Author: everloss

I'm a dude that writes about stuff on the internet.

Wizards of the Coast and the OGL

 This is my response to this thread here. I was going to post it there but I took too long writing and got logged out or something.

These are my thoughts, written pretty much as I thought them.

So, why didn’t WotC look at the market, determine there was value in previous editions, and cater to those consumers?

WotC made the OGL to keep DnD alive and free from the corporate masters. Everyone seems to be in agreement about that.
That doesn’t mean that WotC couldn’t continue publishing official product for earlier editions. Or system neutral product. Or product for the current edition with conversion notes in the back. Before 3rd edition, they knew there were fans of 2nd edition that wouldn’t convert. They knew there were fans of 1st edition that wouldn’t convert. They knew there were fans of Basic/BECM/BX/whateverthefuck that wouldn’t convert.

That’s money. That’s money they willingly left on the table and turned their back on.

I mean, they tried to make money by what… pulling legal pdf copies of old product? Re-releasing the original books in crap-format for $300? Retconning and rewriting settings beloved by fans? Insulting the intelligence of DnD fans with the marketing of every new edition they’ve put out? Almost every thing they’ve done has pushed away customers towards competitors.

Honestly, what awesome must-have products has DnD of any edition put out in the last 20 years? Cause to me, it all seems like committee-written, bland, lowest common denominator, overpriced garbage. It’s the Black Eyed Peas of role playing games. The difference between a record company and Hasbro is that a record company uses the Black Eyed Peas’ commercial success to offset the smaller, more experimental, and groundbreaking artists they publish. Hasbro doesn’t do that. In fact, one could probably surmise that Hasbro uses more popular products to offset the cost of publishing DnD – which is really stupid, considering the previously stated, “committee-written, bland, lowest common denominator, overpriced garbage.”

It’s pretty obvious Hasbro cares mainly about the IP, not the product itself. If it did, WotC would have more than 3 full time employees in the DnD division. But that’s because there isn’t a whole lot of money to be made in RPGs. But with a classic brand, you can license out the IP for more financially lucrative endeavors like video games.

Thoughts on Shields Shall be Splintered

The original is at Trollsmyth’s page here.

It’s a wonderful rule and I’ve incorporated it into LotFP games in the past. I wrote a previous post about shields and armor, with different shield sizes and materials. Wood can be sacrificed once, metal can be sacrificed twice. I am thinking about changing that though. Both can be sacrificed once, but metal shields give a bonus of +2 melee AC and +2 ranged AC, as opposed to the +1/+2 of a wood shield. The idea being that a metal shield will allow fewer things to go through; much like leather armor and plate armor cover the same amount of body area, but the material of plate gives it a much higher armor class.

Anyway, back to Shields Shall be Splintered…

Looking through the comments though, I got some ideas.

  • Why can’t armor be sacrificed in the same way?
  • Can you use the rule to block damage from any attack? Like a giant throwing a huge boulder that would realistically squish you completely?
  • Since the shield already adds to your AC, why should it also block damage? 

So, to address the first point, allow armor to be sacrificed. That helps to get rid of the armor the player character has had for the last 10 years of game time through hundreds of battles and a half dozen levels. It makes armor more than just an after thought, same as it does for the shield.

The second point, is simple; GM fiat. That’s the GM’s job after all; to adjudicate situations. In the aforementioned example, I would say no, you can’t sacrifice your shield or armor to block that attack.

Third point is the trickiest and least likely to be incorporated; just an idea I’m bouncing in my head. Instead of simply blocking damage, a shield or armor can be sacrificed to turn a critical hit into a regular hit.  This would not be applicable to sneak attacks or backstabs, as the person being attacked is surprised.

Yon Ape Men Update and Addtitional Material

This is not only a revision of the previous post about the Yon Gorilla People, but has added content in the form of NPC stats, and a separate sub-class of cleric, exclusive to the species.

Yon, or Ape-men, are a species who have created their own civilization in the vast forest that bears their name, the Yonwood.

The yon live on platforms built high up in the trees; trees that grow 100+ feet high with trunks a dozen feet thick.

Physically, they are slightly larger on average than humans, with longer arms than legs, and a fur covered body. Some tribes shave parts of their body and put on body paint, some shave and cover their skin in tattoos. Generally, only warriors shave, and then only shave the parts that would be covered by armor.

Yon wear armor made of giant insect shells; namely beetles and mantis. Full suits of armor are too restrictive, hot, and unwieldy for the furred, tree dwelling species, so armor consists of breastplates, helms, bracers, and wooden shields. These are considered half-suits from the armor rules here.

Their largest export to human realms is honey cultivated from the hives of Giant Bees. Yon beekeepers are able to produce honey with incredible properties. The knowledge to do this is considered a gift from the Yon god, Oogam. Yon beekeepers are shamans with limited cleric powers.

The Yon worship, or at least recognize, a single god who they call Oogam. Oogam is benevelent and provided the Yon with gifts of knowledge and civilization. Oogam has a malevolent counterpart called Boogab, who is the god of the Carnivorous Apes – uncivilized, evil creatures who constantly war with the Yon.

Forged metal items are greatly prized, as the Yonwood is devoid of mines and forges. Favorite weapons are clubs, spears, and blowguns with poisoned darts.

Yon Player Characters use the following:

Warrior

  • Hit Points: d10 + Constitution modifier.
  • Encumbrance as Dwarf: five additional slots before taking an encumbrance point.
  • Combat Options: Same as Fighter.
  • Skill bonuses: +1 to Open Doors and Bushcraft, +2 Climb. An additional +1 to these three skills at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16.
  • Damage bonus: Yon are stronger than humans and in addition to their bonus to Open Doors, they have a +1 to melee damage.
  • Can wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one handed.  
  • Saves as Fighter
  • Experience Points and leveling up are the same as Dwarf. 
  • Alignment: Yon Warriors are Neutral

Shaman

  • Hit Points: d6 + Constitution
  • Encumbrance is standard.
  • Combat Options are standard for non-fighters.
  • Skill Bonuses: +2 Bushcraft, +2 Climb. Additional +1 at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16
  • Saves as Cleric
  • Choose or roll 3 level one spells from the Yon Spell list. Choose one additional spell every level of experience. Spells available are 1/2 the level of the Shaman, rounding up.
  • Spells cost 2 HP per level of the spell.
  • Wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one-handed.
  • Experience Points as Elf
  • Alignment: Yon Shamans are Lawful.

Non-Player Characters

Yon NPCs who follow Oogam use the following:

  • Armor Class: as leather with shield
  • Hit Dice/Hit Points: d8
  • Saves as 0 level Fighter
  • Number of Attacks: 1 with weapon
  • Combat bonus: +1 to hit, +1 damage in melee
  •  Size: Large (8ft tall)
  • Weapons: Great Club, Spear, Blowgun with Poison dart (1 HP dart, save vs petrification)
  • For every 8 Yon warriors, there will be a Captain of 3 HD.
  • For every 36 Yon warriors, there will be a Shaman of 4 HD (d6) with 4 spells from the Yon Shaman spell list. 

 NPCs who follow Boogab have the following changes

  • Patrols are a mixture of Yon Warriors and Carnivorous Apes in an equal ratio.
  • For every 8 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 3 HD with 3 spells.
  • For every 36 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 5 HD with 5 spells.
  • For every 64 Warriors/Apes, there will be one Shaman of 7 HD with 7 spells.

Spells of the Yon Gorilla People

Yon player characters have limited access to magic spells. These spells reflect their culture, religion, and environment.

Yon are gifted a single spell every level of experience from their god, Oogam. The exact spell is rolled randomly or chosen, but the maximum level of the spell is half the level of the caster, rounding up.

Yon magic costs 2 Hit Points per level of the spell. Magic is draining and tiring to the caster. A level 1 spell will cost 2 hit points, a level 2 spell will cost 4 hit points, and level 3 will cost 6 hit points, and so on. There is no limit to the number of times a day spells can be cast, other than hit points.

The following list contains the spells available to the Yon character. Spells with descriptions are new, spells without description are from the LotFP Rules & Magic book (Grindhouse edition). Yon have a close relationship with Giant Bees, using honey and wax for a variety of uses.

Spell Level One

  1. Melt Bee’s Wax: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. The caster can instantly melt bee’s wax in their hand, or within a hand held container.
  2. Bee’s Wax Glue: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. Turns bee’s wax into a powerful adhesive and sealant, able to glue together most types of material. 
  3. Bless
  4. Detect Evil/Good
  5. Protection from Evil/Good
  6. Purify/Spoil Food and Drink
  7. Light
  8. Comprehend Languages
  9. Feather Fall
  10. Mending
  11. Message
  12. Sleep

Spell Level Two

  1. Friend of Bees: Range: Self. Duration: One ten minute Turn per level of the caster. Bees of all types (but not wasps or other stinging insects) regard the caster as a friend and will not attack. They will allow the caster access to their hive and to remove wax and honey. 
  2. Create Candy: Range: Touch. Duration: Permanent. Caster can create hardened candy out of honey. Great for sore throats and a variety of other common ailments. Can turn up to one pound of honey into candy per level of experience.
  3. Cure Light Wounds
  4. Delay Poison
  5. Heroism
  6. Resist Cold
  7. Silence
  8. Detect Invisible
  9. Force of Forbidment
  10. Speak With Animals
  11. Wall of Fog
  12. Wizard Lock – uses bee’s wax as a component.

Spell Level Three

  1. Bless Food: Range: 10 feet. Duration: Permanent. Blessed food is impervious to spoiling magic and doubles the length of time that the food would spoil normally.
  2. Seal Wound: Range: Touch. Duration: Instant. The caster uses melted bee’s wax to seal open wounds. This will stop bleeding and stabilize a wounded individual. The wounded person also heals an additional hit point every 24 hours. 
  3.  Dispel Magic
  4. Magic Vestment
  5. Remove Curse
  6. Sacrifice
  7. Army of One
  8. Gust of Wind
  9.  Light, Continual
  10. Locate Object
  11. Speak With the Dead
  12. Turn Undead

Spell Level Four

  1. Honey Medicine: Range: Touch. Duration: Permanent. Turns honey candy (level 2 spell) into medicinal lozenges. Works the same as Cure Disease and heals d6 Hit Points.
  2. Detect Lie
  3. Divination
  4. Neutralize Poison
  5. Protection from Evil, 10ft radius
  6. Spell Immunity
  7. Charm Monster
  8. Protection from Normal Missiles

Spell Level Five

  1. Commune
  2. Cure Serious Wounds
  3. Dispel Evil
  4. Insect Plague
  5. True Seeing
  6. Hold Animal/Monster/Person

Spell Level Six

  1. Find/Lose the Path
  2. Heal
  3. Word of Recall
  4. Legend Lore
  5. Holy Word
  6. Control Weather
Art by Kolsga

    Yon: New Race/Species LotFP

    Yon, or Ape-men, are a species who have created their own civilization in the vast forest that bears their name, the Yonwood.

    The yon live on platforms built high up in the trees; trees that grow 100+ feet high with trunks a dozen feet thick.

    Physically, they are slightly larger on average than humans, with longer arms than legs, and a fur covered body. Some tribes shave parts of their body and put on body paint, some shave and cover their skin in tattoos. Generally, only warriors shave, and then only shave the parts that would be covered by armor.

    Yon wear armor made of giant insect shells. Full suits of armor are too restrictive, hot, and unwieldy for the furred, tree dwelling species, so armor consists of breastplates, helms, bracers, and wooden shields.

    Their largest export to human realms is honey cultivated from the hives of Giant Bees. Yon beekeepers are able to produce honey with incredible properties. The knowledge to do this is considered a gift from the Yon god, Oogam.

    The Yon worship, or at least recognize, a single god who they call Oogam. Oogam is benevelent and provided the Yon with gifts of knowledge and civilization. Oogam has a malevolent counterpart called Oogab, who is the god of the Carnivorous Apes – uncivilized, evil creatures who constantly war with the Yon.

    Forged metal items are greatly prized, as the Yonwood is devoid of mines and forges. Favorite weapons are clubs, spears, and blowguns with poisoned darts.

    Mechanically important information:

    • Hit Points: d10 + Constitution modifier.
    • Encumbrance as Dwarf: five additional slots before taking an encumbrance point.
    • Combat Options: Just standard attack, no others.
    • Skill bonuses: +1 to Open Doors and Bushcraft, +2 Climb. An additional +1 to these three skills at levels 4, 8, 12, and 16.
    • One first level spell. Yon are shamanistic and learn an additional spells as they grow in experience. They cannot be taught spells or learn them through research. These are considered gifts from Oogam. Every new level of experience, the Yon character learns a single spell of level equal to or less than their current level minus one. This spell can be randomly determined (yay) or chosen by the player (boo). Yon have their own spell list to choose from.
    • Damage bonus: Yon are stronger than humans and in addition to their bonus to Open Doors, they have a +1 to melee damage.
    • Can wield giant-sized weapons two-handed, and Great Weapons one handed.  
    • Saves as Fighter
    • Experience Points and leveling up are the same as Elves. 
    • Alignment: Yon are considered Lawful for alignment purposes.

     Here is a picture of a Yon with a human magic user.

    art by Brom

    Warrior 4.0 BFRPG LotFP edition

    The Warrior class combines elements of the classic Fighter, Barbarians, Rangers, Monks, and Knights. The reason for this is because I don’t think individual “prestige” classes are necessary and just make character creation more confusing and difficult, especially for players new to the game or role playing games in general.

    This class gives the player options to build, over time, the character they want.

    Hit Dice: d8
    Saves: As a first level fighter. These do not improve with level; they improve with the following table.
    Bonus to Hit: +1 at first level, and every level after.

    Pick or roll twice from the following list. Do this at first level and every level after.

    1. Weather Resistance:Bonus of +1 to any save against extreme temperature or inclement weather.
    2. Primal Attraction: Use both Charisma and Strength modifiers for Morale and Reaction rolls.
    3. Defensive Stance: +1 to Armor Class, -2 to hit. Re-rolling this gives another +1/-2
    4. No need for armor: You have a +1 to AC and a +1 to damage in melee when you are not wearing armor, other than a helmet and/or shield. Re-rolling this grants an additional +1/+1.
    5. Favored Enemy: Choose an animal, monster, or sentient species. You get a +1 to hit and +1 to damage against that specific type of creature, every time this is rolled. You are also -2 on Reaction rolls with creatures of that type every time this is rolled. You can pick anything from mosquitoes to bears to dragons to humans.
    6. Two-Weapon fighting: You can hit with weapons in both hands. Your off hand has a -2 to hit, with no Strength bonus applicable. Re-rolling this gives a +1 to hit with the off hand.
    7. You have an extra attack/action per round.
    8. Fists of Steel: Your punches and kicks inflict +1 damage
    9. Increase Hit Die by one type. In other words, your d8 is now a d10. Hit points are not re-rolled.
    10. Intimidate: +1 to Charisma checks to instill fear against others. Intimidated opponents will cower or flee.
    11. Attribute Bonus: +1 to any attribute, up to species maximum.
    12. Save Bonus: +1 to all saves.
    13. Bonus of +1 to a skill. So instead of 1 in 6, you have a 2 in 6.
    14. Taunt: +1 to Charisma checks to taunt an opponent. Taunted opponents will attack against their own better judgement. Taunting counts as a non-attack action.
    15. Ranged Bonus: Pick a specific ranged weapon type (short bow, heavy crossbow, sling, etc). You can attack twice as fast with that weapon. Re-rolling means 3x as fast.
    16. Use two-handed weapon one handed. If re-rolled, you can wield a two-handed weapon in your off hand, as well.
    17. Mounted bonus: You have a +1 bonus to damage with melee weapons while mounted, and can ride without a saddle or gear with no penalty. +1 damage whenever this is re-rolled.
    18. Berserker Rage: When angry, you can enter into a trance-like state of fury. This grants a +2 to hit and damage, but a -4 to AC. The trance lasts for your Constitution in rounds, or until every living thing in sight is dead. Re-rolling this grants a +4 to hit and damage, but a -8 to AC.
    19. Offensive Stance: +1 to hit, -2 AC. Re-rolling this gives another +1/-2
    20. Animal Domination: With a Reaction roll you can befriend a wild animal who will now act as a retainer. The animal can not have been attacked by you or your allies in the past. Asking the animal to risk harm to itself requires another reaction roll. Failure means it will run away. Only one animal can be dominated at a time. Re-rolling this means an additional animal can be dominated. 

    Skills and Saving Throws

    I’m always trying to think of ways to streamline and simplify rules and mechanics. Well, that’s not really true, usually I’m trying to think of something else (Should gorilla-men who live in treehouses and dump their waste to the forest floor have any special immunities or bonuses to save against the spores and disease of the fungus-people who collect the waste?) and then I get on a mental tangent and spend the rest of the day wondering why only Thieves have skills and why they are use a percentage die system while every other dice mechanic in the damn game is a d6 or d20.

    More systems means more complication and more distractions during the game as players stop and ask which die they roll for a particular thing, and I find that terribly annoying. On the other hand, using a single die or mechanic for every single thing is boring and usually ends up with dice pools and all the bullshit and headaches that entails.

    I like to keep it simple, yet interesting.

    So I was thinking about the Prime attribute system in Castles and Crusades. It was created to simplify saving throws and skills by making them attribute checks. A Prime atribute means you have to roll 12 or better, a Secondary attribute means you have to roll an 18 or better. The GM also has modifiers (difficulty levels) that they can throw at your roll but that’s the gist of it.

    The problem is that I’ve run Castles and Crusades before, and the players were constantly confused as to which attribute was prime and what they roll and what their bonus was and… the campaign fizzled. I thought maybe it was my fault, I didn’t explain the system well enough… blaming myself, really.

    It wasn’t me though. The SIEGE system (what C&C calls their mechanic) is cluncky and weird and doesn’t work all that well when you look at it closely.

    Sure, some skill might be under one of your Prime attributes, but since you’re the wrong class, you don’t get to add your level to it. Or, you are the right class, but you don’t have the right Prime attribute so you suck at something you should be good at. And why does every system want to front-load badassness into every character at 1st level? I remember back in the day all these hipster scumbags shitting on Rifts for front-loading characters and now every game does it. First level characters should be shit, and they should become slightly less shit as they gain experience.

    Especially if you aren’t playing a superhero RPG.

    When is someone going to publish a perfect system that I won’t have to rewrite?

    Anyway… here is Saves and Skills

    I believe characters should be built over time, hence the entire point of experience points and levels. Some games and players don’t use xp or levels. This isn’t for you.

    Saving throws

    Basically the same as C&C, but the terminology is removed because it is unnecesary.

    To save, roll 18 or higher on a d20. Include all applicable modifiers. The GM (me) can add modifiers to indicate the difficulty of the situation. For example, the HD of a spellcaster is added to the dificulty of any saves against that spellcaster’s magic. Or an invisible trap will be harder to detect than an obvious hole in the ground.

    If your character is a…

    • Warrior: You get +6 to Strength based saves
    • Magic User: You get +6 to either Intelligence or Wisdom saves (Player’s choice)
    • Specialist: You get +6 to Dexterity based saves

     All characters get to choose two other attributes. The saves from each of these attributes have a bonus of +3.

    Every level your character goes up, you get a +1 to ALL saves.

    Skills

    Skills doesn’t just mean the special skills of the specialist. Skills are pretty much anything not covered by a saving throw. For that reason, I’m not including a skill list.

    To successfully roll a skill, you have to roll an 18 or higher on a d20.

    Warriors and Magic Users focus on fighting and magic. Therefore they are not as adept at things not involving those two things.

    • Warriors and Magic Users add attribute modifiers to applicable skills.
    • This gives Warriors and Magic Users a 10% chance of success at first level, not including attribute bonuses.
    • Warriors and Magic Users have the possibility of selecting a “Class Skill,” which gives a particular skill the bonus of +1 per level of the character.

    Specialists are all about skills. That’s the strength of the class!

    • Specialists receive a +3 to all skills, in addition to applicable attribute modifiers
    • Specialists receive a bonus of +1 per level of the character to all skills.
    • This gives the Specialist a 25% chance of success at first level, not including attribute bonuses.

    Special note about Languages

    • Regardless of class, the Intelligence modifier indicates how many languages the character can speak and read, in addition to their native language. 
    • There is no maximum number of Languages a character can know. 
    • The Language skill is used to determine if the character knows a particular language when it is encountered for the first time. It is rolled as any other skill.

    Magic Users 2.5

    Much like the Fighter, I’ve smooshed all the magic classes together into a single class. Except for Illusionists, because I don’t like Illusionists and they have no place in the setting I’m developing. Also Bards. Bards can suck it.

    While the title of this class is Magic User, you can write in whatever you want on your character sheet; Wizard, Cleric, Druid, Summoner, Magus, whatever.  You will notice that Clerics do not automatically know every spell of a given level. Why should they? They need to study and memorize prayers and keep a prayer book just like a Wizard needs to study and memorize spells and keep a spell book.

    Spells will either be condensed into a single list, or players can choose to go with one of the traditional lists. I’m seriously considering incorporating magic Circles from Palladium Fantasy. I think it would add something cool and different. On the other hand, it would also add a level of complexity, which is what I want to avoid. So ignore that bit for now.

    Anyway…

    Prime attribute: Player’s choice of Intelligence or Wisdom
    Hit Die: d4
    Abilities:

    • Starting Spells: 3 level one, 2 level two, 1 level three.
    • Cost to cast: 1 Hit Point per spell level, per level of current Encumbrance.
    • Note about Class Skills: unless chosen/rolled from the list below, the Magic User has a base of 18 on any skill check. Level bonus does not apply, although attribute modifiers do apply.

    Humans choose two of the following abilities every level of experience, non-humans choose one:

      1. Increase Hit Die by one type. So your d4 is now a d6. Hit points are not re-rolled.
      2. Increase a Prime attribute by 1 point, up to racial maximum.
      3. Natural Aptitude: Learn a spell equal or less than your own level. No research needed.
      4. Decrease casting cost by 1 HP, after multiplication. Minimum casting cost of 1 HP. So, if you’re lightly encumbered and have this ability, your cost to cast a spell is 2 HP per spell level, -1. 
      5. Create Scroll (as per LotFP). Roll this again and the cost and time is reduced by 10%
      6. Create Potion (as per LotFP). Same as number 5.
      7. Your hand eye coordination is better than average: +1 to hit.
      8. Enlarge: Range and Area of effect of spells is increased 25%
      9. Power: Duration of spells is increased 25%, and damage is +1
      10. Reach: Spells with a range of Touch can be extended 5 feet from the caster.
      11. Cantrips: Learn two Level 0 spells. These cost 1 HP regardless of encumbrance level.
      12. Saving Throw bonus: +1 to all non-prime saves.
      13. Duck and Move: +1 to Armor Class
      14. Retroactive Magic Detection: Detect magic used in past 24 hours in a 30 square foot area, with a Wisdom check.  Roll this again and you can determine what spell was cast. Roll it again and you can detect if a magical creature or magic user of 5 HD or higher passed through. Roll it any more times and you get a +1 to your attribute check.
      15. You automatically see the aura of any creature of 1 HD or less.  Roll again and this increases to 2 HD or less.
      16. Enchant Object: Magic rings, wands, talismans, etc. Same as number 5.
      17. Pick or roll an ability from the Fighter or Specialist ability lists. This is your chance to multi-class!
      18. Choose a class skill from the following list: Climb (STR), Decipher Script (INT), Listen (WIS), Swim (CON), Move Silently (DEX), Hide (DEX), and Language (INT). Class skills receive a bonus equal to your level, as well as attribute modifiers. 
      19. Choose a 1st level spell that you already know. You can cast this spell 1x per day at no hit point cost. 
      20. Counterspell: When another magic user casts a spell against you, or anyone within 10 feet of you, you can roll a save vs magic to counter it, and send the spell back at its caster. Every time you re-roll this, you get a +1 to your save.

      Fighter 3.5

      The Fighter class combines elements of the classic Fighter, Barbarians, Rangers, Monks, and Knights. The reason for this is because I don’t think individual “prestige” classes are necessary and just make character creation more confusing and difficult, especially for players new to the game or role playing games in general.

      This class gives the player options to build, over time, the character they want.

      Prime Attribute: Strength. Humans pick two more Prime Attributes. Non-humans
      Hit Dice: d8
      Abilities:

      • Bonus to Hit: +1 at first level, and every level after. The Fighter is the only class that gets a bonus to hit every level.
      • If human, pick or roll twice from the following list. Non-humans pick or roll one time.
      • Note about Class Skills: unless chosen/rolled from the list below, the Fighter has a base of 18 on any skill check. Level bonus does not apply, although attribute modifiers do apply.

      1. Weather Resistance: Choose one; Arctic or Desert. Effects from cold or heat are reduced by 10%, rounding up. +10% whenever this is re-rolled or chosen.
      2. Primal Attraction: You can use your Strength attribute instead of Charisma for anything requiring a Charisma check.
      3. Defensive Stance: +1 to Armor Class, -2 to hit. Re-rolling this gives another +1/-2
      4. No need for armor: You have a +2 to AC when you are not wearing armor, other than a helmet and/or shield. Re-rolling this grants an additional +2.
      5. Favored Enemy: Choose an animal, monster, or sentient species. You get a +1 to hit and +1 to damage against that specific type of creature, every time this is rolled. You are also -2 on Charisma checks with creatures of that type every time this is rolled. You can pick anything from mosquitoes to dragons to humans.
      6. Two-Weapon fighting: You can hit with weapons in both hands. Your off hand has a -2 to hit, with no Strength bonus applicable. Re-rolling this gives a +1 to hit with the off hand.
      7. You have an extra attack/action per round.
      8. Fists of Steel: Your punches and kicks inflict +1 damage
      9. Increase Hit Die by one type. In other words, your d8 is now a d10. Hit points are not re-rolled.
      10. Intimidate: +1 to Charisma checks to instill fear against others. Intimidated opponents will cower or flee.
      11. Attribute Bonus: +1 to any Prime attribute, up to species maximum.
      12. Save Bonus: +1 to all non-prime saves.
      13. Choose one of the following as a Class Skill: Climb (STR), Listen (WIS), Swim (CON), Move Silently (DEX), Hide (DEX), Traps (INT), Poison (INT), Survival (WIS), Track (INT), Seamanship (WIS). Class skills take the place of attribute checks; attribute modifiers apply and class level applies. If the associated attribute is Prime, the skill check base is 12, otherwise it is 18.
      14. Taunt: +1 to Charisma checks to taunt an opponent. Taunted opponents will attack against their own better judgement. Taunting counts as a non-attack action.
      15. Ranged Bonus: Pick a specific ranged weapon type (short bow, heavy crossbow, sling, etc). You can attack twice as fast with that weapon. Re-rolling means 3x as fast.
      16. Use two-handed weapon one handed. If re-rolled, you can wield a two-handed weapon in your off hand, as well.
      17. Mounted bonus: You have a +1 bonus to damage with melee weapons while mounted, and can ride without a saddle or gear with no penalty. +1 damage whenever this is re-rolled.
      18. Berserker Rage: When angry, you can enter into a trance-like state. This grants a +2 to hit and damage, but a -4 to AC. The trance lasts for your Constitution in rounds, or until every living thing in sight is dead. Re-rolling this grants a +4 to hit and damage, but a -8 to AC.
      19. Offensive Stance: +1 to hit, -2 AC. Re-rolling this gives another +1/-2
      20. Animal Domination: With a Charisma check at +1, you can befriend a wild animal who will now act as a retainer. The animal can not have been attacked by you or your allies in the past. Asking the animal to risk harm to itself requires another charisma check. Failure means it will run away. Only one animal can be dominated at a time. Re-rolling this means an additional animal can be dominated. 

      Armor and more on Encumbrance

      Because of the specifics of the setting I’m working on, the large list of armors from Castles & Crusades, as well as the very small list of armors from Lamentations of the Flame Princess, do not work for what I want.

      First, about armor and encumbrance. I detailed encumbrance in this post.

      Shields and helmets are considered a standard item, for encumbrance purposes, so they take up a single item slot.

      Helmets: While there are a dizzying array of helmet designs, they fall into the following categories. Helmets provide an AC bonus only against attacks specifying the head. Helmet AC is not added to regular AC. Cost is generic: I haven’t decided to go with a silver or gold standard yet.

      • Leather Cap: +1 AC, cost: 4
      • Metal Pot: +2 AC, cost: 5
      • Helm: +5 AC, cost: 10
      • Great Helm: +7 AC, cost: 20

      Shields: Shields provide two defensive bonuses, and a special defense. The first is against melee attacks, the second is against ranged attacks, and the third is the Shields Will Be Broken Rule. This rule is that a shield may be sacrificed to take the full damage from a single attack. A Modification to the rule allows for the material the shield is made of. Wood shields are unusable after being sacrificed. Metal shields can effectively be sacrificed twice. This rule does not apply to the Buckler, which is too small (you’d be sacrificing your arm).

      • Buckler: +1 AC melee, +1 AC ranged, cost: 2
      • Small Shield: +1 AC melee, +2 AC ranged, cost: 3 wood, 9 steel
      • Medium Shield: +2 AC melee, +3 AC ranged, cost: 5 wood, 15 steel
      • Large Shield: +3 AC melee, +4 AC ranged, cost: 7 wood, 21 steel

      Like any other item, armor uses up an item slot. No matter what kind it is, armor takes up a single item slot. Heavier armor, because of its weight, bulk, and restriction of movement, also has a further penalty.

      There are three basic types of armor, and how they work with encumbrance is as follows:

      • Light Armor fills an item slot.
      • Medium Armor fills an item slot AND a point of encumbrance.
      • Heavy Armor fills an item slot AND two points of encumbrance.

      A half suit, basically covering the chest and torso, or the classic chain/plate bikini, or the bracers/gauntlets, shoulder plates, shin guard combo all work the same, and are considered a half-suit for game purposes.

      • A half suit of Light armor takes up an item slot.
      • Half suit of Medium armor takes up an item slot.
      • Half suit of Heavy armor takes up an item slot, AND fills one point of encumbrance.

      Now, on to specific types of armor available! The armor listed includes the Armor Class bonus for half and full suits, as well as the cost. These are guidelines, but cover most types of armor. While many other types of armor exist, they all effectively fall within these categories and use the same stats.

      Light Armor:

      • Hide or Leather: +1 AC half suit, +2 AC full suit, cost: 5/10
      • Studded Leather: +2 AC half suit, +3 AC full suit, cost: 12/24

      Medium Armor:

      • Chain or Scale: +3 AC half suit, +5 AC full suit, cost: 100/200

      Heavy Armor:

      • Plate: +5 AC half suit, +8 AC full suit, cost: 300/600