Technical Difficulties

Its been a few weeks since I posted anything here, and I do have a reply/download issue with the blog, so I am addressing both problems right now.

First of all, if you cannot reply to the blog, I really must apologize. I am sure I set this sucker up to allow everyone to reply, but like facebook, it appears I must continuously twiddle with the controls to keep it on the straight & narrow.

Disclaimer: I'll say this about myself right now: I am not an expert with computers, html, or web design in general. I drive for a living, so I don't have the opportunity to do anything - apart from drive when I'm at work. Bless the geeks who can while they work!  I use a Linux OS because its user-friendly up to a point, and then (like every Windows or Mac user) you actually have to stretch yourself and learn something new.

For those of you who are experiencing a lot of problems with downloading the current version of Levels Beyond Basic and the Reference Sheets, email me at -- rgweber67 (at) gmail (dot) com. I'll send it to you that way.

Version 7 will be uploaded for your downloading pleasure within minutes or hours after I post this. More minor cosmetic changes, but now there is a clear division of sections: Additions & Corrections, Character Classes, Demi-Human Races, Equipment & Encumbrance, The Combat Encounter, and Magic. I'm not sure if its my laptop that's feeling a bit wonky lately, or if its another issue with Libre 3 - the Linux installed odt writer, which is part of the LibreOffice package that mimics Microsoft's Office Word related programs.

The thing is, once any odt gets to around 100 pages in any other format but single column, its easy to throw it out of whack, although I admit that having over 100 tables may have something to do with it. Adding pictures will immediately crash it, and in one instance, I could not re-open the document. I lost everything I had written, but a friend had a copy of my work so far, and sent me a text version of it, allowing me to start over from scratch. 

At this point, it may be easier for me to whack off the Magic section and cut the document nearly in half. The Magic section will be its own separate book, but still part of the LBB.

IF you know of another office 'suite' of programs that is directly compatible with Linux/Ubuntu, mimics Microsoft's Office suite, and does not have the problems that LibreOffice does, please tell me where to find it, and how to install it. The original office suite that came with my first Ubuntu OS install was vastly superior, but the kind programmers who do work for all free Linux products dropped support for it, and I can't find it anywhere. (That's not completely true; the last time I searched for it was a couple years ago, and a new search right now may uncover it!)

What the hell was it called?

My run on my neighbor's wifi router will soon come to a close, and I'll be back to making guerrilla posts from the coffee shop across the street. Not that I was particularly productive on my blog since getting internet connection here in my apartment, as it was always too easy to get sucked into facebook, or the entire Red Dwarf collection on youtube. 

There is no excuse really, and just think of all the online job apps I could've filled out while sitting here at home! (Ever try to apply for a job somewhere else - and even though you brought an accordion folder full of vital info, you still forgot something at home! This is why its so hard for me to fill out apps online when I'm NOT at home, but thats a different story. 

Oh! Look at the time! /rant

Dragonsfoot Link

I must apologize for my clumsy blog skills. Apparently I have to do something with the link, rather than cut&paste, so I will try to get a working link up here:

http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69952&p=1625288#p1625288

Edit: No dice. I seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. Please adjust my XP to reflect this encounter. :(

Either Blogger sucks at making permalinks, my Linux/Ubuntu OS is having problems interfacing with Firefox, or I have connectivity issues. Maybe all of the above...

Re-Rolling All Hit Dice Every Level

From a 1st Edition AD&D Dragonsfoot thread: http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=69952&p=1625288#p1625288

It was noted by some members that the wording in 0e's "Men & Magic" concerning the accumulated hits of PCs might require players to re-roll their hit dice every time they gain a level. Apparently, this is a standing rule in Empire of the Petal Throne, but I have never read those rules, so I can only take it on faith that a lot of someone's aren't pulling my chain.

There are two ways to look at this interpretation of the rule, if used this way:
1 - The re-rolled hits stand, and PCs may wind up with fewer hits at their current level than when they rolled their hits on previous levels.
2 - The group may decide that no PC can lose hits when re-rolling, either standing pat at their current hits (even after re-rolling) or the PC is entitled to gain at least 1 hit if the re-rolled total is less than the previous level's re-roll for hits.
 

I've experimented with this house ruling, and the players I had at the time (5 or 6 years ago) hated it. Well, all but one adventurous player hated it. The player who actually liked the idea suggested the second caveat above.
 

Now, I think about the bell curve and the general law of averages when rolling dice, and I don't have any scientific evidence to back me up, but I think it is more likely to roll higher numbers when rolling a handful of dice every level than it is to roll a single die and adding it to the accumulated total.

I am looking to adding this variant to my house rules, so any feedback on the subject, pro or con is welcome!

Levels Beyond Basic assumes 4 related rules when considering hit points:
1 - Characters use the Hit Dice based on class from Greyhawk and Holmes.
2 - Monsters use Hit Dice from Greyhawk and Holmes.
3 - Weapons cause damage according to type from Greyhawk
4 - Monsters cause damage according to type from Greyhawk and Holmes

If the hit point determination method above is offered as a variant rule in Levels Beyond Basic, how would it affect the game with the 4 related rules? Would it offer players a chance to get better hits over time, or would it add an unnecessary level of danger to PCs with low hits?

Counter Spell Revised

Counterspells are part of my house rules that I've started to collect in a document that I call "Levels Beyond Basic", or "LBB". Each class has a few other abilities that I'll eventually post here. The first one I'm detailing is Counterspells, posted earlier last night right before I went to bed.

This version is a bit tighter, and now only available to Magic-Users. It still isn't as perfect as I think it can be, but as I'm ready to go to work, I'll post it now and let you guys take a crack at it. :)

Only Magic-Users can counterspell. A magic-user of higher level than his or her opponent can successfully counter a spell on a roll of 8 or better on 2d6. A magic-user of equal level as his or her opponent successfully counters a spell on a roll of 9 or better on 2d6. A magic-user of lower level than his or her opponent casting a spell must roll 10 or better on 2d6.

The countering magic-user must sacrifice an uncast spell to counterspell, but the magic-user suffers a -1 to Dex for initiative, as does any magic-user casting a spell gets a -1 to Dex equal to the spell level. A lower level spell sacrificed may counter a cast spell of higher level on a roll of 10 or better on 2d6.

Devices using charges; i.e., wands, staves, rods, that cast spells (spell-storing items such as necklaces or amulets included) may be used to counter a spell, but the device using Magic-User is not penalized against his or her Dexterity for determining initiative, but the device must be in hand. Using a device to counter a spell uses one charge, and counters a spell on a roll of 9 or better on 2d6.

Magic-users may only counter one spell per combat round if there is combat, or one spell every turn if there is no combat taking place. The countering magic-user may not cast any spells in the round or turn that a counter spell is performed. Spells cast from memory, scrolls, or spell books may be countered. Clerical spells may not be countered by magic-users. Spell-like effects that are activated by a device or weapon may not be countered unless a counterspell effect like the Rod of Cancellation is used.

Countering spells is not a magical effect or spell, rather it is anti-magical in nature, and consists of the Magic-User performing somatic gestures, uttering words and applying substances that cancel magical effects. A Dispell Magic spell or activated item with dispelling effects cancels the effects of a counter spell action.

Old School Skills, Feats & Counterspells

One reason why I moved back to Holmes, 0e, AD&D & BX is the simplicity of the system, especially when it concerns character abilities and skills.  Holmes, 0e, and BX never had a skill system that we would recognize as official, but it was AD&D that first led us down the skill path by offering "Secondary Skills", and eventually "Proficiencies". The BECMI sets called them "General Skills" and "Weapon Mastery".

I don't want to get into the mechanics of each system, aside from stating that 0e, Holmes, early AD&D and BX had all the skill system it needed with the Bend Bars/Lift Gates, Listen and Detect Secret Door checks. I also won't touch on the Thief Skills, as these are clearly a class ability, just as casting spells for Magic-Users and Turning Undead for Clerics, but I will say that this leaves the wide choice of weapons and armor and Hit Dice as the Fighter's class ability.

Now the problem lies with enticing "modern" D&D players that a D&D system is just as complete without Skills or Feats. The problem is, according to one old school gamer, is that skills and feats should be clearly defined as to what characters can and cannot do in the game, because players will take advantage of any loophole found in an incomplete system and gain an unfair advantage over the referee and disrupt the scenario, or, as some like to call it: "Game Balance".

Game Balance is a slippery slope topic of its very own, and I won't go into that here either. What I want to call attention to is how a D&D game without skills is still just as complete as a game with every skill and feat system that is clearly defined in the rules, if not more so.

As a player in our old group's semi-weekly AD&D 2e game, I was often stymied by "Captain Shirk" (our DM) when I would declare an action for my PC, only to have him ask me if I had any relevant proficiencies. I would scan my sheet and invariably answer in the negative - and he would usually tell me that I had slim to no chance of successfully performing the declared action. After several sessions of this, I became thoughtful of the skill/feat/proficiency system, and came to two conclusions:
1) If your character doesn't have a particular skill/feat/proficiency, the majority of players and DMs believe that certain actions will nearly always fail when attempted, and the only sure-fire way of being successful, or even having a slim chance at success is to have that particular skill/feat/proficiency.
2) This particular interpretation of the rules was never intended to limit players or their characters, it was intended to enhance their choices when it comes to role-playing.

So far as my experience with D&D goes, I've always felt that my characters that never had one single skill/feat/proficiency written down on the character sheet had a lot more freedom to act according to the situation than a character that was 'limited' by having a short list of the things he was allowed to do.

Anything the character wanted to attempt could be decided solely on referee decision, and a simple die roll, usually on a d6, d20 or d%. In many groups, an Ability Check is considered the standard practice for determining success or failure to performing any undefined action not covered in the rules, and I prefer it that way.

Of course, I have a mental list of what each character can succeed at more readily than others based on race or class. Fighters know how to fight with anything they pick up, even if its a radical design of a known weapon. Thieves know who to contact in town to fence loot. Dwarves never lose direction underground, even after regaining consciousness. Elves talk to trees. Most times, the trees don't have the capability to talk back, but if the party is going through a forest with an elf, a reaction bonus from an Ent is sure handy. Hobbits can cook, and can even take the skimpiest ingredients to make a stew that is somewhat passable. At least the other characters won't get food poisoning or starve. Clerics can Turn Undead, and once they reach 2nd level can cast any Divinely given spells allowable at their level without having to memorize it. Magic-Users can use magic items that other classes aren't allowed to, and can activate the abilities of weapons and items they aren't allowed to use as weapons, and they can counter spells.

Based on Chainmail's Counterspell rules, a magic-user of higher level than his or her opponent can successfully counter a spell on a roll of 6 or better on 2d6. A magic-user of equal level as his or her opponent successfully counters a spell on a roll of 7 or better on 2d6. A magic-user of lower level than his or her opponent casting a spell must roll 8 or better on 2d6. The countering magic-user can add a bonus to the die roll by sacrificing any uncast spells, adding 1 to the roll for every level of spell sacrificed this way.

Magic-users may only counter one spell per combat round if there is combat, or one spell every turn if there is no combat taking place. The countering magic-user may not cast any spells in the round or turn that a counter spell is performed. Spells cast from memory, scrolls, or spell books may be countered. Clerical spells may not be countered by magic-users, or vice versa. Spell-like effects that are activated by a device or weapon may not be countered unless a counterspell effect like the Rod of Cancellation is used.

Clerics may counter clerical spells as defined above.

Countering spells is not a magical effect or spell, rather it is a magic canceling set of gestures, actions, movement, or words used in conjunction with each other. A Dispell Magic spell or activated item with dispelling effects beats, or cancels the effects of a counter spell action.