall, sloping corridor, or new construction. You must tell the DM if you
want to look for anything; the detection is never automatic.
Higher Experience Levels
When a dwarf reaches Name (9th) level, he is usually referred to as a
dwarf lord (or dwarf lady, in the case of female dwarves).
He may build a stronghold. Unless he has forsaken his dwarven Clan and is
living among humans, it should be an underground cavern complex located in
either mountains or hills. (If he is living among humans, he may build any
sturdy stone dwelling in the human fashion instead, but will still want for
there to be an underground complex connected to it.) The
character may hire only dwarven mercenaries, but may hire specialists and
hirelings of other races.
Elf
Prime Requisites: Strength and Intelligence. Other Requirements:
Intelligence score of 9 or more.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Strength of 13 or better and Intelligence of
13-15, 10% for Strength of 13 or better and Intelligence of 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9th level. 10th level, + 1 hit point, and
Constitution adjustment does not apply.
Maximum Level: 10.
Armor: All; shields permitted.
Weapons: Any.
Special Abilities: Fighter Maneuvers (Lance Attack, Set Spear vs. Charge;
at 850,000 XP, Combat Options for Fighters); half damage from dragon breath
at 1,600,000 XP; infravision; extra languages (elf, gnoll, hobgoblin, orc);
1 in 3 chance to detect secret and hidden doors; immunity to ghoul
paralysis; magic spells.
An elf is slender and graceful, with delicate features and pointed ears.
An elf is 5' to 5'1/2' tall, and weighs about 120 pounds.
Elves are able to use all types of armor and weapons, and can cast magical
spells.
Few elves are adventurers; most prefer to spend their time feasting and
frolicking in woodland glades. Except for adventurers, elves rarely visit
the cities of man.
Elves are fascinated by magic and never grow tired of collecting spells
and magical items, especially if the items are beautifully crafted.
Elves are similar to both fighters and magic- users. Read the description
of the fighter class for some tips on playing a fighter-type character, but
remember that the elf does not have as many hit points as a fighter. The elf
can best perform as a fighter if he is undamaged or only slightly hurt
before entering a battle; otherwise, he should stay back and help with magic
spells, as a magic-user does.
An elf may only advance to 10th level. However, this is balanced by the
elf's special abilities, especially the combination of fighting and
spellcasting. This combination makes an elf far more powerful than a human
of the same level.
Elves only employ other elves as mercenary fighters, although they may
hire specialists and hirelings of any race.
Eleven families live in Clans.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: Elves have two prime requisites: Strength and
Intelligence. If an elf has a score of 13 or more in both ability scores, he
gains a 5% bonus to experience points earned. If his Intelligence score is
16-18 and his Strength is 13 or more, the bonus is 10%.
Minimum Scores: An elf character must have Intelligence 9 or greater when
first played.
Hit Dice: Roll a 6-sided die (1d6) to determine an elf s hit points. An
elf starts with 1d (1-6) hit point on bonus, if any) and gains 1d6 more hit
points (plus bonus) with each level of experience. Two additional hit points
are gained at 10th level.
Armor: An elf may wear any kind of armor, and may use a shield.
Weapons: An elf may use any weapon.
Special Abilities
Special Attacks
After reaching maximum level (10th), elves may continue to improve in
combat ability. This is a slow process, however, due to the fact that they
must divide their training time between fighting and magic. Elves always
know the following fighter maneuvers: Set Spear vs. Attack; Lance Attack.
Fighter Combat Options
When the character's experience point total reaches 850,000, the
character receives the Combat Options for fighters (see their description on
page 104, under "Combat Maneuvers"). With multiple attacks, two attacks are
possible at 850,000 experience points, and three attacks at 2,600,000
experience points; the elf never gains four attacks per round. The elf may
use the smash, parry, and disarm options as described in the text.
Special Defenses
Experienced elves become more resistant to dragon breath. When the elf
reaches the 1,600,000 experience points mark, he automatically takes only
half damage from any breath weapon (most notably dragon breath, but
including all sorts of breath weapon attacks). If the breath allows a saving
throw, a successful roll indicates that the elf takes only one-quarter
damage. When modifying damage sustained, always round down. If the result is
1/2 point of damage or less, the character takes 1 point of damage.
Infravision
Elves have infravision identical to that of dwarves. See the description
of infravision in the explanation of the dwarfs special abilities.
Languages
In addition to the languages of all characters-the Common and alignment
tongues-an elf can speak the languages of the elf, gnoll, hobgoblin, and orc
races.
Detection
All elves can find secret and hidden doors better than other characters.
You must tell the DM if you want to look for secret and hidden doors; the
detection is never automatic.
Immnunity to Ghoul Paralysis
All elves are naturally immune to the paralyzing attacks of ghouls. Other
types of paralysis, such as attacks from a carrion crawler or gelatinous
cube, do affect them normally.
Spells
Elves can use magic-user spells just as magic- users can, though they
receive fewer and lower level spells. Spell are described in Chapter 3.
Higher Experience Levels
When the elf reaches Name (9th) level, he is often referred to as a lord
wizard (if male) or lady maga (if female).
He may build a special kind of stronghold deep in the forest. This
stronghold must pleasingly blend with its surroundings, usually a natural
site of great beauty. Typical locations are the tops of great trees, on the
edges of quiet vales, or behind rushing waterfalls. Because of the effort 1
to beautify the work, the structure costs as much 2 as similar work if made
of stone.
When the stronghold is completed, the character will develop a friendship
with the animals 3 2 of the forest (birds, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, beefs,
etc.). All normal animals within five miles of the stronghold will be
friendly toward the elves dwelling there. Animals will be able to warn of
approaching strangers, carry news of events, deliver short messages to
nearby places, etc. In return for these services, the animals will expect
the elves to help and protect them.
Elf Experience Table
Attack Spells / Level
Level XP Rank 1 2 3 4 5
1 0 1 - - - -
2 4,000 2 - - - -
3 8,000 2 1 - - -
4 16,000 2 2 - - -
5 32,000 2 2 1 - -
6 64,000 2 2 2 - -
7 120,000 3 2 2 1 -
8 250,000 3 3 2 2 -
9 400,000 3 3 3 2 1
10 600,000 C 3 3 3 3 2
850,000* D
1,100,000 E
1,350,000 F
1,600,000** G
1,850,000 H
2,100,000 I
2,350,000 J
2,600,000t K
2,850,000 L
3,100,000 M
* Gain the Fighter Combat Options. Two attacks per found possible at this
level.
** Automatically takes half damage from any breath weapon.
t Three attacks per round possible at this level.
* At 1,600,000 XP, elves take half damage from breath weapons, or
one-quarter damage if the saving throw is successful.
Halfling
Prime Requisite: Strength and Dexterity. Other Requirements: Dexterity of
9 or better, Constitution of 9 or better.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for either Strength or Dexterity of 13 or more, 10%
for both Strength and Dexterity of 13 or more.
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 8th level.
Maximum Level: 8.
Armor: Any; shield is permitted; armor must be designed specifically for
halflings.
Weapons: Any Small melee weapon; short bow; light crossbow.
Special Abilities: Fighter Maneuver (Set Spear vs. Charge); at 900,000
XP, Fighter Combat Options); Combat Bonuses (- 2 AC vs. monsters larger than
man-size, + 1 to attack roll with missile weapons, + 1 to Individual
Initiative); half damage from spells at 300,000 XP, half damage from dragon
breath at 2,100,000 XP; 90% chance to hide motionless in woodlands, 33%
chance to hide motionless in dimly lit building interiors.
A halfling is a short demihuman, and looks much like a human child with
slightly pointed ears. A halting stands about 3' tall and weighs about 60
pounds. Halflings rarely have beards. Halflings are outgoing but not unusually
brave, seeking treasure as a way to gain the comforts of home, which they so
dearly love. Halflings prefer to live in pleasant areas of fair countryside
near rolling hills and gentle streams. When not working or adventuring,
halflings will spend most of their time eating, drinking, talking with
friends, and relaxing. Their communities are called shires, and their
recognized spokesman is called a Sheriff. Halting families live in Clans.
Halflings are woodland folk, and usually get along well with elves and
dwarves. They have special abilities in the outdoors. Halflings behave
similarly to fighters and dwarves. A halfling's saving throws are as good as
those of dwarves. Halflings may only advance to 8th level. This limitation is
balanced by their woodland abilities, saving throws, and combat bonuses.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: A halting has two prime requisites: Strength and
Dexterity. If either of these ability scores is 13 or greater, the character
gains a 5 % bonus to experience points earned in every adventure. If both of
these scores are 13 of greater, the experience points bonus is 10%.
Minimum Scores: A halting character must have a score of 9 or greater in
both Dexterity and Constitution.
Hit Dice: Roll a 6-sided die (1d6) to determine a halfling's hit points. A
halting starts with 1d6 (1-6) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any)
and gains 1d6 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience.
Armor: A halfling may wear any kind of armor, and may use a shield.
However, their armor and shields must be specially made for their small
size. Even dwarf-sized armor is too large for them.
Weapons: A halting may use any Small melee weapon and may use short bows
and light cross-bows. (if you're unsure whether a weapon is Small or not,
see the Weapons Table found in Chapter 4.)
Special Abilities
Combat Bonuses
All halflings gain the following bonuses when
in combat.
Halfling Combat Bonuses Table
- 2 bonus to armor class when attacked by creatures larger than man-sized
(i.e., an AC of 6 becomes a 4)
+ 1 bonus to the attack roll when using any missile weapon
+ 1 bonus to individual initiative (see Chapter 8 for details on
Initiative)
A creature is larger than man-sized when it is referred to as "giant,"
"gargantuan," or "enormous" in a monster description. It is likewise larger
than man-sized if it is a real-world creature which the DM considers bigger
than a man (for example, a horse). As a rule of thumb, any non- human-shaped
creature whose size is not otherwise given in a description can be presumed
to be larger than man-sized if it has 4 or more HD.
Special Attacks
In combat, a halting may use the Set Spear vs. Charge maneuver, as
described in Chapter 8 under "Combat Maneuvers." They are too small to
utilize the Lance Attack maneuver, however.
Halting Experience Table
Attack
Level XP Rank
1 0
2 2,000
3 4,000
4 8,000
5 16,000
6 32,000
7 64,000
8 120,000 A
300,000* B
600,000 C
900,000** D
1,200,000 E
1,500,000 F
1,800,000 G
2,100,000t H
2,400,000 I
2,700,000 J
3,000,000tt K
* Automatically takes half damage from any damage-causing spell or
spell-like effect.
** Gains the Fighter Combat Options. Two attacks per round possible at
this level.
t Automatically takes half damage from any breath weapon.
tt Three attacks per round possible at this level.
Haling Saving Throws Table
Levels 1-3 4-6 7-8
Death Ray/Poison 8 5 2
Magic Wands 9 6 3
Paralysis/Turn to Stone 10 7 4
Breath Attack* 13 9 5
Rod/Staff/Spell** 12 8 4
* At 2, 100,000 XP, halflings take half damage from breath weapons, or
one-quarter damage if the saving throw is successful.
** At 300,000 XP, halflings take half damage from spells, or one-quarter
damage if the saving throw is successful.
Fighter Combat Options
When the halfling's experience point total reaches 900,000, he gains the
Fighter Combat Options on page 104. For the multiple attacks option, two
attacks are possible at 900,000 experience points, and three attacks at
3,000,000 experience points. The halting can use the smash and parry options
as described, but cannot use the disarm option effectively against a giant-
sized opponent.
Special Defenses
Experienced halflings become more resistant r damage if the to both magic
and breath weapons. When the halting reaches the 300,000 experience point
the saving mark, he automatically takes only half damage from any
damage-causing spell or spell-like effect (such as from a magical item). If
the effect allows a saving throw, a successful roll indicates that he takes
only 1/4 damage.
In addition, when the halting reaches the 2,100,000 experience point
mark, he likewise automatically takes only half damage from breath weapons
(most notably dragon breath, but including all sorts of breath weapon
attacks), and takes only 1/4 damage if he successfully makes a saving throw
(if the attack allows one).
When modifying sustained damage, always round fractions down. If the
result is 1/2point of damage or less, the character takes 1 point of damage.
Woodland Abilities
Outdoors, halflings are difficult to spot, having the ability to hide in
woods of underbrush. In such cover, they have a 90 % chance to remain unseen
(the DM will roll). Halflings can even hide in building interiors such as
dungeons, though not with as much success. In such situations, if a halting
finds some deep shadows or cover to hide in, his chance drops to 33%; if he
cannot find shadows or cover, he has no chance at all.
This ability is not the same as the thiefs Move Silently or Hide in
Shadows abilities. To use his ability, the halting must stay motionless. If
he tries to move to another site, anyone can see him.
When your halfling uses this ability, inform the DM. He'll roll percentile
dice (d%) for the halfling. On a roll of go or less, the halfling will
remain unnoticed. On a 91 or greater, observers with a chance to detect the
halfling will do so. In a dungeon or other building interior, the DM will
roll d%. On a roll of 33 or less, the halfling remains undetected; on a 34
or greater, an observer who has a chance to detect him will do so.
Indoors, a light bright enough to banish shadows and illuminate
everything well (such as magical light) will ruin the hiding attempt.
Naturally, if the halting character is himself carrying a light, it will be
impossible for him to hide.
Higher Experience Levels
A halting reaching 8th experience level is usually referred to by the
title of sheriff. In your campaign, this may be a merely honorary title, or
the DM may choose to have the halfling character be elected to a local
sheriff's position.
Regardless of his experience level, a halfling may build a stronghold
whenever he has the money and the interest. The stronghold will attract a
whole community of other halflings if constructed in a place suited to their
preferences.
Druid (Optional)
Prime Requisite: Wisdom. Other Requirements: Neutral alignment.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Wisdom 13-15, 10% for Wisdom 16-18.
Hit Dice: Starting with 10th level, + 1 hit point per level, and
Constitution adjustments do not apply.
Maximum Level: 36; Druid must challenge and defeat another Druid of the
newly- attained experience level starting at 30th level.
Armor: Leather armor; shield permitted if made only of wood and leather.
Weapons: Any non-edged/non-piercing weapon made with no metal.
Special Abilities: Spells (both druidic and clerical).
A Neutral cleric of 9th to 29th level may choose to study nature instead
of remaining among "civilized" areas. If he does so, he changes character
class and becomes a druid. To become a druid, the cleric must find and live
in a woodland home, meditating for one to four (1d4, rolled by the DM)
months.
During that time, a higher level druid (usually 25th level of greater)
will find the cleric, test him for worthiness, and teach him the principles
of druidic philosophy and magic. (The DM may prefer to handle all that in
the background, or to make a protracted role-playing adventure out of it.)
The new druid may then join the realm of the druids.
A druid is pure Neutral, never Lawful or Chaotic. The druid devotes his
life to the balance of all things and to the study of nature.
Druid items and equipment are all made of items that were once alive
(leather, wood, etc.). "Dead" things that have never been alive are
repulsive to the druid; the character simply won't want to use or touch
them. However, the character should not object if others use "dead" things.
Thus, a druid can be a challenging character to play, but the role can be
entertaining.
Druids, unlike clerics, have no power to turn undead and so have reason
to fear undead monsters. They may contact town churches if undead monsters
threaten their realms.
Every druid lives in, protects, and tends a section of woodlands. (Druids
must live in a nature setting; they cannot live in a city or town.) Druids
do not think of themselves as owners, but rather as caretakers, of
wilderness. Nearly every tree in every woodland is cared for by a druid.
Although minor damage to the woods is a fact of life, druids punish
deliberate evil destruction of trees or nature. Even Chaotic monsters know
this, and avoid harming things of the woods lest they incur the wrath of the
local druid.
The DM and players should be sure not to abuse this protective role. For
example, a party foraging for food would not be attacked by a druid unless
they killed more animals than they could eat, wantonly destroyed trees, etc.
The battles of Law and Chaos are not the affairs of the druids, and they
may simply watch such encounters from afar, helping neither side.
When characters perform good deeds in the woodlands, such as curing wounded
animals, this does not make the druid automatically friendly. However,
assistance in fighting a huge disaster-such as a magical storm or major
forest fire-could earn the gratitude and possible friendship of a druid.
Should the druid change alignment, he will retain all the clerical abilities
and clerical spells which druids can use (but will not regain his ability to
turn undead); he will lose all druid benefits including druidic spells
unless he returns to Neutral alignment. Druids have unusual abilities that
help them in their woodland role, but they also have many restrictions.
These are described below.
Class Details
Prime Requisite: A druid's prime requisite is Wisdom. If a druid has a
Wisdom score of 13-15 the character gains a 5% bonus to experience points
earned; if his Wisdom is 16-18, he earns a 10% bonus to experience points.
Hit Dice: A character cannot become a druid until he has reached at least
Name (9th) experience level as a cleric. Therefore, from then on, he will
receive only 1 hit point per experience level gained after 9th level.
Armor: The druid may not wear metal armor or use metal items. He can wear
leather armor and shields made of wood and leather.
Weapons: Druids, like clerics, may not use piercing or cutting weapons;
and even of the weapon types they can use, they may not have weapons with
metal parts. He can commission craftsmen to make all-wooden versions of
appropriate weapons; they cost 50% more than their counterparts, but
otherwise behave identically.
Abilities and Restrictions
Druid Spells
Druids can cast any spells that clerics can (except those which affect
good or evil, as described below). Druids also have access to a special list
of druid spells, which normal clerics cannot learn or cast. The druid is not
able to cast more spells per day than a cleric, but he can use spells from
both cleric and druid spell lists. The principles of clerical and druidic
magic and the lists of spells are found in Chapter 3.
A druid cannot cast any spell that affects good or evil (protection from
evil or dispel evil, for example). He must live in a woodland home, rather
than in a town or city. He may visit a city (though he won't feel
comfortable there), and he will always prefer to sleep in the wilderness- in
a cave or other natural shelter if the weather is bad.
Higher Experience Levels
Druids at Name (9th) level or above receive the title of druid, whether
male or female. There are only nine druids of 30th level, seven of 31st,
five of 32nd, four of 33rd, three of 34th, two of 35th, and one of 36th (the
Great Druid).
When the character reaches 30th level, he must find and challenge one of
the nine 30th level druids; they will only fight with magic and
unarmed combat, as weapons are not allowed. if the player character loses,
he stays at 29th level, losing enough experience points that he is 1 ex-
perience point short of 30th level. Once he's regained 30th level, he may
try again, but cannot issue another challenge until three months have passed
since his first challenge.
Prime Requisite: Strength and Dexterity. Other Requirements: Wisdom and
Dexterity scores of 13 or better.
Experience Bonus: 5 % for Strength 13-15, 10% for Strength 16-18.
Hit Dice: 1d6 per level up to 9th level. Starting with 10th level, +2 hit
points per level, and Constitution adjustments no longer apply.
Maximum Level: 16.
Armor: None; shield not permitted.
Weapons: Any.
Special Abilities: AC bonuses, increased movement, and martial arts (see
Mystic Special Abilities Table); (at 9th level) Set Spear vs. Charge,
Fighter Combat Options; Acrobatics; thief abilities; mystic abilities.
Mystics are monastic humans who follow a strict discipline of meditation,
denial, seclusion, and mastery of the human body. Mystics are skilled in
unarmed combat: They live in cloisters, or monastic communities.
Mystics adventure to gain spiritual growth and learn the lessons of life
outside the cloister. They rarely adventure with other mystics; they prefer
to attach themselves to adventuring parties consisting of many different
types of adventurers.
Mystics receive experience from treasure only if they donate it to the
needy. Also, they must donate (tithe) ten percent of their treasure to their
cloister.
A mystic's oath is his bond. He must be true to his oath and strive to
repay all debts. Should he forswear himself (break an oath he has made), he
is expelled from the cloister, may not gain any new experience levels, loses
one level per year away from the cloister, and may not join any other,
similar, cloister. The DM may allow him a grand quest to regain his honor
and his standing in the cloister.
Most mystics (75% ) are
Lawful, though other alignments are represented. All are utterly devoted
to the mystic discipline, which is neither good nor evil, similar in that
respect to druid philosophy. However, the mystics rely on innerstrength, and
believe in extraordinary but non- magical powers (rather than the powers of
nature, as the druids do).
Mystics can often be recognized by their robes or other unusual garb, but
another distinctive feature is their salute. Upon meeting another creature
presumed to be peaceful, the mystic raises a fist, covers it with the other
hand, and bows slightly. This symbolizes greetings (the bow), readiness to
fight if necessary (the fist), but peaceful intentions (the covered fist).
Prime Requisite: The mystic has two prime requisites, Strength and
Dexterity. But since he must have a score of at least 13 in Dexterity to be
a mystic in the first place, it is his Strength score that determines his
bonus to experience. If a mystic has a Strength score of 13-15 the character
gains a 5 % bonus to experience points earned in every adventure; if his
Strength is 16-18, he earns a 10% bonus to experience points.
Minimum Scores: A mystic character must have scores of 13 or better in
both his Wisdom and Dexterity abilities.
Hit Dice: Roll a 6-sided die (1d6) to determine a mystic's hit points. A
mystic starts with 1d6 (1-6) hit points (plus Constitution bonus, if any)
and gains 1d6 more hit points (plus bonus) with each level of experience.
Two hit points are gained for every level beyond 9th level.
Armor: Mystics can never wear armor of any type, nor can they ever use
protective magical devices (such as rings, cloaks, etc.); they rely on their
discipline for protection.
Weapons: Mystics are trained to use all weapons, but not all mystics
carry them; higher level mystics especially travel unarmed, or armed only
with a walking-staff which doubles as a quatter- staff.
Special Abilities
Mystics have a lot of special abilities, which help compensate for their
inability to wear armor or own personal possessions; we'll describe them
below.
Level: This column shows the mystic's experience level. AC: This column
shows the mystic's armor class. Mystics cannot wear armor, but their ACs
become lower as they gain in experience due to their skill in
maneuvering.
MV: This column shows the mystic's movement rate. First level mystics
move as fast as any other unarmored characters, but higher level mystics
learn to move very, very fast indeed.
Hand Attacks- #AT. Mystics are very effective fighters; as they go up in
levels, they are able to attack multiple times per round, and this column
shows how many times per round they may attack. Mystics use this column when
attacking either bare-handed or when using melee weapons.
Hand Attacks-Damage: When mystics fight bare-handed, they use this column
to find the amount of damage they do. They do add Strength bonuses to the
amount of damage shown.
Martial Arts
Mystics are able to fight very effectively without using weapons of
magic. They utilize a form of unarmed combat as part of their mystical
training. They call this training "the discipline," but others often call it
"martial arts." The discipline involves physical training, meditation,
philosophy, and comprehension of the forces of the universe, and mystics are
taught to resolve difficult situations peacefully whenever possible; for
these reasons, mystics do not care to have their lifestyles referred to as
"martial arts," as the term suggests that all they do is fight. The mys-
tics' discipline is presumed to integrate and vastly improve upon the
bare-handed combat techniques described in Chapter 8.
As you can see in the Mystic Special Abilities Table on the next page,
mystics can strike more often than normal humans, elude attacks better
(their enhanced AC), and deal more damage when fighting barehanded. They can
also fight with weapons, and can use their multiple attacks per round with
melee and thrown weapons (but not missile weapons).
In addition, when fighting unarmed, they can often hurt monsters which
can ordinarily only be hit by magical weapons. Though a mystic's hands are
not magical, an experienced mystic can use them effectively against
creatures immune to normal weapons, as shown in the Mystic Unarmed Attack
Equivalents Table.
These attacks don't gain the attack or damage bonuses of their
magic-weapon equivalents, but can hit creatures as if the indicated weapon
were used, For example, a 5th level mystic can hit and hurt a gargoyle when
fighting barehanded.
Set Spear vs. Charge, Fighter Combat Options
Beginning mystics can utilize the fighter's Set Spear vs. Charge
maneuver. They cannot utilize the Lance Attack maneuver.
At Name (9th) level, they get three of the Fighter Combat Options (smash,
parry, and disarm, but not multiple attacks). The Fighter Combat Options
are detailed under "Combat Maneuvers" in Chapter 8.
Acrobatics
Some mystics may also possess a special ability called acrobatics. This
specialized ability, while useful, detracts a mystic from fully focusing on
his combat abilities; this is why acrobatic mystics have a - 20 % penalty on
all earned experience. Acrobatics allows a mystic to perform the following
actions:
jumps/Leaps
Tumbles / Flips
Catches (to prevent oneself from falling)
Swings
Balancing
The game effects of this ability are these:
First, the mystic's acrobatics ability includes every feature of the
Acrobatics general skill mentioned in Chapter 5.
Second, with a successful ability check, the mystic can cross rough,
broken terrain at no modification to his movement rate: He flips over
obstructions, leaps across trenches, handsprings over low fences, etc. This
doesn't affect his long-distance movement rates; it only affects his
encounter speed and running speed.
Third, the mystic can cross a line of enemy warriors without having to go
around or break through it. With a successful ability check, he can roll
between the legs of one opponent, or handspring over the line, or pole-vault
using his spear, and thus cross a distance equal to his encounter speed's
movement rate. He suffers no AC penalty when he performs this action.
The mystic's chance to perform any of these actions successfully is
calculated this way: Three times the mystic's Dexterity score plus two times
the mystic's experience level equals the mystic's percentile chance to
perform the action.
Acrobatics Check
d% roll vs. ([3 x Dex] + [2 x Lvl)
For example, a 3rd level mystic with Dexterity 15 would have a 51% chance
to perform an Acrobatics feat.
* The mystic receives the Fighter Combat Options (not including multiple
attacks); see the description of them under "Combat Maneuvers" in Chapter 8.
The mystic can use these Combat Options with weapons or in unarmed fighting.
The DM, if he prefers to make acrobatics an easier and more commonly
useful ability, can decide to use some alternate means to check success. For
example, he might have the player roll 1d20 against his Dexterity score,
with any roll equal to or less than the Dexterity score indicating success.
Whatever type of roll he uses, the DM is free to adjust any individual
roll to reflect the difficulty of the action being attempted. Doing a
backflip on the street to entertain a flock of children is much easier than
doing one while walking on a wire ten stories in the air; the DM might wish
to improve the mystic's chance to perform the former task and make the
latter task harder.
Thief Abilities
Any mystic can use the following special abilities of thieves as if he
were a thief of the same level: Find Traps, Remove Traps, Move Silently,
Climb Walls, and Hide in Shadows.
Mystic Abilities
Mystics gain the following special abilities as
they progress in experience levels:
2nd Level: Awareness
4th Level: Heal Self
6th Level: Speak with Animals
8th Level: Resistance
10th Level: Speak with Anyone
12th Level: Mind Block
14th Level: Blankout
16th Level: Gentle Touch
Explanations of Mystic Abilities
Awareness: The mystic is only surprised on a roll of 1 (on 1d6).
(Surprise is explained in Chapter 7.)
Heal Self: The mystic may, once per day, cure himself of 1 point of
damage for each experience level he has. He does this simply by
concentrating for 1 round. Example: a 10th level mystic can concentrate for
one round and will heal (regain) 10 hit points of damage.
Speak with Animals: The mystic may speak with any normal or giant animal
as often as desired; animals understand his speech and he understands
theirs, though no animal is forced to talk to him.
Resistance: The mystic takes only half damage (found down) from all
spells and breath weapons that inflict damage, or one-quarter damage (round
down) if the saving throw is successful. Any attack that does him damage
will do a minimum of 1 point of damage, even if rounding indicates 0 points
of damage.
Speak with Anyone: The mystic may speak with any living creature that has
a language of any sort, as often as desired. The creature being spoken to
does not have to converse with him.
Mind Block: The mystic is immune to ESP, hold and slow spells, magical
charms, quests, and gets spells.
Blankout: By concentrating for 1 round, the mystic causes his presence to
"disappear." No living or undead creature can see him; there is no saving
throw. The effect lasts for 1 round per level of the mystic; it is dispelled
automatically if he attacks. He may only do this once per day.
Gentle Touch: Once per day, the mystic may use the Gentle Touch on any
one living creature (it requires a normal roll to hit; if he fails to hit,
he can try the Gentle Touch again). The mystic must declare he is using the
Gentle Touch before he rolls to hit, and must declare which result
(explained below) he is seeking. The victim does not get a saving throw, but
a victim which has more Hit Dice than the mystic's experience level is not
affected.
The Touch will have one of the following results (the mystic decides and
announces which before he rolls to hit): charm, cureall, death, quest, or
paralysis. These effects mimic the same effects of the following spells in
all respects except duration: charm person, cureall, death spell, quest, and
holdperson. The effect lasts for 24 hours-except for death, which is a
permanent effect.
Special Restrictions
Mystics may not use protective magical devices (such as rings, cloaks,
etc.).
All the material goods (money, magical items, etc.) won, purchased, or
acquired as treasure by the mystic are actually owned by his cloister, not
by the mystic himself. Should the cloister have need of something "owned" by
a mystic, the head of the cloister need only ask for it.
Higher Experience Levels
A mystic of Name (9th) level is addressed as master (if male) or mistress
(if female).
There are many mystics of 1st to 9th level, but only seven each of 10th
to 12th level, five each of 13th to 15th level, and three of 16th level.
When the character gains enough experience points to reach 10th level, he
must find and challenge one of the seven 10th level mystics; they will fight
bare-handed (weapons are not allowed). If the player character loses, he
stays at 9th level, losing enough experience points that he is 1 experience
point short of 10th level. Once he's regained 10th level, he may try again,
but cannot issue another challenge until three months have passed since his
first challenge. (Note: If a DM's campaign world is particularly large, he
might declare that there are seven 10th and so forth per continent in his
world.)
At Name level, the mystic may desire to build a stronghold, or cloister.
If his Grand Abbot (i.e., the mystic in charge of his current cloister)
agrees that he is fit to manage one, the cloister will pay for construction
of the new cloister. The new cloister remains a branch of the old one until
the PC achieves 13th level, at which time the PC is called a Greater Master
and can declare independence. At that point, he may wish to teach his
mystics-in-training in techniques and philosophies different from those of
the other cloister-that is, he may wish to establish his own "school" of the
discipline.
Chapter 3: Spells and Spellcasting
Introduction to Spellcasting
In this chapter, we'll learn how characters acquire and then cast
magical spells of all types. You've already seen that some characters are
more accomplished and powerful than others, and that the more powerful
ones are said to be at higher experience levels than those who are less
powerful. Spells are rated in much the same way, in levels. Lower-level
spellcasters can learn only lower-level spells; higher-level spellcasters
can add higher-level spells. Higher-level spells are more powerful than
lower-level spells.
In the D&D game, there are three different categories of spells:
clerical, magical, and druidic. Here's a little table which shows you
which type of character can use which type of spell.
Classes and Spells Table
Character Can Use Which
Class Type of Spell
Cleric Clerical
Druid Clerical, Druidic
Elf Magical
The avenger and paladin are fighter sub- classes; see the description of
the fighter class. Shamans and wokani are spellcaster monsters, as
described in Chapter 14.
The fact that character classes use different types of magic keeps all
spellcasters from being identical to one another. A cleric will cast a
very different type of spell from a magic-user; an elf will cast the same
sorts of spells as a magic-user, but far fewer, and he can fight much
better than the magic-user; a druid can cast clerical spells, but he
really shines when he's casting druidic spells, which are his specialty;
and so on.
Memorizing Spells
During an adventure, a spellcaster can only use spells he has memorized.
Memorization is a special process of imprinting one use of a spell in the
caster's mind. When the Spellcasting character memorizes a spell, he holds
it in his mind and can cast it at any time. But when he casts it, it
vanishes from his memory: His knowledge of it flows away a5 the spell
discharges. For this reason, characters constantly have to re-memorize
spells.
Magic-users and elves can only use spells that they have found,
researched, or have been taught by their mentors. These spells are
recorded in a large, bound volume called a "spell book." The book is
written in a magical language that only the magic-user who owns the book
can read. This spell book is the list of spells that can be used by that
character when taking spells for an adventure.
Clerics and druids gain their spells by the way of meditation, DM
may choose which spells clerics have memorized at the beginning of an
adventure. They do not need to write down their spells, since they can
simply meditate to rememorize them.
Resting and Re-Memorizing
After a spell is cast, the character cannot rememorize it until he
is well-rested. One night's sleep is enough rest. Upon awakening, before
he spends time on any strenuous activities, the spellcaster must spend an
hour (of game time) in study or meditation. Magic-users and elves must use
their spell books to regain spells, while clerics and druids need only
meditate.
Just because Spellcasters spend their mornings doing their memorization or
meditation for spells, it doesn't mean that they forget their uncast
spells overnight. Unless they wish to do so, they won't forget the spells
they didn't cast. The next morning, the spellcaster needs only to study or
meditate to replace those spells he cast the previous day.
Multiples of the Same Span
Characters often memorize the same spell multiple times so that they can
cast it several times in the course of a day. A cleric knowing that he's
going to face fierce battle during the day may memorize numerous cure
light wounds spells, for instance.
Number of Spells Known
In the last chapter, you saw experience tables for all the character
classes. The experience tables for clerics, magic-users, elves, and druids
had a block of columns labeled "Spells/Level."
This column shows you how many spells of each spell level the
character can have memorized at one time. For instance, take a look at the
table below. It is taken from the experience table of the cleric
Cleric Spells / Level
Level 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 3 3 2 1 - - -
In this chart, we see that an 8th level cleric can, at any one
time, memorize nine spells and no more. He'll know three 1st level spells,
three 2nd level spells, two 3rd level spells, and one 4th level spell. In
the course of a day, as he casts them, he forgets them. If he were to cast
two 1st level spells and his 4th level spell, he'd only know one 1st level
spell, three 2nd level spells, and two 3rd level spells.
The "Spells/Level" columns on the experience charts shows how many
spells can be memorized at any one time, not how many spells the
spellcaster has access to. He doesn't have to memorize the same spells
every day. Magic-users may have more spells in their books than they can
know at any one time; clerics may, over a period of days, learn many more
different spells than they can cast in a single day.
Casting Spells
During the game, when you want your character to cast a spell, just
tell your Dungeon Master. The DM may ask for some details; for-example,
some spells are cast at target, and you must tell the DM what the target
is. For example, a cleric's player might say, "I'm casting a cure light
wounds spell on Ruggin."
The character must be able to gesture and speak normally to cast a
spell. While casting a spell, the character must remain in one place and
concentrate. The character cannot cast spells while walking or running,
rowing a boat or poling a raft, and so on. If the character is disturbed
(i.e., hit in combat, tackled, etc.) while casting a spell, the spell will
be ruined, and will still be "erased" from his mind just as if it had been
cast.
Spells must be cast one at a time; a character cannot cast more than
one spell at the same time (i.e., no more than one in the same combat
round).
Important Note: Unless otherwise noted in a spell description, damage
caused by spells is always rolled on six-sided dice. If a character can
cast a spell which does six dice of damage, this is customarily 6d6.
The maximum damage produced by any single spell-including fireball,
lightening bolt, and delayed blast fireball-is 20 dice, of the type
specified (usually d6, therefore a maximum of 20d6). This is very
important for game balance, and should not be ignored.
For example, without this maximum, a 36th level magic-user could
instantly slay any other magic-user by surprise, regardless of the results
of the saving throw!
Reading Spell Descriptions
Below, each spell is explained in terms of its range, duration, and
effect; these three details are followed by its description.
Range: This is a measure of how far from the spellcaster the magic
will reach. The character should be sure, before casting the spell, that
the target is within range. If the description says "Range: 0", the spell
may only be used on the spellcaster, and cannot be cast on others. If
"Range: Touch" is given, the spell can be placed on any creature the
spellcaster touches- including the spellcaster himself. If the range
listed is a distance, and you're not sure how far from the target your
character is, ask the DM your target is within your spell's range.
Duration: This describes how long the effects of the spell last. A
spell's duration is given either in rounds (each round lasts ten seconds)
or turns (each turn is ten minutes). If the description says, "Duration:
Permanent", then the spell has permanent effect that does not go away
after a given duration (though other spells can sometimes dispel it). If
the spell's duration is listed as "Instantaneous," the spell takes effect
immediately, though specific spell descriptions will alter its actual
duration.
Effect: This gives details on either the number of creatures or
objects, or an area or volume of space, which the spell affects; it can
also briefly describe what the spell does in short form.
Description: This text explains what the spell does to those it
affects.
Saving Throws vs. Spells
With many magic spells, a character can often resist some of the
spell's effects by making a d Level 1d20 roll called a saving throw. A
saving throw is the number the character must roll equal to or higher than
to successfully "save against a spell." Basically, if your character makes
his saving th of Animal throw, he can either reduce the damage inflicted
by the spell or he can partially (or fully) resist the Curse spell's
effects, depending on the individual spell.
If a character is allowed to make a saving throw vs. the effects of a
spell, the spell description will mention the fact. The spell description
also explains the effect of a successful save. You can learn more about
saving throws in Chapter 8 on page 109.
Reversible Spells
Some spells can be cast "reversed," meaning that they result in an
effect opposite to the effect normally described for the spell. For
example, when a cleric casts a reversed healing spell, it harms the
recipient.
On the spell lists you'll find in this chapter, any spell marked with
an asterisk (*) may be reversed; the spell description will explain what
the reversed spell does if it is not self-evident. If a spell name is not
marked with an asterisk, the spell is not reversible.
Magic-users must memorize their spells in the reversed form in order to
use them reversed. Clerics, on the other hand, will learn their spells
through meditation, and can decide during the casting whether to cast them
in proper or reversed form.
Multiple Spell Effects
Some spells can be used to temporarily improve a character's attack
rolls, damage rolls, saving throws, and other abilities,
As a general rule, casting the same spell twice on someone doesn't do
any good; the spells' effects do not combine, even if they were cast by
two different characters. For instance, two haste spells (described
further in this chapter) do not combine to allow a target character to
attack at four times the normal rate; only the first haste will take
effect.
Different spells, on the other hand, or the effects of spells and
magical items, will usually combine successfully. For example, a bless
spell gives a character a +1 to his attack roll; so does a magical sword
with a +1 bonus. If a character with a magical sword +1 is blessed by a
cleric, the two bonuses combine and he has a +2 added to his attack roll
(in addition to normal Strength bonuses).
Clerical Spells
Clerical spells tend to be less flashy than magic-user spells. Clerical
magic primarily involves healing, divination of truth, protection from
harm, and so forth. Seldom do you see clerical spells as forceful and
dramatic as the magic- user's lightning bolt. On the other hand, clerics
can fight well and don't need such spells.
Clerical Spells List
First Level Second Level Third Level
1 Cure Light Wounds* Bless* Continual Light*
2 Detect Evil Find Traps Cure Blindness
3 Detect Magic Hold Person* Cure Disease*
4 Light* Know Alignment* Growth of Animal
5 Protection from Evil Resist Fire Locate Object
6 Purify Food and Water Silence 15' Radius Remove Curse*
7 Remove Fear* Snake Charm Speak with the Dead
8 Resist Cold Speak with Animal Striking
Fourth Level Fifth Level Sixth Level
1 Animate Dead Commune Aerial Servant
2 Create Water Create Food Animate Objects
3 Cure Serious Wounds* Cure Critical Wounds* Barrier@
4 Dispel Magic Dispel Evil Create Normal Animals
5 Neutralize Poison* Insect Plague Cureall
6 Protection from Quest* Find the Path
Evil 10' radius
7 Speak with Plants Raise Dead* Speak with Monsters*
8 Sticks to Snakes Truesight Word of Recall
Seventh Level
I Earthquake
2 Hole Word
3 Raise Dead Fully*
4 Restore*
5 Survival
6 Travel
7 Wish
8 Wizardry
* Reversible Spell
Druidic Spells List
First Level Second Level Third Level
I Detect Danger Heat Metal Call Lightning
2 Faerie Fire Obscure Hold Animal
3 Locate Produce Fire Protection from Poison
4 Predict Weather Warp Wood Water Breathing
Fourth Level Fifth Level Sixth Level
I Control Temperature 10' radius Anti-Plant Shell Anti-Animal Shell
2 Plant Door Control Winds Summon Weather
3 Protection from Lightning Dissolve Transport Through Plants
4 Summon Animals Pass Plant Turn Wood
Seventh Level
1 Creeping Doom
2 Metal to Wood
3 Summon Elemental
4 Weather Control
Learning Spells
To learn a spell, the cleric meditates, petitioning the power he
serves. The memory and details of the spells appear in the cleric's mind.
The cleric may cast the spells at any time thereafter. The cleric will
remember each spell until it is cast, even if it is not used for days or
weeks.
As a player, all you need to do is choose whatever spells you want
your character to have. This can only be done when the cleric has had a
good night's sleep and immediately has a full hour when he does not have
to do anything strenuous.
The cleric can meditate in a certain amount of noise: the sound of a
camp readying itself in the morning, the normal bustling of a house or
inn, even while people are trying to talk with him. He's not totally cut
off from his surroundings, and can put up a hand or say a few words to
forestall further interruption. But it's not possible for the cleric to
meditate in the middle of a battle.
If the cleric learned spells on a previous day that he no longer wants
to have available to him, he can opt to forget them and meditate on new
spells.
Magical Spells List
First Level Second Level
1 Analyze Continual Light*
2 Charm Person Detect Evil
3 Detect Magic Detect Invisible
4 Floating Disc Entangle
5 Hold Portal ESP*
6 Light* Invisibility
7 Magic Missile Knock
8 Protection from Evil Levitate
9 Read Languages Locate Object
10 Read Magic Mirror Image
11 Shield Phantasmal Force
12 Sleep Web
13 Ventriloquism Wizard Lock
Third Level Fourth Level
1 Clairvoyance Charm Monster
2 Create Air Clothform
3 Dispel Magic Confusion
4 Fireball Dimension Door
5 Fly Growth of Plants*
6 Haste* Hallucinatory Terrain
7 Hold Person* Ice Storm/Wall of Ice
8 Infravision Massmorph
9 Invisibility 10' Radius Polymorph Other
10 Lightning Bolt Polymorph Self
11 Protection from Evil 10' Radii Remove Curse*
12 Protection from Normal Missile Wall of Fire
13 Water Breathing Wizard Eye
Fifth Level Sixth Level
1 Animate Dead Anti-Magic Shell
2 Cloudkill Death Spell
3 Conjure Elemental Disintegrate
4 Contact Outer Plane Geas*
5 Dissolve* invisible Stalker
6 Feeblemind Lower Water
7 Hold Monster* Move Earth
8 Magicjar Projected Image
9 Passwall Reincarnation
10 Telekinesis Stone to Flesh*
11 Teleport Stoneform
12 Wall of Stone Wall of Iron
13 Woodform Weather Control
Seventh Level Eighth Level
1 Charm Plant Clone
2 Create Normal Monsters Create Magical Monsters
3 Delayed Blast Fireball Dance
4 Ironform Explosive Cloud
5 Lore Force Field
6 Magic Door* Mass Charm*
7 Mass Invisibility* Mind Barrier*
8 Power Word Stun Permanence
9 Reverse Gravity Polymorph Any Object
10 Statue Power Word Blind
11 Summon Object Steelform
12 Sword Symbol
13 Teleport any Object Travel
Ninth Level
Contingency
Create Any Monster
Gate*
Heal
Immunity
Maze
Meteor Swarm
Power Word Kill
Prismatic Wall
Shapechange
Survival
Timestop
Wish
* Reversible Spell
Number and Types of Spells
The cleric may know at any one time the number of spells appropriate for
his experience level, as shown on the cleric's experience table in Chapter
2.
The cleric may know any clerical spell from the list of clerical spells
so long as he is of a high enough experience level to know it and cast it,
and so long as the DM has not banned the use of that particular spell in
his campaign. The cleric cannot learn a spell from either the druidic
spells list or the magical spells list.
Reversible Spells
A cleric may reverse a spell simply by casting it backward. The player
simply says, "My cleric is casting the spell in reverse."
However, Lawful clerics prefer not to cast spells in reversed form. They
only cast the reversed forms in extreme life-or-death situations.
Chaotic clerics often use the reversed spells and only use the normal
forms to benefit their friends. Neutral clerics can choose to cast the
normal or the reversed forms.
List of Clerical Spells
Following is a list of clerical spells and their descriptions. They're
divided up into spell levels and set in alphabetical order. All spells
marked with an asterisk (*) can be cast in reversed form.
First Level Clerical Spells
Cure Light Wounds*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Any one living creature
This spell either heals damage or removes paralysis. If used to heal, it
can cure 2-7 (1d6+1) points of damage. It cannot heal damage if used to
cure paralysis, The cleric may cast it on himself if desired.
This spell cannot increase a creature's total hit points above the
original amount. When reversed, this spell, cause light wounds, causes
1d6+1 (2-7) points of damage to any creature or character touched (no
saving throw is allowed). The cleric must make a normal attack roll to
inflict this damage.
Detect Evil
Range:120'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Everything within 120'
When this spell is cast,the cleric will see evilly enchanted objects within
120' glow. it will also cause creatures that want to harm the cleric to
glow when they are within range. The actual thoughts of the creatures
cannot be heard. Remember that a Chaotic alignment does not automatically
mean Evil, although many Chaotic monsters have evil intentions. Traps and
poison are neither good nor evil, merely dangerous; this spell does not
reveal them.
Detect Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
When this spell is cast, the cleric will see a glow surround magical
objects, creatures, and places within the spell's effect. The glow will
not last very long; clerics should normally use the spell only when they
want to know if particular objects already within sight are, in fact,
magical. For example, a door may be held shut magically, a stranger might
actually be an enchanted monster, or a treasure might be enchanted.
Light*
Range:120'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Volume of 30' diameter
This spell creates a large ball of light, as if casts by a bright torch
or lamp. If the spell is cast on -an object (such as the cleric's weapon),
the light will move with the object.
If the spell is cast at a creature's eyes, the victim must make a saving
throw vs. spell. If he fails saving throw, the victim will be blinded by
the light for the duration of the spell, or until the spell effect is
canceled.
When reversed, this spell, darkness, creates a circle of darkness 30' in
diameter. It will block all sight except infravision. Darkness will cancel
a light spell if cast upon it, but may itself be canceled by another light
spell. If cast at an opponent's eyes, darkness causes blindness for the
duration of the spell or until canceled. if the target makes a successful
saving throw vs. spell, the spell misses.
Protection from Evil
Range:O
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: The cleric only
This spell creates an invisible magical barrier all around the cleric's
body (less than an inch
away). While the spell lasts, characters and monsters attacking the cleric
are penalized by -1 to their attack rolls, and the cleric gains a +1 bonus
to all saving throws.
In addition, enchanted creatures cannot even touch the cleric! (An
enchanted creature is one that normal weapons will not affect, one which
only magical weapons can hit. A creature that can only be hit by a silver
weapon - a werewolf, for example-is not an enchanted creature. Any
creature that is magically summoned of controlled, such as a charmed
character, is also considered to be an enchanted creature.) The barrier
thus completely protects the cleric from all melee or hand-to-hand attacks
from such creatures; however, it cannot prevent attacks from missile
weapons. Enchanted creatures using missile weapons still suffer the -1
penalty to the attack roll, but they can hit the cleric.
This spell will not affect a magic missile spell used by magic-users.
If the cleric attacks an enchanted creature during the spell's duration,
the spell's effect changes slightly. Enchanted creatures are then able to
touch the magic-user, but still suffer the attack foil penalty; the
penalty and the cleric's saving throw adjustments still apply until the
spell duration ends.
Purify Food and Water
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: See below
This spell will make spoiled or poisoned food and water safe and usable.
It will purify one ration of preserved food (either iron of standard
rations), or six waterskins of water, or enough normal food to feed a
dozen people. If cast at mud, the spell will cause the dirt to settle,
leaving a pool of pure, cleat water. The spell will not affect any living
creature.
Remove Fear*
Range: Touch
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: Any one living creature
When the cleric casts this spell and then touches any living creature,
the spell will calm the creature and remove any fear. If the creature has
been affected by a fear spell or effect which does not normally allow a
saving throw, the remove fear spell can still be useful. If the cleric
casts the spell on someone afflicted by a magical fear effect, the victim
gets to make a saving throw vs. spells, adding a bonus to the roll equal
to the cleric's level of experience (up to a maximum bonus of + 6). If the
saving throw is successful, the victim's fear is negated. Regardless of
the cleric's level or any bonuses, a roll of 1 will always fail.
The reversed form of the spell, cause fear will make any one creature
flee for two turns. The victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid
the effect. This reversed spell has a range of 120'.
Resist Cold
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: All creatures within 30'
When this spell is cast, all creatures within 30' of the cleric can
withstand freezing temperatures without harm. In addition, those affected
gain a bonus of + 2 to all saving throws against cold attacks.
Furthermore, any damage from cold is reduced by 1 point per die of damage
(but with a minimum of 1 point of damage per die). The effect will move
with the cleric.
Second Level Clerical Spells
Bless*
Range:60'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: All within a 20' square area
This spell improves the morale of friendly creatures by + 1 and gives
the recipients a +1 bonus on all attack and damage rolls. It will only
affect creatures in a 2O'x20' area, and only those who are not yet in
melee.
When reversed, this spell, blight, places a - 1 penalty on enemies'
morale, attack rolls, and damage tolls. Each victim may make a saving
throw vs. spells to avoid the penalties.
This spell causes all mechanical and magical traps to glow with a dull
blue light when the cleric comes within 30' of them. It does not reveal
the types of traps, nor any method of removing them. Note that an ambush
is not a trap, nor is a natural hazard, such as quicksand.
Hold Person*
Range:180'
Duration: 9 turns
Effect: Paralyzes up to 4 creatures
The hold person spell will affect any human, demihuman, or human-like
creature (bugbear, dryad, gnoll, hobgoblin, kobold, lizard man, ogre, orc,
nixie, pixie or sprite, for instance). It will not affect the undead or
creatures larger than ogres. Each victim must make a saving throw vs.
spells or be paralyzed for nine turns. The spell may be cast at a single
person or at a group. If cast at a single person, the victim suffers a - 2
penalty to the saving throw. If cast at a group, it will affect up to four
persons (of the cleric's choice), but with no penalty to their rolls. The
paralysis may only be removed by the reversed form of the spell, or by a
dispel magic spell.
The reverse of the spell, free person, removes the paralysis of up to
four victims of the normal form of the spell (including hold person cast
by a magic-user or an elf). It has no other effect; it does not, for
instance, remove the effects of a ghoul's paralysis ability.
Know Alignment*
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 1 round
Effect: One creature within 10'
The caster of this spell may discover the alignment (Lawful, Neutral,
or Chaotic) of any one creature within 10'. The spell may also be used to
find the alignment of an enchanted item or area (if any).
The reverse of the spell, confuse alignment, lasts for one turn per
level of the caster, and may be cast on any one creature, by touch. No
saving throw is allowed. For as long as the spell lasts, a cleric trying
to identify the alignment of the recipient by using the normal know
alignment spell will get a false answer. That same false answer will be
the result of any further attempts.
Resist Fire
Range: 30'
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One living creature
For the duration of this spell, normal fife and heat cannot harm the
spell's recipient. The recipient also gains a + 2 bonus on all saving
throws against magical fire (dragon's breath, fireball, etc.).
Furthermore, damage from such fire is reduced by 1 point per die of damage
(though each die will inflict at least 1 point of damage, regardless of
adjustments). Red dragon breath damage is reduced by 1 point per Hit Die
of the creature (again, to no less than 1 point of damage per Hit Die).
Silence 15' Radius
Range:180'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Sphere of silence 30' across
This spell makes the area of effect totally silent. Conversation and
Spellcasting in this area are impossible for the duration of the spell.
This spell does not prevent a person within the area from hearing noises
outside the area. If cast on a creature, the victim must make a saving
throw vs. spells or the spell effects will move with the creature. If the
saving throw is successful, the spell remains in the area in which it was
cast, and the victim may move out of the area.
Snake Charm
Range:60'
Duration: 2-5 rounds or 2-5 turns
Effect: Charms 1 HD of snakes per level of the caster
With this spell, a cleric may charm 1 Hit Die of snakes for each level
of experience he has, and no saving throw is allowed. A 5th level cleric
could charm one 5 HD snake, five 1 HD snakes, or any combination totaling
5 Hit Dice or less. The snakes affected will rise up and sway, but will
not attack unless attacked themselves.
If the cleric uses the spell on snakes attacking him, the spell's
duration is 1d4+1 (2-5) rounds; otherwise, it lasts 1d4+1 (2-5) turns.
When the spell wears off, the snakes return to normal (but with normal
reactions; they will not be automatically hostile).
Speak with Animals
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Allows conversation within 30'
When casting this spell, the cleric must name one type of animal (such
as wolves). For the duration of the spell, the cleric may speak with all
animals of that type if they are within 30'; the effect moves with the
caster.
The cleric can speak to any normal or giant forms of the specific animal
type named, but only to one type at a time. The caster may not use this
spell to speak to intelligent animals and fantastic creatures.
The creatures spoken to usually have favorable reactions ( + 2 bonus to
the reaction roll), and they can be talked into doing a favor for the
cleric if the reaction roll is high enough. The animal must be able to
understand the request and must be able to perform it.
Third Level Clerical Spells
Continual Light*
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Sphere of light 60' across
This spell creates light as bright as daylight in a spherical volume of
30' radius. It lasts until a dispel magic or continual darkness spell is
cast upon it. Creatures penalized in bright daylight suffer the same
penalties within this spell effect (for example, goblins, which suffer a -
1 attack toll penalty in daylight, suffer the same penalty within the
effect of continual light).
If the spell is cast on an opponent's eyes, the victim must make a saving
throw vs. spells or be blinded until the effect is removed. This spell may
be cast in an area, upon an object, or on a person or creature; it can
also be cast directly on a person's or creature's eyes, thus blinding him.
The reverse of this spell, continual darkness, creates a completely dark
volume of the same size. Torches, lanterns, and even a light spell will
not affect it, and infravision cannot penetrate it. A continual light
spell will, however, cancel it. If cast on a creature's eyes, the creature
must make a saving throw vs. spells or be blinded (with the same effects
as blindness from the normal continual light until the spell is removed.
Cure Blindness
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: One living creature
This spell will cure nearly any form of blindness, including those caused
by light or darkness spells (whether normal or continual). It will not,
however, affect blindness caused by a curse.
Cure Disease*
Range:30'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: One living creature within range
This spell will cure any living creature of one disease, such -as those
caused by a mummy or green slime. If cast by a cleric of 11th level or
greater, this spell will also cure lycanthropy.
The reverse of this spell, cause disease, infects the victim with a
hideous wasting disease unless he successfully makes a saving throw vs.
spells. A diseased victim has a - 2 penalty on all attack rolls. In
addition, the victim's wounds cannot be magically cured, and natural
healing takes twice as long as usual. The disease is fatal in 2d12 (2- 24)
days unless removed by a cure disease spell.
Growth of Animal
Range:120'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Doubles the size of one animal
This spell doubles the size of one normal or giant animal. The animal then
h-as twice its normal strength and inflicts double its normal damage. It
may also carry twice its normal encumbrance. This spell does not change an
animal's behavior, armor class, or hit points, and does not affect
intelligent animal races or fantastic creatures.
Locate Object
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Detects one object within 120'
This spell allows the cleric to sense the direction of one known object.
It gives no information about distance. It can detect a common object with
only a partial description (such as "stairs leading up") but it will only
reveal the direction to the closest such object. To find a specific
object, the cleric must know exactly what the object looks like (size,
shape, color, etc.). The spell will not locate a creature.
Remove Curse*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Removes any one curse
This spell removes one curse, whether on a character, item, or area.
Some curses-especially those on magical items-may only be removed for a
short time, at the DM's discretion; such curses would require a dispel
evil spell for permanent removal (or possibly a remove curse cast by a
high level cleric or magic-user, again at DM's discretion).
The reverse of this spell, curse, causes a misfortune or penalty to
affect the victim. Curses are limited only by the caster's imagination,
but if an attempted curse is too powerful, it may return to the caster
(DM's discretion)! Safe limits to curses may include: -4 penalty on attack
rolls; - 2 penalty on saving throws; prime requisite reduced to half
normal; - 4 penalty on others' reaction rolls to him. The victim may make
a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the curse.
Speak with the Dead
Range: 10
Duration: 1 round per level of the cleric
Effect: Cleric may ask three questions
By means of this spell, a cleric may ask three questions of a deceased
spirit if the body is within range.
A cleric of 6th or 7th level can contact recently deceased spirits
(those dead up to 4 days). Cleric's of levels 8-14 have slightly more
power (cont-acting spirits up to 4 months dead), and clerics of levels
15-20 have even more (speaking with corpses up to 4 years dead). No time
limits apply to clerics of 21st level or greater.
The spirit will always reply in a tongue known to the cleric, but can
only offer knowledge of things up to the time of its death. If the
spirit's alignment is the same as the cleric's, it will provide clear and
brief answers; however, if the alignments differ, the spirit may reply in
riddles.
Striking
Range:30'
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: 1d6 bonus to damage on 1 weapon
This spell allows any one weapon to inflict 1d6 additional points of
damage per attack (like a magical staff of striking). The weapon will
inflict this extra damage with every successful blow for as long as the
spell lasts. This bonus does not apply to attack rolls, but only to damage
rolls.
If the cleric casts this spell on a normal weapon, the weapon may then
damage creatures which are normally affected only by magic weapons; the
weapon will do 1d6 points of damage per strike (regardless of the normal
damage of the weapon).
Fourth Level Clerical Spells
Animate Dead
Range:60'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates zombies or skeletons
This spell allows the caster to make animated, enchanted skeletons or
zombies from normal skeletons or dead bodies within range. These animated
undead creatures will obey the cleric until they are destroyed by another
cleric of a dispel magic spell.
For each experience level of the cleric, he may animate one Hit Die of
undead. A skeleton has the same Hit Dice as the original creature, but a
zombie has one Hit Die more than the original. Note that this doesn't
count character experience levels as Hit Dice: For purposes of this spell,
all humans and demihumans are 1 HD creatures, so the remains of a 9th
level thief would be animated as a zombie with 2 HD.
Animated creatures do not have any spells, but are immune to sleep and
charm effects and poison. Lawful clerics must take care to use this spell
only for good purpose. Animating the dead is usually a Chaotic act.
Create Water
Range: 10'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates one magical spring
With this spell, the cleric summons forth an enchanted spring from the
ground or a wall. The spring will flow for an hour'creating enough water
for 12 men and their mounts (for that day, about 50 gallons). For each of
the cleric's experience levels above 8, water for twelve additional men
and mounts is created; thus a 10th level cleric could create water for 36
men and horses.
The cleric doesn't have to create the maximum amount of water if he
doesn't wish to. He might wish to create a spring which will flow for half
an hour, or a few minutes; the player need only tell the GM how many
gallons he wants the spell to create, up to the spell's maximum.
Cure Serious Wounds*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Any one living creature
This spell is similar to a cure light wounds spell, but will cure one
creature of 2d6 + 2 (4-14) points of damage.
The reverse of this spell, cause serious wounds, causes 2d6 + 2 points
of damage to any creature or character touched (no saving throw). The
caster must make a normal attack roll to successfully cast the cause
serious wounds spell.
Dispel Magic
Range: 120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Destroys spells in a 20' cube
This spell destroys other spell effects in a cubic volume of 20'x 20'x
20'. It does not affect magical items. Spell effects created by a caster
(whether cleric, druid, magic-user, or elf) of a level equal to or lower
than the caster of the dispel magic are automatically and immediately
destroyed. Spell effects created by a higher-level caster might not be
affected. The chance of failure is 5% per level of difference between the
casters. For example, a 7th level cleric trying to dispel a web spell cast
by a 9th level magic-user would have a 10% chance of failure.
Dispel magic will not affect a magical item (such as a scroll, a magical
sword, etc.). However, it can dispel the effects of the magical item when
that item is used (for example, a spellcaster can cast dispel magic on the
victim of a ring of human control and snap hi 'm out of that control, or
on a flaming weapon to douse the flame).
Neutralize Poison*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: A creature, container, or object
This spell will make poison harmless either in a creature, a container
(such as a bottle), or on one object (such as a chest). It will even
revive a victim slain by poison if cast within 10 rounds of the poisoning!
The spell will affect any and all poisons present at the time it is
cast, but does not cure any damage (and will thus not revive a poisoned
victim who has died of wounds).
The reverse of this spell, create poison, may be cast, by touch, on a
creature or container. A cleric cannot cast it on any other object. A
victim must make a saving throw vs. poison or be immediately slain by the
poison. If cast on a container, the spell poisons its contents; no saving
throw applies, even for magical containers or contents (such as potions).
(Of course, when someone drinks those poisoned contents, he gets a saving
throw.) Using create poison, or poisoning in any case, is usually a
Chaotic act.
Protection from Evil 10' Radius
Range: 0
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Barrier 20' diameter
This spell creates an invisible magical barrier all around the caster,
extending for a 10' radius in all directions. The spell serves as
protection from attacks by monsters of an alignment other than the
caster's. Each creature within the barrier gains a +1 to all saving
throws, and all attacks against those within are penalized by -1 to the
attacker's attack roll while the spell lasts.
In addition, enchanted creatures cannot attack those within the barrier
in hand-to-hand (melee) combat. (An enchanted creature is any creature
which is magically summoned or controlled, such as a charmed character, or
one that is not harmed by normal weapons. A creature that can be hit only
by a silver weapon- a werewolf, for example-is not an enchanted creature.)
If anyone within the barrier attacks an enchanted creature, the barrier
will no longer prevent the creature from attacking hand-to-hand, but the
bonus to saving throws and penalty to attack rolls will still apply.
Attackers, including enchanted creatures, can attack people inside the
barrier by using missile or magical attacks. They do suffer the -1 penalty
to attack rolls, but that is the only penalty they suffer.
Speak with Plants
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: All plants within 30'
This spell enables the cleric to talk to plants as though they are
intelligent. The cleric may request a simple favor, and the plants will
grant it if it is within the plants' power to understand and perform. This
spell may be used to allow the cleric and party to pass through otherwise
impenetrable undergrowth. It will also allow the cleric to communicate
with plantlike monsters (such as truants).
Sticks to Snakes
Range:120'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Up to 16 sticks
This spell turns 2d8 sticks into snakes (detailed below). The snakes may
be poisonous (50% chance per snake; the DM can toll 1d6 for each snake; on
a roll of 1-3, the snake is poisonous). They obey the cleric's commands,
but will turn back into sticks when slain or when the spell's duration
ends.
Snakes: NA 2d8 (2d8); AC 6, HD 1; AT 1 bite; Dmg 1d4; MV 90'(30'); Save
F1; ML 12; TT Nil; AL Neutral; SA poison (50% chance for each snake to
be poisonous); XP 10 (non- poisonous) or 13 (poisonous).
Fifth Level Clerical Spells
Commune
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: 3 questions
This spell allows the cleric to ask questions of the greater powers
(whatever forces of nature, greater spirits, or legendary Immortals the DM
has created for this campaign world). The cleric may ask three questions
that can be answered yes" or "no."
A cleric may commune only once a week. If the clerics in the campaign
are using the spell too often, the DM may wish to limit its use to once a
month. Once a year the cleric may ask twice the normal number of
questions. The DM might wish to establish that this must occur on a day
which is significant to the greater powers being questioned.
Create Food
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates food for 12 or more
This spell creates enough normal food to feed up to 12 men and their
mounts for one day. For every level of the cleric above 8th, the spell
creates enough food for 12 additional men and mounts. The cleric doesn't
have to create the maximum amount of food if he doesn't wish to; he can
create a lesser amount. Created food spoils after 24 hours; therefore it
is impossible to lay in a big store of food created by this spell.
Cure Critical Wounds*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Any one living creature
This spell is similar to a cure light wounds spell, but will cure one
living creature of 3d6 + 3 (6-21) points of damage.
The reverse of this spell (cause critical wounds) causes 3d6+3 (6-21)
points of damage to any living creature or character touched (no saving
throw). The caster must make a normal attack roll to cause the critical
wound.
Dispel Evil
Range:30'
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: Enchanted or undead monsters or one curse or charm
This spell may affect all undead and enchanted (summoned, controlled,
and animated) monsters within range. It will destroy the monster unless
each victim makes a saving throw vs. spells. If cast at only one creature,
that creature takes a - 2 penalty to the saving throw. Any creature from
another plane is banished (forced to return to its home plane) if it fails
the saving throw. Even if the victims successfully roll their saving
throws, they must flee the area, and will stay away as long as the caster
concentrates; the caster cannot move while concentrating.
This spell will also remove the curse from any one cursed item, or may
be used to remove the influence of any magical charm.
Insect Plague
Range:480'
Duration: 1 day
Effect: Creates a swarm of 30' radius
This spell summons a vast swarm of insects. The swarm obscures vision
and drives off creatures of less than 3 Hit Dice (no saving throw). The
swarm moves at up to 20' per round as directed by the cleric while it is
within range. The caster must concentrate, without moving, to control the
swarm. If the caster is disturbed, the
insects scatter and the spell ends. This spell only works outdoors and
above-ground.
Quest*
Range: 30'
Duration: Special
Effect: Compels one living creature
This spell forces the victim to perform some special task or quest, as
commanded by the caster. The victim may make a saving throw vs. spells; if
he succeeds, the spell does not affect him.
A typical task might involve slaying a certain monster, rescuing a
prisoner, obtaining a magical item for the caster, or going on a
pilgrimage. If the task is impossible of suicidal, the spell has no
effect. Once the task is completed, the spell ends.
The spell forces the victim to undertake a task, but doesn't force him
to like it. Once the task is accomplished, the victim might wish to exact
revenge on the cleric, just depending on the circumstances of the
adventure. Any victim refusing to go on the quest is cursed until the
quest is continued. The type of curse is decided by the DM, but may be
double normal strength. The reverse of this spell, remove quest, may be
used to dispel an unwanted quest or a quest- related curse. The chance of
success is 50%, modified by 5 % for every level of the caster differs from
the level of the caster of the first quest. Thus, an 11th level cleric
attempting to remove a quest cast by a 13th level cleric has only a 40%
chance of success; a 36th level cleric attempting to remove a quest cast
by a 20th level cleric has a 130% chance (reduced to 99% to provide for a
1% chance of failure).
Raise Dead*
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Body of one human or demihuman
By means of this spell, the cleric can raise any human, dwarf, halfling,
or elf from the dead. The body must be present, and if part is missing,
the raised character will be disabled accordingly. An 8th level cleric can
rise a body that has been dead for up to four days. For each level of the
cleric above 8th, add four days to this time. Thus, a 10th level cleric
can raise bodies that have been dead for up to twelve days.
The recipient returns to life with 1 hit point, and cannot fight, cast
spells, use abilities, carry heavy loads, of move at more than half speed.
These penalties will disappear after two full weeks of complete bed rest,
but the healing cannot be speeded by magic.
The cleric may also cast this spell at any one undead creature within
range. The undead creature will be destroyed unless it makes a saving
throw vs. spells with a -2 penalty. However, a vampire which fails its
saving throw is not destroyed, merely forced to retreat to its coffin, in
gaseous form, as fast as possible. When cast at an undead creature of more
Hit Dice than a vampire, this spell inflicts 3d1O (3-30) points of damage.
The creature can make a saving throw vs. spells to take half damage.
The reverse of this spell, finger of death, creates a death ray that
will kill any one living creature within 60'. The victim may make a saving
throw vs. death ray to avoid the effect. A Lawful cleric will only use
finger of death in a life-or- death situation. Finger of death will
actually cure 3d1O (3-30) points of damage for any undead with 10 or more
Hit Dice (phantom, haunt, spirit, nightshade, or special).
Truesight
Range: 0 (cleric only)
Duration: 1 turn + 1 round per level of caster.
Effect: Reveals all things
When he casts this spell, the cleric is able to see all things within
120'. The spell is quite powerful; the cleric can clearly see all hidden,
invisible, and ethereal objects and creatures as with the magic-user
detect invisible spell. In addition, any secret doors as well as things or
creatures not in their true form-whether polymorphed, disguised, or
otherwise-are seen as they truly are, with no possibility of deception.
Alignment is also "seen:' as is experience and power.
Sixth Level Clerical Spells
Aerial Servant
Range:60'
Duration: 1 day per level of caster
Effect: Servant fetches one item or creature
An aerial servant is a very intelligent being from the elemental plane.
With this spell, the cleric summons one of these beings, which appears
immediately. The cleric must then describe one creature or item and its
location to the servant, or else it will depart. When it hears this
description and location, the aerial servant leaves, trying to find the
item or creature and bring it to the cleric. The servant will take as much
time as needed, up to the limit of the duration. If the spell's duration
lapses before the task is completed, even if the aerial servant is already
bringing the target back to the caster, the aerial servant has failed to
accomplish its task. See below for further details.
The aerial servant has 18 Strength, and can carry up to 500 lbs (5,000
cn). It can become ethereal at will, and thus can travel to most places
easily. However, it cannot pass through a protection from evil spell
effect.
If it cannot perform its duty within the duration of the spell, the
servant becomes insane and returns to attack the caster.
See Chapter 14 for a full description of the aerial servant.
Animate Objects
Range:60'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Causes objects to move
The cleric may use this spell to cause any non- living, nonmagical
objects to move and attack. Magical objects are not affected. The spell
can animate any one object up to 400 lbs (4,000 cn) (roughly the size of
two men), or a number of smaller objects whose total weight does not
exceed 400 lbs.
The DM must decide on the movement rate, number of attacks, damage, and
other combat details of the objects animated. As a guideline, a man-sized
statue might move at 30' per round, attack once per round for 2d8 (2-16)
points of damage, and have an armor class of 1. A chair might only be AC
6, but move at 180' per round on its four legs, attacking twice per round
for 1d4 points per attack. All objects have the same chances to hit as the
cleric animating them.
This spell creates a magical barrier in an area up to 30' in diameter
and 30'high. The barrier is a wall of whirling and dancing hammers,
obviously dangerous to any who come in contact with it. Any creature
passing through the barrier takes 7d1O (7-70) points of damage from the
whirling hammers (no saving throw allowed). This spell is often used to
block an entrance or passage.
The reverse of this spell (remove barrier) will destroy any one barrier
created by a cleric. It can also be used to destroy a magic-user's wall of
ice, wall of fire, clothform, woodform, or wall of stone spell effects. It
will not affect the magic- user spells wall of iron, stoneform, ironform
or steelform.
Create Normal Animals
Range:30'
Duration: 10 turns
Effect: Creates 1-6 loyal animals
The cleric is able to create normal animals from thin air with this
spell. The animals will appear at a point chosen (within 30'), but may
thereafter be sent (by command) up to 240' away, if desired. The animals
created will understand and obey the cleric at all times. They will fight
if so commanded, and will perform other actions (carrying, watching, etc.)
to the best of their abilities. They are normal animals, and may attack
others unless their instructions are carefully worded.
The cleric may choose the number of animals created, but not the exact
type; the DM should decide, or even randomly determine, what sort of
animals appear. The spell will create one large animal (elephant,
hippopotamus, etc.), three medium-sized animals (bear, great cat, etc.),
or six small animals (wolf, rock baboon, etc.). The spell cannot create
giant animals. The animals disappear when slain or when the spell duration
ends.
Cure All
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Cures anything
This spell is the most powerful of the healing spells. When used to cure
wounds, it cures nearly all damage, leaving the recipient with only 1d6
points of damage. (Restore the victim to full starting hit points, then
roll 1d6 and subtract that amount from the victim's hit point total.)
The spell can remove a curse, neutralize a poison, cure paralysis, cute a
disease, cure blindness, or even remove a feeblemind effect instead
of healing. However, it will cure one thing only; if the recipient is
suffering from two or more afflictions (such as wounds and a curse), the
cleric must name the ailment the spell is intended to cure.
If cast on the recipient of a raise dead spell, the cureall eliminates
the need for two weeks of bed rest; the recipient can immediately function
normally. This is the only form of magical curing that will work on a
newly-raised creature.
Find the Path
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Shows the path to an area
When casting this spell, the cleric must name a specific place, though
it need not be a place he has visited before. For the duration of the
spell, the cleric knows the direction to that place. In addition, the
cleric will magically gain any special knowledge needed to get to the
place; for example, he would know the location of secret doors, passwords,
and so forth.
When the spell's duration runs out, the caster only remembers the
general direction to the place. All other special information is
forgotten. The spell is instantly negated is the caster attempts to write
down, record, or disclose that special knowledge to others. This spell is
often used to find a fast escape route.
Speak with Monsters*
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: 1 round per level of the cleric
Effect: Permits conversation with any monster
This spell gives the caster the power to ask questions of any and all
living and undead creatures within 30'. Even unintelligent monsters will
understand and respond to the cleric. Those spoken to will not attack the
cleric while engaged in conversation, but may defend themselves or flee if
attacked. The cleric may ask only one question per round'and the spell
lasts one round per level of the caster.
The reverse of this spell, babble, has a 60' range, a duration of 1 turn
per level of the caster, and affects one target within spell range. The
victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect, but with a
- 2 penalty to the roll. If he fails the saving throw, the victim can not
communicate with any other creature for the duration of the spell. Even
hand motions, writ- ten notes, telepathy, and all other forms of
communication will seem garbled. This does not interfere with the victim's
spellcasting (if any), but does prevent him from using any magical items
which are activated by command words- the command words turn into
gibberish.
Word of Recall
Range: 0 (Cleric only)
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Teleports the caster to sanctuary
Similar to a magic-user's teleport spell, this spell carries the cleric
and all equipment carried (but no other creatures) to the cleric's home,
regardless of the distance. The cleric must have a permanent home (such as
a castle), and a meditation room within that home; this room is the
destination when the spell is cast. During the round in which this spell
is cast, the cleric automatically gains initiative unless surprised.
Seventh Level Clerical Spells
Earthquake
Range: 120 yards
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: Causes earth tremors
This powerful spell causes a section of earth to shake, and opens large
cracks in the ground. A 17th level caster can affect an area up to 60'
square, adding 5' to each dimension with each experience level above 17th.
For example, an 18th level cleric affects an area up to 65' square; 19th
level, 70' square; and so forth.
Within the area of effect, all small dwellings are reduced to rubble,
and larger constructions are cracked open. Earthen formations (hills,
cliffsides, etc.) form rockslides. Cracks in the earth may open and engulf
I creature in 6 (determined randomly), crushing them (when the die roll
randomly determines that a character is in danger of falling into a crack
and being crushed, the character gets a saving throw vs. death to escape
failing in).
Holy Word
Range: 0
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: All creatures within 40'
This spell affects all creatures, friend or foe, within a circular area
of 40' radius, centered on the caster. When the cleric casts this spell,
all creatures of alignments other than the cleric's are affected as
follows (no saving throw vs. spells allowed):
Holy Word Effects
Up to 5th Level: Killed
Level 6-8: Stunned 2d10 turns
Level 9-12: Deafened 1d6 turns
Level 13 +: Stunned 1d10 rounds
Any victim of 13th level (or Hit Dice) or higher, or any victim of the
same alignment as the caster, may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid
all spell effects. This powerful spell cannot be blocked by stone, nor by
any other solid material except lead. It can, however, be blocked by an
anti-magic shell.
Raise Dead Fully*
Range: 60'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Raises any living creature
This spell is similar to the 5th level spell raise dead, except that it
can raise any living creature-not just humans and demihumans. Any human or
demihuman recipient awakens immediately, with full hit points, and is able
to fight, use abilities, spells known, etc., without any penalties-except
those penalties the creature already possessed at the time of death. For
example, a victim cursed or discased at death would still suffer the
affliction when raised fully.
If any other living creature (other than a human or demihuman) is the
recipient, the guidelines given in the raise dead spell apply (including
time limitations, rest needed, etc.).
A 17th level cleric can use this spell on a human or demihuman body that
has been dead up to 4 months; for each level of experience above 17th,
this time increases 4 months. Thus, a 19th level cleric could cast raise
dead fully on a body that has been dead up to 12 months.
The spell is fatal to undead. Cast on an undead creature of 7 Hit Dice
or less, the spell immediately destroys the creature (no saving throw).
The spell forces an undead creature of 7 to 12 Hit Dice to make a saving
throw vs. spells, with a - 4 penalty to the roll; if the creature fails
the roll, it is destroyed. The spell inflicts 6d10 (6-60) points of damage
upon an undead monster of more than 12 Hit Dice, but the victim may make a
saving throw vs. spells to take half damage.
The reverse of this spell (obliterate) will affect a living creature
just as the normal form affects undead (destroy 7 Hit Dice or less, et
al.). If cast at an undead creature of any type, obliterate has the sa-me
effect as a cureall would on a living creature (curing all but 1d6 points
of damage, or curing blindness of feeblemind, etc.).
Restore*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Restores 1 level lost to energy drain
This spell restores one full level of energy (experience) to any victim
who has lost a level because of energy drain (for instance, from a
vampire's attack). It does not restore more than one level, nor does it
add a level if no level has been lost. Furthermore, the cleric casting
this spell loses one level of experience, as if struck by a wight when the
spell is cast; however, the cleric's loss is not permanent, and the cleric
need only rest for 2d10 (2-20) days to regain the lost experience.
The reverse of this spell, life drain, drains one level of experience
from the victim touched, just like the touch of a wight or wraith. Casting
the reversed spell causes no experience level loss to the cleric, nor does
it require any rest afterward, but it is a Chaotic act, avoided by Lawful
clerics.
Survival
Range: Touch
Duration: One hour per level of the caster
Effect: Protects one creature against all non- magical damage from the
environment
Spell protects the recipient from adverse conditions of all types,
including normal heat or cold, lack of air, and so forth. While the spell
is in effect, the caster needs no air, food, water, or sleep. The spell
does not protect against magical damage of any type, attack damage,
poisons, breath weapons, or physical blows from creatures. It does protect
against all damage caused by natural conditions on other planes of
existence.
For example, a cleric might use this spell: in a desert or blizzard to
prevent damage from the natural conditions; underground or underwater,
enabling survival without air; in space, to magically survive in vacuum;
or on the elemental plane of Fire, to protect against conditional fire
damage.
Travel
Range: 0
Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Effect: Allows aerial or gaseous travel
This spell allows the cleric to move quickly -and freely, even between
the planes of existence. The caster (only) may fly in the same manner as
given by the magic-user's spell, at a rate of 360' (120'). The cleric can
also enter a nearby plane of existence, simply by concentrating for one
round. He may enter a maximum of one plane per turn.
The cleric may bring one other creature for every five levels of
experience (rounded down; for example, a 29th level cleric could bring
five other creatures on the journey). To bring others, he must touch them,
or they must touch him, while the spell is cast and the shift is made. Any
unwilling creature can make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect.
The cleric must take the others with him-he cannot send them while
remaining behind.
While this spell is in effect, the caster (only) may assume gaseous form
by concentrating for one full round. (If he is interrupted, no change
occurs.) Unlike the potion effect, all equipment carried also becomes part
of the same gaseous cloud. In this form, the caster may travel at double
the normal flying rate: 720' (240'). While gaseous, the cleric cannot use
items or cast spells, but also cannot be damaged except by magic (weapons
or certain spells). Also, a gaseous being cannot pass through a protection
from evil spell effect or an anti-magic shell.
Wish
Range: Special
Duration: Special
Effect: Special
A wish is the single most powerful spell a cleric can have. It is never
found on a scroll, but may be placed elsewhere (in a ring, for example) in
rare cases. Only clerics of 36th level and with an 18 (or greater) Wisdom
score may cast the wish spell.
Wording the Wish: The player must say or write the exact wish his
character makes. The wording is very important. The wish will usually
follow the literal wording, and whatever the intentions of the cleric.
The DM should try to maintain game balance, being neither too generous
nor too stingy in deciding the effects of a wish. Even a badly phrased
wish, made with good intentions, may have good results. However, if the
wish is greedy, or made with malicious intent, the DM should make every
effort to distort the results of the spell so that the caster does not
profit from it. If necessary, the DM can even disallow the wish; it would
then have no effect. Whenever a wish fails or is misinterpreted, the DM
should explain (after the game) the problem or flaw in the phrasing.
Here are some examples of faulty wishes:
"I wish that I knew everything about this dungeon" could result in the
character knowing all for only a second, and then forgetting it.
" I wish for a million gold pieces" can be granted by having them land
on the character (that's 100,000 pounds of gold!), and then vanish.
"I wish to immediately and permanently possess the gaze power of a
basilisk while retaining all of my own abilities and items" is a carefully
worded wish that's out of balance. Characters able to use these high-level
spells are already quite powerful. This wish could result in the character
growing a basilisk head in addition to the character's own head.
A wish cannot be used to gain either experience points or levels of
experience.
Possible Effects: A properly worded wish can substitute for any other
magical spell of 8th level or less, or any clerical or druidic spell of
6th level or less, at the DM's discretion. This common use of a wish is
more likely to succeed with little chance for error than other uses of the
spell. Otherwise, if the wishes used to harm another creature, the victim
may make a saving throw vs. spells. If the save is successful, the victim
takes half the ill effects and the other half rebounds on the caster (who
may also save to avoid it, but with a -4 penalty to the roll). If the wish
will inconvenience someone without harming him (for example, by causing
him to teleport into a prison cell), the victim gets no saving throw.
A character can use a wish to gain treasure, up to a maximum of 50,000
gold pieces per wish. However, the caster loses 1 experience point per
gold piece value of treasure gained, and this loss cannot be magically
restored.
The cleric can use a wish to temporarily change any one ability score to
a minimum of 3 or maximum of 18. This effect lasts for only six turns.
Wishes can also be used to permanently increase ability scores, but the
cost is very high: You must cast as many wishes as the number of the
ability score desired. All the wishes must be cast within a one-week
period.
You may raise an ability score only one point at a time. To raise your
Strength from 15 to 16 takes 16 wishes. To then raise it to 17 will take
an additional 17 wishes. Wishes cannot permanently lower ability scores.
A wish cannot raise the maximum experience level for human characters;
36th level is an absolute limit. However, one wish can allow demihumans to
gain one additional Hit Die (for a new maximum of 9 for halflings, 11 for
elves, and 13 for dwarves). This affects only hit points, and does not
change any other scores (such as attack rolls, elves' number of spells,
etc.).
A wish can change a demihuman to a human, or the reverse. Such a change
is permanent, and the recipient does not become magical. Halflings and
dwarves become fighters of the same level. Elves become magic-users or
fighters (but not both), at the choice of the caster of the wish. The
changed character would then gain levels of experience normally. A human
changes to the same level demihuman, but no higher than the normal racial
maximum.
If one character casts a wish to change another's character class, the
victim (at his option) may make a saving throw vs. spells with a +5 bonus
to resist the change.
A wish can sometimes change the results of a past occurrence. This is
normally limited to events of the previous day. A lost battle may be won,
or the losses may be made far less severe, but impossible odds cannot be
overcome completely. A death could be changed to a neardeath survival; a
permanent loss could be made temporary. The DM may wish to advise players
when their wishes exceed the limit of the spell-power (or his patience).
Important Note: Whenever an effect is described as being unchangeable
"even with a wish," that statement supersedes all others here.
Wishes can cause great problems if not handled properly. The DM must see
that wishes are reasonably limited or the balance and enjoyment of the
game will be completely upset. The DM should not allow wishes that alter
the basics of the game (such as a wish that dragons can't breathe for
damage). The more unreasonable and greedy the wish is, the less likely
that the wish will become reality.
Wizardry
Range: 0 (cleric only)
Duration: One turn
Effect: Allows the use of one magic-user device or scroll spell
The cleric using this spell gains the power to use one item normally
restricted to magic-users: either a device (such as a wand) or a scroll
containing a 1st or 2nd level magic-user spell. (The cleric cannot cast
spells of 3rd or higher level, even though they may be present on the
scroll.)
This ability lasts for one turn, or until the scroll or device is used.
The cleric magically gains knowledge of the proper use of the item, as if
the character were a magic-user. For the duration and effect of the
magic-user spell, the caster is treated as the minimum level necessary to
cast the spell.
Druidic Spells
Druids can learn and cast any spell that a cleric can-with the
exception of spells that affect alignments (such as protection from evil.
However, druids also have their own spells, spells which clerics and
magic-users cannot utilize. The druid cannot cast more spells in a day
than a cleric, but he has the advantage of being able to learn spells from
two different sources, his own list and the cleric's spell list.
Druidic spells tend to concern nature and the natural order of life
rather than combat or power like many of the clerical and magical spells.
Druidic spells are also not reversible.
First Level Druidic Spells
Detect Danger
Range: 5' per level of the caster
Duration: One hour
Effect: Reveals hazards
This spell combines some effects of detect evil and find traps. While
it is functioning, the druid can concentrate on places, objects, or
creatures within range. He needs a full round of concentration to examine
one square foot of area, one creature, or one small object (a chest,
weapon, or smaller item). Larger objects require more time.
After he examines the thing, the druid will know whether it is
immediately dangerous, potentially dangerous, or benign (all strictly from
the druid's point of view). Note that most creatures are potentially
dangerous. This spell will detect poisons, while other spells may not.
The duration is a full hour when used in natural outdoor settings on the
Prime Plane; elsewhere, the duration is half normal (three turns).
Faerie Fire
Range: 60'
Duration: 1 found per level of caster
Effect: Illuminates creatures or objects
With this spell, the druid can outtine one or more creatures or objects
with a pale, flickering, greenish fire. The fire does not inflict any
damage. The objects or creatures need only be detected in some way (such
as by sight, or a detect invisible spell) to be the object of this spell.
All attacks against the outlined creature or object gain a + 2 bonus to
attack rolls. The druid can outline one man-sized creature (about 12' of
fire) for each 5 levels of experience. Thus, at 20th level, 48' of fire
can be produced (outlining one dragon-sized creature, two horse-sized, or
four man-sized creatures).
Locate
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Detects 1 animal or plant within 120'
This spell allows the druid to sense the direction of one known normal
animal or plant. The druid can locate (similar to the locate object spell)
any normal or giant-sized animal, but not fantastic creatures, plant
monsters, nor any intelligent creature or plant.
He must name the exact type of animal of plant, but does not need to
see the specific one he wishes to locate. The animal or plant gets no
saving throw. (This spell is most often used to find special rare plants.)
This spell enables the druid to learn the accurate weather to come for
the next 12 hours. It affects an area 1 mile in diameter per level of the
druid; for example, a 20th level druid would learn the weather within a 20
mile diameter (a 10 mile radius). The spell does not give the druid any
control over the weather; it merely predicts what is to come.
Second Level Druidic Spells
Heat Metal
Range:30'
Duration: 7 rounds
Effect: Warms one metal object
This spell causes one object to slowly heat and then cool. It will
affect one metal item weighing up to one-half pound (5 cn) per level of
the caster. A 12th level druid, for example, can heat up to 6 pounds (60
cn-a normal sword, for instance), while a 20th level druid can heat 10
pounds (100 cn-for example, a two-handed sword).
The heat causes no damage to magical items. Normal weapons or other
items may be severely damaged, especially if made of both wood and metal
(as a normal lance), as the wood will burn away at the point of contact
with metal.
If the object is being held when heated, the heat causes damage to the
holder: 1 point of damage during the first round, 2 points in the second,
4 points in the third, 8 points in the fourth, and then decreasing at the
same rate (for a total of 22 points of heat damage over seven rounds). In
the fourth round, the searing heat will cause leather, wood, paper, and
other flammable objects in contact with the metal to catch fire.
The holder gets no saving throw, but fire resistance negates all
damage. The character can drop the item at any time, of course, and
creatures of low intelligence are 80% likely to do so (check each round).
Once the spell has been cast, the druid no longer needs to concentrate;
the heating and cooling proceed automatically. A dispel magic can stop the
effect, but normal means (immersion in water, etc.) will not.
If the spell is used on an item embedded in an opponent (such as an
arrow or dagger), the opponent may remove the item but loses initiative
for that round (and takes the appropriate heat damage for that round as
well).
Heat damage disrupts concentration; the victim cannot cast spells
during any round in which he sustains damage from this spell.
Obscure
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Creates a huge misty cloud
This spell causes a misty vapor to arise from the ground around the
druid, forming a huge cloud. The cloud is 1' high per level of the druid,
and is 10' in diameter for each level. For example, a 20th level druid
could cast an obscure 20' tall and 200' diameter (100' radius). The cloud
has no ill effects except to block vision.
The caster, and all creatures able to see invisible things, will be able
to see dimly through the cloud. All other creatures within the cloud will
be delayed and confused by the effect. While within the cloud, these
creatures are effectively blind.
Produce Fire
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: 2 turns per level
Effect: Creates fire in hand
This spell causes a small flame to appear in the druid's hand. It does
not harm the caster in any way, and sheds light as if a normal torch. The
flame can be used to ignite combustible materials touched to it (a
lantern, torch, oil, etc.) without harming the magical flame. While
holding the flame, the caster can cause it to disappear and reappear by
concentration once per round, until the duration ends. Other items may be
held and used in the hand while the fire is out. If desired, the fire may
be dropped or thrown to a 30' range, but disappears 1 round after leaving
the druid's hand. (Any fire it ignites during that round remains burning.)
Warp Wood
Range:240'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Causes wooden weapons to bend
This spell causes one or more wooden weapons to bend and (probably)
become useless. The spell will affect one arrow for each level of the
caster; treat a spear, javelin, or magical wand as two arrows' worth, and
any club, bow or staff (magical or otherwise) as four. The spell will not
affect any wooden items other than weapons. If a magical wooden item (such
as an enchanted staff) is the target, the wilder may make a saving throw
vs. spells to avoid the effect. Items carried but not held get no saving
throw; magical items with "pluses" might not be affected, at a 10% chance
per "plus." (For example, an arrow +1 would have a 10% chance to be
unaffected.)
Third Level Druidic Spells
Call Lightning
Range:360'
Duration: 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Calls lightning bolts from a storm
This spell cannot be used unless a storm of some (any) type is within
range of the druid. (This does not mean that he must be within the spell's
range of the storm cloud, but only that the stormy weather be taking place
within 360' of him.)
If a storm is present, the druid may call 1 lightning bolt per turn (10
minutes) to strike at any point within range. The lightning bolt descends
from the sky, hitting an area 20' across.
Each victim within that area takes 8d6 (8-48) points of electrical damage,
but may make a saving throw vs. spells to take half damage. The druid need
not call the lightning every turn unless desired; it remains available until
the spell duration (or the storm) ends.
Hold Animal
Range:180'
Duration: I turn per level of the caster
Effect: Paralyzes several animals
This spell will affect any normal or giant-sized animal, but will not
affect any fantastic creature, nor one of greater than animal intelligence
(2). Each victim must make a saving throw vs. spells or be paralyzed for the
duration of the spell.
The druid can affect 1 Hit Die of animals for each level of experience,
ignoring "plumes" to Hit Dice. For example, a 20th level druid could cast
the spell at I 0 giant toads (which have 2 + 2 Hit Dice each). Note that the
spell can affect summoned, conjured, or controlled animals.
Protection from Poison
Range: Touch
Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Effect: Gives one creature immunity to all poison
For the duration of this spell, the recipient is completely immune to the
effects of poisons of all types, including gas traps and cloudkill spells.
This protection extends to items carried (thus protecting against a spirit's
poisonous presence, for example). Furthermore, the recipient gains a + 4
bonus on saving throws vs. poisonous breath weapons (such as green dragon
breath), but not petrification breath (such as a gorgon's).
Water Breathing
Range:30'
Duration: I day
Effect: One air-breathing creature
This spell allows the recipient to breathe while under water (at any depth).
It does not affect movement in any way, nor does it interfere with the
breathing of air.
Fourth Level Druidic Spells
Control Temperature 10' radius
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: I turn per level of the caster
Effect: Cools or warms air within 10'
This spell allows the druid to alter the temperature within an area 20'
across. The maximum change is 50 degrees (Fahrenheit), either warmer or
cooler. The change occurs immediately, and the effect moves with the druid.
The druid may change the temperature simply by concentrating for I round,
and the temperature will remain changed as long as the spell lasts. The
spell is useful for resisting cold or heat so the caster may survive
temperature extremes.
Plant Door
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Opens a path through growth
For the duration of this spell, no plants can prevent the druid's
passage, no matter how dense. Even trees will bend or magically open to
allow the druid to pass. The druid can freely carry equipment while moving
through such barriers, but no other creature can use the passage. Note that
a druid can hide inside a large tree after casting this spell. The druid
cannot see what is happening while he is in the tree.
Protection from Lightning
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Protects against lightning attack
Any recipient of this spell is immune to a given amount of electrical
damage. The druid's experience level determines the amount of damage: for
each level of experience, one die (1d6) of damage is negated. Subtract the
number of dice from the number of dice of damage that would be done to him.
Example: A 20th level druid casts this spell. He is protected against 20d6
lightning damage. For example, this would negate the effects of two full
call lighting attacks (of 8 dice each)on him, plus half of a third (8 + 8 +
4 = 20). The third call lighting inflicts 4d6 points of damage on him (but
he does get his saving throw against it), and any subsequent call lightning
attacks made against him will do full damage.
Summon Animals
Range:360'
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: Calls and befriends normal animals
With this spell, the druid can summon any or all normal animals within
range. Only normal, nonmagical creatures of animal intelligence are
affected, including mammals, reptiles, amphibians, etc. The spell does not
affect insects, arthropods, humans, and demihumans. The druid may choose one
or more known animals, may call for specific types, or may summon everything
within range. The total Hit Dice of the animals responding will equal the
level of the druid. Treat normal small creatures (frogs, mice, squirrels,
small birds, etc.) as 1/10 Hit Die each. Animals affected will come at their
fastest movement rate, and will understand the druid's speech while the
spell is in effect. They will be friend and help the druid, to the limit of
their abilities. If harmed in any way, a summoned animal will normally flee,
the spell broken for that animal. However, if the druid is being attacked
when a summoned animal arrives, the animal will immediately attack the
opponent, fleeing only if it fails a morale check. This spell may also be
used to calm hostile animals encountered while adventuring.
Fifth Level Druidic Spells
Anti-Plant Shell
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: 1 round per level of the druid
Effect: Personal barrier which blocks plants
This spell creates an invisible barrier around the druid's body (less
than an inch away). The barrier stops all attacks by plants and plant-like
monsters, so that they can inflict no damage. If the caster pushes through
normal but dense growth while protected, he will open a path that others can
pass through.
While protected, the druid cannot attack plants except by spells; the
plants are protected from the druid's physical attacks, just as the druid is
protected from theirs.
Control Winds
Range: 10' radius per level of the caster
Duration: 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Calms or increases winds
With this spell, the druid can cause all the air within range to behave as
desired, either increasing to gale force or slowing to a dead calm. The
druid must concentrate for one full turn of concentration (can't move or
attack) to change the wind completely (calm to gale, for example).
Any higher-level spellcaster using the same spell can easily counter the
spell. The effect moves with the caster.
If the spell is cast against an air creature (such as an elemental), the
victim can make a saving throw vs. spells. If the victim fails its roll, the
druid can slay or control the air creature by proper use of the wind force.
The creature will only obey as long as the druid maintains concentration and
while the spell is active; if the druid's concentration is broken or the
spell's duration lapses, the creature will attack the druid.
Dissolve
Range:240'
Duration: 3-18 days
Effect: Liquefies 3,000 square feet
Nearly identical to the 5th level magic-user spell of the same name, this
effect changes a volume of soil or rock (but not a construction) to a morass
of mud. An area up to 10' deep or thick is affected, and may have up to
3,000 square feet of surface area. The druid may choose the exact width and
length (20'x 150', 30'x 100', etc.), but the entire area of effect must be
within 240' of the caster. Creatures moving through the mud are slowed to
10% of their normal movement rate at best, and may become stuck (at the DM's
discretion, a victim must make saving throw vs. spells to avoid becoming
stuck).
With this spell, the druid can enter one tree, teleport, and immediately
step out of another tree of the same type. The trees must be large enough to
enclose the druid. The range a druid can teleport varies by the type of
tree, as follows.
Oak 600 yards
Ash, Elm, Linden, Yew 360 yards
Evergreen trees 240 yards
Other trees 300 yards
Sixth Level Druidic Spells
Anti-Animal Shell
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: I turn per level of the caster
Effect: Personal barrier that blocks animals
This spell creates an invisible barrier around the druid's body (less than
an inch away). The barrier stops all attacks by animals, both normal and
giant-sized, as well as insects and all other nonfantastic creatures of
animal intelligence or less (0-2). The druid cannot attack animals while
protected except by use of other spells; the animals are protected from the
druid's physical attacks, just as the druid is protected from theirs.
Summon Weather
Range: 5 miles or more
Duration: 6 turns per level
Effect: Brings weather to druid's area
When the druid casts this spell, some known nearby weather condition is
pulled to the druid's location. The druid does not have control of the
weather, but merely summons it.
Only a druid of a 5th level or greater may summon severe weather
(hurricane, severe heat wave, etc.). The range of summoning is 5 miles at
levels 12 to 15, adding 1 mile for each level of the caster above 15th. (A
20th level druid could summon weather from up to 10 miles away.)
Transport Through Plants
Range: Infinite
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Long-range teleportation
This spell may be used a maximum of once per day. The druid must be near a
plant (of any size), and must choose either a general location or a specific
known plant elsewhere. After casting the spell, the druid magically enters
the nearby plant and steps out of a plant at the destination (if the druid
could not specify the exact plant, he appears from a plant determined
randomly by the DM). There is no limit to the range, but the plants must
both be living for the spell to work, and must both be on the same plane of
existence. If either plant is dead, the spell fails. Otherwise, the caster
immediately reappears at the new location. The caster can transport two
additional willing creatures.
Turn Wood
Range: 30'
Duration: One turn per level of the druid
Effect: Pushes all wooden items away
This spell creates an invisible wave of force, 120' long and 60' tall. Its
midpoint can be created anywhere within 30' of the caster. This wave of
force then immediately moves in one horizontal direction, as specified by
the caster, at the rate of 10' per round. If the druid desires, he can stop
the wave of force at any time, but cannot thereafter move it again.
All wooden objects contacting or contacted by the wave of force become
stuck to it and move with it. The wave of force continues moving until it
reaches the maximum range of 360 feet, and stops there for the remainder of
the spell duration. The items caught are not harmed by the effect, but
wooden weapons (bows, crossbows, most spears and javelins, etc.) and magical
items (wands, staves, etc.) cannot be used while trapped in the effect.
Once created, the wave of force does not require concentration. However,
the caster may cause it to vanish before the duration ends by concentrating
for one round.
This spell has many useful applications during mass combat (against a
group of archers or siege engines) and waterborne adventures (to move a
ship). It will move wooden objects which have metal attachments (such as
treasure chests). However, it will not move permanent constructions (such as
buildings, including objects permanently attached to them such as doors) or
other secured objects (such as trees).
Seventh Level Druidic Spells
Creeping Doom
Range:120'
Duration: 1 round per level of the caster
Effect: Creates a 20' x 20' insect horde
This spell magically creates a huge swarm of 1,000 creeping insects,
appearing anywhere within 120' of the druid (as chosen by the caster). They
fill an area at least 20'x 20', and can be ordered to fill any area up to a
maximum of 60' x 60'.
The creeping doom can move at up to 60'(20') if the caster remains within
120' of any part of the swarm. They vanish after the duration ends, or
whenever the druid is more than 120' away.
The insects always attack everyone and everything in their path,
inflicting I point of damage per 10 insects, a total of 100 points per round
to each creature caught in the effect (no saving throw). Normal attacks
(such as fire) can damage the horde slightly, but even a fireball spell will
only slay 100 of them (reducing the damage accordingly). The creeping doom
can be destroyed by a dispel magic spell (at normal chances for success),
but it can penetrate a protection from evil effect, and can move over most
obstacles at the normal movement rate.
Metal to Wood
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Changes metal into dead wood
This spell can be used to change any metal item or items into wood. The
spell can transmute five pounds (50 cn weight) per level of the caster. Any
magical metal item is 90% resistant to the magic. The effect is permanent,
and the affected metal cannot be changed back with a dispel magic spell. Any
armor changed to wood falls off the wearer and any weapons affected turn to
nonmagical wooden clubs.
Summon Elemental
Range:240'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Summons one 16 HD elemental
This spell allows the caster to summon any one elemental per spell (see
Chapter 14). The druid may only summon one of each type of elemental (air,
earth, fire, water) in one day. The elemental will understand the druid's
spoken commands and will perform any tasks within its power (carrying,
attacking, etc.) as directed by the caster.
Unlike the magic-user's version of the spell, the druid does not need to
concentrate to control the creature. The caster may send it back to its own
plane with a simple command, and someone else may send it back by the use of
a dispel magic or dispel evil spell.
Weather Control
Range: 0 (druid only)
Duration: Concentration
Effect: All weather within 240 yards
This spell allows the druid to create one special weather condition in
the surrounding area (within a 240 yard radius). The caster may select the
weather condition. The spell only works outdoors, and the weather will
affect all creatures in the area (including the caster). The effects lasts
as long as the caster concentrates, without moving; if the caster is being
moved (for example, aboard a ship), the effect moves also. The spell's
effects vary, but the following results are typical:
Rain: - 2 penalty to attack rolls applies to all missile fire. After
three turns, the ground becomes muddy, reducing movement to half the normal
rate.
Snow: Visibility (the distance a creature can see) is reduced to 20';
movement is reduced to half the normal rate. Rivers and streams may freeze
over. Mud remains after the snow thaws, for the same movement penalty.
Fog: 20' visibility, half normal movement. Those within the fog might
become lost, moving in the wrong direction.
Clear: This cancels bad weather (fain, snow, fog) but not secondary
effects (such as mud).
Intense Heat: Movement reduced to half normal. Excess water (from rain,
snow, mud transmuted from rock, etc.) dries up.
High Winds: No missile fire or flying is possible. Movement reduced to
half normal. At sea, ships sailing with the wind move 50% faster. In the
desert, high winds create a sandstorm, for half normal movement and 20'
visibility.
Tornado: This creates a whirlwind under the druid control, attacking and
moving as if it was a 12 HD air elemental. At sea, treat the tornado as a
storm or gale.
Magical Spells
Casting Magical Spells
Spells used by magic-users and elves are somewhat different from those
used by clerics and druids, both in their effects and the ways they are
learned and used.
Spell Books
When a magic-user or elf begins play at first level, he starts with a
spell book, given to him by his teacher. The spell book will contain two 1st
level spells. The Dungeon Master will tell you what spells your character
starts with.
The spell book is large and bulky, and cannot be easily carried (about 2'
square, 2-6 inches thick, weighing at least 20 pounds). It will not fit
inside a normal sack of any size, but may be
carried in a backpack or saddlebag. All spell books are written in magical
words, and only their owners may read them without using the read magic
spell (described later).
As previously discussed, the magic-user or elf forgets each spell as he
casts it. This is why he has a spell book: He can memorize the spell again
later and have it available to him once more.
On the magic-user and elf experience tables, the "Spells/Level" columns
indicate how many spells of each level the character can have memorized at
one time. This doesn't limit the number of spells the character can have in
his spell books. For example, a fourth level magic-user can memorize four
spells-two 1st level and two 2nd level. But his spell book might have more
spells written in it. He might have six 1st level spells written in his
book, for instance, and he might have three 2nd level spells. He can still
only memorize two of each type in a day.
Learning New Spells
Every magic-user and elf was taught magic by someone else-normally, by a
nonplayer character spellcaster of 7th experience level or higher. Your
campaign can assume that magic-user and elf characters have such a teacher,
whom they visit and learn from whenever they're not adventuring. The DM may
wish to work this NPC into a full-fledged character who can appear in
adventures as a consultant or expert.
The PCs' teacher does not go on adventures not until the characters reach
or exceed his experience level, and only then if the DM wishes him to.
Otherwise, the player characters would have a very powerful ally along, one
who would solve most of their adventuring problems.
When the player character begins play, the teacher gives him a spell book
with two 1st level spells in it. When the PC reaches 2nd level, the teacher
writes another 1st level spell in the book. When the PC reaches 3rd level,
the teacher will write a 2nd level spell in his book, and when he reaches
4th level the teacher will give him one more 2nd level spell.
In many campaigns, that's the point at which the teacher stops
instructing the character. The character has gone from apprentice to
journeyman, and now he must journey in order to learn more of magic.
So, where can PCs learn more spells? They have several options, and may
explore any or all of them during their careers.
Other Magic-Users: By ancient tradition-of necessity and common
sense-magic-users are loathe to trade spells among themselves. Each
magic-user knows that he may become a very powerful wizard some day ... and
that he may end up being the enemy of another wizard of similar power. No
wizard wants to teach the other fellow magic that can kill him. This is
something the DM should reinforce in his campaign: If he finds characters
casually trading spells from their spell books, he should remind them of the
traditions of secrecy, of the good reasons for that tradition, of the
paranoia that infects the magic- users' community, and so on. If they
decline to accept his recommendation, their characters may pick up a
reputation-as magic-users who can't keep their trade secret. Other
spellcasters, perhaps even their old teachers, will refuse to teach them and
will take special pains to keep their magic hidden from them. Higher-level
magic- users may even decide to steal or destroy the PCs' spell books to
teach them a lesson-forcing them to work for many boring weeks or months to
reconstruct them (see "Lost Spell Books," below).
But that's casual exchanges of spells. It's known for magic-users to give
spells to PCs in more remarkable circumstances. For instance, low-level
spellcasters might do a great favor for a high-level magician (save his
child, undertake a special quest for him and demonstrate remarkable bravery
while carrying it out, etc.). In such a case, it is not necessarily
inappropriate for the NPC to reward the PC with a spell.
The Teacher: Once the player character reaches 4th experience level, his
teacher doesn't have to leave play entirely. The PC might be able to visit
and train with him from time to time, and the teacher could continue to
teach him spells.
But since the PC is a journeyman now, the teacher might also require him
to undertake specific tasks ("Now, I need you to take this flask to Esdevius
in far-off Parokaland . . . and don't let the dragon get you.") in order to
remain his student. While the PC could continue learning spells this way,
the teacher should not be his only source for new spells; he should be
learning others as he adventures.
Scrolls: One magical treasure sometimes found in adventures is the magical
scroll. Some scrolls have magic-user spells written upon them. A magic-user
can use the scroll by casting the spell from it-in which case the written
spell disappears as soon as it is cast. Or, he can transfer it to his spell
book (during this process, the spell disappears from the scroll), and he
will have gained a new spell.
Enemy Magic-Users: Should the PCs encounter and defeat an enemy
magic-user, the PC magic-user might try to help himself to the enemy's spell
book. The DM should make sure that the spell book has many spells which are
identical to those in the PC's spell book: Most magic- users have many
spells in common, especially the lower-level spells. The PC should gain only
one or two new spells out of such an encounter. A new spell is a rare find,
and a spell book is an even rarer treasure; the books are always well hidden
and protected. PCs using someone else's spell book may find magical traps
and curses within before they find any new spells.
Higher-level Spells
A magic-user cannot put into his spell book a spell of a higher-level than
he can cast. In other words, if he can't yet cast a 3rd level spell, he
certainly can't write one in his spell book.
Lost Spell Books
A magic-user or elf whose spell book is lost or destroyed cannot regain
spells until he replaces the spell book. He can't just read from somebody
else's spell book. He can recreate the spells from memory and research ...
but it takes a lot of money and a lot of time.
The method, amount of time, and cost it takes to recreate a spell book
are for the DM to decide. Here's a rough guideline: 1,000 gold pieces and
one week of study for each spell level replaced. (For example, each 3rd
level spell would require 3,000 gp and three weeks to reconstruct). This
reconstruction takes up an the character's time, leaving none for
adventuring. A character can make a second spell book to leave in a safe
place in case his primary book is destroyed. This doesn't take all the time
and money which reconstruction of spells requires; a magic-user of elf could
copy four spells a day from his primary spell book to his "backup."
The Player Character's Spell Book
Both the player and the DM need to keep track of exactly which spells are
in a character's spell book. Both people can keep track of which spells the
character h-as had access to; the player can keep track of the ones the
character acquires. If ever there's a difference in the two spell lists, the
player should be able to remember where the char-acter acquired the extra
spells; if the explanation doesn't satisfy the DM, he's may remove the spell
from the character's spell book. Appendix 3 provides a copyable spell book
sheet, on which players can keep the name and description of all their
characters' spells.
Reversible Spells
Unlike clerical spells, magical spells must be memorized in their reversed
form to be usable in that form. The spellcaster must select the normal or
reversed form of the spell when he memorizes the spell for the day. There's
no problem to memorizing a spell in reversed form; if the spell
can be reversed, the magic-user knows how to
memorize it that way.
Of course, a magic-user could memorize it once in normal form and once in
reversed form. For example, if a spellcaster has a light spell in a spell
book, the character could memorize both light and darkness for an adventure.
In the spell lists below, all spells which can be reversed are marked with
an asterisk
First Level Magical Spells
Analyze
Range: 0 (touch only)
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Analyzes magic on one item
A spellcaster using this spell can handle one item and learn the
enchantment on it. Helms must be put on the Spellcasters head, swords held
in his hand, bracelets put over his wrist, etc. for this spell to work. Any
consequences of this action (for example, from cursed or booby- trapped
objects) fall upon the spellcaster, though he gets his usual saving throws.
The spellcaster has a chance of 15% plus 5% per experience level to
determine one magical characteristic of the item; if the item is nonmagical,
his chance is to determine that fact.
The spell does not reveal much precise information. It will characterize
a weapon's pluses (attack bonus) as "many" or "few," will estimate the
number of charges on an item within 25 % of the actual number, etc.
Charm Person
Range:120
Duration: See below
Effect: One living person (see below)
This spell will only affect humans, demihumans, and certain other
creatures. The victim
is allowed a saving throw vs. spells. If the saving throw is successful, the
spell has no effect. If it falls, the victim will believe that the
spellcaster is its "best friend," and will try to defend the spell- caster
against any threat, whether real or imagined. The victim is charmed.
As a general rule, the spell only affects creatures which look similar to
humans in various ways-humans, demihumans, certain giant- class creatures,
etc. It will not affect animals, magical creatures (such as living statues),
undead monsters, or human-like creatures larger than ogres.
If the spellcaster can speak a language that the charmed victim
understands, the spellcaster may give orders to the victim. These orders
should sound like suggestions, as if "just between friends." The charmed
victim will usually obey, but the victim may resist orders that are contrary
to the victim's nature (alignment and habits) - he doesn't need to roll
anything to resist. A victim will refuse to obey if ordered to kill itself.
A charm may last for months. The victim may make another saving throw
every so often, depending on its Intelligence score.
Charm Person Duration
If the Victim Has: He Saves Every:
High Intelligence (13-18): 1 day
Average Intelligence (9-12): 1 week
Low Intelligence (3-8): 1 month
A more complex system for determining the duration of a charm spell appears
in Chapter 13, on page 144.
A victim who is given conflicting orders and impressions by his old
adventuring friends and his new "best friend" should react as any person
would in real life: with confusion. He will not automatically assume that
one party or the other is lying ... even if the player wants him to.
The charm is automatically broken if the spell- caster attacks the victim,
whether by spell or by weapon. The victim will fight normally if attacked by
the spellcaster's allies.
When he casts this spell, the spellcaster will see a glow surround all
magical objects, creatures, and places which are visible and within range of
the spell. No saving throw is allowed.
Example: Shortly after casting this spell, a magic-user walks into a room
containing a door locked by magic, a magical potion lying nearby, and a
treasure chest containing a magical wand. All the magic will glow, but the
spellcaster can see only the door and potion; the light of the glowing wand
is hidden by the treasure chest.
This spell creates an invisible magical horizontal platform about the
size and shape of a small round shield. It can carry up to 5000 cn (500
pounds). It cannot be created in a place occupied by a creature or object.
The floating disc is created at the height of the spellcaster's waist, and
will always remain at that height. It will automatically follow the
spellcaster at his current movement rate, remaining within 6' of him at all
times. It can never be used as a weapon, because it has no solid existence
and veers away from anything it might run into. When the duration ends, the
floating disc will disappear, suddenly dropping anything upon it. No saving
throw is allowed.
Hold Portal
Range: 10'
Duration: 2-12 (2d6) turns
Effect: One door, gate, or similar portal
This spell will magically hold shut any portal-for example, a door or gate.
A knock spell will open the hold portal. Any creature three or more Hit Dice
greater than the caster (and characters three or more levels higher) may
break open a held portal in one round, but the portal will relock if allowed
to close within the duration of the spell. Example: Any 5th level character
can break through a hold portal spell cast by a 2nd level spellcaster.
Light*
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn/ level of the caster
Effect: Volume of 30' diameter
This spell creates a large ball of light, much like a bright torchlight. If
the spell is cast on an object (such as a coin), the light will move with
the object. If cast at a creature's eyes, the creature must make a saving
throw vs. spells. If he fails the saving throw, the victim will be blinded
by the light until the duration ends (see page 150, for the effects of
blindness). If he makes the saving throw, the light appears in the air
behind the intended victim.
When reversed, this spell, darkness, creates a circle of darkness 30' in
diameter. It will block all sight except infravision. Darkness will cancel a
light spell if cast upon it (but may itself be canceled by another light
spell). If cast at an opponent's eyes, it will cause blindness until
canceled, or until the duration ends; as before, the victim does get a
saving throw.
Magic Missile
Range:150'
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Creates 1 or more arrows
A magic missile is a glowing arrow, created and shot by magic, which
inflicts 1d6 + 1 (2-7) points of damage to any creature it strikes. After
the spell is cast, the arrow appears next to the spellcaster and hovers
there (moving with him) until the spellcaster causes it to shoot. When shot,
the magic missile will automatically hit any one visible target the
spellcaster specifies. The magic missile actually has no solid form, and
cannot be touched. A magic missile never misses its target and the target is
not allowed a saving throw.
For every 5 levels of experience of the caster, two more missiles are
created by the same spell.
Thus a 6th level spellcaster may create three missiles. The spellcaster
may shoot the missiles all at one target or at different targets.
Protection from Evil
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The spellcaster only
This spell creates an invisible magical barrier all around the
spellcaster's body (less than an inch away). All attacks against the
spellcaster are penalized by - I to their attack rolls, and the spellcaster
gains a + I bonus to all saving throws, while the spell lasts.
In addition, enchanted creatures cannot attack the spellcaster in
hand-to-hand or melee combat. (An enchanted creature is one that normal
weapons cannot hurt; only magical weapons can hit the creature. A creature
that can be only hit by a silver weapon-a werewolf, for example-is not an
enchanted creature. Any creature that is magically summoned or controlled,
such as a charmed character, is also considered to be an enchanted
creature.)
The barrier thus completely prevents all attacks from those creatures
unless they use missile weapons; the barrier is no defense against missiles,
though the attackers still suffer the attack roll penalties.
This spell will not affect a magic missile, either incoming or outgoing.
If the spellcaster attacks (hand-to-hand) anything during the spell's
duration, the effect changes slightly. Enchanted creatures are then able to
touch the spellcaster, but the attack roll and saving throw adjustments
still apply until the spell duration ends.
Read Languages
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: The spellcaster only
This spell will allow the spellcaster to read, not speak, any unknown
languages or codes, including treasure maps, secret symbols, and so forth,
until the duration ends.
Read Magic
Range: 0
Duration: 1 turn
Effect: The spellcaster only
This spell will allow the spellcaster to read, not speak, any magical
words or runes, such as those found on scrolls and other items. A
spellcaster cannot understand unfamiliar magic writings without using this
spell. However, once a spell- caster reads a scroll or runes with this
spell, he can read or speak that magic later without using a spell. All
spell books are written in magical words, and only their owners may read
them without using this spell.
Shield
Range: 0
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: The spellcaster only
This spell creates a magical barrier all around the spellcaster (less
than an inch away). It moves
with the spellcaster. While the duration lasts, the spellcaster has an AC of
2 against missiles, and AC 4 against all other attacks. If someone shoots a
magic missile at a spell- caster protected by this spell, the spellcaster
may make a saving throw vs. spells (one saving throw per missile). If the
saving throw is successful, the magic missile has no effect; it hits the
barrier and evaporates.
Sleep
Range:240'
Duration: 4d4 (4-16) turns
Effect: 2-16 Hit Dice of living creatures within a 40' square area
This spell will put creatures to sleep for up to 16 turns. It will only
affect creatures with 4 + 1 Hit Dice or less-generally, small or man-sized
creatures. The spell will not affect creatures outside the 40' x 40' area
which the player chooses as the spell's target area. The spell will not work
against undead or very large creatures, such as dragons.
When a character is first hit with a sleep spell, falling or sagging to
the ground will not wake him up. However, characters affected by a sleep
spell are not in a deep sleep. Any steeping character or creature will
awaken if slapped, kicked, orsha-ken.
Characters can kill a sleeping victim with a single blow of any edged
weapon, regardless of the creature's hit points.
Your Dungeon Master will roll 2d8 to find the total Hit Dice or experience
levels of monsters affected by the spell. The victims get no saving throw
against this spell.
Ventriloquism
Range:60'
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One item or location
This spell will allow the spellcaster to make the sound of his or her voice
come from somewhere else, such as a statue, animal, a dark corner, and so
forth. The "somewhere else" must be within range of the spell.
Second Level Magical Spells
Continual Light*
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Volume of 60' diameter
This spell creates a globe of light 60' across. It is much brighter than
a torch, but not as bright as full daylight. It will continue to glow
forever, or until it is magically removed. It may be cast on an object, just
as the first level light spell. If cast at a creature's eyes, the victim
must make a saving throw vs. spells. If he fails the saving throw, the
victim is blinded-permanently, or until the spell is dispelled. If he makes
the saving throw, the globe will still appear, but will remain in the place
it was cast, and the intended victim will suffer no ill effects.
The reverse of this spell, continual darkness, creates a volume of complete
darkness in a 30' radius. Torches, lanterns, and even a light spell will not
affect it, and infravision cannot penetrate it. If cast on a creature's
eyes, the creature must make a saving throw vs. spells or be blinded until
the spell is removed. A continual light spell will cancel its effects.
Detect Evil
Range:60'
Duration: 2turns
Effect: Everything within 60'
When this spell is cast, the spellcaster will see a glow surround all
evilly-enchanted objects within 60'. It will also cause creatures that want
to harm the spellcaster to glow when they are within range. The spell,
however, does not allow the spellcaster to hear the actual thoughts of the
creatures.
Remember that Chaotic alignment is not automatically the same as evil,
although many Chaotic monsters have evil intentions. Traps and poison are
neither good nor evil, but merely dangerous.
Detect Invisible
Range: 10' per level of the spellcaster
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The spellcaster only
When this spell is cast, the spellcaster can see all invisible creatures
and objects within range. The range is 10' for each level of the
spellcaster.
For example, a 3rd level spellcaster can use this spell to see invisible
things within 30'.
Entangle
Range:30'
Duration: I round per level
Effect: Controls ropes
This spell allows the spellcaster to use any rope-like object of living or
once-living material (roots, vines, leather ropes, plant-fiber ropes, etc.)
to behave as he or she orders. About 50' of normal 1/2" diameter vine plus
5' per level of the caster can be affected.
The commands which can be given during an entangle spell include: coil
(form a neat stack), coil and knot, loop, loop and knot, tic and knot, and
the reverses of all the above. The vine or rope must be within 1' of any
object it is to coil around or tie up, so it must often be thrown at the
target. This spell is very useful in climbing situations; a spellcaster can
toss a rope up the side of a wall or cliff and command it to loop and knot
itself around a projection at the height of the throw. Coiling knot
effectively ties up a victim.
A person of monster attacked by any use of the spell may make a saving
throw vs. spells to avoid the effects of the entangle.
ESP*
Range:60'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: All thoughts in one direction
This spell will allow the spellcaster to "hear" thoughts. The spellcaster
must concentrate in one direction for six rounds (one minute) to hear the
thoughts (if any) of a creature within range.
The spell allows the spellcaster to understand the thoughts of any single
living creature, regardless of the language. The spell does not allow the
caster to hear the thoughts of undead creatures. If more than one creature
is within range and in the direction the caster is concentrating, the
spellcaster will "hear" a confused jumble of thoughts. The spellcaster can
sort out the jumble only by concentrating for an extra six rounds to find a
single creature.
ESP will not be hampered by any amount of wood or liquid, and will
penetrate as much as two feet of rock, but a thin coating of lead will block
the spell. Targets can make a saving throw vs. spell to avoid the spell
effects.
The reverse of this spell, mindmask, may be cast, by touch, on any one
creature. The recipient is completely immune to ESP and all other forms of
mind-reading for the spell duration.
Invisibility
Range:240'
Duration: Permanent until broken
Effect: One creature or object
This spell will make any one creature or object invisible. When a
creature becomes invisible, all items that he carries and wears also become
invisible. Any invisible item becomes visible again when it leaves the
creature's possession (dropped, set down, etc.). A light source (such as a
torch) may be made invisible, but the light given off will always remain
visible.
If the spellcaster makes an object invisible that is not being carried or
worn, it will become visible again when touched by any living creature.
An invisible creature will remain invisible until he or she attacks or
casts any spell.
Knock
Range:60'
Duration: See below
Effect: One lock or bar
This spell will open any type of lock. This spell will open any normal or
magically locked door (one affected by a hold portal or wizard lock spell),
and any secret door (but a secret door must be found before it can be
knocked open). Any locking magic will remain, however, and will take effect
once again when the door is closed. This spell will also unlock a gate, or
unstuck it if it is stuck, and will cause any treasure chest to open easily.
It will also cause a barred door to open, magically forcing the bar to fall
to the floor. If a door is locked and barred, only one type of lock will be
opened.
Levitate
Range:O
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn/ level of the caster
Effect: The spellcaster only
When this spell is cast, the spellcaster may move up or down in the air
without any support. This spell does not, however, allow the spellcaster to
move from side to side. For example, a spellcaster could levitate to a
ceiling, and then could slowly move sideways by pushing and pulling. His
movement up or down is at the rate of 20' per found.
The spell cannot be cast on another person or object. The spellcaster may
carry a normal
amount of weight while levitating, up to 2,OOO cn (200 lbs) in weight,
possibly another mansized creature (if it isn't wearing metal armor). Any
creature smaller than man-sized can be carried, unless heavily laden. No
saving throw is allowed.
Locate Object
Range: 60' + 10' per level of the spellcaster
Duration: 2 turns
Effect: One object within range
The spellcaster casts this spell to find an object within the spell's
range. For this spell to work, the spellcaster must know exactly what the
object looks like. He can specify a common type of object, such as "any
flight of stairs," instead.
The spell will point to the nearest designated object within range, giving
the direction but not the distance.
The spell's range increases as the spellcaster gains levels of experience.
For example, a 2nd level spellcaster can locate objects up to 80' away; a
3rd level spellcaster, up to 90'.
Mirror Image
Range: 0
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: The spellcaster only
With this spell, the spellcaster creates 1d4 (1- 4) additional images
which look and act exactly like him. The images appear and remain next to
(within 3' of) the spellcaster, moving if the spellcaster moves, talking if
the spellcaster talks, and so forth. The spellcaster need not concentrate;
the images will remain until the duration ends, or until they are hit.
The images are not real, and cannot actually do anything. Any successful
attack on the spellcaster will strike an image instead, which will merely
cause that image to disappear (regardless of the actual damage); this
continues until all the images are dispelled. (If the spellcaster is caught
in the effect of an area-type attack, such as a fireball spell, all images
will disappear and the spellcaster will be affected by the spell.)
Phantasmal Force
Range:240'
Duration: Concentration (see below)
Effect: A volume 20'x 20'x 20'
This spell creates or changes appearances of everything within the area
affected. The spell- caster can create the illusion of something he or she
has seen. If not, the DM will give a bonus to the saving throws of those
trying to ignore the spell's effects. If the spellcaster does not use this
spell to attack, the illusion created by this spell will disappear when
touched.
If the spellcaster uses the spell to create the illusion of a monster, it
will appear in every way to be the monster in question. However, the monster
is AC 9 and will disappear when hit.
If the spellcaster uses the spell to create an attack (a phantasmal magic
missile, collapsing wall, etc.), the victim may make a saving throw vs.
spells; if he is successful, the victim is not affected, and realizes that
the attack is an illusion.
The phantasmal force will remain as long as the spellcaster concentrates.
If the spellcaster moves, takes any damage, or fails any saving throw, his
concentration is broken and the phantasm disappears.
This spell never inflicts any real damage. Those "killed" by it will
merely fall unconscious, those "turned to stone" will be paralyzed, and so
forth. The effects wear off in 1d4 turns. If the character does make his
saving throw to realize that the attack is an illusion, the damage sustained
disappears immediately.
Web
Range:10'
Duration: 48 turns
Effect: A volume 10'x 10'x 10'
This spell creates a mass of sticky strands which are difficult to
destroy except with flame. It usually blocks the area affected. Giants and
other creatures with great strength can break through a web in 2 rounds. A
human of Average Strength (a score of 9-12) will take 2d4 (2-8) turns to
break through the web. Flames (from a torch, for example) will destroy the
web in 2 rounds, but all creatures within the web will be burned for 1-6
(1d6) points of damage. Anyone wearing gaunts of ogre power (a magical
treasure) can break free of a web in 4 rounds.
Wizard Lock
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: One portal of lock
This spell is a more powerful version of a hold portal spell. It will work
on any lock, not merely doors, and will last forever (or until magically
dispelled). However, a knock spell can open the wizard lock.
The wizard who cast the wizard lock can easily open the door he has
enchanted, as can any magic-using character or creature of three or more
levels (or Hit Dice) greater than the caster. This sort of door-opening does
not remove the magic, and the magical lock will relock when allowed to close
(just as with the hold portal spell).
Third Level Magical Spells
Clairvoyance
Range:60'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: See through another's eyes
With this spell, the caster may see through the eyes of any single
creature in spell range.
"Seeing" through a creature's eyes takes one full turn, after which the
caster can change to another creature, even one in another direction; he
does not have to cast the spell again to do so. Two feet of rock or a thin
coating of lead blocks the effects of this spell. No saving throw is
allowed.
Create Air
Range: Immediate area, 8,000 cu. ft.
Duration: I hour per level of caster
Effect: Provides breathable air
This spell provides breathable air, especially in areas where otherwise
there is none to be had. It is cast on a volume of 8,000 cubic feet (such as
a 20' x 20' x 20' room) and, while it is in effect, everyone in that area
has good air to breathe.
Customarily, it's used when dungeon explorers are trapped where air is
running out. When cast in this fashion, the spell effect stays in one place;
it does not move with the caster.
However, it does not have to be cast in only that way; it can be cast on
enclosed vehicle interiors (such as the below-deck areas of ships), living
creatures, or pieces of equipment. When it is so cast, it will provide
pressurized air for the duration of the spell effect, and the spell will
travel with the vehicle on which it is cast.
The spell may be cast upon one person, whereupon he can breathe normally.
It's not the same as water breathing, though-if he dives underwater, he can
still breathe, but great quantities of air are always bubbling up from him,
making stealthy travel an impossibility.
The spell may be cast upon a specific piece of equipment like a helmet,
and whichever one person wears it may breathe normally. If the helmet is not
fully enclosed (i.e., airtight), air will lack out from it under pressure;
underwater this makes stealthy movement impossible.
A flying creature on which this spell is cast can not only breathe in
hostile environments, it can fly through airless void. This means that a
pegasus-rider could cast one spell on himself and one on his pegasus, and
then the two of them could fly into the ether of outer space.
The spell does not protect people from the effects of poison gasses
unless the gas in question is a normal component of the atmosphere.
Dispel Magic
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Destroys smells in a 20' cube
This spell destroys other spell effects in a cubic volume of 20'x 20'x
20'. It does not affect magical items. Spell effects created by a caster
(whether cleric, druid, magic-user, or elf) of a level equal to or lower
than the spellcaster of the dispel magic are automatically and immediately
destroyed. Spell effects created by a higher-level spellcaster might not be
affected. The chance of failure is 5 % per level of difference between the
spellcasters. For example, a 7th level magic-user trying to dispel a web
spell cast by a 9th level cleric would have a 10% chance of failure.
Dispel magic will not affect a magical item (such as a scroll, a magical
sword, etc.). However, it can dispel the effects of the magical item when
that item is used (a spellcaster can cast dispel magic on the victim of a
ring of human control and snap him out of that control).
Fireball
Range:240'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Explosion in a sphere 40' diameter
This spell creates a missile of fire that bursts into a ball of fire with
a 40' diameter (20' radius) where it strikes a target. The fireball will
cause 1d6 points of fire damage per level of the caster to every creature in
the area of effect.
Each victim may make a saving throw vs. spells; if successful, the spell
will only do half damage. For example, a fireball cast by a 6th level
spellcaster will burst for 6d6 (6-36) points of damage; characters who make
their saving throw vs. spell will take only half of the damage rolled on the
dice.
Fly
Range: Touch
Duration: 1d6 (1-6) turns + 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: One creature may fly
This spell allows the target it is cast upon (possibly the spellcaster
himself) to fly. The recipient can fly in any direction and at any speed up
to 360' (120') by mere concentration. The recipient may also stop and hover
at any point (as a levitate spell); this does not require concentration.
Haste*
Range:240'
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: Up to 24 creatures move double speed
This spell allows up to 24 creatures in a 60'diameter circle to perform
actions at double speed for half an hour (3 turns). Those affected may move
at up to twice normal speed and make double the normal number of missile or
hand- to-hand attacks.
This spell does not affect the rate at which magic works, so a hasted
spellcaster can still not cast more than one spell per round, and the use of
magical devices (such as wands) cannot be speeded up.
The reverse of this spell, slow, will remove the effects of a haste
spell, or will cause the victims to move and attack at half normal speed.
As with haste, the slow spell does not affect spellcasting or the use of
magical devices.
The victims may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect.
Hold Person*
Range:120'
Duration: 1 turn/level
Effect: Paralyzes up to 4 creatures
The hold person spell will affect any human, demihuman, or human-like
creature (bugbear, dryad, gnoll, hobgoblin, kobold, lizard man, ogre, orc,
nixie, pixie or sprite, for instance). It will not affect the undead or
creatures larger than ogres.
Each victim must make a saving throw vs. spells or be paralyzed for nine
turns. The spell may be cast at a single person or at a group. If cast at a
single person, the victim suffers a - 2 penalty to the saving throw. If cast
at a group, it will affect up to four persons (of the cleric's choice), but
with no penalty to their rolls. The paralysis may only be removed by the
reversed form of the spell, or by a dispel magic spell.
The reverse of the spell, free person, removes the paralysis of up to
four victims of the normal form of the spell (including hold person cast by
a cleric). It has no other effect; e.g., it does not remove the effects of a
ghoul's paralysis ability.
Infravision
Range: Touch
Duration: 1 day
Effect: One living creature
This spell enables the recipient to see in the dark, to a 60' range, with
the same sort of vision possessed by dwarves and elves.
Infravision is the ability to see heat (and the lack of heat). Dwarves,
elves, and casters of the infravision spell have infravision in addition to
normal sight and can see 60' in the dark. infravision does not work in
normal and magical light. Fire and other heat sources can interfere with
infravision, just as a bright flash of light can make normal vision go black
for a short time.
With infravision, warm things appear red, and cold things -appear blue.
For example, an approaching creature could be seen as a red shape, leaving
faint reddish footprints. A cold pool of water would seem a deep blue color.
Characters with infravision can even see items or creatures which are the
same temperature as the surrounding air (such as a table or a skeleton),
since air flow will inevitably show the viewer their borders, outfining them
in a faint Eghter-blue tone. Until they move, they will be very faint to the
eye; once they start moving, they become blurry but very obvious light-blue
figures.
Infravision isn't good enough to read by. A character can use his
infravision to recognize an individual only if they are within 10' distance
unless the individual is very, very distinctive (for example, 8' tall or
walking with a crutch).
Invisibility 10' radius
Range: 120'
Duration: Permanent until broken
Effect: All creatures within 10'
This spell makes the recipient (and all others within 10' at the time of
the casting) invisible. This is an area effect, and those who move further
than 10' from the recipient become visible. They may not regain invisibility
by returning to the area. Otherwise, the invisibility is the same as that
bestowed by the spell invisibility. An invisible creature will remain
invisible until he or she attacks or casts any spell.
All items carried (whether by the recipient or others within 10') also
become invisible.
Lightning Bolt
Range: 180'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Bolt 60' long, 5' wide
This spell creates a bolt of lightning, starting up to 180' away from the
caster and extending 60' in a straight line further away. All creatures
within the area of effect take 1d6 points of damage per level of the
spellcaster. (Thus a 6th level elf would cast a lightning bolt doing 6d6
points of damage.)
Each victim may make a saving throw vs. spells; if successful, he takes only
half damage. If the lightning bolt strikes a solid surface (such as a wall),
it will bounce back toward the caster until the total length of the bolt is
60'.
This spell creates an invisible magical barrier all around the caster,
extending for a 10' radius in all directions. The spell serves as protection
from attacks by monsters of an alignment other than the caster's. Each
creature within the barrier gains a + 1 to all saving throws, and all
attacks against those within are penalized by - 1 to the attacker's attack
roll while the spell lasts.
In addition, enchanted creatures cannot attack those within the barrier in
hand-to-hand (melee) combat. (An enchanted creature is any creature which is
magically summoned or controlled, such as a charmed character, or one that
is not harmed by normal weapons. A creature that can be hit only by a silver
weapon-a werewolf, for example-is not an enchanted creature.
If anyone within the barrier attacks an enchanted creature, the barrier
will no longer prevent the creature from attacking hand-to-hand, but the
bonus to saving throws and penalty to attack rolls will still apply.
Attackers, including enchanted creatures, can attack people inside the
barrier by using missile or magical attacks. They do suffer the penalty to
attack rolls, but that is the only penalty they suffer.
Protection from Normal Missiles
Range: 30'
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: One creature
This spell gives the recipient complete protection from all small
nonmagical missiles (such as arrows, quarrels, thrown spears, etc.); the
ranged attacks simply miss. Large or magical attacks, such as a catapult
stone or a magic arrow, are not affected.
The spellcaster can cast the spell on any one creature within the spell's
range.
Water Breathing
Range:30'
Duration: 1 day (24 hours)
Effect: One air-breathing creature
This spell allows the recipient to breathe while underwater (at any depth).
It does not affect his movement in any way, nor does it interfere with the
breathing of air if the recipient emerges from the water.
Fourth Level Magical Spells
Charm Monster
Range:120'
Duration: Special
Effect: One or more living creatures
This spell effect is identical to that of a charm person spell, but will
affect any creature except an undead monster. If cast on victims with 3 Hit
Dice or less, the spell will charm 3d6 (3-18) victims. Otherwise, it will
charm only one victim. Each victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to
avoid the effects.
Clothform
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates up to 30' x 30' cloth
This spell creates quantities of cloth up to 30'x 30'. The cloth created
by a single spell must appear in one piece. Unlike many creation type
spells, this one creates cloth that is nonmagical and cannot be dispelled.
If the campaign uses the optional general skills and the caster has an
appropriate Craft skill, he may shape the cloth as he creates it. He may
thus create a tent, a sail, a single garment, a drape, 60'of common rope,
etc. If the campaign doesn't use the skills rules, the character could have
been defined earlier as one who knows how to work cloth in order for him to
do this. Naturally, unshaped cloth created by this spell can later be cut,
sewn and otherwise fashioned into such objects.
The cloth so created is much like undyed linen-it's tough, serviceable, and
unglamorous. A caster can create his cloth with an unfinished end, and later
he or another caster can use another clothform to create cloth joined to the
first on that edge-and there will be no seam or weakness at the joining.
This makes it a good spell for creating rugged, dependable sails.
When created, the cloth extrudes from the caster's hands and out along
the ground. If there are obstacles, it piles up against them but does not
shove them back. The spell may not be cast to create a huge sheet which
falls over a unit of enemies, for instance. The cloth, when created, may not
be attached to anything except to another expanse of clothform cloth, as
described above. The cloth cannot be cast in a space occupied by another
object.
In adventures, this spell is often used to make quick shelters and to create
rope.
Confusion
Range:120'
Duration: 12 rounds
Effect: 3- 18 creatures in an area 60' across
This spell will confuse its victims, affecting all creatures within a 30'
radius. Victims with less than 2 + 1 Hit Dice are not allowed a saving
throw. Those with 2 + 1 or more Hit Dice must make a saving throw vs. spells
every round of the spell's duration, if they remain in the area, or be
confused'
Confused creatures act randomly. The DM should roll 2d6 each round to
determine each creature's action, using the following chart:
Confusion Results
2d6 Roll Result
2-5 Attack the spellcaster's party
6-8 Do nothing
9-12 Attack the creature's own party
Dimension Door
Range: 10'
Duration: 1 round
Effect: Safely transport one creature
This spell will transport one creature (either the caster or a victim up to
10' from the caster) to a place up to 360' away. The caster picks the
desired destination. If he does not know the location, the caster may
specify the direction and distance of travel, but the distance cannot exceed
a total of 360' (for example, 360' straight up; or 200' west, 60' south, and
100' down).
If this would cause the recipient to arrive at a location occupied by a
solid object, the spell has no effect.
An unwilling recipient may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the
effect.
Growth of Plants*
Range: 120'
Duration: Special
Effect: Enlarges 3000 square feet of plants
This spell causes normal brush or woods to become thickly overgrown with
vines, deepers, thorns, and briefs (or types of small plant-life appropriate
to the area). The spell affects an area of upto 3,000 square feet (the
caster chooses the dimensions of the spell effect). The plants to be
affected must be entirely within the spell's range.
The area affected by the spell is impassable to all but giant-sized
creatures. The effect lasts until removed by the reversed form of the spell
or by a dispel magic spell.
The reverse of this spell, shrink plants, causes all normal plants within
the area of effect to shrink and become passable. It may be used to negate
the effects of the no-al spell. Shrink plants will not affect plant-like
monsters (such as treants).
Hallucinatory Terrain
Range:240'
Duration: Special
Effect: Changes or hides terrain in 240' radius (or less)
This spell creates the illusion of a terrain feature, either indoors (such
as a pit, stairs, etc.) or outdoors (hill, swamp, grove of trees, etc.),
possibly hiding a real feature. The caster could create the illusion of
solid ground over a series of pits or quicksand pools, or he could create
the image of dense forest over his army's camp, etc.
The caster may choose to place his hallucinatory terrain over a
comparatively small area (for instance, a throne room) or over a much larger
one (for example, a hill). If he chooses to cast the spell on a larger
terrain feature, the entire feature to be affected must be within the range
of the spell. (A hill with greater than a 480' diameter would not be
affected.)
The spell lasts until the illusion is touched by an intelligent creature,
or until dispelled.
Ice Storm/Wail of Ice
Range:120'
Duration: Storm, 1 round; Wall, 12 turns
Effect: Storm in 20'x 20'x 20' volume; or Wall of 1,200 square feet
This spell may be cast in either of two ways: either as an icy blast, ice
storm, or wall of ice.
An ice storm fills a 20'x 20'x 20' cube. If cast in a smaller area, it
will remain 20' long at most. The storm inflicts 1d6 points of cold damage
per level of the caster to every creature in the area. Each victim may make
a saving throw vs. spells; if he is successful, he takes only half damage.
Fire-type creatures (red dragons, flame salamanders, etc.) have a -4 penalty
on their saving throws, but cold-type creatures (frost giant, frost
salamander, etc.) are not affected by the spell.
A wall of ice is a thin vertical wall of any dimensions and shape
determined by the spellcaster totaling 1,200 square feet of less (10' x
120' 3o'x40', etc.). The wall is opaque and will block sight. The wall must
be cast to rest on the ground or similar support, and cannot be cast in a
space occupied by another object.
Creatures of less than 4 Hit Dice or levels cannot break through the wall.
Creatures of 4 HD or more levels can break through, but take 1d6 points of
damage in the process. Fire-type creatures each take twice the amount of
damage (2d6) while breaking through.
Massmorph
Range:240'
Duration: See below
Effect: Causes illusion of trees within 240' range
This spell will affect up to 100 human or man-sized creatures in a 240'
diameter, making them appear to be the trees of an orchard, dense woods, or
other large plant life appropriate to the region. (Unless the campaign's
deserts feature very large cactus, the spell won't work in the desert.)
Unwilling creatures are not affected.
Creatures larger than man-size (such as horses) may be included, counting
as two of three men each. The illusion will hide the recipients from
creatures moving through the area affected. The spell lasts until a dispel
magic is cast on it or until the caster decides to drop the illusion. The
appearance of each disguised creature returns to normal if the creature
moves out of the affected area. However, movement within the area does not
destroy the illusion.
Polymorph Other
Range:60'
Duration: Permanent until dispelled
Effect: Changes one living creature
This spell changes the victim into another living creature. The new form
may have no more than twice as many Hit Dice as the original, or the spell
will fail. The victim's hit points remain the same; an 8th level prince with
32 hit points could end up as a frog with 32 hit points.
Unlike the polymorph self spell, the polymorph others spell actually
turns the victim into the new creature, giving him any and all special
abilities of the new form, plus its tendencies and behavior. For example, a
hobgoblin polymorphed into a mule will think and act like a mule.
This spell cannot create a duplicate of a specific individual, only a
race or monster type. For example, a creature polymorphed into a 9th level
fighter will indeed become a human, but not necessarily a fighter and no
higher than 1st level.
The victim of this spell may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the
effect. The effect lasts until dispelled, or until the creature dies.
Polymorph Self
Range: 0 (Caster only)
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Caster may change shapes
This spell allows the caster to change shape, taking the physical form of
another living creature. The Hit Dice of the new form must be equal to or
less than the Hit Dice of the caster, or the spell will fail.
The caster's armor class, hit points, attack rolls, and saving throws do
not change, and he does not gain special abilities (such as ghouls'
paralysis) or special immunities of the new form; however, he does gain the
natural physical abilities of the new form. For example, a spellcaster
polymorphed into a frost giant has the strength of a frost giant and the
ability to hurl boulders, but not immunity from cold. A spellcaster
polymorphed into a dragon could fly but would not be able to use any breath
weapons or spells.
The spellcaster cannot cast spells while polymorphed into a different form.
The spell lasts for the listed duration, or until dispelled, or until the
caster is killed. This spell will not enable the caster to take the form of
a specific individual (see polymorph other).
Remove Curse*
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Removes any one curse
This spell removes one curse, whether on a character, item, or area. Some
curses-especially
those on magical items-may only be temporarily removed, at the DM's
discretion, requiring a clerical dispel evil spell for permanently removing
the effects (or possibly a remove curse cast by a high-level spellcaster).
The reverse of this spell, curse, causes a misfortune or penalty to affect
the recipient. Curses are limited only by the caster's imagination, but if
an attempted curse is too powerful, it may return to the caster (DM's
discretion)! Safe limits to curses may include: - 4 penalty on attack rolls;
- 2 penalty to all saving throws; prime requisite reduced to half normal.
The victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the curse.
Wail of Fire
Range: 60'
Duration: Concentration
Effect: Creates 1200 square feet of fife
This spell creates a thin vertical wall of fire of ,any dimension and
shape, determined by the spellcaster, totaling 1,200 square feet (for
example, 10'x 120', 20'x 60', 30'x 40', etc.). The wall is opaque and will
block sight. The wall cannot be cast is a space occupied by another object.
It lasts as long as the caster concentrates, without moving, on it.
Creatures of less than 4 Hit Dice cannot break through the wall. Creatures
of 4 HD or more can break through, but take 1d6 points of damage in the
process. Undead and cold-using creatures (white dragons, frost giants, etc.)
each take double damage while breaking through.
This spell creates an invisible eye through which the caster can see. It
is the size of a real eye and has infravision (60' range). The wizard eye
floats through the air at up to 120' per turn, but will not go through solid
objects nor move more than 240' away from the caster. The spellcaster must
concentrate (without moving) to see through the eye.
Fifth Level Magical Spells
Animate Dead
Range: 60'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates zombies or skeletons
This spell allows the spellcaster to make animated, enchanted skeletons or
zombies from normal skeletons or dead bodies within range. These animated
undead creatures will obey the cleric until they are destroyed by another
cleric of a dispel magic spell.
For each experience level of the cleric, he may animate one Hit Die of
undead. A skeleton has the same Hit Dice as the original creature, but a
zombie has one Hit Die more than the original. Note that this doesn't count
character experience levels as Hit Dice: For purposes of this spell, all
humans and demihumans are 1 HD creatures, so the remains of a 9th level
thief would be animated as a zombie with 2 HD.
Animated creatures do not have any spells,
but are immune to sleep and charm effects and
poison. Lawful clerics must take care to use this
spell only for good purpose. Animating the dead
is usually a Chaotic act.
Cloudkill
Range: l'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates a moving poisonous cloud
This spell creates a circular cloud of poisonous vapor, 30' across and 20'
tall, which appears next to the spellcaster. It moves away at the rate of
60' (20' per round) in any one direction (with the wind, if any; otherwise,
in the direction chosen by the caster). This cloud is heavier than air and
will sink when possible (going down holes, sliding downhill, etc.). The
cloud will evaporate if it hits trees or thick vegetation. If cast in a
small area (such as in a 10' tall dungeon corridor), the cloud may be of
smaller than normal size.
All living creatures within the cloud take 1 point of damage per round.
Any victim of less than 5 Hit Dice must make a saving throw vs. poison or be
killed by the vapors.
Conjure Elemental
Range:240'
Duration: Concentration
Effect: Summons one 16 HD elemental
This spell allows the caster to summon any one elemental (AC - 2, HD 16,
Damage 3d8; see the description of elementals in Chapter 14). The caster can
only summon one of each type of elemental (earth, air, fire, water) in one
day.
The elemental will perform any tasks within its power (carrying,
attacking, etc.) as long as the caster maintains control by concentrating.
The caster cannot fight, cast other spells, or move over half Normal Speed,
else he will lose control of the elemental. If he loses control, he cannot
regain it. An uncontrolled elemental will try to slay its summoner, and may
attack anyone in its path while pursuing him.
The spell's caster may return a controlled elemental to its home plane
simply by concentration. A dispel magic or dispel evil spell can return an
uncontrolled elemental to its plane.
Contact Outer Plane
Range: 0 (spellcaster only)
Duration: See below
Effect: 3-12 questions may be answered
This spell allows the spellcaster to contact one of the outer planes of
existence to seek knowledge from an Immortal creature - a powerful magical
being played by the DM. The wisest and most powerful Immortals live on the
most distant outer planes. However, mental contact with an Immortal may
cause a mortal to go insane. The more distant the plane, the greater the
chance of a correct answer-but the greater the chance of insanity as well.
The number of questions the spellcaster may ask is equal to the
"distance" to the outer plane. "Distance" to any other plane of existence is
measured in the number of planes the character would have to cross in order
to visit that plane.
See the chart on page 264 to see where the various planes of existence
lie in relation to one another. The "distance" between the Prime Plane and
the closest outer plane is 3-the Ethereal, elemental, and Astral Planes lie
"between" them. There are many outer planes, many too far removed to be
affected by this spell.
The caster may choose the distance, up to the maximum allowed. The DM
checks the caster's chance of insanity once, when the Immortal is first
contacted. If the caster is 21st level or greater, the chance of insanity is
reduced by 5% per level of the caster above 20.
Even if insanity does not result, the Immortal may still not know the
answer to the character's questions, or may lie, at the DM's discretion. If
the DM does not wish just to decide whether the Immortal knows or is lying,
he can roil on the chart below to determine this.
The spellcaster can use this spell once a month at most (or less often,
at the DM's option), An insane character recovers with rest, after a
number of weeks of game time equal to the number of the plane contacted.
Dissolve*
Range:120'
Duration: 3-18 days
Effect: Liquefies 3000 square feet
This spell changes a volume of soil of rock (but not a construction) to
a morass of mud. An area up to 10' deep or thick is affected, and may have
up to 3,000 square feet of surface area. The magic-user may choose the
exact width and length (20'x 150', 30'x 100', etc.), but the entire area
of effect must be within 240' of the caster. Creatures moving through the
mud are slowed to 10 % of their normal movement rate at best, and may
become stuck (at the DM's discretion, a victim must make saving throw vs.
spells to avoid becoming stuck).
The reverse of this spell (harden) will change the same volume of mud to
rock, but permanently. A victim in the mud may make a saving throw vs.
spells to avoid being trapped in the hardened mud.
Feeblemind
Range:240'
Duration: Permanent until dispelled
Effect: Lowers Intelligence score to 2
This spell will only affect a magic-user, elf, or a monster which can
cast magical spells; it does not affect those which cast only cleric or
druid
It will make the victim helpless, unable to cast spells or think clearly
(as if the victim has an Intelligence score of 2). The victim may make a
saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect, but with a - 4 penalty to the
roll.
The feeblemind keeps until removed by a dispel magic spell (at normal
chances for success) or by a cleric's cureall spell.
Hold Monster*
Range:120'
Duration: 6 turns + 1 turn per level of the caster
Effect: Paralyzes 1-4 creatures
This spell has an effect identical to that of a hold person spell, but
will affect any living creature. (It does not affect the undead.) Each
victim must make a saving throw vs. spells or be paralyzed. The spell may
be cast at a single creature or a group. If cast at a single creature, the
victim takes a - 2 penalty to his saving throw. If cast at a group, it
will affect 1d4 creatures (of the spell- caster's choice, and within spell
range), but with no penalties to the saving throw.
The reverse of this spell, free monster, removes the paralysis of up
to four victims of hold person or hold monster spells. It h-as no other
effect.
Magic jar
Range:30'
Duration: See below
Effect: Take over one body
This spell causes the caster Is body to fall into a trance, while the
caster's life force is placed in an inanimate object (which is called a
magic jar regardless of its form; it does not have to be an actual jar)
within range. From this object, the caster's life force may attempt to
take over any one creature within 120' of the magic jar. If the victim
makes a successful saving throw vs. spells, the attempt fails and the
caster may not try to take over that victim again for one turn. If the
victim fails the saving throw, the caster takes over his body and the life
force of the victim is placed into the magic jar.
The caster may cause the body to perform any normal actions, but not
special abilities (similar to a polymorph self effect). A dispel evil
spell will force the spellcaster's life force out of the victim's body and
back into the magic jar. When the spellcaster returns to his or her real
body, the victim's life force returns to his body and the spell ends.
If the possessed body is destroyed, the victim's life force dies, and
the caster's life force returns to the magic jar. From there the caster
may try to take over another body or return to the original body.
If the magic jar is destroyed while the caster's life force is within
it, the caster is killed. If the magic jar is destroyed while the caster's
life force is in a victim's body, the life force is stranded in that body,
and the force of the body's original owner is destroyed. If the caster's
original body is destroyed, his life force is stranded in the magic jar
until the caster can take over another body!
The taking over of another body is a Chaotic act.
Passwall
Range:30'
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: Creates a hole 10' deep
This spell causes a hole 5' diameter, 10' deep to appear in solid rock
or stone only. The hole may be horizontal or vertical.
The stone reappears at the end of the duration. If someone is still in
the tunnel when the stone reappears, he gets a saving throw vs. turn to
stone. If he succeeds, he is hurled out the nearest end of the tunnel. if
he fails, he is trapped within the reappearing stone, and dies.
Telekinesis
Range:120'
Duration: 6 rounds
Effect: 200 cn of weight per level of caster
This spell enables the spellcaster to move a creature or object simply
by concentrating. The item may weigh up to 200 cn (20 lbs) per level of
the caster (a 10th level elf could move an object weighing up to 2,000 cn,
or 200 lbs). The caster m-ay move the object in any direction, at a rate
of up to 20' per round.
An unwilling victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the
effect. If he makes the roll, he doesn't budge. If a target is being held
by someone, the holder can make a saving throw with a - 2 penalty to
retain the target item.
If the telekinesis grabs an object that is being carried but not held
in the hand, the owner may grab for it as it is yanked away. To catch the
departing object, he must make a saving throw vs. spells with a - 5
penalty.
The caster must concentrate while moving objects, and the objects will
fall if the caster is disturbed.
Teleport
Range: 10'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Transports one creature with equipment
This spell instantly transports the spell-caster or another recipient to
any unoccupied destination on the same plane of existence. Distance does
not matter so long as the destination is on the same plane. The recipient
arrives at the destination with all equipment he was carrying. An
unwilling victim can make a saving throw vs. spell to avoid the spell
effects.
The caster may not deliberately choose a destination he knows to be
occupied by a solid object, and he must choose to appear on a surface
(such as ground level or the top of a building); he can not choose to
appear far up in the air.
Teleporting is dangerous; there is a chance the teleporter will appear
in a solid object. The teleporter's chance of arriving safely depends on
how carefully the caster has studied the area.
On the chart below, the DM determines how well the caster knows the
destination.
Teleport Chances
Knowledge of Destination Result
Casual General Exact
01-50 01-80 01-95 Success
51-75 81-90 96-99 Too High
76-00 91-00 00 Too Low
"Casual Knowledge" means that the caster has been there once or twice,
or is visualizing the aiming point from descriptions or magical means.
"General Knowledge" means the caster has been to the area often, or has
spent several weeks studying the area magically (via crystal ball, etc.).
"Exact Knowledge" means the caster has made a detailed personal study of
the area.
Once the DM has determined how well the character knows the
destination, the DM rolls d%. If the result is "Success," the teleporter
arrives exactly where the caster desired.
If the result is "Too High," the recipient arrives 1d10x10' above the
desired destination, then falls, taking damage on impact (1d6 points of
damage per 10' fallen). (If he had already cast a fly or levitate spell,
or already had a flying device operating, he can avoid this damage.)
If the result is "Too Low," the recipient arrives 1d10x10' below the
desired location. Any creature teleporting into a solid object is
instantly killed unless a vacant area (such as a cave or dungeon) lies at
that point (DM's discretion).
Wall of Stone
Range:60'
Duration: Special
Effect: Creates 1000 cubic feet of stone
This spell creates a vertical stone wall exactly 2' thick. The caster
chooses the wall's dimensions and shape, but its total area must be 500
square feet or less (10' x 50', 20' x 25', etc.), and the entire wall must
be within 60' of the caster.
The caster must create the wall where the wall will rest on the ground
or similar support, and cannot create the wall in a space already occupied
by another object.
The wall lasts until it is dispelled or physically broken.
If a wall of stone topples, it causes 10d10 points of damage to what
it hits, and it shatters.
Woodform
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates 1,000 cubic feet of wood
This spell creates a mass of wood equal to 1,000 cubic feet; it may be
arranged in any fashion the caster desires (10' x 10' x 10' block, 25'x
20'x 2' wall, etc.)
Casting time varies depending on the complexity of the design. A
simple wall and other simple shapes take 1 round. A simple staircase may
take 10 rounds (i turn). A complicated design which is supposed to adhere
to very tight specifications-such as the keel of a ship-could take the
maximum time allowable, 12 turns (2 hours) just to work up in rough form.
When the caster wants to try a complicated design, the DM decides how long
the casting will take.
The object must be created as a single piece, with no moving parts.
The original caster of the spell may later cast woodform on an object he
has already created with the same spell, in order to modify it for up to
two hours. This is how spellcaster artists often make fine woodcarvings,
for instance. When he is satisfied with his work, he casts woodform on it
one last time to "lock it in place," and it may no longer be modified by
woodform spells.
The mass of wood must be created so as to rest on the ground or similar
support, and cannot be cast in a space occupied by another object.
A caster can create his wood with one or more rough sides, and later he
or another caster can use another woodform to create wood perfectly joined
to the first on that side-and there will be no seam or weakness at the
joining. This makes it a good spell for creating strong ships and wooden
buildings.
The caster may decide what sort of wood is created, within reason. The
DM may refuse to allow the caster to pick very expensive, exotic, or
magical woods.
The wood created by this spell is not dispellable; it lasts until
broken through, burned, or destroyed by spells like disintegrate.
The armor class and hit points of building materials are given in the
Fortifications Table on page 137. Based on those guidelines, a wall of
wood has an AC of - 4(6) and 60 hit points per 1' thickness. Most building
exterior walls would be about 8" thick and have 40 hit points.
Sixth Level Magical Spells
Anti-Magic Shell
Range: 0 (Caster only)
Duration: 12 turns
Effect: Personal barrier which blocks magic
This spell creates an invisible barrier around the spellcaster's body
(less than an inch away). The barrier stops all spells or spell effects,
including the caster's. The caster may destroy the shell at will;
otherwise, it lasts for the duration. Except for a wish, no magic
(including a dispel magic spell) can cancel the barrier.
Death Spell
Range: 240'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Slays 4d8 (4-32) Hit Dice of creatures
within a 60' x 60' x 60' area
This spell will affect 4d8 (4-32) Hit Dice of living creatures within
the given area. Normal plants and insects are automatically slain, and
those with no hit points (normal insects, plants smaller than shrub-sized,
for instance) are not counted in the total affected. Undead are not
affected, nor are creatures with 8 or more Hit Dice (or levels of
experience).
The lowest Hit or Dice creatures are affected first. Each victim must
make a saving throw vs. death ray or die.
Disintegrate
Range: 60'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Destroys one creature or object
This spell causes one creature or nonmagical object to crumble to dust.
A victim may make a saving throw vs. death ray to avoid the effect. (The
spell can disintegrate a dragon, a ship, or a 10'section of wall, for
example.)
The spell does not affect magical items or spell effects.
Geas*
Range:30'
Duration: Until completed or removed
Effect: Compels one creature
This spell forces a victim either to perform or avoid a stated action.
For example, a character may be geesed to bring back an object for the
caster, to eat whenever the chance arises, or never to reveal certain
information. The action must be possible and not directly fatal or else
the geas will return and affect the caster instead!
When the spell is first cast, the victim may make a saving throw vs.
spells to avoid the spell's effect.
If the victim ignores the geas, penalties (decided by the DM) are
applied until the character either obeys the geas or dies. Suitable
penalties include penalties in combat, lowered ability scores, loss of
spells, pain and weakness, and so forth. Dispel magic and remove curse
spells will not affect a geas.
The geas makes the victim perform an action, but does not make him
think it is his own idea: Once he finishes performing his task, he may
decide to exact revenge on the spellcaster.
The reverse of this spell, remove geas, will rid a character of an
unwanted Geas and its effects. However, if the caster is of a lower level
than the caster of the original geas, there is a chance of failure (5 %
per level difference).
Invisible Stalker
Range: 0 (Caster only)
Duration: Until mission is accomplished
Effect: Summons one creature
This spell summons an invisible stalker (from Chapter 14) which will
perform one task for the caster. The creature will serve the caster
regardless of the time or distance involved, until the task is completed
or until the creature is stain. A dispel evil spell will force the
creature to return to its home plane.
Lower Water
Range:240'
Duration: 10 turns
Effect: Cuts depths to half normal
This spell causes a body of water to lower to half its normal depth. It
will effect an area up to 10,000 square feet (width and length). If cast
on a constantly-renewed source of water (such as a river or ocean), it
lowers that area of water for the entire duration of the spell (or until
it is dispelled); surrounding water does not rush in until the spell is
ended. If cast around a boat or ship, the vessel may become stuck.
At the end of the spell's duration, the sudden rush of water filling the
"hole" will sweep a ship's deck clear of most items (and people who fail
their saving throws vs. spells) and cause 1d12 + 20 (21-32) points of hull
damage.
This spell can turn a rampaging river into a river which the heroes'
party can ford, can cause some pools to lower fat enough for the
adventurers to see what's deeper in them, etc. If cast around a boat or
ship, this spell may cause the bay or river to drop enough for the vessel
to become stuck.
Move Earth
Range:240'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Moves soil
This spell causes soil (but not rock) to move. The caster can use the
spell to move earth horizontally to make a hill, or vertically, to open a
large hole (one up to 240' deep, unless it reaches solid rock). The spell
moves the soil at up to 60' per turn, and at the end of the spell
duration, the moved soil remains where it is put. This spell is helpful
for constructing castles.
Projected Image
Range:240'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates one image
This spell creates an image of the caster up to 240' away; the image
will last without concentration. The projected image cannot be
distinguished from the original except by touch. Any spell the spellcaster
casts will seem to come from the image, but the caster must still be able
to see the target.
Spells and missile attacks will not appear to affect the image. If the
image is touched or struck by a hand-to-hand weapon, it disappears.
Reincarnation
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates a new body
To cast this spell, the magic-user must have a part (however small) of
a dead body. The spell magically creates a new body, and the life force
which was once in the dead body returns and inhabits the new one. The DM
can choose what sort of body is created, or can refers to the tables below
to decide.
If the life force is reincamated as a different race, ail details of
the new race apply, instead of the old. For example, a cleric reincarnated
as an elf is no longer a cleric, but is able to cast magic- user spells
and fight as an elf.
The victim's level of experience does not change unless restricted by
the maximum for demihumans. If the victim is reincarnated in a monster
body, the victim's alignment helps determine the type of monster which
appears; a character will not be reincarnated in the body of a monster
that cannot have his alignment. A monster body may not gain levels of
experience; the character must play as the reincarnated creature, or
retire from play, or (perhaps) be reincarnated again when slain.
Reincarnation Results
Type of Body Appearing (Roll 1d8)
1 Human 5 Elf
2 Human 6 Halfling
3 Human 7 Original race
4 Dwarf 8 Monster
(see below)
Type of Monster Body Appearing (Roll 1d6)
1d6 Lawful Neutral Chaotic
1 Blink Dog Ape, White Bugbear
2 Gnome Bear* Gnoll
3 Neanderthal Centaur Kobold
4 Owl, giant Griffon Manticore
5 Pegasus Lizard Man Orc
6 Treant Pixie Troglodyte
Any normal bear
The DM may add more monsters to the lists. Such monsters should have 8 Hit
Dice or less and should be at least semi-intelligent.
Stone to Flesh*
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: One creature or object
This spell turns any one statue (or quantity of stone up to 10'x 10'x
10') to flesh. It is usually used to restore a character turned to stone
(by gorgon breath, for example).
The reverse of this spell, flesh to stone, will turn one living
creature, including all equipment carried, to stone. The victim may make a
saving throw vs. turn to stone to avoid the effect.
Stoneform
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates 1,000 cubic feet of stone This spell creates a mass of
stone equal to 1,000 cubic feet; it may be arranged in any fashion the
caster desires (10'x10'x10' block, 25'x 20'x 2' wall, etc.).
Casting time varies depending on the complexity of the design. A
simple wall and other simple shapes take I round. A simple staircase may
take 10 rounds (i turn). A complicated design meant to adhere to very
tight specifications-such as an ornate fountain or statue-could take the
maximum time allowable, 12 turns (2 hours), just to work up in rough form.
When the caster wants to try a complicated or unusual design, the DM
decides how long the casting will take.
The object must be created as a single piece, with no moving parts.
The original caster of the spell may later cast stoneform on an object he
has already created with the same spell in order to modify it for up to
two hours. This is how magic-user artists often make fine statues, for
instance. When he is satisfied with his work, the magic-user casts
stoneform on it one last time to "lock it in place," and it may no longer
be modified by stoneform spells.
The mass of stone must be created to rest on the ground or similar
support, and cannot be cast in a space occupied by another object.
A caster can create his stone with one or more rough sides, and later
he of another caster can use another stoneform to create stone joined to
the first on that side-and there will be no seam or weakness at the
joining. This makes it a good spell for creating strong walls and gigantic
buildings-colisea, palaces, etc.
The caster may decide what sort of stone is created, within reason.
The DM may refuse to allow the caster to pick very expensive, exotic, or
magical stones. Valuable jade, for instance, is an inappropriate choice.
However, a caster can choose such stones as clear lead crystal, and so
make thick, strong, perfect windows with this spell.
The stone is not dispellable; it lasts until broken or destroyed by
spells like disintegrate.
The armor class and hit points of building materials are given on the
Fortifications Table on page 137. In general, from those guidelines, stone
walls have an AC of -4(6) and 100 hit points per 1' thickness; doing 500
hit points of damage to a 5' wall will definitely knock a hole in it.
Building exterior walls tend to be about 7" thick and have 60 hit points.
Wall of Iron
Range:120'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates 500 square feet of iron
This spell creates a vertical wall of iron exactly 2' thick. The
magic-user may choose any length and width, but the total area must be 500
square feet or less (10' x 50', 20' x 25', etc.), and the entire wall must
be within 120' of the caster. The caster must create the wall so it rests
on the ground or similar support. It cannot be cast in a space occupied by
another object. It lasts until dispelled, disintegrated, or physically
broken (though it will resist all but giant-sized physical attacks). Most
other spell effects, including fireball, lighting bolt, etc., have no
effect on a wall of iron. If the wall is made to topple, it causes 10d10
(10-100) points of damage to whatever it hits, and shatters.
If the wall is attacked, it has a number of hit points equal to the
level of the caster. A rust monster can destroy a wall of iron with a
single touch. Otherwise, the wall can only be damaged by battering; see
Chapter 9 (page 118) for more on battering attacks.
Weather Control
Range: 0 (magic-user only)
Duration: Concentration
Effect: All weather within 240 yards
This spell allows the magic-user to create one special weather condition
in the surrounding area (within a 240 yard radius). The spellcaster may
select the weather condition. The spell only works outdoors, and the
weather will affect all creatures in the area (including the caster). The
effects last as long as the spellcaster concentrates, without moving; if
the caster is being moved (for example, aboard a ship), the effect moves
also.
The spell's effects vary, but the following results are typical:
Rain: - 2 penalty to attack rolls applies to all missile fire. After
three turns, the ground becomes muddy, reducing movement to half the
normal rate.
Snow: Visibility (the distance a creature can see) is reduced to 20';
movement is reduced to half the normal rate. Rivers and streams may freeze
over. Mud remains after the snow thaws, for the same movement penalty.
Fog: 20' visibility, half normal movement. Those within the fog might
become lost, moving in the wrong direction.
Clear: This cancels bad weather (rain, snow, fog) but not secondary
effects (such as mud). Intense Heat: Movement reduced to half normal.
Excess water (from rain, snow, mud transmuted from rock, etc.) dries up.
High Winds: No missile fire or flying is possible. Movement reduced to
half normal. At sea, ships sailing with the wind move 50% faster. In the
desert, high winds create a sandstorm, for half normal movement and 20'
visibility.
Tornado: This creates a whirlwind under the magic-user control,
attacking and moving as if it was a 12 HD air elemental. At sea, treat the
tornado as a storm or gale.
Seventh Level Magical Spells
Charm Plant
Range:120'
Duration: 6 months(see below)
Effect: Charms one tree or more smaller plants
Similar to a charm person spell, this effect causes one tree, six
medium-sized bushes, 12 small shrubs, or 24 small plants to become friends
of the magic-user (no saving throw). However, a plant-like monster
(treant, shrieker, etc.) may make a saving throw vs. spells to resist the
effect.
The charmed plants will understand and obey all commands of the
magic-user, as longe as the tasks are within their ability (including the
entangling of passers-by within range, but not including movement, sensing
alignment, etc.).
The plants will remain charmed for six months, until the charm is
dispelled, or until winter (when they steep). (This spell is quite useful
around a stronghold, both inside and out, especially when used after a 4th
level growth of plants spell, and possibly a permanence as well.)
Create Normal Monsters
Range:30'
Duration: I turn
Effect: Creates 1 of more monsters
This spell causes monsters to appear out of thin air. All monsters
appearing will understand and obey the caster's commands-fighting,
carrying or fetching things, etc. They will faithfully obey all commands
to the best of their abilities. Each monster will appear carrying its
normal weapons and wearing its normal arm. or (if any), but arrives
otherwise unequipped. At the end of one turn, all the monsters created
vanish back into thin air, along with all their equipment. (if a monster
has dropped a weapon while fighting and then vanishes, the weapon
disappears, too.)
The total number of Hit Dice of monsters appearing is equal to the
level of the magic-user casting the spell. (If the spellcaster's level is
not an exact multiple of the monsters' Hit Dice, drop all fractions). The
magic-user may choose the exact type of monsters created, but he must
select only monsters with no special abilities (i.e., no asterisk next to
the Hit Die number in the monster explanation). This spell does not create
humans, demihumans, or undead. Creatures of 1-1 1/2 Hit Dice are counted
as 1 Hit Die; creatures of 1/2 Hit Die or less are counted as 1/2 Hit Die
each.
Example: With this spell, a 15th level caster could summon 30 giant
bats, rats, or kobolds (1/2 Hit Die monsters); or 15 goblins, orcs, or
hobgoblins (i Hit Die monsters); or rock baboons,
gnolls, or lizard men (2 Hit Die monsters); or 5 boars, dragons,
lizards, or bugbears (3 Hit Die monsters); or 3 black bears, panthers, or
giant weasels (5 Hit Die monsters); and so forth.
Delayed Blast Fireball
Range: 240'
Duration: 0 to 60 rounds
Effect: Delayed blast fireball of 20' radius
As the name implies, this is a fireball spell whose blast can be
delayed; it behaves like a time bomb. When he casts the spell, the magic-
user states the exact number of rounds of delay (from 0 to 60) until the
spell detonates. A small rock, very similar in appearance to a valuable
gem, then shoots out toward the desired location, and remains at that
location until the stated delay elapses. The "gem" may be picked up,
carried, and so forth.
When the stated duration ends, it explodes in an effect identical to a
normal fireball a sudden instantaneous explosion inflicting 1d6 points of
damage per level of the caster to all within the area of effect (a sphere
of 20' radius). Each victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to take
half damage.
Once the spell has been cast, the explosion cannot be hurried nor
further delayed, except for with a wish. The "gem" created is pure magic,
not an actual object, and cannot be moved magically (by telekinesis,
teleport, etc.); however, it can be dispelled.
Ironform
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates 500 square feet of iron
This spell creates a wall of iron 2" thick (or less) with an area equal
to 500 square feet; it may be arranged in any fashion the caster desires
(10'x 50' wall, or 25'x 20' wall, etc.)
Casting time varies depending on the complexity of the design. A simple
wall and other simple shapes take 1 round. A simple staircase may take 10
rounds (i turn). A complicated design which is supposed to adhere to very
tight specifications-such as a giant portcullis-could take the maximum
time allowable, 12 turns (2 hours) just to create in rough form. When the
caster wants to try a complicated of unusual design, the DM decides how
long the casting will take.
The object must be,created as a single piece, with no moving parts. The
original caster of the spell may later cast ironform on an object he has
already created with the same spell, in order to modify it for up to two
hours. This is how magic- user artists often make fine iron statues, for
instance. When he is satisfied with his work, he casts ironform on it one
last time to "lock it in place," and it may no longer be modified by
ironform spells.
The iron wall must be created to rest on the ground or similar support,
and cannot be cast in a space occupied by another object. Unlike the metal
created by the wall of iron spell, it does not have to be created in a
vertical position.
A caster can create his iron with one of more rough sides, and later he
of another caster can use another ironform to create iron joined to the
first on that side-and there will be no seam or weakness at the joining.
This makes it a good spell for creating iron reinforcements for walls.
The iron so created is not dispellable; it lasts until broken or
destroyed by spells like disintegrate of creatures such as rust monsters.
The armor class and hit points of building materials are given in the
Fortifications Table on page 137. Following these general guidelines, we
find that an iron wall will have an AC of -10(2) and about 15 hit points
per 1" thickness.
Lore
Range: 0 (magic-user only)
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Reveals details of 1 item, place, or person
By means of this spell, the magic-user may gain knowledge of one item,
place, or person. If the caster holds the item being studied, the spell
takes 1d4 turns to complete, and the magic-user learns the item's name,
method of operation and command words (if any), and approximate number of
charges (if any, within five of the correct number).
If the item has more than one mode of operation, or more than one
command word, only one function will be revealed for each lore spell used,
and the spell will not even hint that the object has any other functions.
If the spell is being used to investigate a place or person, or an item
which the caster is not holding, the spell may take 1d100 days to
complete. A purely legendary topic should require large amounts of time,
and the information gained may be in the form of a riddle or poem. The
Dungeon Master should reveal only general details if the place is large,
or if the person is of great power.
Magic Door*
Range: 10'
Duration: 7 uses
Effect: Creates one passage
This spell may be cast on any wall, floor, ceiling, or section of
ground. It creates a magical, invisible doorway that only the spellcaster
may use. It also creates a passage through up to 10' of non-living solid
material beyond the doorway itself. It cannot be created in a living
object of any kind. The door is undetectable except by a detect magic
spell, and cannot be destroyed except by a dispel magic spell (at normal
chances for success).
The magic door lasts until dispelled, of until it has been used seven
times. Note that each one way passage through the door is counted as a
separate use.
The reverse of this spell, magic lock, is a powerful version of the 2nd
level wizard lock spell, but cannot be affected by a knock spell or by the
effects of any magical item. The magic lock causes any one portal to
become totally impassable as long as the magic remains; only the spell-
caster can use the portal. The spell can affect an empty 10'x
10'portal-like area (such as an empty doorway). The locked portal does not
change in,appearance. As with a magic door, the enchantment remains until
the portal has been used seven times or until removed by a dispel magic
spell.
Mass Invisibility*
Range:240'
Duration: Permanent until broken
Effect: Creatures or objects in 60' square area
This bestows invisibility (as the 2nd level spell) on several
creatures. All the recipients must be within an area 60' square within
240' of the magic-user. The spell will affect up to 6 dragon-sized
creatures, or up to 300 man-sized creatures. After the spell is cast, each
creature becomes invisible, along with all equipment it carries (as per
the invisibility spell, above). An invisible creature will remain
invisible until he or she attacks or casts any spell.
The reverse of this spell, (appear), will cause all invisible creatures
and objects in a 20'x 20'x 20' volume to become visible. Creatures on the
Astral and Ethereal planes are not within the area of effect; the spell
cannot reach across planar boundaries. All other forms of invisibility are
affected, both magical and natural, and all victims of this spell cannot
become invisible again for one full turn.
Power Word Stun
Range:120'
Duration: 2d6 or 1d6 turns
Effect: Stuns 1 creature of 70 hp or less
This lets the caster stun one victim within 120' (no saving throw). A
victim with 1-35 hit points is stunned for 2d6 turns; a victim with 36-70
hit points is stunned for 1d6 turns. No creature with 71 or greater hit
points is affected.
Reverse Gravity
Range: 90'
Duration: 1/5 round (2 seconds)
Effect: Causes victims in a 30' cubic volume to fall upward
This spell affects all creatures and objects within a cubic volume 30'x
30'x 30', causing them to "fall" in a direction opposite the normal
gravity. In two seconds, creatures and objects can "fall" a maximum of
65'. No saving throw is allowed, and all victims hitting a ceiling or
other obstruction take 1d6 points of damage per 10' "fallen." Note that
after the two seconds have elapsed, gravity returns to normal and all
victims will fall back to their original places, suffering more falling
damage. The DM should make a morale check for each NPC victim of this
spell.
Example: A magic-user casts this spell at a group of approaching giants
in a 40' tall room. The giants "fall" to the ceiling and then back to the
floor, each taking a total of 8d6 points of damage in the process: 4d6
from "failing" up and hitting the ceiling, and another 4d6 from failing
back down to the floor.
Statue
Range: 0 (Magic-user only)
Duration: 2 turns per level of the caster
Effect: Allows caster to turn to stone
This allows the magic-user to change into a statue, along with all
nonliving equipment he carries, up to once per round (to or from statue
form) for the duration of the spell. The caster can concentrate on other
spells while in statue
for, though he can cast no new spells while in this form. Although this
spell does not give him immunity to "turn to stone" effects (from a
gorgon's attack), the caster may simply turn back to normal one round
after becoming petrified.
While in statue form, the magic-user is armor class -4, but cannot
move. He cannot be damaged by cold or fire (whether normal or magical) or
by normal weapons. He does not breathe, and is thus immune to all gas
attacks, drowning, etc. Magical weapons and other spells (such as
lightning bolt) inflict normal damage on him. If a fire or cold spell is
cast at the magic-user while in normal form, the character need only win
initiative (with a + 2 bonus) to turn into a statue before the attacking
spell strikes.
Summon Object
Range: Infinite
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Retrieves one object from caster's home
By means of this spell, the magic-user can cause one nonliving object
to leave the spellcaster's home and appear in his hand. The object must
weigh no more than 500 cn (50 pounds), and may be no bigger than a staff
or small chest. The spellcaster must be very familiar with the item and
its exact location, or the spell will not work. The caster must also have
prepared the item beforehand by sprinkling it with a special powder that
costs 1,000 gold pieces per item prepared; the powder becomes invisible
and does not interfere with the item in any way. The spell cannot summon
items that have not been prepared in this fashion.
If the magic-user prepares a chest for use with this spell, fills the
chest with weapons and magical items, and then later tries to summon it to
him, the chest appears-empty. All its contents stay behind, where the
chest originally stood, since they have not been magically prepared for
use with the spell, and since the spell can summon only one prepared
object at a time.
If another being possesses the item summoned, it will not appear, but
the caster will know approximately who and where the possessor is. The
magic-user may use this spell from any location, even if the item summoned
is on another plane of existence.
Sword
Range:30'
Duration: 1 round per level of the caster
Effect: Creates a magical sword
When this spell is cast, a glowing sword made of magic, rather than
metal, appears next to the caster. The magic-user may cause it to attack
any creature within 30', simply by concentrating; the sword flies to the
target and attacks. If the caster's concentration is broken, the sword
merely stops attacking. It remains in existence for one round per level of
the spellcaster.
The sword moves very quickly, attacking twice per round and making its
attack rolls at the caster's level. Damage is the same as a two-handed
sword (1d10), but this magical creation is capable of hitting any target
(even those hit only by powerful magical weapons).
The sword cannot be destroyed before the duration ends, except by a dispel
magic spell effect (at normal chances of success) or a wish.
Teleport Any Object
Range: Touch
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Causes 1 object to teleport
This spell is similar to the 5th level teleport spell, but nonliving
objects can be affected. After casting this spell, the spellcaster may
touch one creature or object and cause it to teleport. The normal chance
of error apply (see the description of the teleport spell above)l an
object appearing too high will fall and probably break, while one
appearing too low will be destroyed instantly. If the spellcaster uses
this spell to teleport himself, there is no chance for error. The caster
may not deliberately choose a destination occupied by a solid object or in
open air above the ground.
The maximum weight affected is 500 cn (50 pounds) per level of the caster.
If an object is a solid part of a greater whole (such as a section of
wall), the spell will teleport a maximum of one 10'x 10'x 10' cube of
material. If the caster is trying to teleport a creature that weighs more
than the spell allows, the spell fails.
If another creature holds or carries the item which the caster is
trying to teleport, the creature may make a saving throw vs. spells (with
a -2 penalty). If the saving throw is successful, the teleport fails.
If the caster touches another creature, the target creature may make a
saving throw vs. spells (if so desired) to avoid being teleported, but
with a - 2 penalty to the roll.
Eighth Level Magical Spells
Clone
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Grows one duplicate creature from a piece of the original creature
A clone is an exact duplicate of another living creature, grown from a
piece of the original through the use of this spell. The piece need not be
alive at the time the spell is cast.
A human or demihuman clone is rare and may be very dangerous. A clone
of any other living creature is a more commorlthing called a simulacrum. A
character can have only one clone at a time; attempts at making multiple
clones of a single character automatically fail. Undead and constructs
cannot be cloned, because they are not living creatures. (You could clone
someone from flesh taken before that person became undead, but he would
not be subject to the effects described below for situations where two
examples of the same person exist.)
Human and demihuman clones: To create a human or demihuman clone, this
spell must be cast on one pound of the person's flesh. This spell requires
the caster to use up other materials costing 5,000. gold pieces per Hit
Die of the original. The clone awakens only when fully grown; this takes
one week per Hit Die of the clone. When completed, the clone is not
magical and cannot be dispelled.
If the human or demihuman original is not alive when the clone
awakens, the clone has all the features, statistics (abilities), and
memories possessed by the original at the time the flesh was taken. This
is a very important point. For example, a 20th level magic-user might
leave a pound of flesh with a scroll of this spell, so that he might be
restored if lost; but if the character gains another ten levels of
experience and then dies, the clone will be the younger, less experienced,
20th level form.
If a clone duplicates a person still living, or if the original person
regains life, a very hazardous situation develops. Each form instantly
becomes aware of the other's existence. A partial mind- link exists
between them; each can feel the other's emotions (but no other thoughts).
If either one is damaged, the other takes the same damage (but may make a
saving throw vs. spells to take half damage). This effect does not apply
to charm, sleep, cures, or other effects that do not cause damage.
The clone is immediately obsessed with the need to destroy its
original and will do anything to accomplish this. From the time a clone
becomes aware of its original, it has one day per level of its creator
(i.e., the caster of the clone spell) to kill the original.
Example: A 25th level fighter dies. His friend the 34th level
magic-user, who possesses a pound of the fighter's flesh for this precise
purpose, bones him. Then someone else raises the fighter from the dead.
The clone becomes aware of his original and is compelled to kill him. He
has 34 days to do so-one day for every experience level of his creator.
If the clone succeeds in killing its original, it can continue with
its life normally; but if it fails and does not immediately die, it
becomes insane.
When a clone goes insane, the original creature permanently loses one
point of Intelligence and one point of Wisdom. The original may also
thereafter become insane (5% chance per day, not cumulative). If this
occurs, the victim and the clone die one week later, both forever dead and
unrecoverable even with a wish.
Special Note: If the original and the clone are kept on different
planes of existence, no mindlink occurs, and the clone is not compelled to
kill its original. No ill effects occur, and the two remain completely
unaware of their situation. If they ever occupy the same plane, the
mind-link occurs and cannot be broken thereafter except by the destruction
of the clone or its original.
Other clones: A clone of any other living creature (not a human of
demihuman) is called a simulacr-um. One percent of the original's flesh is
needed, and the cost of other materials is 500 gold pieces per hit point
of the original. As with a normal clone, the time required to grow a
simulacrum is one week per Hit Die of the original, A simulacrum always
obeys its creator (the spellcaster). It understands all the languages
spoken by the caster. Within a range of 10' per level of the caster, it
can receive mental commands if the creator concentrates on sending them.
A simulacrum is an enchanted monster. It can be blocked by a protection
from evil spell and is magical; a dispel magic spell can (subject to
normal chances of failure for that spell) cause it to vanish without a
trace.
The simulacrum's alignment is the same as that of the spellcaster,
regardless of the original creature's alignment. Its armor class, movement
rate, morale, and number of attacks are the same as the original's.
A simulacrum has only 50% of the original's Hit Dice, hit points, and
damage per attack. The DM rolls d100 for each special ability; it is
present in the simulacrum if the result is 01-50. However, a freshly grown
simulacrum never has any of the spells or spell-like abilities of the
original.
If the original creature is alive, the simulacrum does not grow beyond
this point. If the original creature dies (or is already dead), the
simulacr-um continues to increase in abilities, gaining an additional 5 %
per week to a maximum of 90% of the original's statistics. When complete,
the DM rolls again to see which special abilities previously missing are
gained, including spells and spell-like abilities (using the 90% chance
for each; all may be present).
Create Magical Monsters
Range: 60'
Duration: Two turns
Effect: Creates one or more monsters
This spell is similar to the 7th level create normal monsters spell,
except that it can create monsters with some special abilities (up to two
asterisks). The range and duration are double those of the lesser spell.
All other details are the same: the creatures are chosen by the caster,
appear out of thin air, and vanish at the end of the spell duration.
The total number of Hit Dice of monsters appearing is equal to the
level of the magic-user casting the spell (again, dropping fractions if
the caster's level is not an exact multiple of the creatures' Hit Dice).
The spell does not create humans or demihumans, but can create undead.
Creatures of 1 - 1 Hit Die count as 1 Hit Die; creatures of 1/2 Hit Die or
less count as 1/2 Hit Die each.
Special Note: This spell can create a construct (as defined in Chapter
14) if the spellcaster uses the materials normally requited for the
construct's creation. Only one construct will appear, regardless of the
caster's Hit Dice; but it is permanent, and does not vanish at the end of
the spell duration-though it still may be dispelled at normal chances of
success. This construct may have only two asterisks (special abilities) or
less; see Chapter 14 for lists of the known types of constructs and the
number of special abilities they have. The cost of materials is a minimum
of 5,000 gold pieces per asterisk (or more, depending on your campaign).
Chapter 16 contains more rules for enchanting magical items (including
constructs), and has suggestions regarding nondispellable constructs.
Dance
Range: Touch
Duration: 3 or more rounds
Effect: Causes 1 victim to dance
This spell causes one victim to prance madly about, performing a jig or
other dance, for 3 or more rounds. The magic-user must touch the victim
for the spell to take effect (a normal attack roll). The victim gets no
saving throw, and can not attack, use spells (or spell-like abilities), or
flee. While dancing, the victim suffers a -4 penalty to his saving throws,
and a +4 penalty to his armor class.
The duration is three rounds for a caster of 18th to 20th level; four
rounds for levels 21-24, five rounds at levels 25-28, six rounds at levels
29-32, and seven rounds at levels 33-36.
Explosive Cloud
Range: 1'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates a moving poisonous cloud
This spell creates an effect which looks identical to the 5th level
cloudkill spell (a 20' tall cloud of greenish gas 30' in diameter
appearing next to the caster). The cloud is only mildly poisonous; all
victims within it must make a saving throw vs. spells or be paralyzed that
found. Each victim within the cloud makes a new saving throw each round.
The cloud is filled with sparkling lights (visible only to those within
it), which are small explosions. Each round, those within the cloud take
damage from the explosions, with no saving throw allowed. This damage is 1
point for each two levels of experience of the magic-user, rounded down (9
points at 18th or 19th level, 10 points at 20th or 21st level, etc.). This
explosive damage will affect any creature, including those immune to fire,
gas, electricity, and other special attacks.
Force Field
Range: 120'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates an invisible barrier
This spell creates an invisible, immovable barrier or object of pure
force. It has almost no thickness, but cannot be broken or destroyed by
any means except a disintegrate spell or a wish; even a dispel magic spell
cannot affect it. A force field's shape is limited to a sphere,
hemisphere, a flat surface, a cylinder, a square or rectangular box with
flat sides, or part of such a box. The sphere's radius can be a maximum of
20'. The flat surface of combinations thereof may be up to 5,000 square
feet in total area. The force Field cannot be irregular in shape, and its
surface must be perfectly smooth. It can be as small as the caster
desires.
The force field will not appear within any solid or creature. Any part
of it that would do so will not appear, leaving a hole in the force
field-normally, a hole large enough for the victim to escape through.
Furthermore, the edges of the field are blunt and cannot cause damage in
any way. The force field will stay where it is put until it disappears,
and cannot be moved by any means but a wish.
Creature(s) completely enclosed by a sealed force field will not starve,
suffer from lack of air, or otherwise be harmed by the encasement. A
sealed force field magically preserves any within it from natural death.
This does not prevent damage or death from attacks by others within the
force field.
Nothing can pass through a force field. Spells, missiles, blows, breath
weapons, and all other attack forms merely bounce off it. However, a
teleport or dimension door spell can bypass it; these spells allow the
caster to travel into of out of the field without harming the field. The
force field exists only on one plane of existence. Thus, planar travel
(via gate or other means) can also bypass it.
Though most often used as a barrier or cage, a force field can easily be
used to create an invisible floor, stairway, chair, or other object. A
force field can be made permanent, but the permanence spell is still
subject to dispel magic, and if removed, the force field disappears
immediately. Even if treated with a permanence spell, a force field will
always vanish if struck by a disintegrate spell or wished away.
Mass Charm*
Range:120'
Duration: Special (as charm person spell)
Effect: 30 Levels of creatures
This spell creates the same effect as a charm person or charm monster
spell, except that the spell affects 30 levels (or Hit Dice) at once. Each
victim may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the charm, but with a
-2 penalty to the toll. The spell will not affect a creature of 31 of more
levels or Hit Dice.
The duration of each charm is determined by the victim's Intelligence
(see charm person, above). If the magic-user attacks one of the charmed
victims, only that one creature's charm is automatically broken. Any other
charmed creatures seeing the attack may make another saving throw, but
other creatures' charms are not affected.
The reverse of this spell, remove charm, will unfailingly remove all
charm effects within a 20'x 20'x 20' volume. It will also prevent any
object in that area from creating charm effects for one turn.
Mind Barrier*
Range: 10'
Duration: 1 hour per level of the caster
Effect: Protects against mind-affecting spells and items
This spell affects one creature; an unwilling recipient may make a
saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect.
The spell prevents any form of ESP clairvoyance, ciqirqudience,
crystal ball gazing, or any other form of mental influence or information
gathering (such as by a contact higher plane or summon object) from
working on the target creature. The caster of recipient simply does not
exist for the purposes of those and similar spell effects for the duration
of the mind barrier spell.
In addition, the recipient gains a bonus of + 8 to saving throws against
mind-influencing attacks, such as all forms of charm, illusion 2nd
phantasms, feeblemind, and the like. (However, a roll of 1 always fails
the saving throw, regardless of adjustments.)
The reverse of this spell, open mind, causes the victim touched to be
vulnerable to all the mind-influencing attacks given above. All the
victim's saving throws against such effects are penalized by - 8 for the
duration of the spell. This reversed spell must be cast by touch,
requiring a normal attack roll.
Permanence
Range: 10'
Duration: Permanent until dispelled
Effect: Causes one magical effect to become permanent
By means of this spell, the magic-user can cause one other magic-user
spell effect of 7th level or less to become permanent. This spell will not
make permanent any spell which has an "instantaneous" or "permanent"
duration (such as dispel magic, Fireball, lightning bolt, etc.); clerical
spells and 8th or 9th level magic-user spells also cannot be made
permanent.
The DM can declare that the permanence spell will not work with any
other specific spell. Whenever a character wishes to cast the spell, the
DM should carefully consider whether permanence will affect the other
spell. Certain spell combinations could seriously affect a campaign's game
balance, and the DM should carefully regulate all uses of this spell.
A permanence spell lasts until dispelled by a dispel magic spell from
either the caster or some higher-level spellcaster (at normal chances for
success). When the permanence spell is dispelled, the other spell effect
vanishes immediately.
Except for weapons, an item can only receive one permanence spell, and
a creature can receive two at most. If a permanence spell is cast on an
item or area that already has one in effect (or a creature which already
has two, or a weapon which already has five), both permanence spells
automatically fail. A weapon may have up to five permanent effects, but a
25 % (noncumulative) chance of failure applies to each permanence after
the first. Furthermore, if the permanence fails, it destroys the weapon
completely.
Some spells used on a creature that are commonly made permanent are:
detect magic, protection from evil, read languages, read magic, detect
invisible, and fly. Some spells commonly made permanent on areas are
light, phantasmal force, confusion, and cloudkill.
A magic-user does not need a permanence spell to make any permanent
magical item. Using permanence to bind a spell to an object is not the
same as enchanting the object. Enchanted objects are more durable and
permanent than objects which have merely had spells permanently placed
upon them.
Polymorph any Object
Range:240'
Duration: See below
Effect: Changes form of one object of creature
This spell is similar to the 4th level polymorph others spell, except
that it will affect objects as well as creatures. If the object is part of
a greater whole (such as a section of wall), the spell will affect up to a
10'x 10'x 10' volume. A creature may avoid the effects if it successfully
makes a saving throw vs. spells is made at a -4 penalty to the roll.
The duration of the polymorph depends on the degree of the change.
There are three basic kingdoms of all things-animal, vegetable, and
mineral. If an object is polymorphed to one of a nearby kingdom
(animal-vegetable, vegetable- mineral) the spell's duration is one hour
per level of the caster. If the change is from animal to mineral (or the
reverse), it lasts for one turn per level of the caster. If no change in
kingdom occurs (for example, if a creature is polymorphed into some other
creature), the change is permanent until removed by a dispel magic spell
(at normal chances for success).
Note that creatures created by means of this spell are not
automatically friendly. A polymorph cannot affect a creature's age or hit
points. (See the 4th level polymorph self and polymorph others spells for
other guidelines.)
This spell will not affect a creature which has more than 2 x the
spellcaster's experience levels in Hit Dice. For example, a 20th level
magic- user cannot affect a creature with 41 or more Hit Dice.
Power Word Blind
Range:120'
Duration: 1-4 days or 2-8 hours (see below)
Effect: Blinds 1 creature with 80 hit points or less With this spell, the
caster may blind one victim within 120' (no saving throw). A victim with
1-40 hit points is blinded for 1d4 days; one with 41-80 hit points is
blinded for 2d4 hours. The spell does not affect creatures with 81 or more
hit points.
A blinded victim suffers penalties of - 4 on all saving throws and +4
on armor class. A cleric's cure blindness or cureall spell will not remove
this blindness unless the cleric is of a level equal to or higher than the
caster of the power word blind.
Steelform
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates up to 500 square feet of steel
This spell is effectively identical to the 7th level ironform spell.
However, the material created is of weapon-quality; a swordmaker with this
spell could cast the spell and create a finely- crafted, high-quality
sword in 12 turns (two hours) or less.
Following the same general guidelines as iron- form, a steel wall will
have an AC of -10(2) and about 20 hit points per 1" thickness.
Symbol
Range: Touch
Duration: Permanent
Effect: Creates one magical rune
This spell creates a written magical drawing (a "rune") of great
power. There are six kinds of symbols; the caster must select one when the
spell is memorized. The rune may be placed on an object (such as a door or
wall) or placed in mid-air. The rune cannot move; if placed on a creature
or moving object, it will remain at that point when the surface moves
(possibly floating in mid-air).
When any living creature passes over or through the rune, or touches
the object on which the rune is inscribed, or (foolishly) reads the rune,
the rune's effect takes place immediately (no saving throw).
There is one exception: a magic-user, and any other creature which can
normally cast magic- user spells (high-level thieves with scrolls do not
count!), may make a saving throw vs. spells if he merely reads or touches
(rather than passes) the symbol. If the saving throw is successful, the
symbol has no effect.
All symbols look similar to normal writings.
Six symbols and their effects are given below; the DM may create
others (such as polymorph, teleport, charm, geas, etc.).
Death: Slays any creature with 75 hit points or less; does not affect
a creature with 76 hit points or more.
Discord: The victim attacks allies (if any) or is otherwise confused
(as the 4th level confusion spell). The effect is permanent until removed
by a dispel magic spell (at normal chances for success) or by a cleric's
cureall spell.
Fear: The victim immediately runs away from the symbol, at his Running
Speed, for 30 rounds (as the wand).
Insanity: The victim becomes insane, and can not attack, cast spells,
or use special abilities or items. The victim may walk, but must be
carefully tended or may run away. This effect is permanent until removed
by a dispel magic spell (at normal chances for success) or by a cleric's
cureall spell.
Sleep: The victim falls asleep, and cannot be awakened. The victim
will wake normally in 1d10+10 (11-20) hours or if dispel magic is used to
negate it (at normal chances for success).
Stunning: Affects any creature with 150 or fewer hit points. The
victim is stunned for 2d6 turns (as the power word stun spell).
Travel
Range: 0 (caster only)
Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Effect: Allows aerial or gaseous travel
This spell allows the magic-user to move quickly and freely, even
between the planes of existence. The caster (only) may fly in the same
manner as given by the magic-user's spell, at a rate of 360' (120'). The
caster can also enter a nearby plane of existence, simply by concentrating
for one round. He may enter a maximum of one plane per turn.
The magic-user may bring one other creature for every five levels of
experience (rounded down; for example, a 28th level magic-user could bring
five other creatures on the journey). To bring others, he must touch them,
or they must touch him, while the spell is cast and the shift is made. Any
unwilling creature can make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid the effect.
The caster must take the others with him-he cannot send them while
remaining behind.
While this spell is in effect, the magic-user (only) may assume
gaseous form by concentrating for one full round. (If he is interrupted,
no change occurs.) Unlike the potion effect, all equipment carried also
becomes part of the same gaseous cloud. In this form, the caster may
travel at double the normal flying rate: 720' (240'). While gaseous, the
magic-user cannot use items or cast spells, but also cannot be damaged
except by magic (weapons or certain spells). Also, a gaseous being cannot
pass through a protection from evil spell effect or an anti-magic shell.
Ninth Level Magical Spells
Contingency
Range: Touch
Duration: Indefinite (see below)
Effect: Prepares one spell
This powerful spell acts as a trigger for one stated magic-user spell;
this second spell must be of 4th level of less that does not normally
cause damage.
While casting a contingency spell, the magic- user must describe one
situation and the spell which is contingent upon it. When that situation
next occurs, the contingent spell effect triggers automatically and
immediately, as if cast at that time.
Examples of proper use:
"When I am touched or struck by any living creature that is not a Lawful
or Neutral cleric, except for my friends Charley McGonigle and Sally
Silvernose (contingency), then cast charm monster on the creature touching
or striking me (spell)."
"When I have eight hit points or less and am about to be damaged
(contingency), then cast dimension door on myself to take me to a
destination one inch above ground level directly upward; or, if that is
greater than 360' away, to the furthest unoccupied area within range that
I have seen within the 12 hour period prior to the existence of this
contingency (spell effect)."
No item or creature can have more than one contingency spell cast on it;
not even a wish can allow multiple applications. The contingency described
can be as detailed or as simple as desired,. but is somewhat limited in
effect: It must pertain to something within 120' of the triggering event.
A contingency based on a far-off occurrence is beyond the spell's
capacity. The target and effect of the secondary spell must always be
specified, and if any necessary details are lacking, the secondary spell
does not occur.
A contingency spell effect has no maximum duration. It may remain for
centuries before the situation described comes to pass.
Create Any Monster
Range: 10'
Duration: 3 turns
Effect: Creates one of more monsters
This spell is similar to the 7th level spell create normal monsters and
the 8th level spell create magical monsters, but with fewer limitations on
the types of creatures appearing.
The range and duration are triple those of the 7th level version. The
spell cannot create humans and demihumans, but can create any other
creature, regardless of the number of special abilities (asterisks).
However, if the caster wants to create a creature with three or more
asterisks, the caster must have carefully studied one (either alive or
dead) for at least one hour to be able to create another with this spell.
As with the lesser spells, the maximum number of Hit Dice of creatures is
equal to the level of the caster.
To create a construct (as described in Chapter 14), the caster must
obtain the proper materials necessary to create the construct. The spell
will create only one construct, regardless of the caster's Hit Dice; but
it is permanent, and does not vanish at the end of the spell duration.
(However, a dispel magic spell, with normal chances of success, can
destroy this type of construct.)
As with the 8th level spell, the cost of materials required to create a
construct is a minimum of 5,000 gold pieces per asterisk (or more,
depending on your campaign). If the construct has four or more asterisks
(such as a golem), the cost is doubled (or more; ask your DM). Chapter 16
contains more rules for enchanting magical items (including constructs),
and has suggestions regarding nondispellable constructs.
Created monsters of all types can be blocked by protection from evil
or anti-magic shell effect.
Gate*
Range:30'
Duration: 1d10 x 10 (1- 100) turns or I turn
Effect: Opens a portal to another plane
When the magic-user casts this spell, he must name one target: the
Ethereal Plane, the Astral Plane, one of the four elemental planes, or one
outer plane. He must also name a resident of that plane, usually that of
an Immortal, a ruler of the plane. The spell opens a direct connection to
the other plane of existence.
A gate to an outer plane remains open for only one turn. Any other gate
remains open for 1d10x10 (1-100) turns, and there is a 10% chance per turn
that some other-planar creature will wander through the gate while it is
open.
A gate to an elemental plane actually creates a vortex and a wormhole,
and a wish may be used to make them permanent. Planes, vortexes, and
wormholes are described in Chapter 18.
Contact with an outer plane is dangerous, and the magic-user must know
and speak the name of the Immortal he wishes to contact. The Immortal he
calls will probably (95 % chance) arrive in 1d6 rounds, but there is a 5%
chance that some other being from the outer planes will respond. When the
being arrives, it immediately looks for the spellcaster.
If the caster does not have an excellent reason for opening the gate,
the being will probably destroy the caster. Even if the caster provides an
excellent reason, the being may merely leave immediately, showing no
interest. If the reason is of supreme importance to the magic-user and of
some interest to the being (DM's discretion), it may actually help for a
short time.
The reverse of this spell, close gate, will close a gate created by
normal form of the spell. It can also be used to close a permanent gate to
a nearby plane (such as an elemental vortex). But the spell cannot affect
an Immortal; it cannot, for instance, make him leave if he chooses to
stay.
This spell's effect is identical to that of the 6th level cleric spell
cureall. When used to cure wounds, it cures nearly all of the damage,
leaving only 1d6 points of damage remaining. It can instead remove a
curse, neutralize a poison, cure a disease, cure blindness, or even remove
a feeblemind effect.
Immunity
Range: Touch (one creature)
Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Effect: Bestows immunity or resistance to some spells and weapons
This spell gives the recipient total immunity to all 1st-, 2nd-, and
3rd level spells. Furthermore, 4th- and 5th level spells have only half
normal effect, or one-quarter normal if the victim makes a successful
saving throw. Any spell effect that is quantifiable is reduced in effect;
these effects include reductions in duration, bonuses, penalties, damage,
etc. Round fractions off in the recipient's favor.
The recipient is also completely immune to all missiles (normal or
magical), as well as normal and silver weapons; he takes half damage from
magical hand-held weapons. This applies only to weapons; claws, bites,
breath weapons, and other natural attack forms are not blocked.
By concentrating, the recipient can drop the protection, allowing
spells (such as cure wounds) to have normal effects for that round. If
dropped, the immunity is absent for one round (including the protection
from weapons), but returns automatically at the end of the round.
A carefully worded wish spell can extend this protection, giving
immunity to 4th level spells and +1 weapons, and half normal effect from
5th and 6th level spells. No further improvements are possible.
Maze
Range:60'
Duration: See below (1d6 turns, 2d20 rounds, 2d4 rounds, or 1d4 rounds)
Effect: Traps one creature
This spell creates an indestructible maze in the Astral Plane and
places one victim into the maze (he gets no saving throw). The
intelligence of the victim determines the time he needs to escape the
maze.
Maze Duration
Victim's Time Required
Intelligence To Escape
Non to Low (1-8) 1d6 (1-6) turns
Average ( 9-12) 2d2O (2-40) rounds
High (13-17) 2d4 (2-8) rounds
Genius (18+) 1d4 (1-4) rounds
When he escapes the maze, the victim returns to the exact place from
which he originally disappeared.
Meteor Swarm
Range:240'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Creates four of eight meteor-fireballs
This spell creates either 4 or 8 meteors (at the caster's choice). Each
meteor can be aimed at a different target within range, but only one
meteor can be aimed at any one creature. Each meteor slams into its target
and explodes like a fireball (affecting all creatures within a 20'
radius).
If the caster creates four meteors, each strikes for 8d6 (8-48) points
of damage and then explodes for 8d6 (8-48) points of fire damage. If
the caster creates eight smaller meteors, each strikes for 4d6 (4-24)
points and then explodes for 4d6 more points of fire damage. Note that if
the meteors are aimed accurately, a victim or area might find itself
within overlapping blasts and thus take explosion damage multiple times.
The player rolls damage for each strike and blast separately. A meteor
never misses its target. Any victim struck by a meteor takes full
"strike" damage (no saving throw). Each victim within a blast radius may
make a saving throw vs. spells to take only half of the given blast
damage. Even fire-resistant and fire-using creatures are fully affected by
strikes from a meteor swarm, although they might be resistant to the fiery
explosions. A separate saving throw must be made for each blast the
character contacts.
Power Word Kill
Range:120'
Duration: Instantaneous
Effect: Slays or stuns one or more creatures
This spell enables the caster to affect one or more victims within
120' (no saving throw). Exception: A magic-user, and any creature which
can cast magic-user spells, may make a saving throw vs. spells to avoid
this effect, with a -4 penalty to the roll.
A single victim with 1-60 hit points is automatically slain; one with
61-100 hit points is stunned (as power word stun) and unable to act for
1d4 turns, No creature with 101 or more hit points is affected.
The spell can also be used to slay up to five victims if each has 20
hit points or less (again, no saving throw).
Prismatic Wall
Range:60'
Duration: 6 turns
Effect: Creates a multi-colored barrier
This spell creates a barrier of many colors with a glittering
appearance as if from light shining through a prism. This wall is 2"
thick, with 1/8" between the colors. The effect must be either a sphere
with a radius of 10', centered on the caster, or a flat surface (vertical
or horizontal) of up to 500 square feet in area.
Whatever its form, the prismatic wall cannot be moved (even by a
wish). The caster may pass through it freely and unharmed, with any items
he chooses to carry. All other creatures and objects contacting or passing
through the prismatic wall are affected by its magic, starting with the
first color they contact.
It takes powerful magic to break through the wall. A wish spell or a
rod of cancellation will remove the three outermost remaining colors, but
that's all.
To break through a prismatic wall, an attacker must attack it with a
specific sequence of spells. Each spell will cancel one color of the
prismatic wall. These remedy spells, shown on the chart below, must be
cast in the correct order (first, any magical cold to remove the red
layer; then, any magical lightning to remove the orange layer; and so on).
When cast successfully, each spell causes the appropriate color to
disappear from the wall. When all layers are gone, so is the wall. A
person with an active anti-magic shell (including the caster of the
prismatic wall) will not be able to pass through the wall, but the attempt
will not damage either the anti-magic shell or the prismatic wall.
The prismatic wall extends into the nearest plane of existence (the
Ethereal Plane, if cast on the Prime Plane), appearing there as an
indestructible solid wall. Planar and dimensional travel can therefore not
bypass it. The colors and effects of a prismatic wall are always the same;
when created, the violet side is always closest to the caster. The effects
and colors of the prismatic wall are summarized below.
Prismatic Wall Effects
Color Effect Negated By
Red Blocks all magical missiles; Any magical cold
inflicts 12 points of damage
(no saving throw allowed)
Orange Blocks all nonmagical missiles; Any magical lightning
inflicts 24 points of damage
(no saving throw allowed)
Yellow Blocks all breath weapons; Magic missile spell
inflicts 48 points of damage
(no saving throw allowed)
Green Blocks all detection spells Passwall spell
(crystal balls, ESP, etc.);
saving throw vs. poison or die
Blue Blocks all poisons, gases, and Disintegrate spell
gaze attacks; anyone touching it
must make a saving throw vs.
turn to stone or be petrified
Indigo Blocks all matter; anyone Dispel magic spell
touching it must make a saving
throw vs. spells or be
gated to a random
outer plane, and possibly (50%)
lost forever
Violet Blocks magic of all types; anyone Continual light spell
touching it must make a saving
throw vs. wands or be struck
unconscious and insane (curable
only by a cureall spell
or a wish)
Shapechange
Range: 0 (caster only)
Duration: One turn per level of the caster
Effect: Caster may change form
This spell is similar to the 4th level polymorph self spell, but is
far more powerful, The caster actually becomes another creature or object
in all respects except the mind, hit points, and saving throws. The caster
takes his new armor class, attack rolls, special attack forms, immunities,
and all other details from the form he has taken.
A magic-user cannot cast spells in any form except that of a bipedal
humanoid (demihuman, goblin, ogre, giant, etc.). The caster cannot take a
completely unique form (such as that of a specific character, Elemental
Ruler, of Immortal). He can gain the likeness but not the abilities of
another character class. When wearing another form, he can only cast
spells from his own memory; he can't cast from scrolls of his spell book.
He cannot assume huge inanimate forms; if he tries to, the form will be a
maximum of one foot tall per experience level of the caster and 100 cn
weight per level.
Except for these limits, the caster can become any creature or object
that he or she has ever seen. He cannot change into imaginary or
unfamiliar creatures; unless there are ten-armed trolls in your campaign,
for example, he cannot turn into one. The caster may change shape at will
during the spell's duration; each change requires a full round of
concentration.
Note that the caster does assume the flaws of the new form as well as
its strengths. If, for example, the caster is struck by a sword +2, +5 vs.
dragons while in dragon form, the +5 bonus applies against his new form.
This spell effect cannot be made permanent and is subject to dispel
magic. During the spell duration, the caster cannot pass through any
protection from evil or anti-magic shell span effect.
Survival
Range:Touch
Duration: One hour per level of the caster
Effect: Protects one creature against all non- magical environmental
damage
This spell protects the recipient from adverse conditions of all types,
including normal heat or cold, lack of air, and so forth. While the spell
is in effect, the caster needs no air, food, water, or sleep. The spell
does not protect against magical damage of any type, attack damage,
poisons, breath weapons, or physical blows from creatures. It does protect
against all damage caused by natural conditions on other planes of
existence.
For example, a cleric might use this spell: in a desert or blizzard to
prevent damage from the natural conditions; underground or underwater,
enabling survival without air; in space, to magically survive in vacuum;
or on the elemental plane of Fire, to protect against conditional fire
damage.
Timestop
Range: 0 (caster only)
Duration: 2-5 rounds
Effect: Allows caster to act for 1d4 + 1 (2-5) rounds while everything
else "stops"
To the caster, this spell seems to stop time. It speeds the caster so
greatly that all other creatures seem frozen at their Normal Speeds, in
"normal time." From the caster's point of view, the effect lasts for 1d4+1
(2-5) rounds. The caster may perform one action during each of these
magical rounds.
Normal and magical fire, cold, gas, etc. can still harm the caster.
While the timestop is in effect, however, other creatures are invulnerable
to the caster's attacks and spells. Spells with durations other than
"instantaneous" may be created and left to take effect when time resumes.
Note that no time elapses while this spell is in effect; durations of
other spells cast start after the timestop ends.
The spellcaster cannot move items held by those in "normal time," but
can move other items that are not "stuck"' including those worn or carried
by others. The caster is completely undetectable by those in "normal
time." However, the magic-user cannot pass through a protection from evil
or anti-magic shell while under this spell's effect.
Wish
Range: Special
Duration: Special
Effect: Special
A wish is the single most powerful spell a magic-user can have. It is
never found on a scroll, but may be placed elsewhere (in a ring, for
example) in rare cases. Only magic-users of 36th level and with an 18 (or
greater) Wisdom score may cast the wish spell.
Wording the Wish: The player must say or write the exact wish his
character makes. The wording is very important. The wish will usually
follow the literal wording, and whatever the intentions of the magic-user.
The DM should try to maintain game balance, being neither too generous
nor too stingy in deciding the effects of a wish. Even a badly phrased
wish, made with good intentions, may have good results. However, if the
wish is greedy, or made with malicious intent, the DM should make every
effort to distort the results of the spell so that the caster does not
profit from it. If necessary, the DM can even disallow the wish; it would
then have no effect. Whenever a wish fails or is misinterpreted, the DM
should explain (after the game) the problem or flaw in the phrasing.
Here are some examples of faulty wishes:
"I wish that I knew everything about this dungeon" could result in the
character knowing all for only a second, and then forgetting it.
"I wish for a million gold pieces" can be granted by having them land
on the character (that's 100,000 pounds of gold!), and then vanished.
"I wish to immediately and permanently possess the gaze power of a
basilisk while retaining all of my own abilities and items" is a carefully
worded wish that's out of balance. Characters able to use these high-level
spells are already quite powerful. This wish could result in the character
growing a basilisk head in addition to the character's own head.
A wish cannot be used to gain either experience points or levels of
experience.
Possible Effects: A properly worded wish can substitute for any other
magical spell of 8th level or less, or any clerical or druidic spell of
6th level or less, at the DM's discretion. This common use of a wish is
more likely to succeed with little chance for error than other uses of the
spell.
Otherwise, if the wish is used to harm another creature, the victim
may make a saving throw vs. spells. If the save is successful, the victim
takes half the ill effects and the other half rebounds on the caster (who
may also save to avoid it, but with a -4 penalty to the roll). If the
wish will inconvenience someone without harming him (for example, by
causing him to teleport into a prison cell), the victim gets no saving
throw.
A character can use a wish to gain treasure, up to a maximum of 50,000
gold pieces per wish. However, the caster loses 1 experience point per
gold piece value of treasure gained, and this loss cannot be magically
restored.
The magic-user can use a wish to temporarily change any one ability
score to a minimum of 3 or maximum of 18. This effect lasts for only six
turns.
Wishes can also be used to permanently increase ability scores, but the
cost is very high: You must cast as many wishes as the number of the
ability score desired. All the wishes must be cast within a one-week
period.
You may raise an ability score only one point at a time. To raise your
Strength from 15 to 16 takes 16 wishes. To then raise it to 17 will take
an additional 17 wishes. Wishes cannot permanently lower ability scores.
A wish cannot raise the maximum experience level for human characters;
36th level is an absolute limit. However, one wish can allow demihumans to
gain one additional Hit Die (for a new maximum of 9 for halflings, 11 for
elves, and 13 for dwarves). This affects only hit points, and does not
change any other scores (such as attack rolls, elves' number of spells,
etc.).
A wish can change a demihuman to a human, or the reverse. Such a change
is permanent, and the recipient does not become magical. Halflings and
dwarves become fighters of the same level. Elves become magic-users or
fighters (but not both), at the choice of the caster of the wish. The
changed character would then gain levels of experience normally. A human
changes to the same level demihuman, but no higher than the normal racial
maximum.
If one character casts a wish to change another's character c@s, the
victim (at his option) may make a saving throw vs. spells with a +5 bonus
to resist the change.
A wish can sometimes change the results of a past occurrence. This is
normally limited to events of the previous day. A lost battle may be won,
or the losses may be made far less severe, but impossible odds cannot be
overcome completely. A death could be changed to a near- death survival; a
permanent loss could be made temporary. The DM may wish to advise players
when their wishes exceed the limit of the spell's power (or his patience).
Important Note: Whenever an effect is described as being unchangeable
"even with a wish," that statement supersedes all others here.
Wishes can cause great problems if not handled properly. The DM must
see that wishes are reasonably limited or the balance and enjoyment of the
game will be completely upset. The DM should not allow wishes that alter
the basics of the game (such as a wish that dragons can't breathe for
damage). The more unreasonable and greedy the wish is, the less likely
that the wish will become reality.
61
Equipment
Characters who throw themselves into dangerous situations tend to
survive a lot longer of they have the right tools and equipment for each
situation. In this chapter, we list most of the normal equipment characters
will need in a game.
Money
Some quick notes on money in the D&D game:
Starting Gold. Beginning characters receive a one-time sum of 3d6 x 10
gold pieces. This represents money saved up by the character before he
embarked on his adventuring career, or money given to him by his family
before he left home. It should be spent on weapons, armor, and equipment;
the DM may have recommendations as to what the characters should buy. When
first created, the character also can be assumed to own two or three sets of
plain clothes, a pair of shoes, a belt, and a belt-pouch.
Abbreviations: The game commonly uses the following abbreviations.
platinum pieces = pp
gold pieces = gp
electrum pieces = ep
silver pieces = sp
copper pieces = cp
Conversions: You can convert money from one type to another using the
following values.
1 sp = 10 cp
1 ep = 5 sp = 50 cp
1 gp = 2 ep = 10 sp = 100 cp
1 pp = 5 gp = 10 ep = 50 sp = 500 cp
Weapons
Most characters will want to carry one or more reliable weapons. The
Weapons Table shows the weapons available in the D&D game. Some of these
weapons have special effects that are Some of the weapons in the table will
look very similar to one another. But these weapons often demonstrate
substantial differences if you also use the optional weapon mastery rules
described in the next chapter.
Weapon information in the table is defined as follows:
* Item gives the weapon's name.
* Damage shows the amount of damage the
weapon does; if the column shows "1d6" for instance, you'd roll 1d6, for a
result of I to 6 points of damage whenever you hit with that weapon.
* Range shows the range characteristics of the weapon if it fires
projectiles or can be thrown. A number like "60/120/180," for example, means
that the weapon is at short range (for the indicated + 1 to attack roll
modifier) from 11 to 60'; it is at medium range (for no attack roll
modifier) from 61' to 120'; and it is at long range (for a - 1 to attack
roll modifier) from 121' to 180'. Beyond 180', it cannot hit a target. These
distances are measured as feet indoors and as yards outdoors; for example, a
crossbow that can fire 180' ins1de a dungeon can launch its quarrel 180
yards outs1de.
* Cost (gp) shows how much it costs to buy the weapon in gold pieces(gp).
Other Weapons:
Blowgun, up to 2' Nil 10/20/30 3 6 a,m,s,w,S
Blowgun, 2'+ Nil 20/25/30 6 15 a,m,s,w,2H,M
Bola 1d2 20/40/60 5 5 s,t,M
Cestus 1d3 5 10 s,S
Holy Water 1d8 10/30/50 25 1 C,S,t,W,S
Net Nil 10/20/30 n n s,t,w,M or L
Oil, Burning 1d8 10/30/50 2 100 C,S,t,W,S
Rock, Thrown 1d3 10/30/50 1/10 10 C,t,W,s
Sling 1d4 40/80/160 2 20 c,m,w,S
Whip 1d2 1/ft 10/ft s,w,m
(For explanations of Notes, see the next page.)
Weapons Table (Notes)
a The weapon's normal load of ammunition is already included in the weapon's
encumbrance (bow: 20 arrows; crossbow: 30 quarrels; sling: 30
stones; blowgun: 5 darts). If you want to vary the number of
missiles you carry with the missile weapon, 2 arrows equal 1 cn in
encumbrance, 3 quarrels equal 1 cn, 5 sling stones equal I cn, and 5
darts equal I cn. Therefore, a long bow without arrows has an
encumbrance of 20 cn; a light crossbow without quarrels has an
encumbrance of 40 cn.
c Clerics may use this weapon. Druids may, too, if they can find a form of
this weapon with no metal or stone parts.
m Missile weapon; never used as a melee weapon.
n A net's cost and encumbrance are based on its size. Nets cost I sp per
square foot of surface area and have an encumbrance of 1 cn per square
foot. A Medium net (6'x 6') would cost 36 sp (3.6 gp) and have an
encumbrance of 36 cn.
r This weapon can be thrown, but is only rarely used this way; only
characters at the Expert or greater level of weapon mastery can
throw this weapon in combat.
s This weapon has special features; read the weapon description.
t This is a hand weapon that may also be thrown.
v This weapon may be set vs. a charge.
w Magic-users may use this weapon at the DM's discretion.
HH This weapon can be used either one-handed or two-handed. Used two-handed,
it operates similarly to two-handed weapons (i.e., the wielder
cannot use a shield when using the weapon this way). However, a
character using this weapon, even in its two-handed style, does not
automatically lose individual initiative. Halflings and other small
races can use this weapon.
2H This weapon requires two hands for use. The wielder of the weapon may not
use a shield and always loses individual initiative to characters
not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small races cannot use
this weapon.
S Small weapon.
M Medium weapon.
L Large weapon.
Weapon Special Effects Table
Victim's Bonus to Failed Saving Throw Results*
Level or Saving Bola, Net,
Hit Dice Throw Blackjack or Whip Blowgun
Up to 1 None Knockout Entangle By poison
1 + 1 to 3 +1 Knockout Entangle By poison
3 + 1 to 6 +2 Stun Slow By poison
6 + 1 to 9 +3 Stun Slow By poison
9 + 1 to 12 +4 Delay Delay By poison
12 + or more +5 Delay Delay By poison
* The effects of successful saving throws are explained in each weapon's
description.
Ammunition Table
Standard Enc
Type of Load (# of Cost of shots
Weapon Ammunition Shots) (gp) per cn)
* Enc (cn) shows how much encumbrance the weapon has, measured in
coin-weights (cn). One coin weighs one-tenth of a pound. Remember that the
more encumbrance a character is carrying, the slower he moves.
* Notes refers you to the description section that describes weapon
characteristics. Sometimes a weapon that looks unimpressive on the chart
will have special features listed in the Notes column, and those special
features might make them very useful weapons indeed.
Ammunition
Missile weapons such as bows eventually run out of ammunition; here's
what it costs to buy additional ammunition.
These figures apply for any type of weapon that goes by the name shown.
Arrows cost the same, come in the same standard loads, and have the same
encumbrance for a short bow as for a long bow; darts for a short blowgun are
identical to those for a long blowgun.
Silver-tipped arrows and quarrels are like ordinary missiles, except
that their arrowheads are made of silver, which is useful when fighting cer-
tain monsters. Such arrows are comparatively expensive and are usually sold
by the arrow, rather than in batches of 20 or 30. Likewise, silver pellets
are made for slings.
Arrow and quarrel costs include the price of a cheap quiver or case, both
of which carry a stand are load of ammunition.
Weapon Descriptions
The weapons from the Weapons Table are described here. They are listed in
alphabetical order for convenience.
Axe, Battle: This is a large one- or two-bladed chopping head fixed upon
a long (3'- 5') wooden shaft. This is a two-handed weapon; the wielder of
the weapon may not use a shield and always loses individual initiative to
characters not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small non-humans
such as goblins cannot use this weapon.
Axe, Hand: This is a small chopping blade (usually only one blade)
affixed to a small (1'-2') wooden shaft. It is a one-handed weapon and may
be thrown.
Bastard Sword: See Sword, Bastard (below).
Battle Axe: See Axe, Battle (above).
Blackjack: This weapon is a small leather sack, 4" -8" long, filled with
sand or metal shot and with a looped strap attached. It causes little damage
(1d2 points) but, if it is used to strike a victim's head or neck, it can
possibly stun or cause unconsciousness.
This weapon has no effect on a victim wearing a metal helmet (which is
included in any set of plate, banded, chain, or scale mail) or on any
unarmored monster of armor class 0 or less (which indicates very tough skin
or protective plating).
The DM decides whether or not someone using a blackjack can hit his
target's head. The DM might dec1de, for example, that someone who has
sneaked up on a completely unsuspecting target can aim at the target's head
with no penalty, or that the character, in combat, can aim at the enemy's
head by taking a -4 penalty to the attack roll. Also at the DM's
discretion, if the target is so much taller than the attacker that the
attacker can't reach his head, then the attack can only inflict normal
damage.
If the attack does hit the target's head, consult the Weapon Special
Effects Table. The victim must make a saving throw vs. death ray (possibly
with a bonus; see the table). If he fails the saving throw, he suffers the
additional effects shown on the table, as determined by his Hit Dice. These
effects are as follows:
Knockout: The victim is immediately unconscious and remains helpless
for d100 (d%) rounds.
Stun: The victim is stunned and will remain stunned until he successfully
makes a saving throw vs. death ray. He may try to make a nev., saving throw
each round.
Delay: The victim is mildly dazed; he loses initiative on the next
round.
Blowgun: This weapon is a tube, 6" -4' long. The user places a small dart
or thorn into it, aims the tube at a target, and blows air into it forcing
the dart to fly toward the target.
The darts cause no damage themselves. However, the darts are usually
treated with poison. A blowgun dart merely scratches the victim, with little
penetration; it inflicts no real damage. If hit, the victim must make a
saving throw vs. poison or suffer the effects. Depending on the size or
level of experience of the victim, he may gain a bonus to the saving throw
(see the Weapon Special Effects Table). No undead creature of any creature
immune to poison can be harmed by a blowgun.
The use of deadly poison as a weapon is not a good act. Because of its
dangers, poison may be declared illegal by local or regional rulers. In this
case, Lawful characters do not typically use it. The DM may choose not to
allow player characters to use poisons in his campaign. Warn players that,
if they want their characters to use blowguns, monsters will have them as
well.
Longer blowguns are two-handed weapons; the wielder of the weapon may not
use a shield and always loses individual initiative to characters not using
two-handed weapon. Halflings and small nonhumans such as goblins cannot use
this weapon.
Bola: This weapon is a cord with weighted balls on the ends. It is
whirled around and thrown at a victim. It causes very little damage itself
(1d2 points), but may entangle, slow, or delay the victim.
If the attack roll is a 20 (not counting any modifiers), the victim must
make a saving throw vs. death ray or be immediately paralyzed; he will die
in 1d6 + 2 (3-8) rounds from strangling unless rescued. If freed, the victim
remains effectively paralyzed for 2d6 (2-12) rounds. Creatures that do not
breathe (such as constructs) are immune to this effect. If the attack roll
is successful but not a 20, the victim must make a saving throw vs. death
ray, possibly with a bonus (see the Weapon Special Effects Table). If the
saving throw is successful, the attack has no effect except damage. If the
victim fails the saving throw, the result varies by the victim's experience
level or size (see the Weapon Special Effects Table). The victim may try to
make a new saving throw during the hand-to-hand combat phase of each round
until one is successful; this indicates that the victim has removed the
bola. If another character tries to remove the bola that has struck a
victim, the victim rolls his own saving throw vs. death ray, with a + 2
bonus. When the victim makes the saving throw, the bola is removed. The
victim may spend 1 round destroying the bola if he has an edged weapon and
chooses to destroy it. Otherwise, the bola is undamaged; he can hold on to
it or drop it. Possible bola effects, as listed on the Weapon Special
Effects Table, are as follows: Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast
spells, or move until his saving throw is successfully made. Slow: The
victim is slowed, moving and attacking at half his normal rate; he cannot
cast spells. Delay: The victim automatically loses individual initiative
for the next round. This weapon can only affect solid creatures. Wraiths,
specters, ethereal creatures, and monsters made of water (such as a water
elemental) cannot be affected. Bolas are awkward to carry and may become
tangled. For each additional bola carried, the encumbrance of the bolas
triples: 1 bola = 5 cn, 2 bolas = 15 cn, 3 bolas = 45 cn, etc.
Bow, Long: This is a piece of wood bent into a curve, with a taut string
holding it in that position; it is used to launch arrows. This bow is a
two-handed weapon; the wielder of the weapon may not use a shield and always
loses individual initiative to characters not using a two-handed weapon.
Halflings and small races such as goblins cannot use this weapon.
Bow, Short: This bow is similar to the long bow, but it is smaller and not
able to fire arrows as far. It, too, is a two-handed weapon, but it can be
used by halfling characters and small races such as goblins.
Cestus: The cestus (plural: cesti) is a sort of glove or thong wrapped
around the hand; it has rough, cutting edges on the back, so that a punching
attack will inflict more damage on an opponent. If the campaign uses the
optional rules for two-weapons use, a character does not suffer the -4
penalty for the cestus worn on his off hand.
Club: This is a simple, blunt piece of wood used to batter opponents.
Crossbow, Heavy: This is a missile weapon consisting of a tough bow (like a
small bow, but smaller and sometimes made of metal) laid crosswise across
a stock with a trigger, It fires stubby arrows called quarrels.
Heavy crossbows are bulky, requiring two hands to use, and are slow to
reload. A character with 18 strength can draw back the string with one hand
and fire every round, but weaker characters must point the crossbow
nose-down on the ground, brace it with one foot, and draw back the string
with both hands in order to reload it; they can only fire it once every two
rounds.
This crossbow is a two-handed weapon; the wielder of the weapon may not
use a shield and always loses individual initiative to characters not using
a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small nonhumans such as goblins cannot
use this weapon.
Crossbow, Light: This weapon is similar to the heavy crossbow, but
smaller. It also requires two hands to load, but only one to fire.
This crossbow is a two-handed weapon; the wielder of the weapon may not
use a shield and always loses individual initiative to characters not using
a two-handed weapon. Halfling characters and small races such as goblins
cannot use this weapon.
Dagger: This is a small blade with a one- handed grip. It may be used in
hand-to-hand combat or thrown. Some expensive varieties are made out of
silver for use against certain magical creatures.
Halberd: See Polearms, Halberd (below).
Hammer, Throwing: This is a short-shafted, broad-headed hammer, capable of
crushing blows. It is balanced for throwing.
Hammer, War: This weapon consists of a broad hammer head-sometimes with two
striking ends instead of just one-on a medium- length (about 3') wooden
shaft.
Hand Axe: See Axe, Hand (above).
Heavy Crossbow: See Crossbow, Heavy
(above).
Holy Water: This is water that has been prepared by a special cleric (who
must be at least 9th level or above). It is normally placed into a breakable
bottle or gourd and then hurled at a target; if it strikes the target, the
container smashes and the target is splashed.
Holy water only does the listed damage to undead monsters; all other
characters and monsters are unaffected by it (except for being dampened).
If you are using the optional Weapon Mastery rules (in the next chapter),
all characters have Basic mastery level when using holy water.
Horned Shield: See Shield Weapons, Horned Shield (below).
Javelin: This weapon is a thrusting point atop a light, long (4'-6')
pole. Characters can throw it at targets or use it in hand-to-hand combat;
in hand-to-hand, they can use it with one hand, keeping the other hand free
for a shield or weapon. Halflings (and small races such as goblins) can use
this weapon.
Knife Shield: See Shield Weapons, Knife Shield (below).
Lance: When in combat on horseback, many fighters use a special long spear
called a lance.
Fighters, dwarves, and elves can use the Lance Attack maneuver (see
Chapter 8). Mystics can use lances, though they do not have the Lance Attack
combat maneuver; even when on the back of a charging horse, mystics always
thrust with the weapon as though fighting with a spear. Other human classes
cannot use a lance effectively.
A character with a lance may still use a shield; however, if you are
using the optional Weapon Mastery rules (in the next chapter), a character
who is at Basic mastery with the lance cannot yet use a shield. Under the
Weapon Mastery rules, a lance can be used to gain a defense bonus, but each
round a lance is used to defend, it causes only half damage.
If the wielder of the lance has the Multiple Attacks option, he can
indeed make multiple attacks, but not all against the same foe. He must make
each attack against a different target, taking them in the course of his
lance charge.
A lance used from the back of a flying mount can be used normally. If the
wielder needs to release the lance and ties it to his saddle so that it will
not drop to the ground, he cannot defend with it.
Light Crossbow: See Crossbow, Light (above).
Long Bow: See Bow, Long (above).
Mace: This is a heavy striking head attached to a short- or medium-length
wooden shaft.
Net: A net is an open mesh of rope or cord. Small nets (up to 10'x10')
are commonly used in hunting and adventuring and can be used as either a
hand-to-hand or thrown weapon. The net's encumbrance varies by the size.
This weapon is commonly available in most campaign worlds. Its cost is
low, but it is easily damaged. The net is one of humankind's first tools,
having been invented in prehistoric times, and it is used by most humanoid
monsters for both hunting and defense.
A net can only affect creatures made of solid material. Wraiths,
specters, ethereal creatures, and monsters made of water (such as water ele-
mentals) cannot be affected.
A net inflicts no damage on the victim, but may entangle, slow, or delay
the victim. The wielder makes a normal toll to hit his target; if he does,
the target must make a saving throw vs. death ray, possibly with a bonus
(see the Weapon Special Effects Table).
If the saving throw succeeds, the net does not affect the target; it
drops off him without impairing him at all. If the victim fails his saving
throw, the result varies by the victim's experience level or size.
Once a target is trapped in a net, he may make a new saving throw during
the hand-to-hand combat phase of each round until one is successful; a
successful roll indicates that the net has been pulled off and thrown as1de.
If he has a dagger (but not a longer weapon or a nonbladed weapon) in his
hand when he is hit with the net, he has a +4 to his saving throw; success
means that he has cut his way out of the net, thus destroying it.
Nets Table
Victim's Size Equivalent* Net Size**
Very small Up to 1' 2'x 2'
Small 1+'-3' 4'x 4'
Medium 3+'-6' 6'x 6'
Large 6+'-10' 6'x 6'
Very large 10+'-15' 12'x 12'
Huge 15+'-20' 16'x 16'
Mammoth 20+'-30' 25'x 25'
* A small net is right for a target the size of a halfling; a medium net
is right for human, dwarf, and elf targets.
** Or equivalent in square feet.
Magical nets are rare. The few that exist cannot be damaged except by
fife of ac1d; daggers will not cut through them. An entangled victim can
only remove the net, not damage it.
The effects listed on the Weapon Special Effects Table are as follows:
Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast spells, or move until a saving
throw is successful.
Slow: The victim is slowed, moving and attacking at half his normal rate.
He cannot cast spells.
Delay: The victim automatically loses initiative for the next round.
A net can easily be damaged by any edged weapon (or claw or bite), but it
can be repaired if rope or cord is available, which requires 1d3 turns of
undisturbed repair work. A damaged net is useless.
Nets come in a variety of sizes; if the target is too large for the net,
he will gain bonuses to his saving throw to avoid the effects. Using the
Nets Table, determine how many sizes the victim is larger than the net. For
each size greater, the victim gains a +4 bonus. A roll of I is always a
failure unless the bonus is + 20 or greater.
Nets 6'x 6' or smaller may be used one- handed. Larger nets require two
hands and suffer the same penalties as other two-handed weapons. The wielder
may not use a shield, always loses individual initiative to characters not
using a two-handed weapon; and halflings and small nonhumans (such as
goblins) cannot use nets larger than 6' x 6'.
Normal Sword: See Sword, Normal (below).
Oil, Burning: This type of weapon usually consists of cooking or lamp oil
poured into a breakable container (such as a bottle, gourd, or glass lamp),
with a fuse or wick attached. In combat, the wielder lights the fuse or wick
and throws it at his target (lighting and throwing only takes one round if
the character has another lit object handy). If the container hits the
target, it bursts, splashes the target with the oil, and ignites the oil on
target.
Burning oil causes 1d8 points of damage each round a target is in the
fire. Oil that has been lit and thrown will burn for 2 rounds. If you are
using the optional Weapon Mastery rules (next chapter), all characters are
considered to have Basic mastery level with thrown containers of burning
oil.
Pike: See Polearms, Pike (below).
Polearms: Polearms consist of various weapon blades mounted on long
poles. Polearms may be used only by fighters, dwarves, elves, and mystics.
Because of a polearm's length, a character with a polearm may attack a foe
even when there is another friend or foe between them. Often, polearm
wielders stand in the second rank of the combat, striking over the heads of
their frontline comrades to hit front-line fighters of the enemy force.
A polearm may be used with the Fighter Combat options. However, the
optional disarm rule may only be used where noted with the weapon type.
The polearm user's attack rolls suffer penalties of -3 for each of the
following cases:
* The user is a dwarf.
* The wielder is attacking from behind a larger ally.
* An ally in front of the user is using a two- handed weapon (other than
a polearm) or any weapon that is swung backward behind the wielder (e.g., a
battle axe, bola, sling, etc.), thus endangering the polearm bearer.
If you are using the Weapon Mastery rules from the next chapter,
characters trained in the use of these two-handed weapons can deflect at-
tacks with them.
Four types of pole arms are shown on the Weapons Table. They have
individual entries because each has certain characteristics that distin-
guish it from the others when using the Weapon Mastery rules. The variations
are as follows:
Halberd: This weapon is both a thrusting and a chopping weapon. It has a
broad axehead with a spike on the top and a hook on the back.
Pike: This thrusting weapon (essentially an extra-long spear) has a
short, sharp spearhead on the end of a very long pole (12-18').
Poleaxe: This chopping weapon has a small axehead attached to a pole of
varying length (5- 15'). It is essentially an extra-long battle axe.
Polearm: All other polearms use this line on the Weapons Table. A
character using a polearm can say that it is a generic polearm, or he can
say that he is using one of the following specific types of real-world
polearms:
* Bardiche: This weapon has a heavy axe blade with a long spike
projecting forward.
* Bill: A lightweight weapon, the bill has a long, narrow, single-edged
blade (like a scythe).
* Gisarme: This weapon resembles a bill with a thin spike on the back of
the blade, curving forward.
* Glaive: This weapon has a broad, knifelike blade.
* Lochaber Axe: This weapon has a long, heavy, single-bladed axe with a
hook on the back, pointing forward.
* Partizan: The partizan has a broad spearhead with two hooks at the
base, pointing forward.
* Ranseur: This weapon has a short, sharp spike flanked by two short,
curved blades at its base.
* Spetum: The spetum has a long spike with two sharp curved blades
forming a trident shape.
* Spontoon: The spontoon has an elaborate blade, possibly wavy or with
flares.
* Voulge: The voulge has a large, heavy, broad blade like a cleaver.
In the campaign, a DM can simply use the generic Polearm entry on the
Weapons Table for polearm variants. Or, if he's using the Weapon Mastery
rules, he can follow the guidelines in that chapter for combining the traits
of halberds, pikes, and polearms into new weapons.
Regardless of type, all polearms are two- handed weapons; the wielder of
the weapon may not use a shield and always loses individual initiative to
characters not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small nonhumans
(such as goblins) cannot use this weapon.
Poleaxe: See Polearms, Poleaxe (above).
Rock, Thrown: This is a rock of fist size or smaller. When a character
throws any object that causes impact damage, treat it as if it were a thrown
rock; the DM can reduce the damage done if he thinks it is not as punishing
as a normal rock. Strength modifications apply to attack rolls and damage.
If you are using the optional Weapon Mastery rules, all characters are
considered to have Basic mastery level with thrown rocks.
Shield Weapons: These weapons combine a shield with weapon blades. Though
awkward and prone to breaking, a shield weapon can provide a second attack
when used with a onehanded weapon.
Only fighters, thieves, and demihumans may use these
weapons. Monsters rarely use shield weapons. The larger shield weapons may
break during battle. Check for breakage whenever the attacker or the
defender rolls the exact attack roll needed. (For example, if a roll of q or
better is needed to hit and a 9 is rolled on the die, check for breakage.)
Each time a breakage occurs, one of the shield weapon's blades becomes
unusable. The chance that a shield weapon will break is 5 or less on 1d10.
Magical shield bonuses add to the die roll, and magical weapon bonuses of
the foe subtract from it. In addition to magical modifiers, modify the foe's
attack roll by -1 per 10 points of maximum damage possible. For example, a
fighter wit@ a sword shield + 3 is attacked by a monster using a two-handed
sword. The monster needs a 7 to hit his target (before any modifications),
and he rolls a 7 on the die. The wielder of the sword shield must check for
breakage. The shield wielder's base roll is 1d10; on a 5 or less his shield
breaks. His roll will have a - 1 penalty because his opponent's two-handed
sword can do up to 10 points of damage. But he will have a bonus of + 3
because his shield is magical. He rolls a 6, which yields 6 - 1 + 3 = 8. His
shield doesn't break. The four types of shield weapons are as follows:
Homed Shield: A one-foot circular shield that is strapped to the arm
rather than held. A single spike projects from its center. This shield is
very durable and will not break.
Knife Shield: A small buckler equipped with one or two short blades
protruding from its sides.
Sword Shield: A medium-size shield with one or two sword or spear blades
projecting from the sides (if round) or ends (if oblong).
Tusked Shield: A large shield with one to four short blades protruding
from the sides. It may have a central spike. Due to its size, the tusked s
shield requires two hands to use and may not be used with an
additional weapon or another shield. Characters using this weapon always
lose individual initiative - to characters not using two-handed weapon.
Halflings and small nonhumans such as goblins cannot use this weapon.
Short Bow: See Bow, Short (above).
Short Sword: See Sword, Short (below).
Sling: This is a length of cord or a long leather strap with a pouch in the
middle. The user places a stone or metal "bullet" in the pouch, holds the
sling by the ends, whirls it to build up speed, and then releases one end of
the strap to launch the missile at his target.
Spear: The spear is a thrusting head attached to one end of a medium-to-long
pole (6'-8'). Fighters, dwarves, elves, and mystics can use the set spear
vs. charge maneuver (see Chapter 8).
Staff: This is a 2" -thick staff, 4'-6' long, possibly with iron-loaded
ends. A staff may be used by all classes, even by magic-users if the DM so
permits.
The staff is a two-handed weapon; the wielder of the weapon may not use
a shield and always loses individual initiative to characters not using a
two-handed weapon. Halflings and small non-humans cannot use this weapon.
Stone: See Rock, Thrown (above).
Sword, Bastard: This popular weapon is similar to a normal sword (below) but
has a longer blade and a hilt (handle) nearly as long as that of a
two-handed sword; the overall weapon length may be from 3'/2' to 4'/2'. The
sword may be wielded either one- or two-handed. A character cannot use a
shield while using this item two-handed. However, it does not cause the loss
of individual initiative. The bastard sword cannot be used by a halfling or
other small humanoid.
Sword, Normal: This is the classic weapon of fantasy. It consists of a
one-handed hilt (handle) attached to a long cutting or thrusting blade;
weapon is usually between 21/2' to 3'/2' long.
Sword, Short: This is much like the normal sword (above) but smaller; it is
usually between 2' to 2'1/2' long. Halflings and small nonhumans such as
goblins can use this weapon.
Sword, Two-Handed: This weapon, also called the great sword, is the largest
type of sword. It is similar to the normal sword (-above) but much longer,
usually being 4'/2' to 6'/2' long. This sword is a two-handed weapon; the
wielder of the weapon may not use a shield and always loses individual
initiative to characters not using a two-handed weapon. Halflings and small
nonhumans such as goblins cannot use this weapon.
Sword Shield: See Shield Weapons, Sword Shield (above).
Throwing Hammer: See Hammer, (above).
Torch: A torch is basically a flaming club. Although lighter than a club, it
is on fire so it the same amount of damage as a club (1d4). someone uses an
unlit torch as a bludgeoning weapon, it does 1d2 points of damage. If you
use the optional Weapon Mastery rules, mastery with a club is also mastery
with a torch. However (also from the Weapon Mastery rules), someone
unskilled with a torch does not halve damage, but always inflicts 1d4 points
(regardless if the torch is lit).
Trident: This is a light spear with three barbed prongs on the end, designed
for underwater use. Any small creatures (2' long or less, such as normal
fish) hit by a trident become stuck on the spiked prongs. To free
themselves, they need to make an ability check vs. Strength to free them-
selves. They may make one attempt per round; many small creatures have
Strengths that do not exceed 1 or 2. This weapon can be used either one- or
two- handed. Used two-handed, it operates similarly to other two-handed
weapons (i.e., the wielder cannot use a shield when using the weapon this
way). However, a character using this weapon, even in its two-handed style,
does not lose his initiative roll, and halflings and other small creatures
can use this weapon.
Tusked Shield: See Shield Weapons, Tusked Shield (above).
Two-Handed Sword: See Sword, Two-Handed (above).
War Hammer: See Hammer, War (above).
Whip: This weapon is a long, braided leather strap with a handle. It may be
from 5'-30' long. It is a hand-to-hand weapon and may be used to either
cause damage (1d2 points) or to entangle Before each combat round, the user
must declare which option is being used. Whichever he uses, he makes a
normal attack roll.
If he scores a hit, the whip either inflicts 1d2 points of damage or (if
entangling is attempted) the forces the victim to make a saving throw death
ray, possibly with a bonus. (See the Weapon Special Effects Table for his
saving throw bonus and the result of the attack.) If the victim fails his
saving throw, he may be entangled, slowed, or delayed,
The effects listed on the Weapon Special Effects Table are as follows:
Entangle: The victim cannot attack, cast spells, or move until a saving
throw is successful.
Slow: The victim is slowed, moving and attacking at half his normal
rate. He cannot cast spells.
Delay: The victim automatically loses initiative for the next round.
This weapon is not very useful except as -a tactical device. It is most
often used by a thief or other character who wants to help a front-line
fighter somehow while not actually engaging in melee.
A whip can only entangle creatures made of solid material. Wraiths,
specters, ethereal creatures, and monsters made of water (such a elementals)
cannot be entangled. They will, however, suffer the normal damage caused by
a whip. (A normal whip will not hit a monster that does can only be hit by
magical weapons, of course that would require a magical whip.)
Nonstandard Weapon Use
(Optional)
Sometimes a character may want to use a one- handed weapon with two
hands. This inflicts more damage, but has the following limitations:
* Any one-handed weapon (except "Other Weapons") can be used for this
option: .
* The character loses individual initiative.
* The character cannot effectively use a shield for defense while
wielding a weapon two- handed (no AC bonus).
When used two-handed, weapons gain an additional + 1 point of damage to
their attacks. This bonus applies to any one-handed weapons used with both
hands, regardless of the origin@ damage of the weapon. Therefore, a dagger
used in this way inflicts 1d4 + 1 (2-5) points of dam. age, and a spear does
1d6 + 1 (2-7) points of damage when wielded with both hands.
Armor Table
Cost Enc
AC Armor Type (gp) (cn) Notes
- 1)* Shield 10 100 D
7 Leather Armor 20 200 D,T
6 Scale Mail 30 300
5 Chain Mail 40 400
4 Banded Mail 50 450
3 Plate Mail 60 500
0 Suit Armor 250 750 S
Subtract 1 from AC if a shield is used.
D A druid can use this type of armor if it contains no metal parts or
other nonorganic components (parts that have never been alive).
S Suit armor has some very special characteristics; carefully read the
description of this type of armor.
T A thief can use this type of armor.
Armor
All fighters, clerics, dwarves, elves, and halflings can use any of the
types of armor described below.. Thieves and druids can use the types of
armor indicated in the "Notes" column. Magic- users and mystics can use none
of these armor types.
Armor is normally made for a specific face. The DM can impose penalties
on a character who wears the armor of a different race. For example, an elf
would find a dwarf's chain mail awkward and heavy (for an additional
reduction to movement beyond what the armor's encumbrance calls for), a
halfling would find it very hard to move in a human's armor (he would have
to save vs. paralysis each round to avoid tripping and falling down), and a
dwarf couldn't get into a halfling's armor at all!
Armor Descriptions
Each type of armor constitutes a full set. The player can presume that
his character, as part of the set of armor, gets the type of headgear
appropriate to the armor (e.g., from a stout leather cap to a full metal
helm). The player may imagine other appropriate armor components as he
chooses-gauntlets, braces, grieves, etc.-as these components do not
affect play or armor class.
The armor listed in the Armor Table is described here and is presented
alphabetically for your convenience.
Banded Mail: This is a suit of heavy leather armor with strips or knobs
of metal embedded in the leather.
Chain Mail: This is a full-sized shirt, often including a hood and
sometimes including full pants, made of interlocked rings of metal. It is
worn over a quilted shirt called a gambeson. When someone with a heavy
weapon hits a character in chain mail, the gambeson keeps the chain mail's
links from being driven into the flesh. (Additionally, it keeps him from
being chilled by flesh-to-metal contact in cool weather and from being
pinched by the rings.)
Leather Armor: This armor is made of tough leather, often boiled for extra
toughness, or even boiled in wax (which produces armor known as
cuir-boulli).
Plate Mail: This is not the full plate armor usually associated with
knights. It consists of numerous metal plates (the chestplate being the most
important of them) linked together by chain mesh; it's much like the chain
mail armor described above except that it has large, shaped metal plates
reinforcing it.
Scale Mail: This armor consists of light leather armor completely covered
with overlapping metal scales sewn or riveted onto the leather.
Shield: A shield can be any of a number of sizes as follows:
* Target or Buckler (a small round shield, with only one strap, held in
the fighter's hand);
* Medium or Round (a larger, heavier shield,
often with two straps-one for the fighter's hand and one further up on his
forearm); or o Wall or Tower (a huge shield nearly the size of the wielder,
usually with two straps like a Medium).
Regardless of size, all shields provide the same amount of protection by
lowering the armor class score by - 1. Smaller shields are considered easier
to move into the path of danger, while leather shields protect better but
are slower to move into the path of danger-thus the benefit is evenly
divided.
Suit Armor: Suit armor is the type of armor associated with the mounted
knights of high romance. It encloses the wearer completely in a sheath of
steel, with chain-link joints to permit movement. It is often called plate
armor (which is different than plate mail), full plate, gothic armor, or
jousting armor. However, suit armor is more like the plate armor made during
the last days of armor-making. The arrival of gunpowder forced armor-makers
to thicken the armor made, which rendered it too heavy and clumsy and
impractical for use, leading to the abandonment of making armor. In the D&D
game, the presence of magic has had almost the same effect on suit armor.
Advantages: Suit armor alone is armor class 0. It may be used with a
shield for armor class - 1. Suit armor reduces the damage inflicted by most
area effects (fire, cold, gas, ac1d), including breath weapons. The base
damage is reduced by 1 point per die of damage, and the wearer gains a + 2
bonus to the applicable saving throw. The minimum base damage is always at
least 1 point per die.
For example, the damage from the breath of a small red dragon (HD 10, 57
hit points) is reduced by I point per die of damage ( - 10) to 47; the
fighter in suit armor may make the usual saving throw, but with a + 2
bonus, to take half damage (24 points).
Magical suit armor, can reduce such damage still further, by 1 point per
die of damage for each two pluses of enchantment (rounded down).
If a fighter in suit armor is mounted and has assistance from others, the
disadvantages of en cumbrance, slow movement, and surprise can be minimized.
Disadvantages: Suit armor is bulky and expensive. Its encumbrance is 750
cn. It must be specially made for one wearer, tailored exactly to fit; the
cost is 250 gp. Magical forms are proportionately more valuable, averaging
50% greater value than plate mail of identical enchantment.
Suit armor is awkward in some situations, especially when getting up from a
prone position or mounting a steed. If attempted alone, the chance of
success is 1 in 6 per round. In late medieval times, the latter problem was
solved by the use of a strap tied around the wearer and over a handy limb or
bar. The knight was then hoisted into the air and lowered onto.the mount. In
the D&D game, assume automatic success in getting up if anyone is available
to help the wearer.
Suit armor is noisy and slow. Its common creaks and clanks can be heard up
to 120 feet away and negate chances for surprise. The wearer's movement rate
is 30' (10'); most fighters prefer to use their suit armor'only when
fighting from horseback.
An unarmored fighter needs two full turns to dress in suit armor; it
takes one full turn to take it off.
Suit armor gives no additional protection against gaze attacks (such as a
medusa's) or electricity (such as a blue dragon's lightning breath).
The wearer has a - 5 penalty when using any missile device other than a
crossbow. If alone, the wearer suffers a - 1 penalty to be surprised. (In
other words, a fighter in such armor rolling for surprise might roll a 3,
indicating no surprise, but the penalty applied will reduce the roll to a 2,
resulting in the fighter being surprised.)
Barding
Some characters purchase armor for their horses so that their mounts,
too, will be protected in combat.
Most of these types of barding correspond to types of character armor.
Chain barding, for example, is made up of the same material as a character's
chain mail. joust barding is the horse equivalent of suit armor. Field
barding is similar to joust barding, but lighter.
Barding and Encumbrance
On the Barding Encumbrance Table are the types of mounts for which
barding is usually made. Note that one animal's barding will not fit another
type of animal, except that barding made for a war horse will fit a draft
horse and vice versa.
Listed on the Barding Encumbrance Table is the animal, its normal movement
rate, the amount of encumbrance it can carry at its normal movement rate,
and the amount of encumbrance it can carry up to half its movement rate. If
loaded with an amount of encumbrance greater than the amount shown in the
last column, the beast will not move.
Remember that the encumbrance shown is the total encumbrance being carried
by the beast. This includes the barding, the weight of the rider(s) and
armor and gear. Encumbrance rates for characters' gear is listed in the
Adventuring Gear Table.
Barding for Other Animals (Optional)
The DM can allow characters to commission barding for other creatures. If
he does, here are some rules for the DM to gauge the cost and encumbrance
of barding made for other types of creatures.
In Chapter 14, many creatures have a listing titled "Load." This shows
what sort of load the creature can carry and with what modification to its
movement rate. (Not all creatures have this information.) With many "Load"
paragraphs is a "Barding Multiplier." This is a number that represents how
much more difficult it is to make barding for this creature and how much
more encumbered the creature will be with barding. To determine how much it
costs to make barding for any type of creature, take its barding cost and
encumbrance multiplier and multiply it by the cost and encumbrance columns
from the Barding Table.
For example, a character wants to find the cost and encumbrance of armor
specially made for his griffon. Take the cost and encumbrance values from
the Barding Table and then multiply them by the barding cost and encumbrance
multiplier from the description of the griffon in Chapter 14. The griffon's
multiplier is a x 5. The griffon's basic AC is 5, so it will need banded
barding (or better) to improve its condition.
Multiplying the cost and encumbrance by 5, the banded armor for a griffon
would cost 2,000 gp and have an encumbrance of 7,500 cn. The griffon's
description says that it can fly with up to a load of 7,000 cn at full speed
or 14,000 cn at half speed, so the griffon carrying this armor must be
reduced to half flying speed.
When barding provides an AC that is only equal to or worse than the
creature's natural AC, it will do no good to wear the armor.
Adventuring Gear
This section describes many of the items that characters take on
adventures.
Adventuring Gear
Descriptions
The equipment listed in the Adventuring Gear Table is described here. The
items are arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
Backpack: This sturdy pack is used to carry equipment on the character's
back. The shoulder straps leave the character's hands free of other actions.
Boots: Plain boots are standard, mid-calf
Adventuring Gear Table
Enc
Item Description / Notes Cost (cn)
Backpack Capacity 400 cn 5 gp 20*
Belt 2 sp 5**
Boots, plain 1 gp 10**
Boots, riding or 5 gp 15**
swash-topped
Cloak, short 5 sp 10**
Cloak, long 1 gp 15**
Clothes, plain Tunic and pants; blouse and skirt
dress; robe; or equivalent 5 sp 20***
Clothes, middle-class See above 5 gp 20**
Clothes, fine See above 20 gp 20**
Clothes, extravagant See above 50+ gp 30**
Garlic 5 gp 1
Grappling hook 25 gp 80
Hammer Small 2 gp 10
Hat or cap 2 sp 3
Holy symbol 25 gp 1
Holy water Breakable vial 25 gp 1
Iron spike One spike 1 sp 5
Iron spikes Twelve spikes 1 gp 60
Lantern Burns oil 10 gp 30
Mirror Hand-size steel 5 gp 5
Oil One flask 2 gp 10
Pole Wooden, 10'long 1 gp 100
Pouch, belt Capacity 50 cn 5 sp 2*
Quiver For arrows or quarrels 1 gp 5***
Rations, iron Preserved food for one person
for one week 15 gp 70
Rations, standard Unpreserved food for one person
for one week 5 gp 200
Rope 50'length 1 gp 50
Sack, small Capacity 200 cn 1 gp 1*
Sack,large Capacity 600 cn 2 gp 5*
Shoes 5 sp 8**
Stakes (3) and mallet 3 gp 10
Thieves' tools Lockpicks, wire, etc. 25 gp 10
Tinder box Flint, steel, kindling
Torch 3 gp 5
One torch 2 sp 20
Torches Six torches 1 gp 120
Waterskin/wineskin One-quart capacity; enc 30 when
filled 1 gp 5
Wine One quart, wineskin not included 1 gp 30
Wolfsbane One bunch 10 gp 1
* This is the item's encumbrance when empty. When goods are placed within
it, the encumbrance includes both the item's encumbrance and the encumbrance
of the goods within it. Thus, a fully filled belt pouch has an encumbrance
of 55 cn.
** This is the encumbrance if packed. If the clothes are worn, disregard
the encumbrance.
*** This is the quiver's encumbrance when empty. Filled with arrows or
quarrels, it is up to 10 cn for encumbrance. A 5-cn encumbrance quiver + 10
cn of missiles (20 arrows or 30 quarrels) still equals only a 10-cn
encumbrance bundle to carry around.
leather boots. Riding boots are more expensive footwear coming up to the
knee or just below. Swash-topped boots are soft leather boots that come up
well above the knee, but the top portion folds down at knee height or below,
resulting in a cuff.
Cloak: The D&D game gives no special benefit to characters wearing
cloaks, but the DM may dec1de that a character caught in cold weather
without a cloak or similar garment could eventually suffer from exposure.
Clothes: A character is presumed to start play with two or three sets of
clothes of the plain variety. Plain clothes are fine for most travel and
adventuring purposes; the better grades of clothes are for social purposes.
(Characters invited to the king's ball don't go in plain or middle-class
clothes, after all!)
Garlic: This is an aromatic herb that repels vampires and some other
undead monsters.
Grappling Hook: A large 3- or 4-pronged hook, made of specially hardened
iron, this item is tied to the end of the rope and then swung up or over a
target. A successful attack roll, with difficulty modifiers as the DM
decides, means that the hook has anchored itself to the target. With use of
this tool, the characters can often cross gaps or climb walls they could not
otherwise climb. The hook may also be attached manually to a nearby surface,
such as when a thief climbs a wall and then attaches a line for his friends
to climb.
Hammer: This is used to drive iron spikes into hard surfaces. Used as a
weapon, it does 1d3 points of damage and can be wielded by anyone who can
use a war hammer.
Hat or Cap: This is standard headgear for the campaign setting.
Holy Symbol: This is a sign or symbol of a cleric's beliefs. It is often
used to physically ward off vampires, and DMs may make holy symbols
necessary for a cleric to turn undead.
Holy Water: This is water prepared by a high level cleric. It will cause
damage to undead monsters.
Iron Spikes: These are essentially large, long iron nails; they may have
flat heads or circular, open heads (the latter kind is useful for tying
ropes to). Spikes can be used to wedge doors open; provide grips for
climbing or anchors for ropes, pry things loose, and so forth. Characters
will need a hammer to pound them into hard surfaces such as stone and wood.
Lantern: This is a simple oil lantern that casts light in a 30' radius,
burning one flask of oil in four hours (24 turns). Most types are shuttered
or enclosed -against wind.
Mirror: Your character can use a mirror to look around corners, examine
empty rooms, and defend against magical gaze attacks. When a character uses
a mirror to watch an opponent, he receives a -2 penalty to attack rolls when
he tries to hit that target, and he cannot use a shield (he's holding the
mirror in his shield hand). The area must be lit for the mirror to work this
way.
Oil: Oil is burned in a lantern for light. A flask of oil may also be
thrown as a missile weapon or poured out and ignited to delay pursuit.
Pole, Wooden: This is the proverbial 10' pole, made of wood 2" thick.
Particularly cautious adventurers, or adventurers in regions where such
objects have proven their usefulness, use poles to prod piles of rags, stir
around in watery pools, poke into corners, touch objects that may have traps
attached to them, test the sturdiness of floors and ledges, and so forth.
Quiver: This is a container for arrows or quarrels; it is usually made of
leather. A lesser-quality quiver is included in the basic cost of a load of
ammunition, as noted on the Ammunition Table above.
Rations: Your character needs to pack food and drink when traveling;
rations are food that has been packaged for travel. A single ration is
enough food to sustain one vigorous adult for a week-that is, about 21
meals. Rations for adventurers typically come in two types as follows:
Standard Rations: These rations consist of untreated food chosen and
prepared for traveling; they will last up to a week when the characters are
traveling outdoors. Carried into a dank, unhealthy dungeon, they spoil
overnight.
Iron Rations: These rations are preserved food (beef jerky, hard tack,
dried fruits and vegetables, etc.); they are not as tasty as standard
rations, but they last for two months (eight weeks) in normal travel and up
to a week in bad conditions (such as dungeons).
Rope (50' Length): This is a heavy climbing rope that can support three
fully loaded humans (i.e., about 7,500 cn in encumbrance). Rope can be tied
to an iron spike and used to climb up steep walls. It may also be useful in
tying up captured prisoners, pulling doors open, etc.
Sack, Large: This is a burlap, cloth, or leather bag, usually 2' x 4'. It
is normally carried over a shoulder (occupying one hand) or tied onto a
cart or saddle-horn; if carried in hand, it is usually dropped when the
owner goes into combat.
Sack, Small: Similar to a large sack, the 1'x 2' cloth bag can be carried
over the shoulder (occupying one hand) or tied onto a cart of a saddle-
horn. Some characters tie it off their belts or (with quick-release knots)
to their spearheads.
Shoes: A character should have shoes if he is going to travel or explore
dungeons; the DM might assign damage to barefoot characters walking through
bad terrain or treacherous catacombs.
Stakes and Mallet: Three large (18") wooden stakes and a wooden mallet
can be quite useful for destroying vampires.
Thieves' Tools: Required for picking locks, these items are usable only
by thieves. A typical set includes various lockpicks, fine wire, etc.
Tinderbox: The tinderbox is a small box containing flint, steel, and
tinder (wood shavings). Characters use this to start any fires, be it for
their camp or their torches. To use a tinderbox, roll 1d6; under normal
(comparatively dry) circumstances, a fire is successfully ignited on a
result of 1 or 2. Someone with a tinderbox may try - to use it once per
round.
Torch: This is any 1' to 2' long piece of wood, its head sometimes
covered with an inflammable substance such as pitch. It casts light in a 30'
radius and burns for one hour (six turns). See the description from the
Weapons Table for information on using a torch as a weapon; clerics can use
it as a weapon.
Waterskin: This flexible container is usually made of leather or a
preserved animal bladder. It has a liquid capacity of one quart and an
encumbrance of 30 cn when filled, 5 cn when empty.
Wine: This is the cost of a quart of common wine, not including the
container.
Wolfsbane: Sold dried or fresh in single sprigs, this is an herb used to
drive off lycanthropes, who cannot abide its presence.
Land Transportation
Equipment
Characters usually acquire land animals, and sometimes carts or wagons,
for transportation of themselves and their gear overland. Adventurers
typically buy the types of animals for transportation listed in the
R1ding Animal Costs Table. In addition, they may purchase other equipment
from the Land Transportation Gear Table.
The animals listed in the R1ding Animal Costs Table are described here
and are arranged alphabetically for your use.
Camels: These animals are normally only found in desert campaigns. They
are better suited to and climates than horses, and they travel much further
on the same amount of water.
Horses: As campaigns develop, characters will travel many miles in search
of adventure. Most characters will probably purchase one or more horses to
make travel faster and easier. Types of horses are as follows:
Draft Horses: These horses are huge, plodding animals usually used to
plow fields and perform other farm labors. Characters will seldom want to
ride them-normally this will occur only when they need to transport an
injured person or a lot of gear and they have no other mount.
Riding Horses: This type of horse is the fastest normal steed, but it is
no help in combat.
War Horses: These horses are larger and harder than riding horses, and
they may be useful in wilderness encounters. A war horse can fight, using
its two front hoof attacks (for 1d6 points each), with the help of the
character f1ding it. While guiding the horse, the character cannot cast a
spell, but he can attack or perform some other action (such as drinking a
potion, changing weapons, etc.). When not carrying a rider, a war horse will
defend itself without needing such gu1dance. Any class can ride a war horse.
Mules: Mules are cheaper, less glamorous animals than horses, but they
are very durable and reliable mounts and pack animals.
Ponies: Ponies are small riding equines. Their diminutive stature makes
them ideal mounts for halflings, children, and small characters.
The items and accountements listed in the Land Transportation Gear Table
are useful to adventurers who have the above riding animals.
Land Transportation
Equipment Descriptions
The items listed in the Land Transportation Gear Table are described here
and are arranged alphabetically for your use.
Cart: A cart is pulled either by one or two draft horses or by two to
four mules. The cart's maximum safe movement rate is 60'(20'); above that
rate, the DM should check once per turn to see if the cart breaks down or
tips over. On I on a 1d6, it breaks down, and on a 2 or 3 it tips over. The
cart's carrying capacity is 4,000 cn when pulled by a single horse, 8,000 cn
when pulled by two. It cannot travel through desert, forest, mountain, or
swamp except by road.
Saddle & Tack: This is a leather and wooden saddle with metal fastenings. It
is assumed to include a blanket, bridle and bit, and stirrups. The saddle's
capacity does not refer to the size of the rider; it is the amount of
encumbrance the saddle can carry in the form of sacks tied to the
saddle-horn, weapon sheathes, etc.
Saddle Bag: This is a long, two pocketed leather container that lies
behind the saddle.
Wagon: This is a large wooden wagon pulled by two or four draft horses
(or four, six, or eight mules). The wagon's maximum safe movement rate is
60' (20'); above that rate, the DM should check once per turn to see if the
wagon breaks down or tips over. On 1 on a 1d6, it breaks down, and on a 2 it
tips over. The wagon cannot travel through desert, forest, mountain, of
swamp except by road.
Vehicle Movement Speeds
The animals noted above can pull the carrying capacities for carts and
wagons with no problem or hindrance against their movement speeds.
The vehicles can be loaded heavier, but movement speeds will suffer.
Simply put, if the animal's normal encumbrance value is equal to or
higher than the weight in the vehicle, it can pull it at its normal speed.
If the encumbrance of the vehicle exceeds the animal's normal encumbrance
value, it can be pulled at half the animal's normal speed.
For example, one draft horse pulls a cart loaded down with 3,000 cn of
cargo; this cart could travel at the horse's maximum rate of 90' (30'),
though speeds greater than 60' (20') risk upsetting the vehicle and the
cargo. The same draft horse can pull a cart loaded with 5,000 cn of cargo,
but this cart moves at half speed or 45' (15')
Water Transportation
When characters must travel along rivers or across oceans, they'll need
to find water transportation. Vessels and pertinent information are listed
in the Sailing Vessels Table.
Crew numbers do not include the captains of the vessels. All vessels
should have a captain except lifeboats, river boats, sailboats, and rafts.
As a rule of thumb, galleys sail only along the coast; they do not
venture across oceans. River boats and rafts are used for travel on rivers
and will almost surely be destroyed if they venture too far from coastal
shores. Canoes are normally used on rivers. All other vessels are suitable
for use on the open ocean.
Water Vessel Descriptions
The vessels listed in the Sailing Vessels Table are described below.
Boat, River: This boat is designed specifically for river travel. The
length is 20'-30', beam (width) is 10', and draft (depth under water) is
2'-3'. Capacity: 30,000 cn. Crew: 8 rowers, 2 sailors (one of whom acts as
captain). It may be rowed or poled; it may have a wooden roof for
protection from weather (1,000 gp extra).
(a) The Enc figure is the amount of weight the empty container adds to
the load the horse carries. For example, a fully laden saddlebag has an
encumbrance of 900 cn.
(b) The cart's or wagon's capacity varies with the number of horses
pulling it; one horse indicates the lesser capacity, two horses indicates
the greater. These figures are based on using draft horses. Two mules can
substitute for one horse.
Sailing Vessels Table
Cost Crew
Item (gp) Rowers Sailors Marines
Boat, River 4,000 8 2 -
Boat, Sailing 2,000 - 1 -
Canoe 50 - 1 -
Galleys:
Large 30,000 180 20 50
Small 10,000 60 10 20
War 60,000 300 30 75
Lifeboat, Ship's 1,000 - - -
Longship 15,000 - 75t -
Rafts tt:
Professional 1 gp/sq ft - -
Built by PCs - - - -
Sailing Ships:
Small 5,000 - 10 25++
Large 20,000 - 20 50++
Troop Transport 30,000 - 20 100++
Item Capacity Move Move Hull Armor
Boat, River Mi/Day** Ft/Rnd** Points Class
Boat, Sailing 40,000 36 60 20-40 8
Canoe 20,000 72 120 20-40 8
Galleys: 6,000 18 60 5-10 9
Large 60,000 18/72 90/120 100-120 7
Small 40,000 18/90 90/150 80-100 8
War 80,000 12/72 60/120 120-150 7
Lifeboat, Ship's 15,000 18 30 10-20 9
Longship 30,000 18/90 90/150 60-80 8
Rafts tt:
Professional 10,000 12 30 5 9
Built by PCs 5,000 12 30 5 9
Sailing Ships:
Small 100,000 90 150 60-90 8
Large 300,000 72 120 120-180 7
Troop Transport 600,000 60 90 160-220 7
*This column shows the vessel's capacity in addition to the listed crew.
For example, a river boat can ca@ 8 people and 40,000 cn in additional
cargo. "Cargo" includes any additional passengers.
** If two rates are given, the first rate is for rowing, the second for
sailing. The first rate is used on windless days (or rounds), and the second
on days or rounds when there is wind in the sails. If only one rate is
given, it is for sailing; on windless days, or days when wind is against
the vessel, the vessel does not move.
t Longship: Sailors acts as both rowers and marines.
tt The hull points and movement rate figures are for each 100 square foot
section (10'x 10').
++ Sailing ships have no marines. If this vessel is converted into a
troop transport, it can accommodate this number of marines and keep its
cargo capacity, but it costs 1/3 more gp.
Boat, Sailing: This is a single-master boat, designed for lake of
coastal use. The length is 15'- 45', beam is 5'-15', and draft is 3'-8'.
Capacity: 20,000 cn. Minimum crew: 1 sailor; additional crew and captain may
be hired.
Canoe: This is a light wood frame covered with hides, canvas, or
waterproof bark; it is designed for rivers and swamps. The length is 15',
beam is 3', and draft is 1'. Capacity: 6,000 cn. It may be carried by one or
two people; encumbrance is 1,000 cn for one, 300 cn each for two people. A
special type of canoe, the outrigger, can sail on the ocean; it costs twice
as much as the normal canoe and has three times the encumbrance.
Galley, Large: This ship is designed for oceans and large lakes. The
length is 120'- 150', beam is 15'-20', and draft is 3'. Capacity: 40,000 cn
plus crew. Standard crew: 180 rowers, 20 sailors, 50 marines, 1 captain. It
has a single mast with a square sail. It can have a ram(1/3additional cost)
and two light catapults (bow and stem).
Galley, Small: Similar to the large galley, this ship is built for
coastal and lake use. The length is 60'-100', beam is 10'-15', and draft is
2'-3'. Capacity: 20,000 cn plus crew. Standard crew: 60 rowers, 10 sailors,
20 marines, 1 captain. This ship can have a ram(1/3 extra cost) and two
light catapults (bow and stem).
Galley, War: This large, two-master galley is designed for combat; it is
often used as a flagship. The length is 120'-150', beam is 20'-30', and
draft is 4'-6'. Capacity: 60,000 cn plus crew. Standard crew: 300 rowers, 30
sailors, 75 marines, 1 captain. This ship always has a ram and one deck
above the rowers has two light wooden towers (bow and stem), each 10'-20'
square, height 15'-20'. It can have three light catapults.
Lifeboat, Ship's: This vessel can carry up to ten people. It is designed
for survival and each has a collapsible mast. The length is 20', beam is
4'-5', and draft is 1'-2'. Capacity: 15,000 cn. Stored onboard the ship is
one week's iron rations for ten people. Small ships usually carry one or two
lifeboats; large ships carry three or four. Lifeboats are not included in
the listed cost of ships. A lifeboat carried onboard another vessel has an
encumbrance of 5,000 cn (deducted from the ship's capacity).
Longship: This ship is designed for river, ocean, or coastal use. The
length is 60'-80', beam is 10'-15', and draft is 2'-3'. Capacity: 40,000 cn.
Standard crew: 75 sailors (acting as rowers and marines), 1 captain. Sixty
rowers are needed for full speed.
Raft: This is an awkward floating platform of barge, moved by poles or
natural current, and often equipped with a crude steering oar. Maximum size
30'x 40'. Capacity: 10,000 cn per 100 square feet. The raft may have raised
edges and a tent or wood hut for shelter. It is often dismantled and sold
for the value of the wood (1/4 Price) once the cargo reaches a downstream
port. It may be found as a ferry at a river crossing.
Characters can build their own rafts if wood is available-this takes 1d3
days per 100 square feet (maximum size 600 square feet). Capacity: 5,000 cn
per 100 square feet.
Sailing Ship, Large: This is a three-masted ship with one or more decks.
The length is 100'- 150', beam is 25'-30', and draft is 10'-12'. Capacity:
300,000 cn plus crew. Standard crew: 20 sailors, I captain. The bow and
stern are raised "castles" for better field of fire, and it may have two
light catapults.
Sailing Ship, Small: Very similar to the large sailing ship, the small
sailing ship has a single mast. The length is 60'-80', beam is 20'-30', and
draft is 5'-8'. Capacity: 100,000 cn plus crew. Standard crew: 10 sailors, 1
captain.
Troop Transport: Identical in size to the large sailing ship, this ship
is designed to carry people. Capacity: double large sailing ship, calculated
for men and horses. This vessel often has special modifications. For
example, troop transports designed to carry cavalry will have a hatch cut
into the side for loading horses or other animals.
Ship Combat Characteristics
Hull Pts: A ship's ability to remain afloat after taking water or damage
is measured by a number, called hull points. Hull points for a ship are very
similar to hit points for a character; when a ship reaches zero or fewer
hull points, it will sink in 1d10 rounds.
If a ship is reduced to zero of fewer hull points, it can no longer move
under its own power or attack with ship-mounted weapons.
The DM can dec1de whether any onboard catapults are then destroyed (he
can choose to roll 1d6, with a 1-4 indicating the weapon is wrecked); the
crew may use personal weapons normally.
When the PCs buy a ship, the DM decides how many hull points it has,
choosing from the range of hull points listed in the Sailing Vessels Table.
As a general rule of thumb, a new ship from a good shipyard will have the
maximum listed hull points. A new ship from a less-reliable shipyard or a
well-maintained older ship will have somewhat fewer hull points. And a
scurvy river barge that's taking on water will have the lowest possible hull
points indeed.
Armor Class: This number is used to determine chances of success for ram
and catapult attacks against a ship.
Ship Modifications
Some ships can be modified for transport or combat, with additional costs
as follows:
Adding a Ram: A large or small galley may
add a ram for an additional 1/3 of the ship's listed cost. A war galley
already has a ram included in the cost. Other ships may not add rams.
Troop Transport: A large or small sailing ship may be converted into a
troop transport by paying an additional 1/2 of the ship's listed cost. A
troop transport has 1/3 more hull points than a normal sailing ship, and it
carries twice as many troops as the normal vessel of its type. The one troop
transport listed on the Sailing Vessels Table is equivalent to a converted
large sailing ship.
Catapult: A longship, any type of galley, and either type of sailed
warship may add one light catapult beyond the numbers of catapults already
described for them. The larger sailing ships may use heavy catapults
instead. Ordinary sailing ships, troop transports, and the smaller vessels
not mentioned above cannot mount a catapult. A catapult and 20 rounds of
shot weigh 20,000 cn. Catapults are discussed later in this chapter, under
"Siege Equipment."
Passage
Characters don't have to buy ships in order to get from place to place
across the water. They can book passage on commercial vessels. The Passage
Table shows the cost of such transportation based on the class of passage
and the distance traveled. To use the table, determine how far the character
is traveling; divide that distance by the number shown, and the result is
the cost of passage per person (in silver pieces).
For example an adventurer travels 80 miles at first-class pass. His rate
is 80 miles divided by 1 sp = 80 sp for passage. A different adventurer,
traveling the same 80 miles but going by third- class, would pay 4 sp (80
miles - 20 sp 4 sp).
The passage classes listed in the Passage Table are described here and
are arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
First-Class: These are luxurious accommodations. The character has his
own cabin (two or more people traveling together may book a single larger
cabin). Service is first-rate, and meals are excellent. Each character has
10,000 cn of cargo space in the hold available, and he can easily put
another 5,000 cn of space in his cabin. He can purchase an extra 10,000 cn
of space in the hold for 1/10 the cost of his passage.
Second-Class: These are decent accommodations. The character is in a small
cabin with up to three other people; some of them may be strangers if
characters are traveling singly or do not arrange to be placed in the same
cabin. Service is minimal, but meals are adequate. Each character has 5,000
cn of cargo space in the hold available to him, and he can comfortably fit
another 1,000 cn of gear in his cabin. He can purchase an additional 5,000
cn of space in the hold for 1/10 the cost of his passage.
Third-Class: These are minimal accommodations. The character may have a
bunk in a large common passenger hold; on a smaller boat or ferry, he may
just have a seat open to the sky. If this is passage on a ship that can hold
20 people or more, the price of passage includes 1,000 cn of space in the
cargo area. A character can keep another 500 cn of gear near or under his
bunk, and he can purchase another 1,000 cn of space in the cargo area for
1/5 the cost of his passage. If this is passage on a raft, ferry, canoe, or
other small vessel, the character has no cargo privileges because of sp-ace
constrictions. He can bring only what he can comfortably carry on his
person, unless he cares to buy another seat at the same rate. The additional
seat would give him about 2,000 cn of room for equipment. Food, if
available, is meager and coarse.
Siege Equipment
Should characters decide to lay siege to a fortification or equip a
sailing vessel with heavy weapons, siege weaponry and miscellaneous Siege
information is found in this section.
Many of the siege weapons described here need to be operated by trained
crews. For simplicity's sake, the DM can assume that 1d6 days spent working
with the ballista is sufficient to train the crew with it. If the campaign
uses the optional General Skills from Chapter 5, the artillery skill counts
as training with every existing type of siege weapon.
Weapon information listed in the Siege Weapons Table is as follows:
Cost (gp) shows only the cost of the weapon itself; ammunition costs are
shown on another column.
Enc (cn) is the weight of each weapon.
AC shows the weapon's armor class when fired upon at range; in melee
combat, consider siege weapons to have ACs of 6.
HP shows the weapon's hit points. When a weapon has taken its listed
number of hit points, it is broken and will no longer work.
Full Crew indicates the optimum size of a crew to operate this piece of
equipment. More crewmen will not improve its performance. If a crew is less
than full, but at least half the listed number, the weapon's fate of fire is
half normal. If the crew is reduced below half but not below 1/4 the listed
number, the weapon's rate of fire is divided by four. Round down all
fractions.
Damage is the amount of damage each weapon can do.
Range should be read as you would for any missile weapon. However, the
"Min" figure is the closest distance at which the weapon can fire at a
target. A light catapult can't fire at anything closer than 150 yards, for
instance. As usual, targets are + 1 to hit at short range and - 1 to hit at
long range.
Fire Rate describes the maximum rate at which the weapon can fire; for
example, a continuously manned ballista can fire one projectile every two
rounds (20 seconds).
Ammo Cost /Week reflects the amount of ammunition used during a standard
week-long siege. During longer sieges, you'll use the rules in the "Siege
Combat" section of Chapter 8. This section has more detailed rules
pertaining to the use of siege weapons.
The "Cost," "Standard Size," and "Enc (cn)" listed in the Miscellaneous
Siege Equipment Table on page 74 are self-explanatory; the remaining columns
are as follows: AC shows the equipment's own armor class; when someone
attacks the equipment itself, this is the armor class he must hit.
AC + shows the armor class bonus that the equipment provides to those who
are protected by it. If an armor class 6 character is inside a belfry, his
armor class against outside attackers is a - 2. Once the belfry is
destroyed, however, armor class is 6.
HP shows the equipment's hit points; once the equipment has sustained that
number of hit points, it collapses, becomes useless, and ceases to protect
those within it.
Siege Weapon Descriptions
The weapons listed in the Siege Weapons Table are described here and are
arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
Ballista: A ballista is very similar to a normal crossbow and was actually
the crossbow's forerunner. It is much larger (often 5'-10' long) and mounted
on a platform or wheeled carriage. The ballista described in the Siege
Weapons Table is the largest one available. It is mounted on wheels (or on a
wagon), or it can be placed on a pivot. The latter is the case when it is
installed on a ship or a defensive fortification.
Ballista ammunition resembles spears, but
they have larger heads. The ammunition is nearly useless against
constructions, but they can inflict some damage to equipment. They are
designed for use against men, animals, and monsters.
Siege Weapons Table
Cost Enc Full Fire
Weapon (gp) (cn) AC HP Crew Rate
Ballista 75 6,000* 4 9 4 1 per 2
Catapult, Light 150 12,000* 4 18 6 1 per 5
Catapult, Heavy 250 18,000* 0 27 8 1 per 6
Trebuchet 400 24,000* 0 36 12 1 per 6
Bore 150 3,000 -4 50 10 1 per 2
Ram, Battering 100 3,000 -4 50 10 1 per 2
Weapon
Range Damage Ammo
Ballista 100/200/300 (Min: NA) d10+6 Cost/Wk.
Catapult, Light 200/250/300 (Min: 150) d8+8 2,000
Catapult, Heavy 250/325/400 (Min: 175) d10+10 4,000
Trebuchet 250/400/500 (Min: 100) d12+13 6,000
Bore - d6+14 8,000
Ram, Battering - d6+8 -
-
These weapons may have wheels attached and be towed. Towing encumbrance
=1/12 the listed encumbrance; thus a horse pulling a heavy catapult on
wheels is pulling 1,500 cn.
The crew of a ballista must be trained to use it, but the weapon does not
require that an artillerist be present (see "General Skills," in Chapter 5
for the artillery skill). ,
If a ballista is operated by a trained crew, one of whom is an
artillerist, it fires at the fighter experience level of the artillerist.
(If the artillerist is not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting ability of
his class; for example, a magic-user of 1st-5th level has the same attack
roll as a fighter of 1st- 3rd level.) If operated by a trained crew with no
artillerist present, take the size of the operating crew (maximum: 4) and
use the size as if it were the experience level of a fighter; in other
words, the smaller the crew, the worse the attack roll becomes. If operated
by an untrained crew, the ballista fifes as though it were a normal man with
a - 8 penalty to the attack roll.
Bore: A bore is a long, heavy loglike device hung from chains; its metal
tip is similar to a corkscrew. Instead of being carried, it rests within a
cradle of chains so it can be freely rotated. Ropes are wrapped tightly
around it and are pulled alternately from each side by two crews of four men
each.
In use, the bore is rolled up to its target (normally the gate of a
fortification). Two men hold the bore firmly against the target structure
while the other men, in two groups of four, pull the ropes in sequence to
rotate the bore-first one direction, then the other. The bore actually
drills its way into the target. The bore does not require a siege specialist
to use, but its crew does need to be trained in its use. A bore is too slow
to attack a mobile target of any sort.
Catapult: A catapult is a huge wooden spoon" mounted in a wooden frame.
Its lower end is fixed by twisted ropes, so that the tension on the ropes
keeps the spoon portion nearly upright. When the spoon is pulled down, the
ropes become taut. The spoon is secured in this position, loaded with shot,
and released. The spoon snaps quickly upward until it hits a horizontal
crossbar and stops; the shot continues on its way, following an arched
trajectory. The range varies by the amount of tension on the ropes.
A trained artillerist knows the proper amounts of tension for various
ranges of fire. Use of the catapult requires the presence of an artillerist.
If you are using the General Skills rules from Chapter 5, anyone with the
artillery skill can captain a catapult. Otherwise, the artillerist must be a
hired NPC specialist.
There are two common types of catapults- fight and heavy. Either may be
mounted on a wheeled carriage for towing, but it must be firmly blocked in
place when used. Light catapults may also be mounted on ships.
Catapults cannot be fired at moving targets. An exception is the
ship-mounted catapult, which is aimed by virtue of the ship steering in the
correct direction; it can only be aimed at very large monsters and other
ships.
If a catapult is operated by a trained crew, one of whom is an
artillerist, it fires at the fighter experience level of the artillerist.
(If the artillerist is not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting ability of
his class; for example, a magic-user of 1st- 5th level has the same attack
roll as a fighter of 1st- 3rd level.) If operated by an untrained crew, or
by a trained crew with no artillerist present, it fires as though it were a
normal man with a - 8 penalty to the attack roll.
Ram, Battering: A battering ram is a large, heavy log or similar device
mounted on wheels. The log is usually capped with metal. This end is
repeatedly slammed against a target (such as a door or gate), using brute
force to cause damage.
The standard battering ram is 10' long and needs a 10-man crew to
operate. For a longer ram, add one crewman per extra foot of length. A rain
can be transported by fewer men than it takes to operate it.
The rain is commonly used by fastening it securely to stout chains
attached to a wheeled gallery shed ceiling of belfry (see "Miscellaneous
Siege Equipment," below). The ram is then easily tolled up to and swung
against the target. When a ram is used in this manner, only one man is
needed for each 2' of the ram's length; a five-man crew is sufficient for a
10' battering ram. The crew of a battering rain does not have to be trained
in its use.
Trebuchet: Somewhat similar to the catapult, a trebuchet is a huge wooden
bar with a sling at one end, mounted on a wooden frame in seesaw fashion.
Instead of using ropes and tension to propel it, the bar is mounted on a
pivot so that part of the bar projects toward the target. A large basket or
net is hung from this end and is filled with weights. Ropes are used to pull
the long sling arm down and to hold it for loading.
When released, the weights pull the short arm downward and the long arm
pivots quickly upward. The sling slows naturally as the weights reach the
bottom of the arc and flies open, causing the shot to fly off in a high,
arched trajectory. The range of fire is determined by the amount of weight
in the basket of net and by the exact position of the basket on the short
arm of the bar.
If a trebuchet is operated by a trained crew, one of whom is an
artillerist, it fires at the fighter experience level of the artillerist.
(If the artillerist is not a fighter, use the equivalent fighting ability of
his class; for example, a magic-user of 1st- 5th level has the same attack
toll as a fighter of 1st-3rd level.) If operated by an untrained crew, or by
a trained crew with no artillerist present, it fires as though it were a
normal man with a - 8 penalty to the attack roll.
Alternative Types of Ammunition
Previously, weapon tables have shown damage and cost factors for normal
ammunition. Normal ammunition is ammunition of a consistent quality, weight,
and size.
In the field, characters sometimes have to rely on available stones and
projectiles to launch from their weapons. This greatly reduces the cost of
operating a weapon continuously, but is a drain on manpower due to having to
find ammunition. The DM will decide in any such instance whether this
foraging for ammunition slows down the rate of fire of diminishes the
weapon's effectiveness. Foraged rocks may not be as accurate as standard
ammunition, and the DM can assign attack foil penalties to those who use
them. Only catapults and trebuchets may utilize found stones.
Another type of ammunition is pitch shot. Pitch shot consists of a large
ball of pitch (sometimes mixed with gravel) loaded into the weapon and lit
just before it's fired. Pitch shot does not do normal damage. Where it hits,
it does 1d6 fire damage in a 10'x 10' area; it ignites any flammable targets
(such as oil) that it hits.
Wooden structures can be damaged by pitch attacks. Damage starts out
slowly-instead of taking 1d6 points of damage, wooden structures take only 1
point. But wooden structures attacked by fire can be set afire, causing
further damage. A building's chance to catch fire is 5% per point of damage
caused by each fife attack. This is cumulative during any one-day period- in
other words, a building hit by one fire attack has a 5 % chance to catch
fire, a 10% chance on the next attack, and so on. Anything set afire will
take 1 point of damage the first round, 3 more points by the end of the
first turn, 6 points the second turn, and 12 points for each turn thereafter
until destroyed.
Catapults and trebuchets can use pitch shots; their firing bowls must be
specially reinforced (costing 50 gp) to fire pitch shot. Pitch shot costs
five times as much as normal shot.
Miscellaneous Siege
Equipment Descriptions
The equipment listed in the Miscellaneous Siege Equipment Table is
described here and is arranged alphabetically for your convenience
Belfry: A belfry (or siege tower) is a protected stairway. The standard
belfry is a 30' tall building on wheels, made of a stout wood frame with
thin walls. The walls are covered with uncured or wet animal hides and
blanket to minimize fire damage. The interior of the belfry contains a
well-built stairway. One or two doors lead into the building at the base. A
drawbridge near the top of the belfry is controlled from inside. A final set
of steps leads to the roof of the belfry, with access protected by a trap
door barred on the inside.
In use, the belfry is pushed or pulled up to a wall; troops then enter
the doors and climb the stairway. When ready, they lower the drawbridge so
that it gives access to the top of the adjacent wag, and then charge across
to melee. Some troops may take a position atop the belfry, adding missile
fire to the melee atop the wall.
If a belfry is subjected to fire attack, it takes full initial fire
damage, but it has only a 5% chance to ignite for each 2 points of fire
damage it sustains. (See the description above for pitch shot and see
Chapter 8 for more details on fires and fire fighting.)
Gallery Shed: This protective device is a wooden building with a light
frame construction. It has side walls but no end walls. The roof is normally
covered with animal hides or wet blankets to minimize fire damage. The
standard gallery shed is 20' long, 10' wide, and 10' tall. It can be carried
by 20 men, and it gives a - 12 bonus to the armor class of those within it.
A gallery shed is most often used along with a ram or bore, which is
suspended by chains from the ceiling of the shed before advancing on the
enemy.
Hoist: A hoist is a machine used to lift small numbers of troops over or
to the top of a wall or other obstruction. A hoist consists of a light
frame, similar to a belfry's, with a long beam projecting from the top and
a pulley on the beam. A large basket, capable of carrying up to four men, is
raised by ropes through the pulley and connected to a winch. The rate of
ascent varies by the number of crewmen operating the hoist and by the number
of troops in the basket. A hoist is normally used to raise well-armed or
higher level troops (those who can withstand some missile fire before
engaging in melee) to the top of a wall.
Miscellaneous Table
Standard Enc (cn) AC AC+ HP
Type Cost Size
Belfry 25 gp/ft height 30' tall 250,000* 0 -8 75
Gallery Shed 15 gp/ft length 10'x10'x20' 8,000* 4 -12 40
Hoist 5 gp/ft height 30' tall 12,000* 4 0 15
Ladder 1 gp/10' height 30' tall 900 4 0 3
Mantlet 2 gp/ft length 8' long 4,800* 0 -4 16
Timber Fort 4 gp/ft length 8' long 7,200* 0 -8 32
These weapons may have wheels attached and be towed. Towing encumbrance
=1/12 the listed encumbrance; thus a horse pulling a mantlet on wheels is
pulling only 400 cn.
Ladder: The siege ladder is a large, sturdy version of the common ladder.
It is most effective when used by surprise or against defenders already
occupied by attackers from a belfry or hoist. Used alone, ladders are easily
toppled or broken by defenders.
To topple a ladder, take the number of defenders trying to topple the
ladder (numbers greater than four count as four) and multiply that number by
four. The attacker (on the ladder) must roll above that result on 1d2O as a
saving throw each round or the ladder is toppled. The attacker may attempt
this save once per round.
Mantlet: A mantlet is a wooden wall, built with wheels for easy movement.
The standard mantlet is 8' long and 4' high and can shield up to five men.
Those protected by the mantlet gain a - 4 bonus to armor class. Mantlets are
often used by troops who are pushing a belfry up to a wall and by those
operating or waiting for use of a hoist.
Timber Fort: A timber fort is a heavy wooden wall built in sections. It is
movable only with difficulty. Each section of the wall is 8' long and 4'- 5'
high. Those protected by a timber fort gain a - 8 bonus to armor class.
Final Notes on Siege Weapons
Special additional rules for these weapons appear elsewhere in this book
in the "Siege Machine" section of Chapter 8.
Two types of special abilities (called weapon mastery and general skills)
can be used by player characters in campaign games. These two sets of
abilities are optional; the Dungeon Master decides whether they will be used
in his or her world.
Weapon mastery is a character's ability to use weapons with greater skill
than the game normally allows. All characters, not just fighters, can learn
to use weapon mastery.
General skills are abilities that characters can learn and use in the
campaign. Few general skills are useful in combat, but many are helpful
throughout the course of a campaign; they also help define the character and
make him or her seem more real.
Weapon Mastery
In the D&D combat system, each character automatically knows how to use
every weapon available to his character class for use. The following system
gives player characters the option to either study one weapon in depth or to
study a few weapons to a less intense degree. When a character is using the
weapon(s) he has mastered, he has an advantage over those who have not
studied these weapons.
Weapon Choices
With the weapon mastery rules, when a human character is started, he does
not know how to use any weapons. He is given weapon choices so that he may
choose to learn individual weapons. Demihumans do not gain or use weapon
choices; due to their longer lifespans and wilderness-oriented lifestyles,
demihuman characters start with basic skill in all weapons not restricted
from their classes. However, demihumans can increase their weapon mastery
through training, as outlined below.
Number of Weapon Choices
Fighters staff off at 1st level with four weapon choices; all other
character classes start off with two.
Human characters gain one new weapon choice at each of the following
experience levels: 3, 6, 9, 11, 15, 23, 30, and 36. Fighters also gain
weapon choices at levels 19, 27, and 33. All characters gain one new weapon
choice for every 200,000 experience points they earn above their maximum
experience level.
The Weapon Choices by Experience Level Table shows the character's number
of weapon choices.
What to Do With Weapon Choices
For each weapon choice he has, a character may choose to learn one weapon
at the basic level of ability By "one weapon:' we mean precisely that-one
weapon from the Weapons Mastery Table used in one fashion only. One weapon,
for example, might mean a "normal Cost Per sword"; it does not mean " all
swords."
When a weapon can be used in two different 100 fashions (i.e., one-handed
and two-handed, as 250 with the bastard sword), a weapon choice buys 500
only one of those fashions. A character can have 750 different levels of
mastery, for example, with 1,000 one-handed bastard swords and two-handed
bastard swords, depending on how he has allotted his weapon choices. One
exception is the net; training with the net allows a character to use small
nets one-handed and larger nets two- handed, so the net has only one entry
on the Weapons Mastery Table.
Basic level of ability is the same level of ability you're already
familiar with; basic level allows the character to use the weapon
effectively by doing the damage and special functions listed on the Weapons
Table in Chapter 4. However, a character does not have to use every weapon
choice he has to buy basic level of ability with a new weapon. Instead, he
can choose to specialize by applying his weapon choices to a weapon he
already knows, thus improving his ability with that weapon. These degrees of
ability are called levels of mastery and are listed in the Levels of Weapon
Mastery Table.
Weapon Choices by Experience Level Table
Weapon Choices by
Experience Character Class:
Level Fighters All Others
1 4 2
3 5 3
6 6 4
9 7 5
11 8 6
15 9 7
19 10 7
23 11 8
27 12 8
30 13 9
33 14 9
36* 15 10
* +1 weapon choice per 200,000 XP above
the character's maximum experience level.
Levels of Weapon Mastery Table
Number of Weapon Level of
Choices Spent Mastery
At 1st experience level, a character must spend all his weapon choices on
different weapons; he may not yet progress beyond basic ability with any
weapon. He may spend subsequent weapon choices to either buy basic ability
with a new weapon or to gain the opportunity to improve his level of mastery
with a weapon he already knows.
In general, the higher a character's level of mastery with a weapon, the
more damage he does with the weapon and the greater number of special
results he can achieve with the weapon. The different levels of mastery are
detailed under "Training:' next.
Training
Although characters can gain basic levels of mastery simply by expending
weapon choices, characters cannot attain higher levels in the same way. Once
the character has spent his 1st level choices, to gain additional knowledge
of the use of a weapon he must be trained by someone who has equal or
greater knowledge of that specific weapon. That someone could be another PC,
but it is usually an NPC teacher found during adventures or through
word-of-mouth. In some campaigns, weapon masters run academies where they
teach the proper use of specific weapons; sword academies are common. In
other campaigns, mystics may allow nonmystics to learn at their monasteries;
many mystics are weapon masters.
Demihumans can train to reach higher levels of weapon mastery just as
human characters can. However, demihumans are eligible to train only at
levels 4 and 8 and level 12 for dwarves) and at every 200,000 experience
points after reaching their maximum level.
After finding a trainer who will provide the necessary instruction, the
student must pay all of the required costs before training can begin. The
costs and time required for weapon training vary by the level of mastery
sought, and they are listed in the Training Times and Costs Table.
A student can train only to the next rank of ability above his own. He can
go from Basic to Skilled, for example, and next time go from Skilled to
Expert, but he can never jump straight from Basic to Expert.
A student can train in the hope of achieving the next level of mastery-and
yet fail to do so. The student character has a chance of failure applied to
each training period. His chances of success and failure vary by the mastery
levels of himself and his trainer, as given in the Chance of Training
Success Table. From the character's perspective, failure may occur because
the trainer has insufficient knowledge or lacks the ability to train others
or because the student cannot fully absorb the new information.
Failure does not mean that the character has lost his weapon choice for
that experience level. The weapon choice is still there, and it's still
dedicated to the weapon and level of mastery he has chosen for it. The
student has lost the time and money he has spent, but he may spend more time
and money until he reaches the level of mastery for which he has spent his
weapon choice.
The chance of success is checked halfway
through the training period, and the student is immediately informed of
the results. (In the role-playing situation, this usually consists of the
teacher taking the student -aside and telling him that he is not ready yet
and that it is useless for him to continue at this time.) The student may
then either continue (despite his teacher's recommendation) or stop the
training. If the success roil failed but the student decides to continue
training for the full period, the student may then study the same level
again but with a different trainer, and his chance of success is increased
by 10%.
Training Times and Costs Table
Level of Time Cost Per
Mastery Sought Required (wks) Week (gp)
Basic (-new weapon) 1 100
Skilled 2 250
Expert 4 500
Master 8 750
Grand Master 12 1,000
If the student chooses to stop the training midway, he may then study the
same level with a different master at the same chance for success. The two
advantages to this option are that the character does not lose the rest of
the time he would spend with the first teacher and that the first teacher
normally refunds half the cost of training. (Chaotic teachers might not
offer refunds.) As you can see from the Chance of Training Success Table, it
is possible (1% chance) for a character to learn a superior level of weapon
mastery from a teacher who is actually the character's equal. (Such unusual
training matches usually end up with the teacher realizing and announcing
that his student has surpassed him: "Now, you are the master, and I am the
student!") However, learning from an equal-level teacher is very difficult
to do. Whenever possible, the student should find a teacher who is more
skilled than he is; when that isn't possible, however, he will have to train
with a teacher who is his equal. At the more advanced levels, characters are
likely to train with their equals and just as likely to fail their chance to
succeed the first time around. Most characters will choose to finish
training with that teacher anyway so that they will have a 10% bonus with
the next teacher they train under. Obviously, it takes quite a while to
attain the grand master level of competency.
Unskilled Weapons Use
A character who is not trained in any weapon (i.e., he has not devoted
even one weapon choice to a weapon) is classified as unskilled.
If an unskilled character uses a weapon, the weapon has its basic mastery
characteristics and bonuses or penalties, but it does only half damage.
Thus, if an unskilled character uses a weapon that does 1d8 points of
damage, he will roll 1d8 and then halve the result (rounding fractions down)
for the actual damage. Missile weapons used at the unskilled mastery level
also receive a - 1 penalty to attack rolls. Also apply his Dexterity
adjustment to all
Skilled Weapons Use
When using the weapon mastery rules, the weapons from last chapter's
Weapons Table acquire new abilities and damage ranges. All these new
bonuses, damage types, and special uses are given in the Weapons Mastery
Table in this chapter. Weapons that were nearly identical in the previous
rules become much more distinctive here.
Characters might choose to specialize in a particular weapon because of
its better damage against weapon-using opponents, or they might choose a
weapon for its special uses (such as parrying blows or tripping opponents).
The DM may modify the Weapons Mastery Table if he chooses, either by
adjusting listed weapon characteristics or by adding new weapons. He should
not add any new weapons that are significantly more powerful than the ones
listed in the table; new weapons should be assigned balanced benefits and
weaknesses.
Types of Benefits
Characters gain several benefits from weapon mastery. These benefits
include extra damage, attack roll bonuses, improved range with missiles and
thrown weapons, ability to throw some hand-to-hand weapons, bonuses to armor
class, and other special results (stunning, paralysis, entanglement, etc.).
Applying Benefits
Some maneuvers and special weapon effects in these rules provide bonuses
to attack rolls in combat. These benefits are applied before other
modifiers. Using this method, high-experience fighters and demihumans might
gain enough bonuses to bring the attack roll needed to 2 or less, activating
their Multiple Attacks option. (Multiple Attacks are described in the
"Combat Maneuvers" section in Chapter 8.)
Other weapon mastery benefits can be applied during the normal course of
the combat sequence. Benefits such as the greater damage available can be a
crucial factor when doubled by a thief's Backstab ability.
Some benefits can occur only if the player announces that his character is
deliberately using them (such as deflecting, disarming, etc.). The player
must always tell the DM he is using one of these options. He must mention
this use before he rolls to hit. It is too late to mention it after the die
has been cast.
Armor class bonuses gained through weapon mastery should be applied
automatically in all applicable situations. However, players may, want to
remind the DM once or twice. Attack and Defense Benefits
There are a number of attack and defense benefits available to characters
when using the weapon mastery rules. These are outlined in the following
text.
Opponent Type and Damage Bonuses
Many damage increases and attack roll bonuses vary with the type of
opponent. Opponents that attack with two-handed missile fire devices have
similar defenses to those that attack with natural body weaponry. This type
of opponent is designated "M" (for Missile of Monster) on the Weapons
Mastery Table.
Defense is very different for opponents using hand-held weapons that are
swung (such as swords and axes) or thrown (such as daggers and bolas) and
opponents using missile-fire weapons that need only one hand (slings, short
blowguns, preloaded light crossbows). On the Weapons Mastery Table, these
opponents are designated "H" (for Hand-held).
If an opponent could fit into both categories (such as a wererat carrying
a sword, who has both natural body weaponry and a hand-held weapon), the
character attacking that opponent uses his weapon's damage results that are
most favorable to the opponent (not to the attacker!). However, if this type
of opponent drops the weapon it holds, it immediately becomes category M for
all calculations. Most weapons are better when attacking one or the other of
these defense categories. On the Weapons Mastery Table, each weapon's
listing shows a primary opponent (the category of defense against which the
weapon is most effective) and a secondary opponent (the other category,
against which it is less effective). A few weapons are equally good against
both target types; they bear the table notation [P=A], where "A" stands for
All.
Attack Roll Bonuses
Characters with skilled or better weapon masteries receive bonuses to the
attack roll with the mastered weapons, as noted in the Attack Roll Bonuses
Table. When the character successfully completes training and achieves a new
level of weapon mastery, he gains his new applicable attack roll bonuses and
all other special weapon benefits from the new level of mastery (listed in
the Weapons Mastery Table and described in the weapon descriptions section
below).
Attack Roll Bonuses Table
Level of Bonus Bonus
Mastery vs. Primary vs. Secondary
Unskilled No bonus No bonus
Basic No bonus No bonus
Skilled + 2 + 1
Expert + 4 + 2
Master + 6 + 4
Grand Master + 8 + 6
Even with the additional bonuses gained from weapon mastery, don't forget
to apply a character's Strength adjustment to all melee attack rolls and to
melee and thrown-weapon damage rolls.
Improved Range
A character at skilled or better mastery with a ranged weapon can often
fire or hurl it farther than someone less accomplished. All notes on
improved weapon ranges are on the Weapons Mastery Table. Remember that the
ranges for thrown and missile weapons are calculated in feet in indoor
settings and in yards in outdoor combat.
Throwing Ability With Hand-to-Hand Weapons
Weapon masters can throw some weapons that other character's can't throw
effectively. Masters of battle axes, clubs and torches, war hammers, bastard
swords, normal swords, and short swords can throw these in combat starting
at the expert level of mastery. Ranges for these weapons are given on the
Weapons Mastery Table, and there are rules for barely thrown weapons after
the table.
Bonuses to the Wielder's Armor Class
When a character is using a weapon he has mastered, he gains an armor class
bonus (above any he might receive from his armor or defensive maneuvers).
The armor class bonus he receives applies only to a given number of attacks
per round. That number is given on the Weapons Mastery Table, and it may
apply to M (Missile/ Monster) attackers, H (Hand-held) attackers, or A (All)
attackers, as shown on the table. For example, if the table says that the
character has M: -2AC/2, it means that he gets a - 2 armor class bonus
against the first two attacks made against him that round by missiles or
monster attackers. Likewise, A: - 6AC/3 indicates that the character gets a
- 6 armor class bonus against the first three attacks made against him that
round by any missile or monster attacker.
Some shields do not have a number after a slash mark; that means that the
shield provides the character an additional armor class benefit all the time
the shield is held, not just for a certain number of attacks per found.
Having an armor class bonus does not count as a maneuver; the character may
still move and attack at normal rates.
Defensive Maneuvers
In addition to the above armor class bonuses, a character may have an armor
class adjustment due to Fighting Withdrawal and Parry defensive maneuvers,
as described in Chapter 8.
Special Results
Weapon masters can do some amazing things with their weapons; they get more
performance out of the weapons they've mastered. Most of the special results
are listed in the "Special Effects" column of the Weapons Mastery Table and
are described in the section on descriptions of special effects, which
follows the table.
However, one special result is common to all weapons: the despair effect.
Despair Effect
A weapon master's amazing ability with his weapon can cause despair and
fear in some opponents. This is called the despair effect. When it happens,
the targets affected must make a standard morale check (described in Chapter
8). Opponents must be above animal intelligence to be affected.
Targets that fail their morale tolls try to flee or surrender at their
next opportunity. The DM should describe the expressions of the monsters
who've had to make special despair morale checks, but he or she shouldn't
describe whether the monsters successfully made their rolls until it's time
for them to act.
When to Roll for Despair: The DM should have affected monsters and NPCs
make their morale rolls under any of the following circumstances:
* The weapon user inflicts maximum possible damage with his weapon.
* The weapon user avoids all damage in a round by deflecting the
opponent's blows. (Deflecting is described in the section on descriptions of
special effects after the Weapons Mastery Table.)
* The weapon user disarms two or more opponents in the same round.
The DM may choose to check for despair during other special situations if
he desires.
PC Victims of Despair: Player characters under a despair effect must make
a saving throw vs. death ray. If they succeed, they are merely impressed;
those who fail must retreat in awe for 1d6 rounds.
Numbers Affected: The despair effect can only affect a certain number of
enemies at a time. This varies with the character's level of mastery as
follows:
* Basic-no despair effect possible.
* Skilled-up to 4 hit dice or levels.
* Expert-up to 8 hit dice or levels.
* Master-up to 12 hit dice or levels.
* Grand Master-up to 16 hit dice or levels.
When the despair effect is turned on a group, it always affects the
lowest-level (or lowest-HD) enemies first.
Frequency of Use: A weapon master can only use his despair ability once
per fight (once the current situation leaves the combat sequence, the fight
is over).
Other Notes
When choosing a character's weapons, keep the character in mind; be sure
to select the weapons the character (not necessarily the player!) would
choose. Be aware of standard weapon restrictions. Halflings can only use
small weapons, for example.
Weapons that do a wide range of damage are present in each category. Low
damage is usually offset by special benefits. Once a suitable weapon is
found, review the other weapons within that category with comparable damage
or special effects and consider the weapon's potential (available with
further training). Weapon mastery choices, once taken, cannot be changed.
Remember that weapon mastery bonuses apply only when the character is
using the weapon he has mastered, not when he uses other weapons, even
similar ones.
How to Read the Weapon
Mastery Table
The columns on the table provide the following information: Weapon: This
column gives not only the weapon name but also many other details about its
use; compare the symbols beneath the weapon name to the list of
abbreviations at the bottom of the table.
Lvl: This heading stands for "level of mastery." Each weapon has
statistics listed for five different levels of mastery. If your character
has expert mastery with a normal sword, he'd find the entry for normal sword
and skip down to the line labeled "EX" (for Expert) in this column.
Ranges: This column shows the weapon's range when thrown or launched. Not
all weapons have ranges listed. Note that the weapon's range increases with
each new level of mastery.
Damage: This column shows the damage the weapon does. Damage, too,
increases with each new level of mastery. This column often has separate
entries for " P " and " S " -the weapon does different amounts of damage to
its primary and secondary target types.
Defense: This column shows the effects the weapon has on the armor class
of its wielder.
Special Effects: This column summarizes the weapon's special abilities; you
will need to read the text after the table to understand what these
notations mean. Certain weapons have an additional symbol (" SS ") in this
column; this symbol indicates that these weapons have special effects beyond
the other weapons' special effects. Read the following text-for more
information on these particular weapons.
The " SS " Notation
Five weapons-the blackjack, blowgun, bola, net, and whip-are listed on the
Weapons Mastery Table with an " SS " symbol in their "Special Effects"
column. This means you need to refer t@ the following Special Effects Tables
to see what else these weapons do to their victims.
Special Effects Descriptions
The special effects listed for weapons in the Weapons Mastery Table are
described here and are arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
Breaks: Whenever the wielder of a shield weapon or his foe tolls the
exact number needed to hit the other, there is a chance that one of the
shield weapon's blades will break. With a subsequent roll of 5 or less on
1d10, a blade breaks. Charge: If the wielder charges 20 yards or more and
strikes his target, the victim takes double damage.
Death: The victim is reduced to 0 hit points. Deflect: In addition to any
attacks, the wielder of this weapon may attempt to deflect the number of
melee and thrown weapon attacks indicated in one round. To deflect each
attack, the character must make a saving throw vs. death ray.
Delay: The victim hit by this weapon must make a saving throw or lose
initiative the next round. If the type of saving throw is not specified, it
is a saving throw vs. paralysis. For missile attacks, this effect occurs only
at the indicated ranges.
Disarm: The wielder of this weapon may attempt to disarm an opponent instead
of making a normal attack. The attacker must roll to hit the target. The
victim can save his weapon by rolling less than or equal to his Dexterity on
1d20. If the attacker has the Disarm Combat option, the victim must add a +
5 penalty to his die roll. The DM should determine Dexterity scores for NPCs
and monsters or else assume a Dexterity score of 1 1. In addition, for each
level of mastery the attacker has gained beyond basic, the victim suffers a
penalty of + 1 to his roll vs. the effect.
Double Damage: On a natural toll of number(s) indicated, the weapon
inflicts double damage.
Entangle: An entangled victim cannot attack, cast spells, of move. The
victim may make a saving throw vs. death ray each round to escape.
Hook: Instead of making a normal attack, the wielder of this weapon may
attempt to hook and pull down a foe. The attacker must roll to hit. This
causes the minimum damage possible for the weapon; the victim must make a
saving throw vs. paralysis or fall down. A + 4 bonus to attack rolls applies
when attacking a fallen foe. A fallen foe also has a -4 penalty to all
saving throws and a - 2 penalty to attack tolls while on the ground. A
character can stand up in one round.
Ignite: Fire has a chance to ignite anything flammable that it hits. The
chance is equal to 5% (rolled on 1d1OO) per point of damage caused in each
round. If an item ignites it will burn for 1d6 rounds causing 1d4 points of
damage each round.
Knockout: The victim is rendered unconscious for 1d100 rounds.
No Off-Hand Penalty: If a campaign is using the optional Two Weapons
Combat rules (see Chapter 8 and consult the DM), the cestus does not take a
-4 penalty or the -1 weapon mastery level penalties when used in the
off-hand. If the character uses two cesti, he can strike with both weapons
at the same chance for success. Paralysis: Paralysis freezes a creature in
place for 1-6 turns. A paralyzed creature is aware of what is happening but
cannot move, attack, talk, or cast spells. Any cure spell can negate the
effects of paralysis, but they do not cure damage in addition to removing
the paralysis.
Poison: See the Special Effects Tables One- Three for effects.
Second Attack: The wielder is able to make a second attack with this
shield weapon while attacking with another one-handed weapon in his
other hand. This second attack is made with no off-hand penalty.
Special Effects Table One: Blowgun and net
Victim's Bonus to
Level or Saving Results of Failed Saving Throw
Hit Dice Throw Blowgun Net
Up to 1 None Death Entangle
1+1 to 3 +1 Loss of 75% hp + paralysis Entangle
3+1 to 6 +2 Loss of 50% hp + paralysis Slow
6+1 to 9 +3 Loss of 50% hp Slow
9+1 to 12 +4 Loss of 25% hp Delay
12+1 to 16 +5 Loss of 25% hp Delay
16+1 or more +5 Loss of 10% hp Delay
Save vs.: Poison Death Ray
Special Effects Table Two: Blackjack
Victim's Bonus to Results of Failed Saving Throw
Level or Saving Basic/ Expert/ Grand
Hit Dice Throw Skilled Master Master
Up to 1 None Knockout Knockout Knockout
1+1 to 3 +1 Knockout Knockout Knockout
3+1 to 6 +2 Stun Knockout Knockout
6+1 to 9 +3 Stun Stun Knockout
9+1 to 12 +4 Delay Stun Stun
12+1 to 16 +5 Delay Delay Stun
16+1 or more +5 Delay Delay Delay
Save vs.: Death Ray Death Ray Death Ray
Special Effects Table Three: Bola and Whip
Victim's Bonus to Results of Failed Saving Throw
Level or Saving Basic Expert Grand
Hit Dice Throw Skilled Master Master
Up to 1 None Entangle Entangle Entangle
1+1 to 3 +1 Entangle Entangle Entangle
3+1 to 6 +2 Slow Entangle Entangle
6+1 to 9 +3 Slow Slow Entangle
9+1 to 12 +4 Delay Slow Slow
12+1 to 16 +5 Delay Delay Slow
16+1 or more +5 Delay Delay Delay
Save vs.: Death Ray Death Ray Death Ray
Set vs. Charge: If the wielder is aware of a charging enemy, he may set
this weapon against the charge. A charge only takes place when the enemy
rushes the wielder at 20 yards (or more) this round. If the wielder's weapon
hits the charging foe, it inflicts double listed damage.
Skewer: If the target has no more than the number of Hit Dice indicated,
the wielder of this weapon may decide to skewer him instead of strike him
normally. A normal attack consists of striking the target and withdrawing
the trident for another attack; with the skewer, the attacker thrusts his
trident into the target and twists it so that it is not easily extracted.
Once the weapon hits, it is stuck; it will remain stuck for 1d4 + 4 (5-8)
rounds, after which time the victim's movements will cause it to come free.
For each round a victim remains skewered, he automatically takes 1d6 points
of damage.
Slow: The victim is slowed and can move and attack at only half his
normal movement rates. He can cast no spells while slowed.
Strangle: If the attacker makes a natural roll of the number(s)
indicated, the victim must make a successful saving throw vs. death ray or
become immediately paralyzed and die in 1d6 + 2 (3-8) rounds unless rescued.
If the victim escapes, he survives but remains paralyzed for 2d6 (2-12)
rounds.
Stun: If the victim is approximately the same size as the attacker or
smaller, he is stunned if he falls a saving throw vs. death ray. A stunned
character moves at 1/3 Speed and cannot attack or cast spells. The character
also has a +2 armor class penalty and a - 2 saving throw penalty. A stunned
character can make a saving throw vs. death ray each round to recover from
the stun effect. For missile weapons, this effect occurs only at the
specified ranges.
Individual Weapon
Descriptions
Some of the weapons on the Weapons Mastery Table are marked with either
one or two asterisks. When a weapon is marked with one asterisk (*), refer
to last chapter's Weapon Descriptions to learn about the item's special
characteristics. If a weapon is marked with two asterisks (**), that weapon
is described here. Items are arranged alphabetically for your convenience.
Blowguns: A victim hit by a poisoned blow- gun dart fired by someone with
skilled or better weapon mastery makes his saving throws at a penalty. The
weapon master knows how to accurately fire the daft into veins, arteries,
and other critical areas, thus introducing the poison more quickly into the
bloodstream.
Polearms, Other: The last chapter mentioned that traits of the halberd,
pike, and poleaxe could be combined to individualize the other types of
polearm mentioned. This is an optional rule to be used if the DM wishes
these weapons to be individualized. These additional polearms are detailed
as follows:
Bardiche: This polearm uses halberd statistics but also has the deflect
abilities of the pike. The bardiche may be set vs. a charge.
Bill: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics and deflect scores. In
addition, the bill has the hook ability of a halberd.
Gisarme: This polearm uses pike statistics and deflect scores. The
gisarme also has the hook ability of a halberd.
Glaive: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics and deflect scores. The
glaive causes double damage like a dagger. This weapon may be set vs. a
charge.
Lochaber Axe: This polearm follows all of the halberd rules, but the
lochaber axe may also stun at the highest two masteries.
Partizan: This weapon follows all the pike rules, but the partizan may
also disarm. This weapon may be set vs. a charge.
Ranscur: This polearm uses halberd statisti and deflect scores. The
ranseur may also be used to disarm at skilled level and above. This weapon
may be set vs. a charge.
Spetum: This weapon uses pike statistics and deflect scores. The spetum
may also disarm at skilled or greater mastery. It may be set vs. a charge.
Spontoon: This polearm uses spear statistics, but it may not be thrown.
It uses the deflect scores of a halberd. The spontoon does double damage
like a dagger and may be set vs. a charge.
Voulge: This weapon uses poleaxe statistics, but it causes + 2 points of
damage. The voulge uses the deflect scores for a halberd. it may cause
double damage like a dagger.
Throwing Rarely Thrown Weapons
Several of the weapons listed in the Weapons Mastery Table, while
normally used in melee, can be thrown by a wielder at high levels of mastery
in desperate situations.
To throw these weapons, the attacker must make a normal attack roll
modified by Strength (but not by Dexterity).
Since the maneuver is unexpected, the attacker first checks to see if his
foe is surprised (a toll of 1 or 2 on 1d6). If the victim is not surprised,
the victim makes a saving throw vs. death ray to reduce damage by half. If
he is surprised of if he fails his saving throw, he takes full damage from
the attack.
Retroactive Weapon Mastery
If a campaign has already begun but the DM would like to add weapon
mastery to it, it's not too late. The DM should start by carefully examining
each character. Characters often have a few favorite weapons. Assume that
these are the character's preferences; these will be the weapons for which
the character has learned increased mastery, while the knowledge of the
proper use of other weapons has faded through lack of use. The DM may then
give the character the number of weapon choices appropriate for his class
and experience level. Weapons that are the character's personal trademark
can be bought up to expert mastery; weapons that the character uses
frequently can be bought up to skilled mastery; weapons that the character
has been known to use effectively should be bought to basic mastery. If the
character still has any weapon choices left, his player can assign them as
he pleases to buy Basic masteries with other weapons; he cannot buy higher
than basic mastery for these additional weapons.
When fitting these rules into an existing campaign, the DM should not
allow a character to buy a weapon skill above expert level unless the
character is at 24th experience level or greater. He or she should not allow
a character to buy a weapon skill above master level unless the character is
already 30th level or better.
Refer to "Reality Shift" in Chapter 13 for additional suggestions about
coping with sudden retroactive changes in a campaign.
Weapon-Using Monsters
Monsters may use weapon mastery rules if they ordinarily use weapons to
attack. Just as with player characters, a monster must find a trainer
willing to teach it. Its maximum possible skill is determined by its
Intelligence, as given in the Mastery Limits for Weapon-Using Monsters
Table. (See Chapter 13 for advice on determining monster Intelligence
scores.)
Note that only humans and demihumans can become grand masters; monsters
cannot.
Mastery Limits for Weapon-Using Monsters Table
Monster Maximum Level of
Intelligence Weapon Mastery
Up to 11 Basic
12-15 Skilled
16-17 Expert
18 + Master
General Skills
General skills are abilities that characters can use in the campaign.
There are many general skills, but no character will have more than a few of
them, so a character's choice of skills will help make him more distinctive
and more individually useful in some campaign situations.
Using general skills is optional. If the DM doesn't want to use them in
his or her campaign, they won't be used.
Beginning Skills
All 1st level characters start with four "blank" skills, often called
slots. (When a skill is chosen, it stops being a slot.) Characters who have
an Intelligence of more than 12 start with more than four skill slots. If
the character has an Intelligence of 13-15, he gets I additional skill slot;
if his Intelligence is 16-17, he gets 2 additional skill slots; and if his
Intelligence is 18, he gets 3 additional skill slots. Different things
determine which skills are chosen to fill the character's slots. The player
may choose some or all of the skills to fill his Available skill slots. Or
the DM may insist that the player select certain skill choices appropriate
for the character background the player has chosen.
How Skills Are Used
Each skill is based on one of the character's ability scores (Strength,
Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma).
Whenever the DM feels a character's selected skill is appropriate to a
game situation, he or she will ask the player to roll 1d20 against the
corresponding ability score. This is called a skill roll or skill check.
If the roll on the 1d20 is equal to or less than the ability score, the
skill use succeeds. A roll of 20 always fails, no matter how high the
chance for success.
Example: If the character is riding a horse and the horse is suddenly
spooked and begins rearing, the DM will decide that the character's Riding
skill is appropriate to check in this situation. The player will roll 1d20
against his skill-related ability score (Dexterity). If the character's
Dexterity is 15, the player has only to roll a 15 or less to use his Riding
skill successfully.
Successfully rolling the skill normally allows the character to
accomplish the task he is attempting. For instance, if a character is trying
to track an animal through the forest and he successfully makes his Tracking
skill check, then he is able to follow the tracks of his prey.
Sample Skills
The Sample Skills Table lists a number of skills appropriate to most D&D
game campaigns. The players and the DM may add skills to this list as the DM
sees fit. The DM determines which ability score pertains to each new skill.
Skills Descriptions
The skills listed in the Sample Skills Table are described here and are
arranged alphabetically for your convenience. Roll skill rolls against the
ability under which these skills were listed in the table.
Acrobatics: The character with this skill can perform impressive
acrobatic feats, balance on taut ropes and wires, etc. A successful skill
roll is requited to perform any acrobatic feat; failure may result in the
character falling. A successful roll allows a character to reduce the
effective height of a fall by 10'. A DM can give an acrobatic character a +
2 to save vs. mechanical traps where agility would help-such as tilting
floors and pit traps. Many entertainers, thieves, and nimble warriors have
this skill. This skill is not the equal of a mystic's acrobatics ability,
but the mystic's special ability can be presumed to include this skill; a
mystic does not have to purchase the acrobatics skill.
Acting: This is the ability to make one's living as a stage actor, but it
also imparts the ability to assume a different personality or to show false
emotions. Successful use of this skill allows a character to tell convincing
lies over a limited period of time.
Alchemy: This skill provides the ability to recognize and identify common
alchemical substances, potions, and poisons. Success with this skill will
allow a character to create an antidote potion for one specific type of
poison-if the DM says that this is possible in his campaign.
Alertness: Successful uses of this skill allow the
character to draw a weapon without losing any time, to avoid the effects of
surprise, and to wake up at the slightest out-of-place noise.
Alternate Magics: This skill gives a character basic familiarity with
magics that are not related to standard Spellcasting. It includes knowing
many magical abilities of well-known Prime Plane and extraplanar monsters
and of Immortal beings. The DM defines what types of knowledge this skill
provides in his or her campaign.
Animal Training (choose type): The character knows how to raise, train,
and care for one type of animal. The animal can be taught some simple tricks
or simple orders. A character who wants to train two or more different
animal types must choose this skill more than once-Horse Training is one
skill, Dog Training is another. However, a horse trainer can train any sort
of natural horse or pony and a dog trainer can train any breed of dog. Any
culture that features a strong bond with some animal type will have many
members with the corresponding Animal Training skill.
Art: This is the skill of creating art. There are several different types
of Art skill (painting, sculpture, woodcarving, mosaic, etc.). The player
must specify one sort of art his character practices; a character can take
the skill several times and be proficient in several different forms of an.
Art skill can be used to improve the reaction of NPCs to the party; if the
artist can present an NPC with a portrait or sculpture of that person (and
make his Art toll), the artist receives a + 2 to reaction. The player can
choose for his character's Art skill to be based, on Wisdom instead of
Intelligence.
Artillery: A character must have this skill if he is to command the crew
of a piece of artillery (catapult or trebuchet). He does not have to make
his skill roll with each shot; merely knowing the skill is enough. The DM
can call on him to make his skill roll each time the character or the crew
aims at a new target; the skill allows the character to make all pertinent
calculations of trajectory, distance, and throw weight.
This skill can alternatively allow the character to oversee the building
and repair of all varieties of siege equipment. The character cannot know
both how to build and how to effectively operate artillery weapons unless he
takes the skill twice.
Bargaining: A successful skill roll allows a character to get the best
deal available for goods, services, or information. It's not usually
possible for a character to bargain someone into giving him very much for
nothing.
Blind Shooting: This skill is the ability to shoot at a target without
being able to see it; it is typically used when the character is in darkness
or when the target is outside the range of his sight or infravision. The
character must be able to hear the target so that its position can be
evaluated. If the character makes his skill check, he can then fire at the
target; he needs an attack toll to hit the target, but the character doesn't
suffer the normal darkness penalties.
Bravery: With a successful use of this skill, the character can resist
the effects of any magical fear. An NPC using this skill successfully can
ignore the results of morale checks or of skills such as Intimidation.
Caving: This is an ability to always know where one is while exploring
underground caves, cavern complexes, rivers, etc. A character with this
skill will automatically know the route he has taken to get where he is (if
he was conscious all the time). Many dwarves have this skill.
The Caving skill can also be used in a maze. Skill checks are necessary
when the character has become disoriented. If he is forced to flee for a
long stretch, he must make a skill check to keep from being lost.
(Characters without this skill automatically become lost in such a
situation.)
Ceremony (choose specific Immortal): A character with this skill knows
how to honor an Immortal through ritual and ceremony; the skill allows a
cleric character to perform normal rituals of his clerical order and could
even (if the DM allows) permit a character to gain an Immortal's attention
(through devout prayer, fasting, sacrifice of possessions, etc.). This skill
includes knowing the code of behavior and the rituals pleasing to the
Immortal.
In earlier D&D@ game products, this skill was often referred to as "Honor
(specific immortal)."
Cheating: This is the skill of winning at gambling games by cheating-by
dealing cards from the bottom of the deck, etc. The cheating character
should make his Cheating skill toll; each character he plays with can make
one skill toll (Cheating at the normal level, Gambling at a - 1 penalty, or
a base Intelligence check at a - 4 penalty, whichever is best) against the
character's cheating roll. If one or more of the other players makes his
roll lower than the cheater does (see "Using Skills Against Each Other" in
this chapter), he detects the cheating. This skill is limited to characters
of Chaotic alignment.
Craft (choose type): The character knows one type of craft; examples
include armor-making, bow-making, tattooing, leatherworking, smithing,
weapon-making, etc. The character must choose which one type of craft the
skill pertains to; of course, he can spend more slots and have several types
of craft skills.
The character can make his living at this profession and, with a
successful roll, make expert opinions on subjects pertaining to his skill.
Danger Sense: A successful skill roll means that the character can detect
an imminent danger. The character will not know the nature or source of the
danger. The DM, not the player, makes the skill roll, and he or she should
not tell the player that a roll has been made unless the roll is a success
(and there is danger present).
Deceiving: This is the ability to persuade a listener of the "truth" and
sincerity of what the speaker is saying, despite the fact that the skill
user is lying through his teeth. Successful use of this skill causes an NPC
to believe an untrue statement or toaccept a misleading statement as honest
and sincere. Failure indicates that the character sounds unconvincing. This
skill cannot be used on player characters.
Detect Deception: This is the ability to recognize deceptive behavior in
an NPC. This does not reveal the truth or falsehood of specific statements,
the motivations of the speaker, of the exact nature of the deception. This
skill only warns the character to distrust the deceptive NPC. The DM makes
the skill roll for the character, informing him of the result. The skill
does not work on player characters.
Disguise: This is the ability to make a character look like someone else.
A successful Disguise check is required for each character or group of
characters that the disguised character is trying to fool with his disguise.
The target that the disguised character is trying to fool must make a Wisdom
roll against the Disguise roll in order to penetrate the disguise (see
"Using Skills Against Each Other" at the end of this chapter).
Endurance: This skill gives the character the ability to perform a tiring
task for long periods of time. A successful check means that the character
is able to run (or perform some demanding task) for an hour without
collapsing. The character must make another check each hour he performs the
task, with a cumulative penalty of + 1 for each extra hour. Once the
character has completed his task or fails a skill roll and collapses, he
must rest for three times the amount of time he was performing that task.
Engineering: This is the skill of planning, designing, and building large
constructions such as houses, bridges, dams, and so forth. Unless built
under the eye of a trained engineer, a large structure-whether built by
manpower and materials or pure magic-will inevitably collapse of suffer some
other calamity. Engineering skill can also be used to evaluate constructions
the party is passing through or over: what shape they're in, when and by
whom they were built, and so on.
Escape: The character is often able to get loose when tied or locked up.
A successful skill roll means that the character is able to get rid of his
ties. Another roll is needed to open a locked door. The DM can apply bonuses
and penalties to the check based on the quality of the ropes and knots, the
intricacy of the lock, the lack of lockpicking tools, etc.
Fire-Building: This is the ability to start a fire without a tinderbox. A
character with a tinderbox and this skill is able to start fires
automatically (no roll necessary) in ordinary conditions. If the character
is trying to build a fife without a tinderbox, he will eventually succeed;
he must make a 1d6 toll each round, and on a 1 or 2 he ignites the fire. If
the character is trying to build a fire in adverse conditions (during high
winds or using wet wood), he must make a skill check with penalties assigned
by the DM.
Food Tasting: This is the ability to taste food and water to see if they
have spoiled. Thus the character can avoid suffering from food poisoning by
carefully tasting his food first. This ability will not detect poisons added
to a dish unless the DM determines that the poison has a taste (in which
case it may be too late anyway).
Gambling: This is the ability to win money in games of skill (competitive
card games, for example) and betting. This involves honest games (cheating
is covered elsewhere), and a successful check increases the character's
Chances for winning money at the games.
Healing: This is the ability to treat wounds and diagnose illnesses among
humans and demihumans. A successful skill roll allows a character to restore
1d3 hit points to a wounded character. (A related skill, Veterinary Healing,
allows similar treatment of animals and monsters.)
This skill cannot be used on a wounded character more than once for the
same set of wounds. If the character receives new wounds, Healing skill can
be applied against the new wounds. The skill is rolled against a set of
wounds, not individually against each injury. (The term "set of
wounds" usually refers to all the hit points lost by a character in a single
combat situation.)
If a healer rolls a natural 20 when using this skill, he accidentally
inflicts 1d3 points of damage to the patient, and he may not treat that set
of wounds again.
Successful skill rolls allow the healer to diagnose type of illness. In
addition, a roll made by 5 or more will allow the character to determine
whether an illness is natural or magically induced. Hunting: This is the
ability to locate, stalk, and hunt large and small game with the bow, sting,
or spear. Successful use of this skill gives the character a + I to hit with
a bow, sling, or spear against an unaware target in a peaceful outdoor
setting; the skill is not usable in most combat situations.
The character can automatically supply himself with food over a long
period of time if he is in a fairly fertile area and has a missile weapon,
spear, or javelin. In areas not normally rich in game he must make a skill
roll and receive penalties to that roll (penalties determined by the DM). If
he is trying to supply more than just himself, he must make a skill roll if
he is supplying one other person, and he takes a - 1 penalty for each
additional person -after the first he is trying to supply. He must roll each
day, and failure indicates that he has not found enough food to feed
everyone that day.
A character with the Hunting skill forages automatically in fertile areas
(even when on the move) and uses his Hunting skill roll to determine how
successful he is during full days spent in search of game.
Intimidation: This is the ability to bully nonplayer characters into
doing what the player character wants them to do. Success means that NPCs
are intimidated into doing what the character wants. This skill cannot be
used against PCs. NPCs who have this skill used upon them are unlikely to
ever become friends with the intimidating player character. Use of this
skill means that the character is either implicitly or explicitly
threatening the target with violence or other dire consequences if the
target doesn't comply. For this reason, Intimidation works best against
low-level characters. It does not work at all on player characters or on
NPCs of 5th level or higher. The DM can also, at his or her option, decide
that it does not work on someone who is obviously in a much stronger
position than the character using the skill. For example, a king surrounded
by elite guards, even if he himself is a 1st level character, is unlikely to
feel threatened.
Knowledge (choose type): The character is an expert in one field of study
such as the culture or geography of an area, history, legends, theology,
etc. A character can usually make his living by teaching his skill or acting
as an expert on the subject; with a successful roll, he can make expert
commentary on information relating to his skill. The character taking this
skill must specify what sort of knowledge he is acquiring. A character can
select multiple Knowledge skills, using one for each different field of
study.
Labor: The character is very accomplished at one type of labor such as
bricklaying, farming, mining, stonecutting, etc. The character can make his
living with the skill. With a successful roll, he can interpret information
in light of his occupation. A character must specify which type of labor he
knows, and he can select multiple Labor skills to be proficient in many
types of jobs. Language (choose type): See "Optional Rule for Languages,"
later in this chapter.
Law and justice: This is the knowledge of the laws and judicial system of
one culture or country; characters who wish to be a judge or advocate
(lawyer) must select this skill. Each empire or nation has its own codes, so
characters who wish to be conversant in different nations' codes should
choose this skill for each set of laws they wish to study.
Leadership: Successful use of this skill adds + 1 to the morale of any
NPCs under the character's control. It can also be used to convince other
NPCs to follow the character's commands. The DM can decide that any NPC who
has a good reason not to follow the leader is automatically successful at
resisting this skill. Unlike Intimidation, Leadership does not bully,
antagonize, or make enemies of the NPCs it is used upon.
Lip Reading: To use this skill, the character must be able to see the
lips of the target person or creature and understand the language being
spoken. A successful check allows a character to "overhear" the
conversation; if the lip reader understands the language being spoken, he
can understand the speakers' words. The distance to the target and the
available light should be taken into account-the DM should apply skill roll
penalties for difficult situations.
Magical Engineering: This is the ability to recognize the basic
principles of some unfamiliar magical devices. It does not include practical
training in design or fabrication of magical artifacts. It does allow the
character to recognize most common magical items with a successful skill
roll. It doesn't allow a character to recognize uncommon magical items or to
distinguish trapped or cursed items from safe ones.
Mapping (Cartography): If a character has this skill, he can understand
and make maps even if he cannot read and write. The skill allows the
character to comprehend simple maps without a skill roll; the character
should make skill rolls to interpret or draft complicated layouts or to map
an area by memory. A character does not have to have this skill in order to
map a dungeon as the characters explore it. A character who can map but not
read obviously cannot understand the words on a map.
Military Tactics: This skill allows a character to interpret the movement
of enemy forces and to move his own forces better. When using this skill,
the player (not the character) first examines the situation and decides what
he thinks is right-what he thinks the enemy is doing or how he should set up
his units.
The DM, not the player, rolls the character's Military Tactics skill. On
a successful roll, the DM will truthfully tell the player whether he has
calculated correctly; if he has not calculated correctly but the roll was
successful, the DM should offer some advice on how the player should set up
his forces. If the roll is a failure, the DM should tell the player his
character cannot interpret the enemy troop movements well enough to use them
to his advantage. The success of the roll determines bonuses or penalties
for the troops during mass combat.
Mimicry: This is the ability to mimic animal noises and foreign-language
accents. This is a very useful skill in the wilderness especially. When
characters use recognition codes or signals that imitate the screech of a
hoot owl or a noise from some other animal, this skill allows them to mimic
those noises convincingly so that enemy listeners are not automatically
tipped off that there are spies in the area.
Mountaineering: This does not replace a thief's special climbing ability;
it is the skill of mountain-climbing with the use of ropes, pitons, and
other climbing gear. A character who has Mountaineering skill can use such
gear to climb difficult mountain and cliff faces and can rig lines to enable
nonclimbers to tackle those faces as well.
Muscle: This skill is experience with heavy lifting and hard labor. The
char-acter can direct groups of laborers so that their efforts are the most
effective possible. This character understands the use of simple machinery
such as wedges, pulleys, and levers. With a successful skill check, the
character receives a + 2 bonus on Strength rolls for tasks such as opening
doors.
Music (choose type): This skill allows a character to play one group of
related instruments in a skilled manner. The player chooses the group of
instruments that his character knows, and the character can take the skill
several times in order to know multiple instrument groups. Groups include
stringed instruments, brass, percussion, woodwinds, etc. This skill is often
taken in conjunction with the Singing skill. Mysticism: This skill, though
similar to Ceremony (above), is taken by nonclerics. This skill allows the
character to instinctively know the best course of action to please the
Immortals in general. A successful skill roll, for example, means that the
character recognizes an idol dedicated to an Immortal and that the
characters should give it its due respects.
Nature Lore: This skill is the knowledge of common plant and animal life
forms of one specific terrain: desert, forest, jungle, mountain/ hill, open
sea, plains, or arctic. The character can gain several Nature Lore skills by
spending one skill slot for each different terrain he learns. This skill
gives the character knowledge of such things as edible and poisonous plants,
healing herbs, and signs of unnatural danger (such as unusual quiet, absence
of normal plant or animal life, atypical animal behavior, etc.). When the
character uses this skill in his home territory, he receives a - 2 bonus to
the die rolled for the skill check. When he uses it in territory very
similar to his home, he receives no bonus. The less it resembles his own
home territory, the greater the penalty he will receive, up to a +4.
Navigation: By taking directions from the position of the sun and the
stars (or of whatever atmospheric phenomena are appropriate in your
campaign), the character can always know roughly where he is. Successful
skill rolls, with positive or negative modifiers for the character's
distance from his home territory and familiarity with his surroundings, will
tell the character more precisely where he is.
Persuasion: This is the ability to persuade NPCs of your character's
honesty and sincerity. This isn't a liar's skill; the speaker must believe
the truth of what he says. Successful use of the
skill means the listener believes what the speaker tells him. It does not
mean that the listener will agree to actions proposed by the speaker. The DM
can assign modifiers from + 1 to + 8 to the skill roll if the audience is
hostile. This is a good skill for diplomats and negotiators to have
Piloting (choose type): This is the equivalent of the Riding skill but
applies to sailing vessels. (it can also apply to large flying vessels such
as aerial ships and flying castles, if such things are present in a
campaign. The use of magical items such as flying carpets and flying brooms
does not require the Piloting skill.) A character must use a different
category of Piloting for each different type of vessel, as defined in the
Piloting Skill: Types of Vessels Table. As such, he will need to spend more
than one skill to pilot more than one type of vessel.
Planar Geography: This skill gives the character a general knowledge of
the Prime, inner, outer, Astral, and Ethereal Planes as described elsewhere
in this book. This skill includes knowledge of techniques of travel among
the planes and common inhabitants of known planes.
Profession: The character is accomplished at one type of nonlabor
profession such as politics, cooking, estate management, horse grooming,
scribing (the character must be literate), etc. The character can make his
living with his skill, and (with a successful roll) make expert commentary
on subjects pertaining to his skill. The player must indicate which specific
profession his character knows; a character can buy several different
Profession skills.
Quick Draw: A successful skill check with this skill allows the character
to rock and fire an arrow with a + 2 bonus to individual initiative.
Riding (choose type): This skill includes the basic care and feeding of a
riding animal and the ability to control it under difficult circumstances.
Riding rolls are required if a character is trying to use a weapon from the
back of a riding animal; failure means that the mount is moving too much for
the character to use the weapon.
Each Riding skill allows the character to ride one type of animal; if a
character wishes to know how to ride two different types of beasts, he first
buy two different Riding skills. Horses constitute one type of animal; giant
eagles constitute another.
When a character uses his Riding skill on the wrong animal (for example,
when a horse rider tries to ride a camel), he suffers a +4 to his Riding
rolls. When a character with no Riding skill at all tries to ride an animal,
he must make a Dexterity check at a + 8 penalty to his die roll.
However, a character doesn't have to make the success roll except in
difficult situations, such as when the animal is spooked. Otherwise, he can
stay on the animal's back without difficulty.
Science (choose type): The character is an expert in one branch of
scientific study such as astronomy, geology, metallurgy, etc. Characters
with this skill can make their living with it, usually as specialists in
large cities. The DM should not allow this skill to characters belonging to
more primitive cultures, but it is entirely appropriate to characters from
highly civilized areas of the world. The player must indicate which branch
of science his character has mastered; a character can buy multiple Science
skills to know multiple disciplines.
Shipbuilding: This is the skill of designing and building ships. It
allows a character to supervise the construction of professional-quality
ships, whether they are made by muscle or by magic. The Shipbuilding skill
will also let characters evaluate the ships they encounter, determine who
built them and when, etc.
Signaling (choose type): Successful use of this skill allows the
character to leave messages that can only be understood by another Signaling
specialist of the same culture, trade guild, military force, or "school."
For instance, one dwarf character with the Signaling skill could pile rocks
into a cluster; it would communicate nothing to most characters, but another
dwarf character with Signaling would recognize it as a signal and be able to
interpret its meaning.
When a character takes a Signaling skill, he must specify the type and
culture of signals that he will be studying and he must have the opportunity
to learn such signals. Appropriate types of signals include military trumpet
signals, naval flag signals, smoke signals, drum signals, etc.
Singing: This is the ability to sing in a skilled manner; a character can
make his living with this skill and (if he is good enough) can become a
famous entertainer or bard.
Snares: This is the skill of building traps to capture animals,
monsters, and unwanted visitors. A successful skill roll means the trap
functions properly. The DM can assign modifiers to the skill roll based on
the mount of time the character had to set up the trap, the availability of
materials, etc.
Stealth (choose terrain): This is similar to the thief's Move Silently
ability, with some important differences. The character taking the Stealth
skill must choose one type of terrain in which the skill works from the
following list: city/ outdoors, indoors/caves, forest/jungle, plains,
desert, arctic, and mountains/ hills. The skill only works in that type of
terrain. (However, the character could conceivably spend seven slots, one
for each type of Stealth skill.)
City/Outdoors is used in the streets, in trashstrewn alleyways, on
rooftops, and in similar urban environments. Indoors/Caves is used in
dungeons and catacombs, in caverns and caves, and in most enclosed spaces.
The other terrain types are self-explanatory.
Humans, demihumans, and humanoids can take the Stealth skill. The
character will move very quietly in the terrains for which he has the skill.
When he is trying to sneak up on someone or when there is a chance that he
will be heard, he must make his skill check. If the DM doesn't want him to
know that the DM can make the skill check for him.
Storytelling: This is the ability to captivate an audience when telling
stories. The character can earn his living as a teller of stories; if he
also has Knowledge skills of such things as history, he can be a storyteller
of history.
Survival (choose terrain): This skill allows the character to easily find
food (especially vegetables and fruits), shelter, and water in a single type
of terrain, selected from one of the following: desert, forest/jungle,
mountain/hill, open sea, plains, arctic. Desert Survival doesn't give the
character the ability to survive in the forest; he must also take Forest
Survival for that.
A character with the Survival skill forages automatically in fertile
areas, even when on the move. If he is trying to supply more than just
himself, he must make a skill check at a +1 penalty to his die roll for each
additional person that he is trying to supply. He must roll each day, and
failure indicates that he has not found enough food for everyone he is
trying to supply.
Tracking: The character can follow tracks. The DM is free to increase or
penalize the chance of success depending on the circumstances (age of the
tracks, type of terrain, number of tracks being followed, and so forth).
Veterinary Heating: This is the same as Healing (above), but this skill
pertains to creatures that are neither humans nor demihumans - in other
words, nonhumans, monsters, normal animals, and so forth.
A character can take this skill in one of two ways:
1) as a General Veterinary Healing skill, which means that he makes his
roll with a + 1 penalty for every type of creature he treats; or
2) as a Specialized Veterinary Healing skill that pertains to one class
of creatures (for example, equines). The character with a Specialized
Veterinary Healing skill takes no penalty when treating the creatures that
are his specialty, but he takes a + 2 penalty with all other types of
creatures. (A character could take the skill twice, one General and one
Specialized; he would have his listed roll for the creatures that were his
specialty and only have a + 1 penalty when treating all other creatures.) A
character with Veterinary Healing skill trying to treat a human or demihuman
rolls at a + 3 penalty.
Wrestling: In wrestling combat, a successful roll will give the character
a + 1 to his wrestling rating (see the "Unarmed Combat" rules in Chapter 8).
Higher skill scores give higher bonuses, so a character with Wrestling +1
would receive a + 2 bonus, and so on.
Optional Rule for Languages
With the DM's permission, characters can use skill slots to take
additional languages. (Additional languages are an Intelligence-based
skill.) For each slot spent on a new language, the character can speak the
language (not necessarily very well) and can read it (if he is intelligent
enough to read his regular languages). Characters still get all the free
languages they're entitled to from their Intelligence and racial abilities.
Characters have trouble speaking these additional "skill languages." A
character speaking a
skill language will automatically understand someone speaking slowly and
simply. If the character is listening to someone who is excited or using
technical speech, he must make his skill roll to understand the language.
Failure means he didn't understand what was said.
The character speaking a skill language communicates in the same way.
When he's struggling to explain something fast, complicated, or technical or
when he's flustered or excited, he must make a skill roll to get the idea
across.
Piloting Skill: Types of Vessels Table
Type of Vessel Vessels in This Category
Small boats River boat, sailing boat, canoe, ship's lifeboat, raft
Galleys Small galley, large galley, war galley, longship
Water vessels Large sailing ship, small sailing ship, Troop Transport
Flying vessels Aerial boat, aerial ship
Improving Skills
Characters' skills can be increased to higher scores. Simply use more
skill choices to improve skill rolls, and the PC will get a + 1 to his skill
roll for every skill choice added to that skill. A skill choice can be used
to either improve an existing skill by one point or to buy a new skill, not
both. Example: Alaric has only a Charisma of 12, yet he wants to be a
natural leader. Instead of using only one skill choice to purchase the
Leadership skill, he chooses to use three on that skill. The first choice
gives him his Leadership skill; he must roll his Charisma score, 12, for all
Leadership checks. His two extra skill choices give him an additional + 2 to
his rolls ( + 1 for each skill choice spent). His Leadership checks will now
be made at 14 instead of 12.
Learning More Skills
Your character can choose to purchase more skills or improve existing
ones. All characters get a new skill slot every four experience levels.
Thus, humans get four slots (plus bonuses for high Intelligence) at level 1,
then an extra at level 5, another at level 9, another at level 13, and so
on. See the Skill Slot Acquisition (Humans)
Table.
Skill Slot Acquisition (Humans) Table
Experience Skill Slots
Level Gained
1 4*
5 1
9 1
13 1
17 1
21 l
25 1
29 1
33 1
* Not counting bonuses for high Intelligence
Above 12th level, dwarves get another skill slot at 1,200,000 experience
points and another slot for every 800,000 experience earned after that.
Above 10th level, elves get another slot at 1,350,000 experience points and
another for every 1,000,000 experience points earned after that. Above 8th
level, halflings get another slot at 300,000 experience points and another
for every 1,200,000 points earned beyond that. These points are outlined in
the Skill Slot Acquisition (Demihumans) Table.
The DM can simply assume that your character is meeting with a teacher
who can instruct him in the skill, or the DM can introduce an NPC who is the
character's teacher. Unlike the situation with weapon mastery, the character
never has to roll anything to acquire the skill. If the DM says the skill is
available 'to player characters and if the PC has an empty skill slot and
access to a teacher, he can take the skill.
Important DM's Note: Intelligent monsters, such as orcs and giants, can
also have general skills. The DM may prefer only to give skills to monsters
that have distinctive personalities and roles within a campaign.
Skills and the DM
It's the responsibility of the DM to see to it that players don't abuse
these skills and achieve results totally inappropriate to their use in the
campaign. It's also the responsibility of the DM to reward characters who
use their skills cleverly and in the context of the adventure.
The DM decides when a character can try his skill roll, and the DM also
decides what sort of effect the skill can have in a situation. The DM
shouldn't make the characters roll over and over for the same task, only at
critical points in play.
Positive and Negative Modifiers
When the character is using a skill, the DM may wish to assign positive
or negative modifiers to make the character's roll easier or harder. These
modifiers are based on circumstances.
Circumstances that make a job slightly more difficult warrant a +1 or +2
modifier. Those that make the job substantially more difficult warrant a +3
or +4 modifier. Those that make the job very hard-such as not being able to
see, working on the rolling deck of a ship during a severe storm, and so
forth@can warrant penalties of + 5, + 10, or even + 15 to the roll.
On the other hand, circumstances that make the job easier-such as having
all the materials needed, having lots of time, and so forthwarrant positive
benefits at the same scale.
The character always has a chance of success, however bad the odds, as
long as the DM says it's remotely possible to succeed. A natural roll of 1
on 1d20 is an automatic success, just as a roll of 20 is an automatic
failure.
Time Use
When it's important to know, the DM decides how much time each use of a
skill represents. The time it takes to look at the stars and make a basic
Navigation roll might be about a minute; the time it takes to make a
superior spear, both he-ad -and shaft, will be a few days; and the time it
takes to make a Tracking roll to recognize what sort of creature left the
prints before a character may only be a second or two.
Using Skills Together
Often, when the character's skill roll has failed, all the other
characters with the same skill will say, "He failed? I let me make my skill
roll! " This isn't a good thing to do. If the DM lets everyone make a skill
roll for the same task when someone has failed, one character will
eventually succeed; it's therefore pointless to have a skills system since
every task will be "automatically" (that is, "eventually") successful.
The DM should usually decide that the circumstances that led one
character to fail will make all the others fail. For example, a character
tracking his prey fails his roll and loses the track. The DM decides that
it's because the creature went to the trees, a rainfall obliterated the
tracks, or whatever, there are no tracks to find. Therefore, the other
characters can't make their own Tracking skill tolls here, except to confirm
the fact that there are no tracks.
However, sometimes it's reasonable for characters to use their skills
together to solve a task. For example, when two healers are trying to
diagnose a disease, two can be better than one.
The characters can choose which of them is the chief problem-solver for
this situation (usually the PC with the highest skill), and that PC and the
others with the same skill all make their skill rolls. The DM uses the roll
of the chief problemsolver and gives him a - 1 modifier for every one of his
friends who made the roll and a + 1 modifier for every one who failed it.
The chief problem-solver can never receive more than a - 3 bonus this way,
but there is no limit to the penalty he can receive if his allies all roll
badly.
Using Skills Against Each Other
Sometimes situations will come up where two skills are in conflict. A
character with Deception can try to fast-talk a character with Detect
Deception, or two Bargaining characters can haggle. When the DM sees this
situation occur, he can have both parties toll their appropriate skills. The
character with the lowest successful roll wins the contest. When a tied roll
occurs, the DM has to analyze the situation; he may have them reroll for a
clear decision or he may decide that the situation is unchanged.
Skill Slots Acquisition (Demihumans) Table
Dwarf Level Number of Elf Level Number of Halfling Level Number of
or XP Total New Slots or XP Total New Slots or XP Total New Slots
1st level 4* 1st level 4* 1st level 4*
5th level 1 5th level 1 5th level 1
9th level 1 9th level 1 300,000 1
1,200,000 1 1,350,000 1 + 1,200,000 1
+ 800,000 1 + 1,000,000 1
* Not counting bonuses for high Intelligence scores.
86
Chapter 6: Movement
This chapter covers all the information needed for movement in the D&D
world. Using the rules that follow for time; movement; and travel by land,
water, and air will help add realism to the game.
Time
Time is handled somewhat differently in the D&D game than it is in real
life. Time that the players experience is called "real time." Time that the
characters experience is "game time." In D&D games, the passage of time
experienced by the characters is usually compressed. A game can take as
little as an hour of real time or up to twelve hours (of even longer with
tireless players), but that real time may represent days or weeks of game
time.
Game time is not always longer than actual real time. Combat and some
role-playing can take much longer than the actual game time. For example, it
may take half an hour of real time to play a battle that lasts only a few
minutes of game time.
Rounds, Turns, and Days
Game time is divided into rounds, turns, and days, as described in the
following text.
Rounds: Situations of immediate danger- such as combat or those precarious
seconds when a character trips a trap, falls into a pit, grabs hold of the
side, and gazes down in terror at the poison-tipped spikes far below-are
normally measured in rounds, each of which represents 10 seconds of gained
time. Except when the rules specify otherwise, each character can perform
only one action during a round-swing a sword, cast a spell, of perform some
movement or other action.
Turns: Slightly less intense situations carefully exploring a dangerous set
of catacombs, sneaking up on an enemy encampment, of trying to escape a
pursuing army that is a mile or more behind-are usually measured in turns,
each of which represents 10 minutes of game time. In the course of a turn,
should something happen to propel the character into an immediately
dangerous situation, the DM will always shift the time sequence to rounds.
Days: Characters' lives are not all spent in breakneck action scenes.
Sometimes they do things that take a great deal of time to accomplish, such
as journey 1,000 miles on horseback, do library research, create a golem, or
sit around the city waiting while the king finishes putting his army
together. Typically, the DM passes this time in days, describing one or two
things the characters might learn or do each day. Should one of these events
lead to a role-playing encounter, the DM can always shift to turns and
rounds.
Measurements of Game Time Table
Measure Equals Activities Measured This Way
1 round 10 seconds Combat, some spell durations
1 turn 10 minutes Noncombat movement, some spell durations,
exploration of dungeons
1 day 144 turns Long-distance movement (miles/day), spell research,
magical item creation
See the Measurements of Game Time Table for more information on how these
units interconnect.
Skipped Time
It's also possible to measure longer periods of time simply by skipping
over them. For instance, characters might finish up one adventure together
and decide they need to fulfill their family obligations for awhile. They
split up, each returning to his respective home, and agree to meet at an inn
known to all of them after one month. The DM will ask each character what
he's doing during this skipped time, give each character the results of his
actions, and then bring the characters back together again when the time is
up. Great lengths of time, up to years, can be passed this way if both
players and the DM wish to do so.
Assumed and Defined Actions
In D&D games, the player does not normally have to describe every action
his character takes throughout the day. For example, when the characters are
doing long-distance traveling and time is being measured by the day, it's
reasonable for everyone to assume that the characters do eat, rest after and
sometimes during travel, talk to one another, behave in a normally prudent
and careful fashion, and so forth, without the players having to role-play
every single incident or encounter.
Distance
Movement, Missile, and Spell Ranges
Indoors: Normal movement speed, missile ranges, and spell ranges are
measured in feet (90' means ninety feet indoors).
Outdoors : Normal movement speed, missile ranges, and spell ranges are
measured in yards (120' actually means 120 yards outdoors).
Everywhere: Spell effects are always measured in feet.
Maps and Miniatures
Map Scale: Dungeon maps are usually done on graph paper, one square
representing 10'. Wilderness maps are usually on hex paper, one hex
representing 8, 16, 24, 32, 72, or any other distance in miles.
Using Miniatures: In standard game play using miniatures, 25mm lead or
cardboard miniatures represent human-scale figures. If you use 25mm hex
paper to regulate movement, one hex represents 10'; if you are not using a
hex-grid, one inch on the table-top or surface represents 10' (indoors or
outdoors).
Feet vs. Yards
In dungeons and other indoor settings, the basic unit of distance
measurement is the foot. Missile and spell ranges are measured in feet;
character's normal speed is expressed in feet. In wildernesses, open fields,
open city streets, an other outdoor settings, the basic unit of distance
measurement is the yard. (One yard equals three feet.) In outdoor settings,
it is easier to move quickly due to more open terrain and better lighting.
Therefore, a character's normal speed outdoors is expressed in yards.
Example: A character who moves 90' per turn (normal speed) in a dungeon
could move 90 yards (or 180') per turn outdoors.
Missiles and spell ranges are also read as feet in dungeons and as yards
in the wilderness. However, the area effected by a spell (or by flaming oil, a
net, or any other such attack) is not read yards; it is always read as feet.
Thus, a fireball spell cast in the wilderness would have a range of 240
yards, but it would still have an area effect of 40 feet in diameter.
Map Scales
You may want to keep maps of the characters' travels; it's usually a very
good idea in traditional dungeon- based campaigns, and the DM may insist on
it. With dungeon or indoor maps, you use graph paper. Each square on the
paper typically represents 10' of distance. With wilderness or outdoor maps,
you use hex paper. Map hex scales vary widely, but the most commonly used
D&D game scales usually have one hex represent 8 or 24 miles. Always check
the map key printed on maps. In any case, the DM will tell you if he or she
wants you to map in a different scale.
Miniature Figures
Your campaign group might like to use miniature figures to represent all
characters and monsters, especially in combat encounters.
Several types of miniature figures are available from toy and hobby shops
worldwide that are made of metal, plastic, of cardboard; the metal and
plastic ones are suitable for painting. With so many available, you should
be able to find figures that look very similar to your characters. The 25mm
figurines (a human is about 1" tall) are well-suited to D&D games.
When you use miniatures to conduct combat, 1" on the table surface
represents 10' of distance. If a character can move 30 yards (90') in a
round, you'd move his figure 91, ahead on the table.
You can use a ruler to measure distances or you can buy one of many vinyl
or plastic playing surfaces that are already gridded into inches.
Additionally, you can use watercolor markers to draw room and situation
details on vinyl or plastic surfaces and easily erase them once the combat
is done.
Movement
"Move: 120' (40')" gives the character's rates of movement. The first
number, usually 120', is the number of feet the character moves per turn at
a very cautious walking pace indoors; outdoors, the unit of measurement is
tripled so that
Terrain Movement
Trail/road* 1 1/2 normal
Clear/city/grassland Normal
Forest/muddy ground/snow 2/3 normal
Hill/desert/broken terrain 2/3 normal
Mountain/swamp/jungle 1/2 normal
Ice/glacier 1/2 normal
* Unpaved roads allow travelers to ignore every terrain modifier except muddy
ground/snow. Paved roads allow travelers to ignore every terrain modifier
except snow.
* This is a character with a 120' normal speed; he can carry no more than
400 cn encumbrance.
** This is a character with a 90' normal speed (that is, someone carrying
between 401 and 800 cn encumbrance).
t This is a character with a 60' normal speed (that is, someone carrying
between 801 and 1,200 cn encumbrance).
tt The travel rates listed here are possible but will kill the horse if
only one is used for the entire trip. Typically, a rider only manages to
achieve these rates by riding one-third the distance listed and trading his
horse in twice at way stations for fresh mounts. At the end of the day, he
and the three horses are exhausted, but all are alive. If a rider does not
intend to kill or exhaust his horse, he should use the travel rates listed
for the war horse instead.
120' becomes 120 yards per turn. (Outdoor movement is tripled because of
easier terrain, better lighting, etc.) This first number is often known as
"normal speed."
The second number within parentheses is the movement rate per round in
feet; this number is often called "encounter speed" and is the number used
during combat. Outdoors, the encounter speed would be 40 yards as opposed to
40' in this instance.
Movement is sometimes written as "MV 120' (40')" or "Movement 120'
(40')."
Normal, Encounter, and Running Speeds
Though the normal speed of 120' per turn seems very slow, this rate
includes many assumed actions-mapping, peeking around corners, resting, and
so forth.
During encounters, movement is measured in encounter speed. Characters
move at 1/3 their normal speed in feet per round. In other words, if the
character's normal speed is 120' per turn, his encounter speed is 40' per
round indoors.
In addition, when characters are running at full speed (toward or away
from an enemy), their rate is equal to their normal speed in feet per round
(rather than turn) or three times their encounter speed. A character can run
at maximum speed for 30 rounds at most (5 minutes) before becoming
exhausted. (Characters with the optional Endurance skill can maintain this
pace for longer periods of time.) In other words, if a character's normal
speed is 120' per turn and his encounter speed is 40' per round, his running
speed is 120' per round indoors.
Exhaustion
An exhausted character must rest for at least three turns (30 minutes)
before running or fighting again. An exhausted character who is forced to
fight without rest is penalized in combat. Monsters gain a + 2 bonus to
their attack rolls to hit the character (because he is unable to dodge
incoming attacks as effectively), and the character must subtract 2 from all
attack damage rolls (he cannot muster the strength to hit more effectively,
but any successful hit will still inflict at least 1 point of damage).
A character who becomes exhausted but is forced to continue running
cannot use his maximum running speed. He drops to encounter speed and cannot
move any faster until he has rested.
Character Movement Rates
Any character will have a movement rate of 120' (40')" unless he is
weighed down by a lot of gear. The weight and clumsiness of gear is called
encumbrance and is measured in "cn", which are coin-weight equivalents; 1
coin equals approximately 1/10 of a pound in weight and awkwardness. The
amount of encumbrance the character carries determines how fast he can move,
as noted in the Character Movement Rates and Encumbrance Table.
Example: A character carring 60 lbs. (600 cn) of armor and equipment will
be slowed to a MV of 90' (30'). Traveling in a dungeon, at a very cautious
walking pace (normal speed), he'll move 90' per turn; outdoors, walking
cautiously (normal speed) but over easier terrain, he'll walk 90 yards per
turn.
Important Note: Groups of characters, if they intend to stay together,
move at the rate of the slowest character.
Monster Movement Rates
Monsters' and animals' movement rates are also expressed in the " 120'
(40')" format. Some monsters move much faster than player characters, but
others are the same speed or slower. See Chapter 14 for the movement rates
of various monsters.
The only time monster encumbrance is tallied is when the monster or
animal is carrying away some heavy prey or is being used to carry riders.
Guidelines are found in Chapter 14.
These rules are somewhat simpler than those for player character
encumbrance. For instance, a monster will be able to move at its full
movement rate up to a certain amount of encumbrance carried. It will move at
half its movement rate up to twice that amount of encumbrance carried, and
it will not be able to move at greater than a certain amount of encumbrance.
Land Travel
This section discusses moving over land using various movement rates,
the effect terrain has on movement, long-distance travel, becoming lost, and
finding food in the wilds.
Overland Movement Rates
To find the distance a party travels in a day, find the normal speed of
the slowest party member or mount (if all party members are mounted). Divide
that speed by 5. The result is the number of miles per day the party moves
through clear terrain (open fields and range, city, etc.). This number, of
course, is modified if terrain is less favorable.
Terrain (the features of the land being explored) affects the rate of
travel. Though it makes no difference to the combat round or the 10-minute
turn, the terrain may affect the distance a party travels in a day, as
outlined in the Terrain Effects on Movement Table.
On the Terrain Effects on Movement Table, modifiers are not cumulative.
When two or more conditions are in effect (not counting trail/ road), simply
use the worst condition to determine the party's movement. When the
characters' path will carry them through several different types of terrain
in a single day, the DM should decide which one terrain type dominates and
base their movement on that type of terrain.
For convenience's sake, character and mount movement in the most common
types of terrain are listed in the Traveling Rates by Terrain Table. Find
out which party member moves slowest on this table; his movement rate will
dictate the movement for the entire party.
Long-Distance Travel and Rest
Characters and mounts must rest one full day for every six days they spend
traveling. Those who do not rest suffer a - I penalty on attack rolls and
damage rolls until they do rest. If they go more than six days without
resting, they suffer an additional - I penalty per six days until they do
rest, and they must rest one full day for each six days they spent traveling
if they are to lose the penalty.
Becoming Lost
A party following a road, trail, or river or led by a reliable guide will
not become lost. A guide is a retainer who knows the local area or-if you
are using the optional general skills rules-is a PC or an NPC who has either
the Navigation or Knowledge (of the area in question) skill. The DM may
require the character to make his Navigation/Knowledge skill check each day
to keep the party on track.
However, if a party is not on a road, trail, or river and does not have
a guide, the party may become lost. The DM must check each day to see if the
adventurers become lost by rolling 1d6 before the party begins movement for
the day. Find the type of terrain the party is traveling through on the
following list; if the roll on the die matches the number listed, the party
becomes lost.
* Clear or grasslands: 1.
* Swamp, jungle, or desert: 1-3.
* All other terrain: 1-2.
If a party is lost, find the direction of travel (either by the DM's
choice or by random roll). The DM must keep track of the party's actual
position and the direction the characters think they are going! For example,
the party members tell the DM that they want to travel north. However, the
DM has secretly determined that the party is lost and that northeast is the
direction the party thinks is north. If the group travels this direction and
then decides to travel in a different direction, the DM will have to adjust
accordingly. For example, after traveling "north" for six miles (although
actually traveling northeast), the group decides to turn northwest; the
members will actually be going north at this point.
Food in the Wild
Traveling characters sometimes run out of food in the wild. Cautious
parties bring enough standard or iron rations for everyone's use for the
whole trip plus up to 50 % extra; but great delays (weather, magical traps,
other problems) can still cause them to run out of food. However, in most
terrain types (but not in some swamps or oceans), parties may either forage
or hunt to get more food.
The characters may forage while traveling, but they slow their daily
movement rate to 2/3 normal as a result. (They cannot forage while on a
forced march.) Foraged food includes nuts, berries, some plants, and
possibly small game. In good terrain and weather, characters usually have a
50% chance (1-3 on 1d6) of finding enough food to survive. The DM may modify
this due to the terrain, and he or she will make all the necessary rolls.
If the characters spend a full day in the vicinity of their camp, normal
foraging is automatically successful. Such characters might (DM's choice)
encounter animals that they can hunt for additional food. Days spent in a
forced match or resting cannot be spent hunting.
If the campaign is using the general skills from Chapter 5, a character
with the Hunting skill forages automatically (without movement penalties) in
fertile areas, even when on the move, and he uses his Hunting skill roll to
determine how successful he is during days spent in search of game.
If characters run out of food, they will become ravaged by hunger. They
will need to rest more, travel slower, suffer attack roll penalties and
gradual loss of hit points, and eventually face death from starvation.
Water Travel
Characters are sometimes forced to swim of use ships to reach destinations
via waterways. This section describes how to do both.
By Swimming (and Drowning)
In the D&D game, all characters may swim unless the DM decides
otherwise. A character's movement rate while swimming is 1/5 his outdoor
running speed (120 yards per round / 5 = 24 yards per round). A character
swimming underwater always measures his movement rate in feet. Thus, a
character who- can swim at 24 yards per round on the surface can swim at 24
feet per round underwater.
Under normal conditions, a swimming character is in no danger of drowning.
However, if the character is swimming while carrying heavy encumbrance or
swimming in rough, dangerous conditions, he can drown. If a character is
carrying more than 400 cn encumbrance, sheer weight will drag him down. The
DM should decide on the chances of drowning in rough water, swimming while
encumbered, or fighting while swimming.
Water Movement Modification Table
Roll
(2d6) Weather Effect/Notes
No wind Becalmed; no movement except by oar; oared
movement reduced to 1/3 normal amount because
of rower fatigue
3 Extreme light breeze Movement reduced to 1/3 normal; also used when
beating before normal winds
4 Light breeze Movement reduced to 1/3 normal; also used when
quarter reaching before normal winds
5 Moderate breeze Movement reduced to 2/3 normal; also used when
broad reaching before normal winds
6-8 Normal winds Normal movement
9 Strong breeze Movement is 1 1/3 normal (normal plus 1/3 extra)
10 High winds Movement is 1 1/2 normal (normal plus 1/2 extra)
11 Extreme high winds Double normal movement*
12 Gale Galleys have an 80% chance of sinking; triple normal
movement in random direction rolling 1d6:
1= desired direction
2= 60' starboard
3= 120' starboard
4= 180' (reverse)
5= 120' port
6= 60' port
* May take on water (unsailed vessel chance 20%, sailed vessel chance
10%). Taking on water reduces speed by 1/3 until docking and repair are
possible.
Generally, if the DM wishes, he can tell the player to make an
appropriate ability check each round (for example, a Strength check if the
character is battling high seas or a Constitution check against exhaustion)
to check on the character's ability to keep his head above water. On the
first occasion the character misses his ability check, he slips under the
water.
When a character goes underwater- and cannot breathe there - he must hold
his breath immediately begin drowning. He can hold his breath for a number
of rounds equal to his Constitution score if he does not exert himself; if
he exerts himself (by fighting, panicking, etc.) he can only hold his breath
for a number of rounds equal to half his Constitution score.
Once a character can no longer hold his breath, he begins to drown. He
must make a triple normal Constitution check every round. The first check is
against his normal Constitution score; each subsequent one is rolled with a
cumulative + 1 penalty to the die roll (+ 1 on the second check, + 2 on the
third, etc.).
Once he fails a check, he has drowned-but he is not dead yet. Although he
doesn't breathe, he will not be dead for a number of rounds equal to 1/3 his
Constitution score (found up). While he is in this state halfway between
life and death, if he can be healed by a character with the Healing skill or
by a character with healing magic, he will recover normally.
If this happy event does not take place, the character dies. However, he
still may be brought back to life by a raise dead st)ell.
A character who reaches the stage at which he is making Constitution
rolls to keep from drowning, even if he is rescued and does not drown, is
considered exhausted, as described above under "Exhaustion."
By Ship
For waterborne traveling, whether on a river or near a coast, characters
move at the ship's rate.
The ship's movement rate given on the Sailing Vessels Table in Chapter 4
is for average sailing conditions. If the voyage is favored by steady winds
and calm waters, the speed may be increased to as much as double the number
given. If the seas are rough or the vessel becalmed, little or no progress
might be made in a day!
When sailing on seas or oceans, there is a chance that the weather will
be unsuitable for travel. Roll 2d6 at the beginning of each day; a result of
2 indicates no wind and a roll of 12 indicates gales or fierce storms. The
effects such weather has on ship travel are as follows:
No Wind: Sailing ships (vessels without rowers) may not move and must
spend the entire day in the same area (hex). Rowed ships are never stopped
for lack of wind; they are unaffected by calm weather.
Gale or Storm: Results differ whether the ship is a sailing ship or a
galley, as noted in the following:
Sailing Ship: This type of ship may either sit (80% chance of sinking) or
run before the wind. Movement rate is triple normal, but it is in a random
direction as determined by the DM. (The DM can see the Water Movement
Modification Table for a handy direction generator if he or she wishes.) If
no coastline is reached during (triple) one day's movement, the maneuver is
successful and the ship is safe (though likely to be far off course). If the
ship reaches a coastline or other shore, there is a 75 % chance that it will
be broken up trying to beach, and only a 25% chance that it will safely find
a sheltering harbor. (DMs can modify that chance if they are using the
optional general skills. If the ship's pilot can make his Piloting skill
check , the ship's chances of finding safety improve by 5 % for every point
by which he successfully makes his roll.)
A Galley (Lifeboat, Raft): Any vessel without sails has only a 20% chance
of weathering a gale; failure results in the ship being swamped. If the
galley is in sight of the coastline when the gale first hits, check the
coastal terrain. If it is clear terrain, the galley may beach before the
storm hits. For all other terrain, roll 1d6; a result of 1-2 indicates that
the pilot finds a safe beach or cove. (As noted under sailing ship above, a
good pilot can improve the galley's chances if the DM is using the general
skills rules and the pilot can make his Piloting skill check. Historically,
many galleys did have sails, but the galleys found in the D&D game do not.)
If a DM prefer to add more complexity to his game world, he can add some
optional water movement rules for traveling by water. Roll 2d6 at the start
of each day traveled by water and check the results on the Optional Water
Movement Modification Table.
Aerial Travel
Characters traveling on aerial mounts can move 72 miles per day.
Characters traveling on aerial devices (such as flying carpets) can move 120
miles per day.
An encounter occurs when a player character or a PC party meets a person,
group, or monster that is not a member of his party. An encounter can result
in combat between the two sides, conversation, cooperation, a chase, or
similar event. "Evasion" is what happens when an encounter occurs and one
side wants to escape the other; that side turns and runs.
In this chapter, standard procedures for game turns and game days are
discussed as well as what happens during encounters and during evasion
attempts. Surprise, reactions, and wandering monsters are also detailed.
Exploration and the
Game Turn
When characters are exploring a specific area (such as a dungeon), moving
through heavily patrolled territory (such as an armed camp or the border
between unmendly nations), or traveling through a heavily populated zone
(such as a town), the DM measures time in turns. Each turn represents 10
minutes; customarily characters will travel at their normal speed (luting
game turns. Each game turn follows the pattern noted in the Game Turn
Checklist.
Game Turn Checklist
1. Wandering Monsters: If the wandering monsters check at the end of the
previous turn was positive, the monsters arrive now. Under normal dungeon
conditions, they appear 2d6 x 10' away in a direction of the DM's choice
(see the "Encounter Distance" section, below, for more information). Leave
the Game Turn Checklist sequence and go to the Encounter Checklist, below.
See "Handling Wandering Monsters," below, for more details on handling
wandering monsters.
2. Actions: The caller (or each player) describes party actions
(movement, listening, searching, etc.).
3. Results: The DM describes the results of the party's actions as
follows:
a. If PC actions result in a discovery (a secret door, trap, etc.), the
DM tells them what they found.
b. If the PCs entered a new area, the DM describes it so that the mapper
can map it.
c. If an encounter occurs, skip to the Encounter Checklist.
4. Wander Monsters Check: The DM checks for wandering monsters and random
encounters. The DM rolls 1d6 every other turn to check for this. If this is
a dungeon and a "1" comes up on the die, the PCs will encounter wandering
monsters at the beginning of the next turn (other types of terrain have
different chances as shown on the Chance of Encounter Table, below).
Wandering Monsters
When a DM's roll indicates that wandering monsters will appear, they
appear the following turn. The DM rolls 2d6 and multiplies this number by
10; the result is the distance, in feet, at which the monsters are detected.
This is the distance at which the DM first begins keeping track of them
and the distance at which both sides first have a chance to notice one
another. Once the monsters appear, the DM should switch to the Encounter
Checklist (on page 93) to determine what happens next.
Wandering Monsters Check
Every two turns (not every turn), the DM rolls 1d6 to check for wandering
monsters of random encounters. In any setting where there is a possibility
of characters running across monsters (or strangers, wild animals, occupants
of a dungeon that are not locked in a particular room or area, or anything
else that might be moving freely through an area), the DM can check for
wandering monsters and random encounters. For a more in-depth method of
determining encounters, the DM can check the Chance of Encounter Table and
follow the instructions there for checking for encounters.
If the DM's roll indicates that there will be an encounter, the DM can
choose what sort of encounter it is (based on what he knows about the area),
or he can roll on the wandering monsters tables later in this chapter.
Important Note: If the Dungeon Master has already decided to have a
prearranged encounter during this two-turn time period or if he his decided
that the characters will have no encounter during this period, he can skip
the wandering monster roll.
Leaving the Game Turn
The DM continues determining time in game turns and using the Game Turn
Checklist until he feels that the situation has changed and he no longer
needs to use the checklist. For example, the characters might reach a
different type of terrain (the comparatively safe outdoors of the
wilderness, the inn where they plan to spend the night, the protected
caravan of their patron, etc.), which will remove them from the normal game
turn sequence.
Travel and the Game Day
Characters who are traveling overland or across open water and who are
not moving through dangerous territories should travel in game days, not
game turns. The rules for long-distance overland travel fates were presented
in Chapter 6, and traveling by ship rates were discussed there and in
Chapter 4. Each game day spent traveling follows the Game Day Checklist.
Game Day Checklist
1 . Daybreak: Party prepares for travel, studies spells, selects travel
direction.
2. Getting Lost: DM rolls 1d6 to see if party becomes lost. If so, see
the "Land Travel" section in Chapter 6.
3. Daytime Wandering Monsters: The DM makes a 1d6 roll for wandering
monsters for the daytime hours. See the Chance of Encounter Table for
determining rolls.
4. Encounter Results. Based on the DM's die roll, the party does the
following:
a. If no wandering monsters are encountered, party concludes movement and
daylight period ends. Skip to Step 6.
b. If wandering monsters are encountered, the DM goes to the Encounter
Checklist, below. If the characters want to evade or pursue encountered
monsters, the DM goes to the "Evasion and Pursuit" section later in this
chapter.
5 . Resume Travel: After the encounter, the party may resume travel. If
they are lost, the DM may (at his option) recheck the direction of travel.
6. Nightfall: The party finds a place to stop and rest.
7. Nighttime Wandering Monsters: The DM makes a 1d12 roll for wandering
monsters for the nighttime hours. See the Chance of Encounter Table for
determining rolls. If an encounter is indicated, the DM chooses the watch
during which it occurs; two or three PC guards can be posted during the
night, each taking an equal amount of time guarding the party while on
watch. Continue with one of the following steps:
a. If an encounter occurs, the DM uses the Encounter Checklist, below.
b. If no encounter occurs, the DM proceeds to Step 9.
8. Resume Rest: Once any nighttime encounter is over, the party returns
to rest.
9. Night's End: Return to Step 1 above.
Encounters
An "encounter" occurs when two or more groups come within visual range of
one another and at least one group becomes aware of the other; the term is
also used to refer to incidents where PCs encounter traps.
In most dungeon situations, groups encountering other groups will become
aware of one another at or nearly at the same time. In outdoor encounters
and a few dungeon encounters, one group could become aware of the other and
not reveal itself, allowing the group members to run away without being
detected, spy on the other group, arrange to ambush the other group, and so
forth.
Encounters keep game adventures exciting and unpredictable and give
characters experience with different monster types. No map and map key will
detail every creature, monster, or character that can be found on the area
represented by a map, of course, but the use of random encounters can add
flavor to a campaign. Characters traveling through a jungle might run across
a tiger, a giant python, or an even more fantastic monster; this monster is
present because it belongs to the type of terrain in question.
In a dungeon, roll for encounters once every two turns; in the outdoors,
roll once during the day and once (at a reduced chance) at night. Check the
Chance of Encounter Table on the following page for when to roll and type of
encounters.
Some actions or items may increase the chance of wandering monsters. Loud
noises, battles, cursed items, or exploring special areas may allow the DM
to check for wandering monsters every turn-and possibly with higher chances
Chance of Encounter Table
Type of Encounter/Roll Method
Dungeon and city
Roll 1d6 every two turns when traveling and roll 1d12 once during the
night; on a 1, an encounter occurs
Wilderness
Determine the type of terrain the party is in and toll 1d6 once during
the day and roll 1d12 once when camped at night; consult the following for
encounter occurrences
Type of Terrain Chance
Clear, grasslands, inhabited, or settled 1
Forest, river, hills, barren lands, desert, ocean*, or aerial** 1-2
Swamp, jungle, or mountains 1-3
* Ocean: A roll of 1 indicates a normal ocean encounter. A roll of 2
indicates no encounter unless the ship lands -at the end of the day; if so,
a land encounter is used.
** Aerial encounters always use the Flyers subtable in the Wilderness
Encounter Table, regardless
(1-2, 1-3, or 1-4 on 1d6).
When the DM chooses to have an encounter or when a die roll indicates an
encounter, the DM must first determine or randomly roll what sort of
encounter it is (an encounter with wandering monsters, an NPC or a group of
NPCS, or a trap). Once that's determined, he or she can run the encounter
according to the Encounter Checklist.
Encounter Distance
Once the Dungeon Master has determined that an encounter will take place
and has determined the relative conditions of surprise for the two groups,
he or she can decide how far apart the two parties , the when the encounter
takes place.
When both parties are surprised, the encounter distance is 1d4 x 10' (or
yards if outdoors)
When one party is surprised, the unsurprised party notices the surprised
party at the 1d4 x 10, (or yards) distance rolled; the surprised party won't
notice the unsurprised party until they reach half that distance.
When neither party is surprised, take a look at the Encounter Distances
Table. When the type of terrain (dungeon, wilderness, ocean/sea, of
underwater) is known, the DM can find out how far apart the groups are when
the encounter takes place.
Surprise
When an unexpected encounter occurs both sides roll 1d6. Each side that
rolls 1 or 2 is surprised. Possible results are as follows:
Neither group is surprised: Both are aware of one another and can be on
the guard.
Both Groups Are Surprised: Both groups lose one round due to the sudden
surprise and confusion; once the round is over, both groups are back in
control of themselves, aware of one another, and on guard.
One Group Is Surprised: The unsurprised group can take advantage of the
situation by evading (automatic success, meaning that the other group
doesn't notice them at all), by attacking (the attacking group gets one free
round of attacks before the other group can respond), or by other means
(leaving one or two members in the open to negotiate while the other members
hide in ambush, for example).
When the DM determines that there will be an encounter, the DM should roll
1d6 once for each group-or he can let one of the players roll for the PCs,
if he isn't worried about tipping them off that something is about to
happen. A result of 1 or 2 means that the group in question is surprised
(though this may differ with some monsters; see Chapter 14). In any given
encounter, one group could be surprised, or the other could, or both, or
neither.
Encounter Distances Table
Setting Visibility Encounter Distance
Dungeon* Very good light DM's choice 4d6 x 10'
Dungeon* Dim light** DM's choice 2d6 x 10'
Dungeon* No light t DM's choice 1d4 x 10'
Wilderness Clear daylight DM's choice 4d6 x 10 yards
Wilderness Dim light** DM's choice 2d6 x 10 yards
Wilderness No lightt DM's choice 1d4 x 10 yards
Ocean/sea Clear daylight Ship 300 yards
Ocean/sea Clear daylight Monster 4d6 x 10 yards
Ocean/sea Dim light** Ship 120 yards
Ocean/sea Dim light** Monster 2d6 x 10 yards
Ocean/sea No light t Ship 40 yards
Ocean/sea No light t Monster 1d4 x 10 yards
Undersea Any light DM's choice 1d6 x 10 yards
* Or other indoor setting.
* Or full darkness with infravision used.
t Or very poor visibility (heavy snow or fog, sandstorm, etc.).
Encounter Checklist
1. Game Time: Game time switches from 10-minute turns to 10-second
rounds. The DM does not have to inform the players of this until he or she
informs them that they are having an encounter.
2. Surprise: Both sides make appropriate rolls (1d6), the caller for the
PCs and the DM for the monsters. Any side that rolls a 1 or a 2 is
surprised. To keep from alerting players than an encounter is imminent, the
DM can simply make both rolls him- or herself.
3. Initiative: If one side is surprised, it loses initiative
automatically. Otherwise, both sides make initiative rolls (1d6) to see who
moves, talks, or attacks first. The side that rolls higher goes first.
4. Reactions: If the DM does not know how the monsters will react to the
PCs, the DM makes reaction rolls to determine their initial reactions. See
the Monster Reactions Table under "Monster Reactions," below.
5. Results: The DM determines the results of the party's actions as
follows:
a. If the PCs trigger a trap, the DM applies the consequences.
b. If both sides can speak, role-play the conversation until agreement is
reached, one side leaves, of a fight begins.
c. If the PCs run away, make a morale check for the monsters or NPCs to
see if they give chase. If so, use the pursuit and evasion rules later this
chapter to see if the PCs get away.
d. If one or both sides attack, play proceeds with the Combat Sequence
Checklist (see Chapter 8, page 102; start with Step 1 and roll for
initiative again).
6. Encounter Ends: After the encounter ends, begin play with a new turn.
Always assume that an encounter takes at least one full turn to resolve.
When neither group is surprised, both can act at th same time. If one
decides to attack, the other can respond immediately. If one decides to run,
the other can give chase. Neither has an advantage over the other.
The same applies when both groups are surprised. Both groups are caught
off guard and lose a little time gathering their wits; neither group
recovers before the other does. Once they have themselves under control,
they proceed as though neither group was surprised.
When one group surprises the other, it can, if it chooses, take advantage
of the situation. It might attack, in which case it would get a free round
of attacks on the other group before the surprised group could respond. It
might also try to sneak away, in which case it would avoid the other group
automatically, with no chance for the other group to discover or catch it.
When surprise occurs, the DM looks at the terrain and situation and
decides exactly what has happened, describing this to the players, who must
work within the limits of the situation.
Monster Reactions
Just because an encounter takes place does not mean that the two parties
automatically attack one another. Either party may be in a mood to trade,
talk, exchange rumors and information, or even run away from one another.
The player characters determine how they wish to react. The DM decides
how the monsters and NPCs will react. Descriptions of some monsters (see
Chapter 14) will determine how they react, while the DM might wish a monster
to react a certain way. When the DM wants to use a random reaction for the
monster or NPC, he can consult the Monster Reactions Table.
If the DM wants to use the random Monster Reactions Table for the PCs'
encounters with monsters and NPCS, he can roll 2d6 on the table and apply
the indicated results. After the first round, the DM should modify the 2d6
roll of the character talking for the group by the character's Charisma
bonuses or penalties. For the first reaction roll, the DM shouldn't take
Charisma adjustments into account.
Monster Reactions Table
Roll 2d6 Monster Reaction
2-3 Monster attacks
4-6 Monster is aggressive (growls,
threatens); roll again in one round
with a penalty of - 4 to the roll
7-9 Monster is cautious; roll again in
oneround
10-11 Monster is neutral; roll again in
oneround with a bonus of + 4 to
the roll
12 Monster is friendly
The DM can substitute any appropriate response for the ones described
above. A cowardly monster that rolls a 2-3, for instance, might flee instead
of attacking; if it rolls a 4-6 instead, it might shy away from the PCs and
be ready to run.
You may need to make more than one roll on the Monster Reactions Table.
When the result says to roll again in one round, allow the PCs to react to
the monster. If they do something to get a specific reaction (such as
attack), you won't need to roll again. If they try to bluff, negotiate, or
befriend the creature, roll again with the penalty or bonus listed on the
table.
The actions or words of the PCs may affect monsters' reactions. Gestures
of friendship can give the PCs a bonus at the DM's discretion; threats,
attempts to appear menacing, and rudeness can give the PCs a penalty.
Adjustments for PC actions can range from a - 2 penalty to a + 2 bonus. If a
charismatic character is speaking for his entire party while another
character is silently glaring, bristling, and otherwise indicating that he's
a tough guy, the rudeness penalty could easily cancel the Charisma bonus.
Don't roll more than three times. If by the third toll the monster hasn't
achieved a roll of 10 or better, it will decide to attack or leave.
Wandering Monster Encounters
The tables in this section will help generate wandering monster and
random encounters. The Dungeon Encounters Levels 1-10 Tables give guidelines
for the number of monsters that constitute an encounter." For instance, an
entry might read "Hobgoblin 1d6"; in such a case, roll 1d6 for the number of
hobgoblins encountered by the player characters.
In the Wilderness Encounters Table, Castle Encounters Table, and City
Encounters Table, no such number guidelines are given. Consult the
description of the monster in question from Chapter 14; the text with the
headline "Number of Monsters" gives handy guidelines for selecting numbers
of monsters for encounters.
The tables in this section are general tables for an "average" dungeon.
The Dungeon Master is encouraged to make his own specific encounter table
for specific dungeons and settings in his campaign. These can change the
frequency of monsters, introduce new monsters of the DM's creation, use a
different type of die (d8, d12, etc.), and so on.
When a random encounter is to occur, the DM first needs to know where the
characters are- dungeon or wilderness. "City" is treated just like any other
wilderness terrain.
If the random encounter is in a dungeon setting, go to the "Dungeon
Encounters" section below. If it's a wilderness (or a city) setting, go to
the "Wilderness Encounters" section. Both start on page 95.
Dungeon Encounters Levels 6-7 Table Dungeon Encounters Levels 8-10 Table
Roll Number Roll Number
1d20 Monster Appearing 1d20 Monster Appearing
1 Basilisk 1d3 1 Basilisk 1d6
2 Caecilia. 1d4 2 Black Pudding 1
3 Cockatrice 1d3 3 Chimera 1
4 Giant, Hill 1d2 4 Devil Swine 1d2
5 Giant, Stone 1d2 5 Dragon 1d2
6 Heilhound (5-7 HD) 1d4 6-7 Giant* 1d6
7 Hydra (6-8 heads) 1 8 Golem* 1
8 Lycanthrope* 1d3 9 Hydra (7-12 heads) 1
9 Manticore 1 10 Living Statue* 1d4+1
10 Minotaur 1d4 11-12 Lycanthrope* 1d6+1
11 Mummy 1d4 13 NPC Party 1
12 NPC Party 1 14 Purple Worm 1
13 Ochrejelly 1 15 Rust Monster 1d4+1
14 Ogre 2d4 16 Salamander* 1d4
15 Rust Monster 1d3+1 17 Snake* 1d4+1
16 Spectra 1d3 18 Spectra 1d3
17 Spider, Tarantella 1d3 19 Spider* 1d4+1
18 Salamander, Flame 1d2 20 Vampire 1d2
19 Troll 1d4+1
20 Vampire 1
* Either weretiger or werebear. * Select any one type and modify
the number appearing for
the level of monster
Chapter 7: Encounters and Evasions
Wilderness Encounters Table
Roll Clear,
1d8 Grassland Woods River Swamp
1 Human Human Human Human
2 Flyer Flyer Flyer Flyer
3 Humanoid Humanoid Humanoid Humanoid
4 Animal Insect Insect Swimmer
5 Animal Unusual Swimmer Undead
6 Unusual Animal Swimmer Undead
7 Dragon Animal Animal Insect
8 Insect Dragon Dragon Dragon
Roll Barren,
1d8 Mountain, Hill Desert Settled*
1 Human Human Castle**
2 Flyer Flyer Flyer
3 Humanoid Humanoid Humanoid
4 Unusual Human Human
5 Animal Animal Human
6 Humanoid Dragon Animal
7 Dragon Undead Animal
8 Dragon Animal Dragon
Roll
1d8 City Ocean jungle
1 Human Human Human
2 Undead Flyer Flyer
3 Humanoid Swimmer Insect
4 Human Swimmer Insect
5 Human Swimmer Humanoid
6 Human Swimmer Animal
7 Human Swimmer Animal
8 Special Dragon Dragon
* Any inhabited rural area is "Settled."
* Consult the "Special Castle Encounters" section below for Subtable: 10.
Castle Encounters.
t Consult the "Special City Encounters" section below for Subtable: 11.
City Encounters.
Dungeon Encounters
Determine the dungeon level where the encounter takes place. Consult the
table corresponding to that dungeon level. Roll 1d20 on that table to see
what sort of monster is encountered. Make whatever die roll is indicated in
the "Number Encountered" column to determine how many monsters of that type
appear in this encounter. Consult Chapter 14 for details about that monster.
Play out the encounter as described earlier under "Encounters."
In dungeon encounters, first determine the dungeon level where the
encounter is taking place. The DM or writer who created the dungeon will
normally have designated it "Level 1," "Level 2" or some such. If he or she
hasn't, look at the types of monsters found on the dungeon level; if they
tend to average 1 experience level of HD, it's probably level 1; if they
tend to average 3 experience levels or HD, it's probably level 3; and so on.
Below are tables for several different dungeon levels. Roll 1d20 on the
table that corresponds to the dungeon level in question. The 1d20 result
will identify a type of monster. Now roll the dice indicated in the
right-hand column to determine how many of that monster are involved in the
encounter.
For example, on the first level of a dungeon, the DM tolls an encounter.
He consults the Dungeon Encounters Level 1 Table below and rolls 1d20; the
result is a 14. According to the table, the encounter will be with orcs. The
die roll in the "Number Appearing" column of the table is 1d6; the DM rolls
1d6 and gets a 4. This means that the encounter is with four orcs. The DM
can now consult the description of orcs in Chapter 14 to see what they do,
how tough they are, how they behave, and so forth.
The monsters listed in the Dungeon Encounters Tables are different levels
of difficulty, depending on the level of dungeon they are typically found
in, Later in this book is a Section on dungeon design that discusses the
difference in difficulty between different levels of a dungeon.
Wilderness Encounters
Find the type of terrain on the Wilderness Encounters Table where the
encounter is taking place. Roll 1d8 and check the column corresponding to
the terrain type. The result tells which subtable to consult. Go to that
subtable and roll 1d12 on the column corresponding to the terrain type where
the encounter is taking place. The result tells which monster the characters
encounter.
See Chapter 14 for details about that monster, including how many
monsters appear. Play out the encounter as described under "Encounters" on
page 91, using the visibility, distance, and surprise factors.
In a wilderness encounter, the type of terrain plays an important part.
On the Wilderness Encounters Table, roll 1d8 and check the result against
the column corresponding to the correct terrain type. This will direct you
to one of eleven subtables, nine of which immediately follow the main table.
The other two subtables are presented with explanatory text in the sections
that follow the the ninth subtable.
Roll 1d12 on the subtable indicated by the previous toll. Check the 1d12
result against the column corresponding to the terrain type.
Example: The player characters are traveling through heavily wooded
mountains. The DM decides that this is more mountainous terrain than it is
wooded. She rolls on the Wilderness Encounters Table; her 1d8 roll is a 6.
On the "Barren, Mountain, Hill" column, a humanoid encounter is indicated.
The DM looks at the humanoid subtable, rolls 1d12, and checks the result
against the column for "Barren, Mountain, Hill." The DM's roll is a 2, which
indicates a cloud giant for the PCs' encounter.
Once the encountered monster is determined, The Chapter 14 for details
about that monster. (Chapter 14 will describe the monster's habits,
activities, number likely to appear, and so forth.
With all the information in hand, the encounter with the PCs is ready to
play out. Consult the Encounter Checklist and the Encounter Distances Table
for other factors regarding encounters.
Special Castle Encounters
The DM can determine character class of castle inhabitants either by
using the Subtable: 10. Castle Encounters (page 98) or by selecting classes
as appropriate. If the table is to be used, roll a 1d6; if the result is a
3, roll 1d6 again and see which of the demihuman races is the result. For
human owners of a castle, regardless of class, roll 1d20 + 8 for the owner's
level. Demihumans' levels are listed in the table.
If the DM has not already determined what the castle inhabitants'
re-actions will be to player characters, he or she can either check the
Monster Reactions Table given earlier in this chapter or check the Castle
Reactions Table on page 99. The "Reaction" columns of the table assume that
the party does nothing to either arouse suspicion or to inspire trust; the
DM can certainly adjust the die roll if the PCs' actions toward the castle
inhabitants warrant the modification.
Remember, too, that some high-level PC fighters may have the right of
sanctuary at castles in the campaign; a PC with that fight who declares his
name and title will normally receive a "Friendly" result.
Note that the men listed are only part of the castle owner's forces and
are simply the unit sent out after annoying travelers; the rest of the
castle's forces should include other men and might even include special
monsters.
Pursue: The men will chase the party off the lord's land or charge the
characters a toll. This sum may vary depending on the personality of the
lord, how wealthy the characters look, and other factors. Refusing to pay
may result in the PCs being arrested, run off the land, or attacked. The DM
can ignore this result if the castle owner is Lawful and the PCs have
behaved well.
Ignore: No attempt is made to aid or hinder the party.
Roll Barren,
1d12 Mountain, Hill Desert
1 Dwarf Giant, Fire
2 Giant, Cloud Goblin
3 Giant, Frost Hobgoblin
4 Giant, Hill Hobgoblin
5 Giant, Stone Ogre
6 Giant, Storm Ogre
7 Gnome Ogre
8 Goblin Orc
9 Kobold Orc
10 Orc Pixie
11 Troglodyte Sprite
12 Troll Thoul
Roll City and
1d12 Inhabited Jungle
1 Dwarf Bugbear
2 Elf Cyclops
3 Giant, Hill Elf
4 Gnome Giant, Fire
5 Gnoll Giant, Hill
6 Goblin Gnoll
7 Halting Goblin
8 Hobgoblin Lizard Man
9 Ogre Ogre
10 Orc Orc
11 Pixie Troglodyte
12 Sprite Troll
Roll
1d12 River Swamp
1 Bugbear Gnoll
2 Elf Goblin
3 Gnoll Hobgoblin
4 Hobgoblin Lizard Man
5 Lizard Man Lizard Man
6 Lizard Man Lizard Man
7 Nixie Nixie
8 Ogre Ogre
9 Orc Orc
10 Sprite Troglodyte
11 Thoul Troll
12 Troll Troll
Friendly: The castle owner invites the party to stay. (This is not
necessarily actual friendship; some NPCs may have evil intentions toward the
unsuspecting party ... City Encounters (on page 98).
Special City Encounters
On the Wilderness Encounters Table, the entry for city terrain has
a "Special" result. Whenever a special result is rolled, the DM can either
roll again and use one of the more common results, or he or she can roll on
the Subtable: 11.
To use this subtable, roll 1d8 to find the section of the subtable to
be used (the subtable is split into sections marked 1-8). Then roll 1d20 to
find out what sort of person the PCs encounter.
The Subtable: 11. City Encounters indicates only the encountered
character's profession not his level or intent. The DM must decide how to
use this type of character in the encounter.
For example, an Alchemist might wish to hire the characters to find him
some rare ingredients; an Assassin might be stalking one of the PCs; a
Brewer could have set up a drinking contest to determine whose beer is
better-his own or a competitor's-and tries to persuade a PC to participate;
and lastly, a Government Official could be seeking revenge against a
high-ranking thief who is blackmailing him, and he might try to persuade the
PCs to help him.
You can also use the Subtable: City Encounters when trying to think of an
interesting location for an encounter. Translate the name of the type of
character to the appropriate type of building or site-for instance, "Judge"
would become "Courtroom," while "Undertaker" would become "Cemetery."
Wandering Monsters and High-Level PCs
In low-level play, wandering monsters help make adventures interesting,
keep the characters alert, and give the characters experience in dangerous
situations. Once the characters are very experienced, though, wandering
monsters no longer serve this last purpose. If the DM runs them exactly as
they come up on the Encounter Tables, monster encounters will be nothing but
boring delays or (at best) comic relief. Therefore, when the PCs are high
level, the DM needs to think briefly about every random encounter and decide
how the PCs' experience levels affect things. He or she should discard (that
is, not play) encounters that would be nothing but dull combats and keep the
encounters that have other purposes. To that end there are essentially three
types of encounters the DM can consider running.
For example, there's nothing wrong with comic relief encounters as long
as they're deliberately run with that intent. For example, a group of
well-played bugbears blundering into a group of high-level PCs can provide a
lot of humor. But recurring encounters along the same lines will, after a
short while, wear very thin.
Then, there are tactical encounters. A large group of lower level
monsters who have a superior knowledge of the terrain, good tactics, traps,
and the advantage of surprise can challenge (of at least delay) high-level
characters.
There are also respectful avoidance encounters. Word of a high-level
party's power will certainly circulate in any dungeon or wilderness
setting, along with descriptions of the individuals involved; weaker
monsters will watch for and avoid these dangerous characters. When surprise
encounters occur, the low-level monsters will automatically opt to
preferably evade the PCs or to talk with them; such monsters would attack
the PCs only under the rarest situations. Respectful avoidance encounters
help reinforce to the PCs that they're more powerful and influential
characters now-and it's a boost to their egos.
To reflect the powers of high-level characters, the DM may also alter the
monsters' morale (described in the next chapter). If the PCs demonstrate
fierce magic or combat abilities, the monsters might decide to
retreat or reconsider their position.
* When an NPC party is indicated, the encounter is with one character of
name level of greater, plus 2-20 low-level apprentices. When a specific
level title is given, the encounter is with 6-15 individuals of that level.
Subtable: 4. Flyers
Roll Mountain Desert All Other
1d12
1 Bee, Giant Gargoyle Bee, Giant
2 Gargoyle Gargoyle Cockatfice
3 Griffon Griffon Gargoyle
4 Harpy Harpy Griffon
5 Hippogrff Insect Swarm Hippogriff
6 Insect Swarm Lizard, Draco Lizard, Draco
7 Manticore Manticore Pegasus
8 Pegasus Manticore Pixie
9 Robber Fly Manticore Robber Fly
10 Roc, Small Roc, Small Roc, Small
11 Roc, Large Roc, Large Sprite Large
12 Roc, Giant Roc, Giant Stirge Giant
I
Subtable: 5. Swimmers
Roll River / Lake Ocean Swamp
1d12
1 Crab, Giant Giant, Storm Crab, Giant
2 Crocodile Hydra, Sea Crocodile
3 Crocodile, Large Hydra, Sea Crocodile
4 Fish, Giant Bass Hydra, Sea Crocodile, Large
5 Fish, Sturgeon Merman Crocodile, Large
6 Leech, Giant Snake,Sea Leech, Giant
7 Leech, Giant Snake,Sea Leech, Giant
8 Lizard Man Snake,Sea Leech, Giant
9 Lizard Man Snake,Sea Lizard Man
10 Merman Termite, Water Lizard Man
11 Nixie Termite, Water Termite, Water
12 Termite, Water Termite, Water Termite, Water
Subtable: 6. Dragons Subtable: 7. Insects Subtable: 8. Undead
Roll Roll Roll
1d12* 1d12 1d12
1 Chimera 1 Ant, Giant I Ghoul
2 Dragon, Black 2 Bee, Giant 2 Ghoul
3 Dragon, Blue 3 Beetle, Fire 3 Ghoul
4 Dragon, Gold 4 Beetle, Oil 4 Mummy
5 Dragon, Green 5 Beetle, Tiger 5 Skeleton
6 Dragon, Red 6 Insect Swarm 6 Skeleton
7 Dragon, White 7 Rhagodessa 7 Spectre
8 Hydra 8 Robber Fly 8 Wight
9 Hydra 9 Scorpion, Giant 9 Wraith
10 Wyvern 10 Spider, Black Widow 10 Vampire
11 Salamander, Flame 11 Spider, Crab 11 Zombie
12 Salamander, Frost 12 Spider, Tarantella 12 Zombie
It's a mistake simply to change the wandering monster encounter
tables so that only tough monsters appear. First because it's not very
logical (the PCs will wonder where all the lesser creatures went), and
second because it's frustrating to the PCs (who will assume, correctly,
that it doesn't matter how strong they become because the DM will just
increase the power of every monster in the world to compensate for
them).
None of this means that the DM should entirely get rid of encounters
with less-powerful monsters. For instance, when a weak monster serves
as a clue to a dangerous but an as yet undiscovered situation or is an
interesting and entertaining role-playing opportunity, the monster
serves a definite purpose and should be kept.
Evasion and Pursuit
When two groups encounter one another, one or both may decide to
evade the other, or one group may decide to pursue the evading group.
This means that, as soon as the groups spot one another, the evading
group turns and runs, trying to get out of the pursuers' sight. Time is
measured in rounds for as long as the chase occurs. The side running
away is "evading," and the other chasing is "in pursuit." The Evasion
Checklist on page 99 gives a step-by-step procedure for handling
evasion and pursuit.
Definitions
The terms used in the Evasion Checklist are defined in the following
subsections and are presented in the order that they are most likely to
occur.
Contact
Contact occurs when the two parties encounter one another, as per
the earlier encounter rules. They do not have to be near one another,
only within visual range. When the encounter occurs, the DM determines
the encounter distance and the parties' relative states of surprise.
Decision to Evade
In an encounter, if one group surprises another (but is not itself
surprised), it may automatically evade the surprised group by turning
away and moving off at another direction at running speed for one round.
The nonsurprised group has enough time to get
cleat of the area before the surprised group can recover enough to give
chase. In fact, if the surprised party didn't detect the nonsurprised party,
the surprised party will never know that it has just been through an
encounter.
* First roll 1d8 to determine which section to use for the encounter;
then roll 1d20 in that section to find the city-dweller used for the
encounter.
Castle Reactions Table
Reaction (Roll 1d6)
Owner's Class Patrol Type/Size Pursue Ignore Friendly
Fighter 2-12 heavy horsemen 1-3 4-5 6
Magic-User 2-12 heavy footmen 1 2-5 6
Cleric 2-12 medium horsemen 1-2 3-4 5-6
Demihuman 2-12 demihumans 1 2-5 6
Decision to Pursue
If neither party in an encounter was surprised and one party took off in
an attempt to evade, the other party must now decide whether to pursue.
Player characters decide for their own reasons whether to give chase.
Monsters and NPCs make a morale check (described in the next chapter). If
the NPC group contains different types of monsters, use the morale check of
the monster that leads the group. If the monsters/ NPCs successfully make
the morale check, they give chase; if they fail, they let the PCs go and do
not pursue.
Attempt to Evade
If neither group was surprised (or if both were) and one group wishes to
try evasion, the DM rolls on the Evasion Table. Find the size of the party
and compare it to the number of creatures encountered. This gives the
percentage chance that the evasion will be successful. If a large party
breaks up into small parties, roll for each small party separately; in this
way, some parties could evade while others could be caught.
Example: A PC party of eight characters runs into a scouting party of 12
orcs. Comparing the "Party Size 5-12" entry to the "Number of Monsters
Encountered 9 + " line, the PCs have a 70% chance to evade the orcs. The DM
rolls a d100; on a 01-70, the PCs have successfully evaded the monsters, and
on a 71-100, the monsters successfully pursue the characters.
The DM may adjust evasion chances for terrain, differences in speed, and
other factors as noted in the Evasion Table. For example, woods might add a
25 % chance to evade the monsters. If monsters are familiar with an area,
they may be able to evade pursuers by rapidly turning corners, closing doors
behind them, and so forth. If one group can move at least twice as fast as
the other, the faster group adjusts the chances of evasion by 2 5 % in its
favor (that is, if the faster group is pursuing, it subtracts 25% from the
evaders' evasion chance, and if the faster group is evading, it adds 2 5 %
to its evasion chance). If the pursuing group has sent out small groups of
scouts, evasion is made more difficult (a -10% penalty is applied to the
evasion chance).
Important Note: Regardless of the number of evasion penalties, the evading
group always has at least a 5% chance to evade.
Pursuit Continues
If the first evasion attempt was unsuccessful, the chase is on. Movement
is carried out at running speed, and time is measured in rounds. As though
this were combat, each side rolls initiative once per round, with the two
sides taking movement in initiative order. The chase will continue until one
of the following events occurs.
The pursuers decide to give up the chase. PCs decide whether or not to
keep chasing for their own reasons; monsters and NPCS, on the otherhand,
make a new morale check every five rounds, with failure indicating that they
have given up the chase.
The pursuers catch up to the evaders. This can happen for one of a
number of reasons. If the pursuers end one round having caught up to the
evaders (the DM should be keeping track of their relative positions to
determine this) and then win initiative the next round, they can attack,
forcing the evaders to turn and fight. Or the evaders could run into some
obstacle that prevents them from continuing (a sheer cliff face, a dead-end
hallway, a magically locked door, another party of enemies, and so on). In
these situations, combat usually results, though the evaders might choose to
surrender instead.
The evaders escape. There are a number of ways evaders can escape their
pursuers, including the following:
* Evaders can, if time permits, cast a spell that will allow them to get
away. For example, they might cast a teleport spell to whisk the party to
safety; a pass wall spell to get them somewhere inaccessible (followed by a
dispel magic to cancel the pass wall so that the pursuers cannot follow); or
a wall of iron spell to forestall pursuit long enough for the evaders to get
away.
* If possible, evaders can run far enough ahead of the pursuers so that
they are temporarily out of vision range when they reach an area of
difficult terrain (for example, thick woods, a long dungeon corridor riddled
with doors and side passages, etc.). In such cases, the DM would again roil
on the Evasion Table for the evaders, and success would mean that the
pursuers fail to follow their tracks.
Evasion Checklist
1. Contact: The two parties encounter one another.
2. Decision to Evade: One party decides to evade. If the evading party is
not surprised and the other party is surprised, evasion is automatically
successful; go to Step 6. If the other party is not surprised, go to Step 2.
3. Decision to Pursue: The other party decides whether to pursue. The PCs
decide for themselves; monsters must make a morale check (defined in Chapter
8). On a successful morale check, the monsters give chase (go to Step 4). On
an unsuccessful morale check, the monsters do not chase (go to Step 6).
4. Attempt to Evade: The DM rolls on the Evasion Table. If the PCs
succeed, they have evaded the pursuers (go to Step 6). If they fail, pursuit
continues (Step 5).
5 .Pursuit Continues: Movement is measured in rounds and conducted at
running speed; both sides roll 1d6 for initiative once per round; the side
with the higher roll moves first each round. The chase continues until one
of the following happens:
a. The pursuers decide to give up. Monsters must make a new morale check
every five rounds and give up the chase if they fail the check. Go to Step
6.
b. The evading party is caught by the pursuers (because of superior speed
or terrain obstacles). Combat occurs; go to the Combat Checklist in Chapter
8.
c. The evading party escapes (by using magic spells or by finally making
a successful evasion roll on the Evasion Table when terrain and
circumstances warrant). Go to Step 6.
6. Regain Bearings: Evaders rest and determine where they now are.
Evasion Table
Party No. of Monsters Chance of Condition Adjustment
Size Encountered Evasion in Effect to Chance
1-4 1 50% Wooded terrain +25%
2-3 70% Featureless terrain -15%
4 + 90% Pursuers are twice
5-12 1-3 35% as fast as evade -25%
4-8 50% Evaders are twice as
9 + 70% fast as pursuers +25%
13-24 1-6 25% Pursuers have
7-16 35% scouts in place -15%
17 + 50%
25 + 1-10 10%
11-30 25%
31+ 35%
Evaders can drop goods that the monsters might want; a hungry monster
might want meal rations, for example, while a vampire might be more content
with magical treasures. In these cases, the DM rolls 1d6 if he or she feels
that the item dropped is indeed appealing to the monster. On a 1-3, the
monster stops to consume (or retrieve) the proffered goods and is delayed
long enough for the evaders to get away.
Regain Bearings
If the evaders do get away, they need to rest from their exertions and
regain their bearings, that is, determine where they now are.
For every round the chase lasted, the evaders moved at full running speed
in directions chosen or assumed by the DM. They didn't have time to consult
their map, and the DM should enforce this fact rigorously. If their movement
carried them into areas they already knew or had mapped, they're fine. But,
at the DM's discretion, their attempts at evasion could have carried them
deep into unknown territory (such as wilderness off the posted roads and
trails or unexplored dungeon levels), and now the characters are lost;
they'll have to explore their way back to the areas they know.
Evasion at Sea
Ships meeting at sea may wish to evade one another. To determine one
ship's chance of eluding another ship, consult the Ship Evasion Table.
If evasion is successful, the pursuer loses sight of its prey and cannot
find it again or attack it that day. A ship can evade its pursuer by sailing
into a baffling archipelago, heading into a concealing fog, hiding itself in
a cove and ducking out once the pursuers are past, and so forth.
If the evasion is not successful, the pursuer starts at a distance of 300
yards on a clear day. (At the DM's discretion, if the weather is impairing
vision, the pursuer may start closer.) The pursuing ship closes in.
If the pursuer's speed is 0-30' per round greater than the evader (or
actually slower), the rate of closing is 10 yards per round. If the
difference is greater than 30' per round, the pursuer closes in at its
normal movement rate.
A slower vessel can close in on a faster one by virtue of superior
sailing. If the evading ship missed its roll for evasion on the Ship Evasion
Table yet it is faster than the pursuing ship, this means that the pursuer
is sailing much more effectively than the evader.
If the DM is using the optional general skills rules, he or she can roll
the two captains' Piloting skills in competition with one another. If the
evading ship's captain rolls his skill better, he evades pursuit; if the
pursuer rolls his better, he is able to close at the rates described above.
Balancing Encounters
(Optional)
When the DM is uncertain as to whether an encounter is a fair challenge,
he or she can use the following system to make that determination. This
optional rule gives a fairly accurate estimate of an encounter's impact on a
PCs' party. Although this system is too involved to use with most random
encounters, it is useful for prepared encounters. However, the DM is never
required to use it, and no other rules in the D&D game depend on its use.
The system makes the following assumptions:
* The PC party is composed of a normal mix of character classes who are
adequately equipped (with both gear and magic). Review any special abilities
of this encounter's monster; if it has abilities that no member of the party
can withstand, this encounter is too tough for them.
* The monster is encountered in a normal melee. If the monster is waiting
in ambush or has special weapons or traps, the DM should treat the encounter
as one level tougher than the calculations show.
* The monsters encountered are all the same type. If a mixed group of
monsters is encountered, make sure the total of the monsters' adjusted Hit
Dice falls within the desired range. If the monsters are mounted, add only
half the HD of the mount or rider, whichever is weaker, as additions to
the adjusted Hit Dice of the larger HD of the mount or rider.
* The Total Party Level-(TPL) is equivalent to the adjusted Hit Dice
value of the monster. The TPL (described and calculated below) is not
adjusted for magical or special abilities. If the DM believes special
abilities will play a major role in the encounter (for example, the entire
party is made up of 18th level Spellcasters), the DM will need to add power
bonuses, as described below, to the TPL.
* The party is at full strength. The DM may adjust the TPL downward when
the party is not at full strength, as discussed below.
Balancing Encounters Checklist
Follow these three steps to determine the impact of an encounter:
1. Determine the TPL (Total Party Level) of the PC party.
2. Determine the Individual Adjusted Hit Dice of the Monsters.
3. Determine the type of challenge faced.
Definitions
The terms used in the Balancing Encounters Checklist are defined here and
presented in the order of procedure.
Determine the TPL
The Total Party Level (TPL) is the sum of the experience levels of all
the characters in the party. If the party consists of six 10th level
characters, the TPL is 60 (6 x 10).
The DM can adjust the TPL downward if the party is not at full strength.
If a character has taken at least I hit point of damage for every
experience level he has (that is, an 8th level character has taken 8 or
more hit points of damage), treat him as being one experience level less
than he is.
If he has taken at l@t 2 hit points of damage for every level he has (in
this case, 16 hit points of damage), treat him as being two levels less
than he is. For the TPL figure, damage can reduce a character to no less
than 1/2 (round down) his actual experience level.
Example: An 8th level fighter with 40 hit points has taken 24 hit points
in damage. This is 3 hit points for every experience level he has, so he is
rated as being a 5th level fighter (8 - 3 = 5) for the Total Party Level.
Determine the Individual Adjusted Hit Dice of the Monsters
The Individual Adjusted Hit Dice figure represents the monster's overall
effectiveness; it's a combination of its Hit Dice and special abilities.
To find the Individual Adjusted Hit Dice, take the creature's Hit Dice.
If there are additions to the Hit Dice, divide additional hit points by
five, round up, and add the result to the number of Hit Dice. For example,
a creature with 4 + 3 HD would count as 5 HD.
If there are any subtractions from the Hit Dice, subtract 1/2 HD per 2
points subtracted. For example, a creature with 1-1 HD would count as 1/2
HD.
Then add half of the original Hit Dice figure for each power bonus. Power
bonuses include:
* Each asterisk next to a monster's hit dice.
* Special NPC abilities. For NPC parties, award a power bonus for each of
the following conditions: 1) Everyone in the party has + 2 weapons or
better; and 2) There are Spellcasters in the party. (Take the highest level
of spells that may be cast, divide by two, then divide that result by the
number of characters in the party, rounding up; the result is the power
bonus added to the Individual Adjusted Hit Dice figure of every character in
the party.)
Example: A monster's description (from Chapter 14) says "HD 9**." For
each asterisk, add in half the creature's basic HD; therefore, each asterisk
is worth + 4 1/2 HD to this creature's rating, and its Individual Adjusted
Hit Dice is 18.
Example: An NPC party has four members; one can cast spells up to 8th
level. The party's power bonus equals 1/4 (8 levels /2 /4 members = 1/4), or
1 power bonus to everyone in the party.
If more than one monster is present in the encounter, add their
Individual Adjusted Hit Dice figures together.
Determine the Challenge
The challenge of an encounter is expressed as a percentage number. To
find that number, divide the combined Individual Adjusted Hit Dice of the
monsters by the TPL of the player character party . Remember that a number
such as ".5" actually translates into percentile form as "50%," as shown in
the Challenge Percentage Table, found below.
When a DM is using the balancing encounters optional rule, he or she
should decide which level of challenge the encounter should be (see the
Encounter Challenge Table). Then the DM can multiply the TPL by the
challenge percentages (from the Challenge Percentable Table) to get a range
of Hit Dice.
Divide the highest number obtained by the adjusted monster Hit Dice to
determine how many monsters should be present in the encounter. The DM can
use any fraction to make one monster a larger leader or can treat a fraction
as a youngster.
When checking the impact of an encounter, the DM can take the total
adjusted monster Hit Dice and divide by the TPLX 100 to determine the
percentage. Then, he or she can look p the result in the challenge levels as
listed in the Encounter Challenge Table.
Number = Percentage Adj. HD
.1= 10% of TPL Challenge Level
.2= 20% 110% + Extremely dangerous
.3= 30% 90-110% Risky
.4= 40% 70-90% Major
.5= 50% 50-70% Challenging
.6= 60% 30-50% Good fight
.7= 70% 20-30% Distraction
.8= 80% 10-20% Minor
.9= 90% 1-10% Too easy
1.0= 100%
The terms presented in the Encounter Challenge Table are defined in the
following text and are listed in the order of challenge.
Extremely Dangerous: This encounter is a killer. If the PCs do not
retreat or flee, they will probably be defeated and may die. This type of
encounter is usually used for "no win" situations when the DM wants it
obvious that the players cannot beat the monsters in a fight.
Risky: The monsters are equal to the party and there is an even chance
that either side may win. This encounter may require many of the party's
resources, and some members may die. Risky encounters are sometimes used for
the grand finale to a quest.
Major: This type of encounter is usually used as the main fight or climax
of an adventure. If an adventure has little fighting, the DM may want
to include one or two of these encounters.
Challenging: This encounter will challenge a party's might, but the party
has the odds in its favor if the encou