Taking 5E Attunement to the Wood Shed

Last night +Ken H decided we needed to do some bookkeeping before starting our session of Monteport.  Book keeping in the way of attunement...I was "What the hell is that?"  In the DMG, on pages 136 & 138, there is a rule that some magic items need to be attuned to the person so that an individual can reap the magical benefits.  A maximum of three items can be attuned to a person at one time.  And not all magical items need to be attuned.

I understand it, but not a fan.  It's a bit fufu for me.  You sit with your magic item during a short rest to get attuned. 

Here's my take on it, for whatever it's worth.  It 's a rule to restrict characters that adventure within a magical item rich campaign.  Like a restrictor plate.  It's there to regulate the power, in this case, the power gained by having a bunch of magic items.  

My opinion is if your going to have a magic rich campaign run with it.  If you want players to have fewer magic items than don't place them in your world.  +Joshua Macy said it felt fiddly, and that's a great word to describe it.

Now I am not bashing.  Not at all.  And I think it's interesting that Ken put it into play.  It created a lot of discussion and thought.  And I am not a huge fan of thinking.  I know +Chris C. liked the rule a lot.  Adding a different element of strategy.  I don't remember the opinions of +Rob Conley or +Douglas Cole.  

I'm curious what others think of attunement and how its played out in your game.  While I am not a fan of the rule, I am curious to how it plays. 

Burn it to the Ground, Burn it All

In every group there seems to be a pyromaniac.  He's the guy who has more flasks of oil than healing potions.  A dedicated lot.  Zealots of the flame.  Fire freaks.  Combustible mamas.  Whatever you want to call them, you'll find one in the group somewhere.

We have our pyromaniac, Chris from Clash of Spear on Shield, is ours.  He plays Dante...hmm, I wonder if that's a coincidence?  Anyway.  His guy has kegs of oil.  He doesn't piss around with flasks.  Flasks are for sissies and people who like to drink with their pinky sticking out.  Dante likes to burn things.  Dante likes to burn people.  Dante likes to watch the flame crawl over and envelop and feed.  He's a flame psychopath and I approve.

Because of his passion for the flame and our constant need to look up the flaming oil damage rules I went through a bunch of rulebooks and collected the different rules for systems I could find.  If you know of another rule for another system please put it in the comments so I can add it. And please add any house rules you use in your game. 

Adventurer, Conqueror, King: Dealing 1d8 points of damage for 2 rounds. 
Adventures Dark & Deep:  Roll d20, 18 or less breaks. If it bursts on the target, 2d6 first round, 1d6 on the second, then burns out. If it bursts on the ground, 1d3 to everyone in 3' radius. All assuming that the vial breaks as above, and if the oil is ignited. Pg 92-93
Ambition & Avarice: 1d8 damage to anyone directly struck and 1d4 splash damage
Bare Bones Fantasy: three damage grades: mild (1D), moderate (2D), or severe (3D). Flammable objects have a 50% chance to catch on fire and continue to cause 1D damage each turn 9(...) Factors such as (...) dousing in oil may modify the roll. (p.33)
Basic Fantasy: Oil does 1d8 for two rounds (p. 49).

Blood & Treasure: Burns for two rounds and deal 1d4 points of fire damage. 
Castles & Crusades: Could not find information about oil damage.

Crypts & Things: Could not find information about oil damage. 
Dragon Age: Could not find information about oil damage.

Dungeons & Dragons, 1^st Ed: 2d6 damage the first round, 1d6 damage the second round. 
Dungeons & Dragons, 3^rd Ed: 1d6 on a direct hit, 1hp of damage for splash damage. 
Dungeons & Dragons, 4^th Ed: Oil burns for 2 rounds and deals 1d3 points of fire damage to each creature in the area. 
Five Ancient Kingdoms: A flask of oil may be set alight or hurled at an opponent with a normal missile attack roll (a hurled flask cannot achieve a "bulls-eye" result). Success indicates the target takes one hit of damage, and an additional hit every round thereafter until the flames are extinguished. A flaming torch may be used as an improvised melee weapon (see Brawling) but will not set a target aflame unless extremely flammable (for example, already covered in oil).

GURPS: If it bursts on the target, 3d burning, then 1d burning per second. If it hits the ground, 1d-1 burning per second to everyone in a 1 yd radius. Either way, it lasts 10d seconds and DR protects at 1/5 (unless sealed). p. 411
HackMaster 4^th Ed: Oil causes damage only when it is lit. Sometimes this requires a two-step process, such as when tossing oil into melee with allies. Step one is soaking the target in oil. Step two is hitting him with a torch, candle, open lantern, Fireball or the like. Thus, using flaming oil often requires two successful attacks. Another method is to light a soaked piece of cloth tied to the oil flask. . . Use this method when there are no friendly troops involved or when you dislike your allies. A direct hit from flaming oil burns for two rounds, causing 2d6 points of damage the first round and 1d6 points of damage in the second" Page 137
HackMaster Basic: Oil cannot be used as a weapon. 
Labyrinth Lord: 1d8 for 2 rounds.
Lamentations of the Flame Princess: 1d4 points of damage. If the damage roll is 4, make a save vs. breath weapon or take 1d4 more damage on next action. If that roll is a 4 as well, character is engulfed in flame, taking 1d8 damage per round. (p. 61)
Neoclassical Geek Revival:  Could not find information about oil damage. 
OSRIC: "A mummy is susceptible to fire as follows: a hit from a torch will deal 1d3 hp damage, a flask of burning oil causes 1d8 hp on the first round and 2d8 hp on the second round, and magical fires deal +1 for each die of damage." (p248 OSRIC - A5 2013 Version)

Pathfinder: Oil burns for 2 rounds and deal 1d3 damage to those within the area.

Swords & Wizardry Complete: 1d4 damage on a successful hit, and 1 more point of damage per round for the next 2 rounds.

Swords & Wizardry Core: see S&W Complete
Tunnels & Trolls: Could not find information about oil damage.

As you can see there are a lot of systems I couldn't find the damage or it there was a ruling on using oil.  If you know it let me know.  One of the more surprising things I found was how HackMaster didn't allow it.  The game that has 142 different fireball spells.  All of a sudden wanted to go realistic with the oil.  Thought that was a bit amusing.  The deadliest is still AD&D.  Devastating weapon. 

These are all the systems I had available on my shelf.  I'm not sure which version of T&T I have.  So if you play and know the rule for another system let me know.  I want to be the definitive place where you can whip a flask of oil and know what to expect.

Vision Factors in Game

Not very often do visual factors come into play in game just to stream line combat.  I think the only time when it has become a factor was in total darkness (as per the spell).  I am not going to get into the special abilities of the different visions.  Maybe this is a human centric discussion or rambling thought. 

Here are some factors that I would see that could come into play, there are probably more, but I won't remember them all.  They will be broken down into categories of penalty.  This is just off the cuff thinking, I have no rules in front of me and no rules behind my back.  This is all out of my ass.  So wash your hands afterwards.

-6 To Rolls
Total Darkness
High Winds

-4 To Rolls
Heavy Smoke
Heavy Rain
Heavy Fog
Sun Glare
Really Drunk

-2 To Rolls
Partcial Darkness
Light Smoke
Light Fog
Snow Glare
Kinda Drunk

-1 To Rolls
Light Rain
Mist


Let me know what you think?  Should I include them or toss them into the bin?  I am not in love with them, but I think a standardized set of conditions with predetermined penalties might be good.  If you think of other conditions let me know.  Now go wash your hands.

Dead or Unconscious

Back in the 80s we all pretty much played the same rules of AD&D.  There were some minor differences from DM to DM, but not so much that you couldn't navigate the game after a few rounds of combat.  The one rule that was pretty standard was the unconscious and death thresholds.  At 0 to -9 you were off to blackout land, but still breathing.  If someone hit -10 or below, some divine assistance was going to be needed.  This gave some leeway if something horrible happened in combat. 

I am generalizing here and I know it's not universal, but it seems that I have been reading that once a character hits 0 hit points he is dead.  Or 0 is unconscious and any negative hit points makes dead people.  I guess I like having more of a range of having someone get knocked out.  I know some games have it where the character only dies when he is negative his constitution score.  Which I like.  Using old school GM tools though I would, depending on how the player died, describe how the downed character is bleeding out, still on fire, the big bug is still chewing on a leg whatever to inform the other players that this player will die if they don't take some sort of action. 

The other reason I like this version is it gives the players a bit of a span to dead with especially at lower levels.  Once in the high levels when you have mages and critters dropping 7d6 damage on you at a shot than your 14 constitution isn't going to assist you as much.

The other reason I like it, even though I am not a huge fan of resurrection, the rule of someone being raised is they will lose a number of constitution points depending on their race.  I thought about making it depending on class, but to me it makes more sense that it would be a racial thing and their ability to with stand an ordeal. 

Off to work I go.  I have a short week this week because of the holidays so I hope to get in some gaming.  Hope everyone else does to.  Have a good one.

The Use of Missile Weapons in Melee Combat

Rob (Bat in the Attic) and I were discussing the use of missile weapons in melee combat. That has occurred in the S&W campaign he is currently running. He said he posted it somewhere and there were many who said no to shooting a bow in close combat. I am one who doesn't see a problem with it. My reasons...

1. Like most retro clones, combat is divided into 10, 6 second segments. More than enough time for an archer or crossbowman to maneuver into a position where he could fire off an effective shot. I would allow them to take a step back and fire off a shot, but if they had no place to step back and was engaged in close combat then no, they would need to attack with a different weapon.

2. I don't like to get too caught up with realistic combat. If mages are launching fireballs, clerics raising the dead then having someone shoot a crossbow or bow at close range shouldn't be too much of a stretch.

I think this simple one space separation rule adds a strategic value to close missile combat.

On a side note the one rule that we currently use for missile weapons is an ACC rating, meaning you get that number to your 'to hit' for aiming. A mechanic borrowed from GURPS. In GURPS it works well because you have to sacrifice a few precious combat rounds to accumulate ACC, but in S&W since they use 6 second segments its just a free + to hit. I would remove that rule from a S&W or retro clone campaign.

The Sleep Spell. To Tweak or Not to Tweak?

In the Swords & Wizardry game I am currently entrenched in, Gmed by Rob from Bat in the Attic infamy, I'm finding this 1st level spell to be overly powerful for my tastes and I am the one casting it. Putting to sleep a room full of goblins is fun, but not very sporting. There is no saving throw. I like the premise of it, but think for a 1st level spell it's a bit too much.

I was thinking of tweaking the sleep spell. Don't throw things at me. Seriously, it's not all that bad. Here is my proposal for the spell. At first level it won't be as effective, but it will grow in power with the magic-user in later levels. A magic-user can only affect creatures of the same hit dice or lower. The number of affected hit dice would be a d4 for every level of the mage. Example, a 2nd level mage is battle same said goblins he rolls 2 d4s get a total of 5 therefore he can knock five little goblins down. Say the mage it ninth level battling a group trolls that have HD 6+3. That mage that could not normally affect them with a sleep spell now rolls 9 d4s, and rolls a total of 24. He can put to sleep 4 trolls.

I go back and forth about allowing a saving throw. I am leaning more to allowing one because there is no reason why there shouldn't be. Pretty much every other spell a player or monster is permitted a saving throw.

So there is my question, to tweak or not to tweak the sleep spell? I like my version because it is still effective and helpful at a low level without being overly powerful (like I believe it is written now) and is still useful at higher levels.

Again, please, don't throw things at me.

Damaged Characters, A Question

This blog is counter intuitive to an old school train of thought, but I've been thinking about damaged characters and how it would affect them. How would a fighter with half his hit points still be able to function as if he were at full hit points? I'm not a fan of making things complicated, but I do like simple rules that reflect some realism. A damaged character is not reflected in any of the Old School various system rules. At least I couldn't find much.

The only rules I've found on the matter are characters that are at 0 hit points or below and varying levels of death; the almost dead, mostly dead and the dead, dead categories. Rufus the fighter is second level and has ten hit points get hit by an orc spear for 5 points of damage. Rufus's hit points are halved. Does he suffer no effects from the strike? Should he have a temporary penalty or one that lasts until he is healed?

I pose this is a question because I am interested in knowing if DMs would use this rule and if players would want it included. I am thinking of a simple version where a character suffers some sort of penalty at half hit points and then a second level of penalties if reduced below a quarter of their hit points. I have nothing developed just throwing it out there to see what sticks or to see if it gets thrown back at me.

Let's Get Drunk

Players and taverns are as standard to fantasy RPGs as the sword and spell. Creative GMs come up with countless types of drinks from a wide variety of sources. But when will a character start to feel comfortably numb, unable to walk a straight line or slur his words? Here is a drinking system I use to check how incapacitated the players become after downing a pint or ten. The following system will be using a d20 approach, but can be easily adapted to fit a 3d6 system.

The first thing that needs to be done is a quick assignment of the strength of the drinks, what I call 'potency level'. I use a 1 to 5 scale, 1 being the weakest. Here is an example list from one of my taverns. This is a casual list and I've tried to reflect real world potency as closely as I can, but there will always be variables and it is a fantasy game so drinking a halfling draught of beer will be a weaker than a potent tankard of dwarven brew and both will be more potent than a Bud or Pabst.
Homebrew Beer (1)
Stout Halfling Beer (2)
Mead (3)
Blackberry Wine (2)
Purple Haze Spirits (5)

Each drink is assigned a potency level in parentheses. A rule of thumb I use is for every 5 points of health or constitution the player gets 1 free potency level he does not need to roll against. So a character with a 15 constitution could throw back his first mead without needing to roll. Or, he could throw back two stout Halfling beers and only have to roll against 1 potency level.

To make save vs. the alcohol and give the players a chance to drink a lot I reverse their constitution scores and add the potency level to acquire the save roll. So that character with a 15 constitution has to roll against 1 potency level will need to roll a 6 or better. As the player drinks the potency levels are added and after each drink the player must make a save again.
When the player fails he will start to roll on the tables below. Each section has three stages. If the player fails his save by 5 or more or rolls on the same section twice then that player goes to stage two. A failure of ten or more or rolls on the same section three times requires the player to go to stage three. This system allows the player to be on various levels at the same time. That is until he passes out from a jolly good time.

1-4 Table 1a: Talking (d6)
1-2 Stammers and slurs his words. Any skill, including spells that requires talking is reduced by 3 each time this is rolled. At stage three the player is completely incoherent and cannot use skills or spells that require talking.

3-4 The player talks a lot. Brags about things he's done and hasn't. There is a chance he will let a secret slip. His reaction roll is penalized by 2 at each level. At stage three the alcohol acts as a truth serum and any question asked to the player must be answered truthfully.

5-6 Player gets verbally aggressive and will argue with others over the simplest of things. At stage two the player will insult others, even friends. At stage three the player verbally threatens others. He may not act on the threats, but the player will get nose to nose and start shouting. Each time this is rolled the player gets -3 to reaction rolls.

5-8 Table 1b: Physical (d6)
1-2 Player is having trouble walking. At the first level the player staggers, but can keep his balance on his own and minimize his running into people. At the second level the player needs assistance to stay standing and falls down frequently. At the third level the player cannot walk. He will need to be moved by others.

3-4 Player gets touchy feely. At the first level the player slaps people on the back, grabs an arm or pokes them in the chest to make a point. At the second level the player puts his arm around others and will try to kiss a barmaid. He's getting those beer goggles on so appearance does not become a factor. At the third level the player is in the 'I love you man' phase and tries to hug people. He will continue to try and kiss the barmaid and won't notice that she is thumping him in the side of the head with an empty tankard. Players at this level the player does not have beer goggles, but blinders and could wake up with anyone or anything for that matter.

5-6 Player is getting aggressive. He will shove people who get in his way trying to start a fight. At the second level the player will just start the fight and slug who ever annoys him, but the player is still aware enough to know what is going on so if a bouncer or guards come in they can stop if they choose. In the third stage the player gets lethal and doesn't care. He wants his target down. He will continue to attack even after his target is unconscious or dead. If someone tries to stop him the player will attack the person interfering.

9-0 Table 1c: Unconsciousness
There are no rolls in this category just three stages of the save failure.

Stage One: Blackout. The player no longer has control of his character. For gaming purposes the character wakes up the next morning or afternoon and has no memory of the night before. The GM can really have fun with this situation.

Stage Two: The player passes out where ever he is. He will be unaware of anything going on around him. For one 1d6 hours the player must be forcefully woken up and will only stay awake for a short period of time. The player is unable to defend himself.

Stage Three: The player passes out and retches in his sleep. He must make a save vs. Constitution or be start choking. Someone will need to save the player if he fails or death can occur. There is also a chance the player could go into a coma and be brain damaged. It's up to the GM's discretion how far and severe they wish to take this. I've only had a player roll once for this because he was slipped a 'Mickey' (see 'Mickey ' rule below).

Some of the stages contradict one another, but that just goes with being with the erratic behavior of being drunk. This is a great opportunity for players to do some role playing. The GM should make sure to toss the player some extra XP if they can role play a drunk cleric who is looking for a fight while in 'I love you man' mode.

The 'Mickey' Rule: Someone has slipped something into the player's drink to incapacitate them. This would be a straight save vs. poison with a penalty of the potency level. If the player fails he immediately goes to the unconscious table and the severity is determined by the failure of the save.

Hangover:
All that frolicking and fun has a cost. Hangovers can be cured instantly by a cure poison spell or potion. Those are the only sure hang over remedies. Otherwise the player will suffer a hangover for the number of hours equal to the total potency level they drank the night before. While the hangover is in effect the player will suffer penalties to almost everything they do. I use the 5 rule here also. For every 5 levels of potency the player drank is -1 to all the player's skills for the duration. A GM can have local hangover remedies that can reduce a number of potency levels, but only one remedy will work at one time so the player cannot stack them. So if Edward the Farmer drank 10 potency levels the night before he's going to have a banger for 10 hours and -2 to all he does. If he drinks his father's remedy it reduces the potency level by 2. Now Edward will be hung-over for only 8 hours and be -1 to all he does.