I haven't done much with D&DME in a while, as I have been busy with other projects.
The last thing I was working on was the Wizard class. Here's the preliminary Wizard spell list; recall that this is not pure Middle-earth, this is Middle-earth reflected in the D&D carnival mirror...
FIRST LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Cure Light Wounds
2. Detect Evil
3. Detect and Read Magic
4. Feather Fall
5. Hold Portal
6. Light
7. Magic Missile
8. Protection from Evil
9. Purify Food and Drink
10. Remove Fear
11. Shield
12. Sleep
SECOND LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Bless
2. Continual Light
3. Detect Invisible
4. ESP
5. Find Traps
6. Knock
7. Know Alignment
8. Levitate
9. Pyrotechnics
10. Slow Poison
11. Speak with Animals
12. Wizard Lock
THIRD LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Clairaudience/Clairvoyance
2. Cure Blindness/Deafness
3. Cure Disease
4. Cure Serious Wounds
5. Dispel Magic
6. Gust of Wind
7. Lightning Bolt
8. Locate Object
9. Protection from Evil 10’ Radius
10. Protection from Normal Missiles
11. Remove Curse
12. Striking
FOURTH LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Confusion
2. Detect Lie
3. Divination
4. Enchanted Weapon
5. Exorcize
6. Neutralize Poison
7. Wall of Fire
8. Wizard Eye
FIFTH LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Atonement
2. Commune
3. Cure Critical Wounds
4. Dispel Evil
5. Feeblemind
6. Interposing Hand
7. Telekinesis
8. Wall of Force
SIXTH LEVEL WIZARD SPELLS
1. Anti-Magic Shell
2. Enchant an Item
3. Forceful Hand
4. Lower Water
5. Move Earth
6. Part Water
7. Secret Fire
8. Shatter Staff
Note: Wizards cannot reverse spells.
Monday, March 2, 2009
Monday, February 2, 2009
The Reunited Kingdom and the Dagor Dagorath
There will be two main themes running through the campaign: Rebirth of Life and Return of Doom.
With the end of Sauron, the rise of King Elessar, and the sailing of the Ring-Bearers, the Third Age comes to an end and the Fourth Age begins. It is to be the Age of Man, when the human race finally comes into its own. The Elder Races are to finally fade away from the world, Magic fades and dies, and the Dark Races simply give up the ghost and disappear. Or so it is supposed to be... Nothing is guaranteed, and only Eru Iluvatar knows the true fate of the world (and perhaps, too, Manwe and Mandos, but they do not say). To the contrary, the Dark Races have their own prophecies of the future, which are, needless to say, completely counter to those that claim the rise of Men.
The Black Book of the Dagor Dagorath proclaims the eventual return of Melkor, who shatters the Door of Night and returns from the Outer Darkness; the extinguishing of the Sun and Moon and the extermination of elves and dwarves and men (failing of course to mention hobbits at all); and the resurrection of the faithful servants of Melkor and their rule of the world for all eternity. Of course, the White Book of the Light Rekindled has a similar prophecy, but in the end, Morgoth and his followers are defeated by the Valar and heroes of old reborn, and the world shall be remade perfectly with no taint of darkness or evil.
The Dark Cults follow the Black Book, and seek to assist Melkor in returning to the world. They also struggle against the forces of the Reunited Kingdom, as they wish to keep the forces of the Free Peoples in check, allowing them to continue their efforts unhindered. These cults are led by sorcerers, magic-users with dark and terrible powers, whose traditions descend from those taught by Melkor and Sauron in ages passed. Many are Black Numenoreans, who, though no longer found in the North during the later Third Age, were still in found numbers in the South, and are now returning, having no wish for their northern cousins to revive their power. These cults are still fairly weak, in general, and so are a good enemy for lower-level parties. In fact, the small temple and covey of clerics found in the Caves of Chaos in B2: Keep on the Borderlands would be about right for a small cult.
In general, across the lands of Arnor, it is these cults and their associated clans and tribes of goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins (and even of evil men, such as renegade clans of Dunland and other barbarian peoples) who are causing the most trouble for Gondorian colonists trying to rebuild the Northern Kingdom. But, as evil tends to do, they are each as hateful of the other as they are of the Free Peoples, and so their overall power is weak. In time, the forces of King Elessar (his nobles and armies, and especially companies of young heroes) could overcome these cults. But the cults are not the only problems facing the rebirth of the Reunited Kingdom...
With the end of Sauron, the rise of King Elessar, and the sailing of the Ring-Bearers, the Third Age comes to an end and the Fourth Age begins. It is to be the Age of Man, when the human race finally comes into its own. The Elder Races are to finally fade away from the world, Magic fades and dies, and the Dark Races simply give up the ghost and disappear. Or so it is supposed to be... Nothing is guaranteed, and only Eru Iluvatar knows the true fate of the world (and perhaps, too, Manwe and Mandos, but they do not say). To the contrary, the Dark Races have their own prophecies of the future, which are, needless to say, completely counter to those that claim the rise of Men.
The Black Book of the Dagor Dagorath proclaims the eventual return of Melkor, who shatters the Door of Night and returns from the Outer Darkness; the extinguishing of the Sun and Moon and the extermination of elves and dwarves and men (failing of course to mention hobbits at all); and the resurrection of the faithful servants of Melkor and their rule of the world for all eternity. Of course, the White Book of the Light Rekindled has a similar prophecy, but in the end, Morgoth and his followers are defeated by the Valar and heroes of old reborn, and the world shall be remade perfectly with no taint of darkness or evil.
The Dark Cults follow the Black Book, and seek to assist Melkor in returning to the world. They also struggle against the forces of the Reunited Kingdom, as they wish to keep the forces of the Free Peoples in check, allowing them to continue their efforts unhindered. These cults are led by sorcerers, magic-users with dark and terrible powers, whose traditions descend from those taught by Melkor and Sauron in ages passed. Many are Black Numenoreans, who, though no longer found in the North during the later Third Age, were still in found numbers in the South, and are now returning, having no wish for their northern cousins to revive their power. These cults are still fairly weak, in general, and so are a good enemy for lower-level parties. In fact, the small temple and covey of clerics found in the Caves of Chaos in B2: Keep on the Borderlands would be about right for a small cult.
In general, across the lands of Arnor, it is these cults and their associated clans and tribes of goblins, orcs, and hobgoblins (and even of evil men, such as renegade clans of Dunland and other barbarian peoples) who are causing the most trouble for Gondorian colonists trying to rebuild the Northern Kingdom. But, as evil tends to do, they are each as hateful of the other as they are of the Free Peoples, and so their overall power is weak. In time, the forces of King Elessar (his nobles and armies, and especially companies of young heroes) could overcome these cults. But the cults are not the only problems facing the rebirth of the Reunited Kingdom...
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Heroes vs. Rogues
Brunomac had an excellent question about my choice to emphasize a subdual damage rather than lethal damage system for my Dungeons & Dragons of Middle-earth game.
The reasons for this are twofold.
First and simplest, it greatly increases chances of character survival. Even if the whole party is knocked unconscious, I can simply have them wake up captured, rather than make everyone roll new characters, which is the default with B/X games. As this campaign is intended to appeal to non-gamers, I feel that this will greatly help in new player retention.
Second, the campaign is set in Middle-earth, and thus the player characters operate under completely different assumptions than PCs in regular D&D games. Regular D&D characters are, as James Maliszewzki states so eloquently, ne'er-do-wells-on-the-make. With the Middle-earth campaign as I intend to run it, PCs are incipient heroes. Many presume that this is a modern concept, taken to its ultimate (and some say, perverse) conclusion with Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, but it is an idea as old as the Hero with a Thousand Faces.
We do not hear stories of the complete failures, such as the warrior who fell overboard and drowned en route to Troy or the squire whoe died after being gored by a wild boar on the Quest for the Holy Grail. We hear stories of the heroes. Sure, they fail, often terribly and tragically, but they are still the heroes. Heroes do not die from being struck by a stray arrow running through the gauntlet that is Moria; they die standing firm against an onrush of scores of orcs, protecting their charges and attempting, in some small way, to atone for their sins.
The combat system I am kludging together from the B/X system reflects this. Heroes (that is, player characters) and important villains get to use the subdual damage system as the default system, and get a hit point kicker at 1st level, usually equal to their Constitution score. The hit points of the average goblin do not follow the same system; they still have merely 1-1 HD, and when they are hit, damage is lethal (unless the player says he wants to capture the goblin, or unless I determine otherwise).
Unlike, say, 4E, this does not mean that all heroes are going to get the chance to win all the time. Oh no. 1st level characters still suck at most things, and will fail a lot. They still have a long way to go before they can stand side by side with Faramir, Pippen, and Merry, let alone King Elessar (though not too far, as I am capping levels in D&DME at 15th). Even then, with their poor abilities, they stand head and shoulders above the common men of the world, as the vast majority are simple Normal Men. But these young, incipient heroes (or not so young, as is the case with most wizards) have the potential to be great. And the system is designed to enable them to get the chance to be great.
And of course, if they want to play the part of ne'er-do-wells, well, there is room for that, too. Queerer things have been seen and heard in Bree, and the re-founded city of Tharbad is known as a wild and wooly border town of rogues and rangers for good reason...
The reasons for this are twofold.
First and simplest, it greatly increases chances of character survival. Even if the whole party is knocked unconscious, I can simply have them wake up captured, rather than make everyone roll new characters, which is the default with B/X games. As this campaign is intended to appeal to non-gamers, I feel that this will greatly help in new player retention.
Second, the campaign is set in Middle-earth, and thus the player characters operate under completely different assumptions than PCs in regular D&D games. Regular D&D characters are, as James Maliszewzki states so eloquently, ne'er-do-wells-on-the-make. With the Middle-earth campaign as I intend to run it, PCs are incipient heroes. Many presume that this is a modern concept, taken to its ultimate (and some say, perverse) conclusion with Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition, but it is an idea as old as the Hero with a Thousand Faces.
We do not hear stories of the complete failures, such as the warrior who fell overboard and drowned en route to Troy or the squire whoe died after being gored by a wild boar on the Quest for the Holy Grail. We hear stories of the heroes. Sure, they fail, often terribly and tragically, but they are still the heroes. Heroes do not die from being struck by a stray arrow running through the gauntlet that is Moria; they die standing firm against an onrush of scores of orcs, protecting their charges and attempting, in some small way, to atone for their sins.
The combat system I am kludging together from the B/X system reflects this. Heroes (that is, player characters) and important villains get to use the subdual damage system as the default system, and get a hit point kicker at 1st level, usually equal to their Constitution score. The hit points of the average goblin do not follow the same system; they still have merely 1-1 HD, and when they are hit, damage is lethal (unless the player says he wants to capture the goblin, or unless I determine otherwise).
Unlike, say, 4E, this does not mean that all heroes are going to get the chance to win all the time. Oh no. 1st level characters still suck at most things, and will fail a lot. They still have a long way to go before they can stand side by side with Faramir, Pippen, and Merry, let alone King Elessar (though not too far, as I am capping levels in D&DME at 15th). Even then, with their poor abilities, they stand head and shoulders above the common men of the world, as the vast majority are simple Normal Men. But these young, incipient heroes (or not so young, as is the case with most wizards) have the potential to be great. And the system is designed to enable them to get the chance to be great.
And of course, if they want to play the part of ne'er-do-wells, well, there is room for that, too. Queerer things have been seen and heard in Bree, and the re-founded city of Tharbad is known as a wild and wooly border town of rogues and rangers for good reason...
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Hit Points, Wounds, and Healing
Hit Points
In FOME, player characters and specific Villains start with a larger pool of hit points than normal. Hit points at 1st level are equal to an ability score, plus the roll of a hit die, plus Constitution modifier. The ability score is either Constitution or another ability score, whichever is higher, depending on class:
Class (Ability)
Burglar (Dexterity)
Druid (Intelligence)
Dwarf (Strength)
Elf (Strength or Intelligence)
Fighter (Strength)
Healer (Wisdom)
Hobbit (Highest Ability)
Knight (Charisma)
Magician (Intelligence)
Paladin (Charisma)
Ranger (Strength or Wisdom)
Wizard (Wisdom)
Subdual Damage
Most damage the player characters suffer is in the form of subdual damage. All damage from attacks that are not the result of the maximum possible on the damage roll or the result of an attack that rolled a natural 20 to hit deal only subdual damage.
If a character suffers subdual damage equal to or greater than to his hit points minus wound damage, he falls unconscious. He automatically heals one point of subdual damage per turn (10 minutes) unconscious, and regains consciousness when his subdual damage is once again less than his hit points minus wound damage.
Subdual damage heals at the rate of one point per turn (10 minutes) of simple rest. Once per battle a flagon of wine or shot of brandy or like spirits heals 1d4 points of subdual damage, or 2d4 points if imbibed after combat is over.
A healer or wizard can heal subdual damage using his Healing ability; however, he can use this ability only once per day per person at most. A character can be healed in this way only once per day.
A healer or wizard can heal subdual damage using cure spells — cure light wounds, cure serious wounds, and cure critical wounds cure 2d8, 6d8, and 10d8 points of subdual damage, respectively. A character can benefit from only one cure spell per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
A potion of healing quaffed to heal subdual damage cures 2d8+2 points of subdual damage. A potion of extra healing cures 6d8+6 points of subdual damage. A character can benefit from only one healing potion per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
Wound Damage
Damage dealt from attacks that deal the maximum possible damage on the damage roll, and/or is the result of an attack that rolled a natural 20 to hit, is considered wound damage. Certain magical weapons might have special effects when dealing wound damage.
If a character suffers total wound damage equal to or greater than his hit points, he dies.
Wound damage heals at a slow rate, merely one point per day of complete bed rest (add the Wisdom bonus of a healer, if such is in attendance). This kind of rest cannot be gained in the wilds or in a dungeon (though a ranger can build a decent-enough shelter in the wilds, given a day). It requires a comfortable and dry place to rest, warm fire, nutritious fresh foods, and simply poultices and nostrums for any healing to take place!
A healer or wizard can heal wound damage using cure spells — cure light wounds, cure serious wounds, and cure critical wounds cure 1d8, 3d8, and 5d8 points of wound damage, respectively. A character can benefit from only one cure spell per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
A potion of healing quaffed to heal wound damage cures 1d8+1 points of wound damage. A potion of extra healing cures 3d8+3 points of wound damage. A character can benefit from only one healing potion per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
Maiming
A natural 20 to hit combined with maximum damage on the damage roll indicates the character has been maimed, suffering permanent damage. Roll 2d6 on the following chart:
2d6 - Maimed Ability
2- Intelligence
3 - Charisma
4, 5 - Strength
6, 7, 8 - Hit Points
9, 10 - Constitution
11 - Dexterity
12 - Wisdom
If Hit Points are rolled, half of the wound damage (rounded up) dealt is permanent, and never heals. If an ability score is maimed, one-quarter of the damage (rounded up) is subtracted from that ability score permanently, and the rest is normal wound damage. In the case of spell damage, only dice of damage that are maxed are wound damage (half for a successful save), unless the saving throw is a natural 1, in which case all the damage is wound damage, and maxed dice in such cases are considered maiming damage (each rolled separately).
The DM might assign an appropriate additional element of the wound, e.g., a facial scar for Charisma loss, a few lost fingers for Dexterity loss, breathing problems for a Constitution loss, etc. Certain magical weapons might also have special effects when dealing maiming damage.
In FOME, player characters and specific Villains start with a larger pool of hit points than normal. Hit points at 1st level are equal to an ability score, plus the roll of a hit die, plus Constitution modifier. The ability score is either Constitution or another ability score, whichever is higher, depending on class:
Class (Ability)
Burglar (Dexterity)
Druid (Intelligence)
Dwarf (Strength)
Elf (Strength or Intelligence)
Fighter (Strength)
Healer (Wisdom)
Hobbit (Highest Ability)
Knight (Charisma)
Magician (Intelligence)
Paladin (Charisma)
Ranger (Strength or Wisdom)
Wizard (Wisdom)
Subdual Damage
Most damage the player characters suffer is in the form of subdual damage. All damage from attacks that are not the result of the maximum possible on the damage roll or the result of an attack that rolled a natural 20 to hit deal only subdual damage.
If a character suffers subdual damage equal to or greater than to his hit points minus wound damage, he falls unconscious. He automatically heals one point of subdual damage per turn (10 minutes) unconscious, and regains consciousness when his subdual damage is once again less than his hit points minus wound damage.
Subdual damage heals at the rate of one point per turn (10 minutes) of simple rest. Once per battle a flagon of wine or shot of brandy or like spirits heals 1d4 points of subdual damage, or 2d4 points if imbibed after combat is over.
A healer or wizard can heal subdual damage using his Healing ability; however, he can use this ability only once per day per person at most. A character can be healed in this way only once per day.
A healer or wizard can heal subdual damage using cure spells — cure light wounds, cure serious wounds, and cure critical wounds cure 2d8, 6d8, and 10d8 points of subdual damage, respectively. A character can benefit from only one cure spell per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
A potion of healing quaffed to heal subdual damage cures 2d8+2 points of subdual damage. A potion of extra healing cures 6d8+6 points of subdual damage. A character can benefit from only one healing potion per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
Wound Damage
Damage dealt from attacks that deal the maximum possible damage on the damage roll, and/or is the result of an attack that rolled a natural 20 to hit, is considered wound damage. Certain magical weapons might have special effects when dealing wound damage.
If a character suffers total wound damage equal to or greater than his hit points, he dies.
Wound damage heals at a slow rate, merely one point per day of complete bed rest (add the Wisdom bonus of a healer, if such is in attendance). This kind of rest cannot be gained in the wilds or in a dungeon (though a ranger can build a decent-enough shelter in the wilds, given a day). It requires a comfortable and dry place to rest, warm fire, nutritious fresh foods, and simply poultices and nostrums for any healing to take place!
A healer or wizard can heal wound damage using cure spells — cure light wounds, cure serious wounds, and cure critical wounds cure 1d8, 3d8, and 5d8 points of wound damage, respectively. A character can benefit from only one cure spell per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
A potion of healing quaffed to heal wound damage cures 1d8+1 points of wound damage. A potion of extra healing cures 3d8+3 points of wound damage. A character can benefit from only one healing potion per day, whether used for subdual or wound damage.
Maiming
A natural 20 to hit combined with maximum damage on the damage roll indicates the character has been maimed, suffering permanent damage. Roll 2d6 on the following chart:
2d6 - Maimed Ability
2- Intelligence
3 - Charisma
4, 5 - Strength
6, 7, 8 - Hit Points
9, 10 - Constitution
11 - Dexterity
12 - Wisdom
If Hit Points are rolled, half of the wound damage (rounded up) dealt is permanent, and never heals. If an ability score is maimed, one-quarter of the damage (rounded up) is subtracted from that ability score permanently, and the rest is normal wound damage. In the case of spell damage, only dice of damage that are maxed are wound damage (half for a successful save), unless the saving throw is a natural 1, in which case all the damage is wound damage, and maxed dice in such cases are considered maiming damage (each rolled separately).
The DM might assign an appropriate additional element of the wound, e.g., a facial scar for Charisma loss, a few lost fingers for Dexterity loss, breathing problems for a Constitution loss, etc. Certain magical weapons might also have special effects when dealing maiming damage.
FOME Classes
Classes allowed as player characters are:
Burglar
Druid (Brown Wizard, Neutral)
Dwarf
Elf
Fighter
Healer (Red Wizard, Lawful)
Hobbit (Lawful or Neutral)
Knight (Lawful or Neutral)
Magician (Blue or Grey Wizard)
Paladin (Lawful)
Ranger (Lawful)
Wizard (White Wizard, Lawful)
Classes reserved for non-player characters include:
Anti-paladin (Chaotic)
Assassin (Chaotic)
Shaman (Neutral or Chaotic)
Sorcerer (Black Wizard, Chaotic)
Burglar
Druid (Brown Wizard, Neutral)
Dwarf
Elf
Fighter
Healer (Red Wizard, Lawful)
Hobbit (Lawful or Neutral)
Knight (Lawful or Neutral)
Magician (Blue or Grey Wizard)
Paladin (Lawful)
Ranger (Lawful)
Wizard (White Wizard, Lawful)
Classes reserved for non-player characters include:
Anti-paladin (Chaotic)
Assassin (Chaotic)
Shaman (Neutral or Chaotic)
Sorcerer (Black Wizard, Chaotic)
FOME Ability Scores
FOME ability scores follow the classic B/X standard, with the following adjustments:
Ability (Modifier)
1 (-5)
2 (-4)
3 (-3)
4+5 (-2)
6-8 (-1)
9-12 (0)
13-15 (+1)
16+17 (+2)
18 (+3)
19 (+4)
20 (+5)
21 (+6)
22 (+7)
23 (+8)
24 (+9)
25 (+10)
...and so on, though anything higher than 25 would be on par with Maiar or the most powerful dragons at least.
Magic-users (druids, healers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards) gain bonus spell slots (based on Wisdom, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, and Intelligence, respectively). One spell slot of each level of their modifier and below; thus a modifier of +1 would provide one 1st level spell slot, a +2 would provide 1st and 2nd level spell slots, and a +3 would provide 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spell slots. More on this when we come to the magic-using classes.
Ability (Modifier)
1 (-5)
2 (-4)
3 (-3)
4+5 (-2)
6-8 (-1)
9-12 (0)
13-15 (+1)
16+17 (+2)
18 (+3)
19 (+4)
20 (+5)
21 (+6)
22 (+7)
23 (+8)
24 (+9)
25 (+10)
...and so on, though anything higher than 25 would be on par with Maiar or the most powerful dragons at least.
Magic-users (druids, healers, magicians, sorcerers, and wizards) gain bonus spell slots (based on Wisdom, Wisdom, Intelligence, Charisma, and Intelligence, respectively). One spell slot of each level of their modifier and below; thus a modifier of +1 would provide one 1st level spell slot, a +2 would provide 1st and 2nd level spell slots, and a +3 would provide 1st, 2nd, and 3rd level spell slots. More on this when we come to the magic-using classes.
FOME or FAME?
One of the first little odd bits I had to resolve when dealing with a Fourth Age setting was the terminology. In most sources, "Fourth Age" is shortened as "FA," even though there was already a "First Age" which should have been shortened thusly, but rarely even was referred to in these sources. I decided that, as I am breaking a bit from the original, to run with my own methodology. Thus, FA is First Age, SA is Second Age, TA is Third Age, and FO is Fourth Age.
Ergo, FOME for Fourth Age Middle-earth.
Ergo, FOME for Fourth Age Middle-earth.
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