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Dungeons and Dragons Rules Modifications
For just about everybody I know, D&D was their first "serious" RPG experience.
For me, it was a definite learning experience. When our characters reached (literally) millions of experience points after only a few adventures, our friends (who actually knew the rules -- we had only the (old) Expert book to go by) cringed in fear and asked us what the hell we were up to. That's when we learned that by killing another NPC or PC, you don't actually get all of the XP they've accumulated. Hey, I can't take the blame for it. At that point, I was a player not a DM, and I was going by the word of my best-buddy-the-all-knowing-DM-who'd-played-the-game-with-his-cousin. Later we found out that he'd played twice, I believe.
Anyway, that's definitely *not* a rule variation I'd suggest.
We also know that with the discovery of AD&D (especially 2nd Edition) and numerous other game systems, "Basic" D&D really became kind of pathetic. But for some bizarre reason, my group and I found ourselves yearning to try it again a few months ago -- for nostalgia sake. So we did. And... we actually had fun! It was very nice to get back to the purity of basic D&D. Nothing too complex to worry about. You get to roll all the dice you own for once. It was really refreshing.
And of course, we also quickly became familiar again with all of the system's shortfalls! So here, in no particular order, are a few of the modifications we make so everything makes a little better sense:
Comments of any nature are welcome, as always!
"I'm not dead... I'm feeling better... I think I'll go for a walk..."
Problem: It's just too darn easy to die. That's the long and the short of it. Ok, so medieval combat is rough and vicious and gory. It's still nice to try to help your favorite characters avoid dying once in a while.
Our solution: Twofold: 1) all 1st level characters start at max hit points. At the very least, from a DM point of view, the fights last a little longer. 2) At 0 hp a PC is unconscious, not dead. As soon as they hit negatives, they are toast. But it's really shocking how often a first or second-level PC can take just enough damage to knock him to 0. One might think the gods are watching over them..."Dear Lord, hear my call, in all your eternal grace, please grant to me these few miracles... which I'm pretty sure I'll be needing sometime later today." (a.k.a. the "So-much-for-spontaneous-miracles" dilemma)
Problem: This is simply a "logic" problem. Why would a cleric that receives his power from divine miracles, need to "memorize" spells at the beginning of each day? And why would the cleric only be able to call on certain miracles?
Our solution: Clerics don't need to memorize spells. All the clerical spells listed in the book are available to them at all times -- up to their daily maximum. This reflects the ability of the cleric to call down the help s/he needs in the appropriate situation. As for the second issue, I can understand that perhaps a cleric only knows certain prayers or ceremonies to achieve certain results. However, it is our decision that the spells listed in the rulebook are the "common" miracles which can be achieved through basic prayers. The higher the level, the more complex the ceremony, but that is reflected by the PC's level. A cleric may still wish to develop a new spell. This is done as per the rules, with the logical result being that the cleric uncovers an old ritual or devises a new one. This ritual would be particular to that spell, and therefore would not be available as part of the common pool of spells."Let me get this right -- I'm a 36th level thief, picking the pocket of a 20th level fighter, and I'm -100% on my roll?!"
Problem: The rules state that a thief's Pick Pockets % is reduced by 5% per level of the victim, regardless of the thief's level. I realize that a 36th level thief has well past 100% Pick Pocket skill, but by the point you reach that level you would hope the character could strip a victim naked without him noticing.
Our solution: Stealing a bit from AD&D, the simple solution is to say a thief picking the pocket of a lower level/HD character has his Pick Pockets % unchanged. To pick the pockets of a character higher level/HD than the thief, the chance to Pick Pockets should be calculated as:PP% - (VictimLevel - ThiefLevel) x 5%
This actually gives a low-level thief a chance to pick the pockets of a low-level character without worries, and ensures that a 20th level thief really shouldn't have too much trouble picking the pocket of a 10th level NPC.
"You are facing three 6th level fighters. Two are using normal swords, doing 1D8 points of damage each. The last has become an Expert with his blade, does 2D8 damage, improves his AC by 2, can deflect 2 attacks per round, and can disarm with a penalty to your saving throw. They are worth 20 XP each."
Problem: If the rule exists, I can't find it. We use the Weapon Mastery optional rule in the Masters set from the start of our PCs' careers. This means, of course, that the opposition needs similar skills to maintain the balance. The problem is that suddenly, especially at low levels, you have NPCs which are capable of doing a lot more damage (proportionate to your PCs Hit Points) with various other benefits. Our solution: Very simply, each level of weapon mastery past Basic results in an additional "special" for the monster for XP calculation purposes. So your 6th level fighter who is an Expert with a sword now has XP calculated as a 6* HD adversary, making him worth slightly more. (This variation is kind of incomplete as I never finished it at the time I originally wrote it... so it doesn't cover things like mastery with multiple weapons. You figure it out. ;) )
Please send all contributions to winterfrost.geo@yahoo.com
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