FMC: Kill the Devils! Character Modificiations
We have goblin (halfling) and half-devil (elf) characters in the OD&D/FMC campaign I’m running, which has led me to start thinking about how they actually ‘work’. This got me thinking that it might be worthwhile to compile the modified character rules I’m using, which take influence from Necropraxis and Swords & Wizardry. I also played a bit with experience points and levels; for example, I reduced the peak experience requirements for fighters and mages, and also reduced the mage’s peak level from 11 to 10.
The goal has been to not mess with the quirky bits of OD&D, retaining the same general experience and play-style while making it more intuitive. I'm most proud of the one-roll turn undead table.
Class Selection
This is what I’m doing for characters to start mid-level: roll prime requisites, and apply the relative bonuses as written. Multiple your prime requisite for each class by 1,000, and that’s your starting experience in that class should you accept it. Elves take the average of their fighter and mage prime requisites.
Class Statistics
Below are the table abbreviations:
- XP: Experience points required to attain a level.
- HD: Hit dice formula.
- AB: Attack bonus, derived from hit dice but listed for convenience.
- ST: Base saving throw.
Levels beyond those listed would probably just earn 1 extra hit point, albeit without an increase in attack bonus.
Clerics
Clerics can turn the undead. They also get +2 to saving throws requiring bodily resilience or spiritual willpower.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST | Spells/Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d | +1 | 14 | – – – – – |
| 2 | 1,500 | 2d | +2 | 13 | 1 – – – – |
| 3 | 3,000 | 2d+1 | +3 | 12 | 2 – – – – |
| 4 | 6,000 | 3d | +3 | 11 | 2 1 – – – |
| 5 | 12,000 | 4d | +4 | 10 | 2 2 – – – |
| 6 | 25,000 | 4d+1 | +5 | 9 | 2 2 1 1 – |
| 7 | 50,000 | 5d | +5 | 8 | 2 2 2 1 1 |
| 8 | 100,000 | 6d | +6 | 7 | 2 2 2 2 2 |
Below is the turning undead table; roll 2d6 less than or equal to the number indicated to turn away that many undead of the given HD, otherwise failing to turn away any of them. ‘T’ means that there is no chance of failure, so that up to 12 in total can be turned away; ‘D’ means that the undead are not only turned away but dispelled or dissolved.
| Level | HD 1/2 d | HD 1d | HD 2d | HD 3d | HD 4d | HD 5d | HD 6d | HD 7d | HD 8d | HD 9d |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – | – | – | – | – |
| 3 | 10 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – | – | – | – |
| 4 | T | 10 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – | – | – |
| 5 | T | T | 10 |
8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – | – |
| 6 | D | T | T | 10 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– | – |
| 7 | D | D | T | T | 10 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
– |
| 8 | D | D | D | T | T | 10 | 8 |
6 |
4 |
2 |
Dwarves
Dwarves are particularly resilient fighters, having additional hit points and extraordinary saving throws. They also cannot be surprised in the dark because of heightened senses developed from living underground.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d+1 | +2 | 10 |
| 2 | 2,500 | 2d+2 | +3 | 9 |
| 3 | 5,000 | 3d+3 | +4 | 8 |
| 4 | 10,000 | 4d+4 | +5 | 6 |
| 5 | 20,000 | 5d+5 | +6 | 5 |
| 6 | 40,000 | 6d+6 | +7 | 4 |
Elves
Elves are a combination of fighters and mages, where a level-8 elf is basically equivalent to a level-4 fighter and level-8 mage.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST | Spells/Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d | +1 | 13 | 1 – – – |
| 2 | 3,000 | 2d | +2 | 12 | 2 – – – |
| 3 | 6,000 | 3d | +3 | 10 | 3 1 – – |
| 4 | 12,000 | 4d | +4 | 9 | 4 2 – – |
| 5 | 25,000 | 4d+1 | +5 | 8 | 4 2 1 – |
| 6 | 50,000 | 4d+2 | +5 | 7 | 4 2 2 – |
| 7 | 75,000 | 4d+3 | +5 | 6 | 4 3 2 1 |
| 8 | 100,000 | 4d+4 | +5 | 5 | 4 3 3 2 |
Fighters
Fighters are fighters. They add +2 to saving throws requiring physical reflex or strength.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d+1 | +2 | 14 |
| 2 | 2,000 | 2d+1 | +3 | 13 |
| 3 | 4,000 | 3d+1 | +4 | 12 |
| 4 | 8,000 | 4d+1 | +5 | 11 |
| 5 | 16,000 | 5d+1 | +6 | 10 |
| 6 | 32,000 | 6d+1 | +7 | 9 |
| 7 | 64,000 | 7d+1 | +8 | 8 |
| 8 | 96,000 | 8d+1 | +9 | 7 |
| 9 | 128,000 | 9d+1 | +10 | 6 |
Halflings
Halflings add +2 to ranged or surprise attacks, or +4 to surprise ranged attacks.
They also increase the likelihood of success at stealthy tasks in proportion to their level. For example, a level-3 halfling has a 4-in-6 chance of hearing noise, or a 5-in-6 chance of surprising an enemy party (only one die is rolled for the entire party but on a roll of e.g. 4, the level-3 halfling would have a surprise round although their party members do not). This means that a level-4 halfling always gets a surprise round if there is any opportunity whatsoever to surprise an enemy.
Finally, halflings have an x-in-6 chance, where x equals their level, to unlock doors in order to avoid having to force them open. Unlocking a door does not cost a turn of activity, but failing to do so renders the door stuck for certain (thereby requiring a turn to attempt to open it).
Special skills are given below as unlocking (UL), hearing noise (HN), and surprise (SU) respectively.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST | UL | HN | SU |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d | +1 | 13 | 1/6 | 2/6 | 3/6 |
| 2 | 2,250 | 2d | +2 | 12 | 2/6 | 3/6 | 4/6 |
| 3 | 4,500 | 3d | +3 | 11 | 3/6 | 4/6 | 5/6 |
| 4 | 9,000 | 4d | +4 | 10 | 4/6 | 5/6 | 6/6 |
Mages
Mages add +2 to saving throws against magic.
| Level | XP | HD | AB | ST | Spells/Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 1d | +1 | 14 | 1 – – – – |
| 2 | 2,500 | 1d+1 | +2 | 13 | 2 – – – – |
| 3 | 5,000 | 2d | +2 | 12 | 2 1 – – – |
| 4 | 10,000 | 2d+1 | +3 | 11 | 3 2 – – – |
| 5 | 20,000 | 3d | +3 | 10 | 3 2 1 – – |
| 6 | 35,000 | 3d+1 | +4 | 9 | 4 3 2 – – |
| 7 | 50,000 | 4d | +4 | 8 | 4 3 2 1 – |
| 8 | 75,000 | 4d+1 | +5 | 7 | 5 4 3 2 – |
| 9 | 100,000 | 5d | +5 | 8 | 5 4 3 2 1 |
| 10 | 150,000 | 5d+1 | +6 | 7 | 6 5 4 3 2 |
This is very good. I especially like what you did with the halfling. The undead turning table is also very elegant. I like the way it correlates number turned with chance of turning, and don't at all mind the side effect that it weakens low level clerics somewhat. In addition, it looks as though a 1st level cleric has slightly reduced turning chances compared with e.g. OD&D?
ReplyDeletethank you so much!! :) to be honest i just switched to even numbers because i prefer them over odd numbers haha, but also do prefer clerics having better chances. much to consider 😂 maybe i would up them by 1 instead, and allow level 3 clerics to auto-turn HD 1/2d undead
DeleteIf you want to stick to even numbers, you could add +2 to all your chances (e.g. a 1st level cleric turns a skeleton on an 8- instead of a 6-). From the original OD&D table, the expected number of skeletons turned by a 1st level cleric is about 4 (2d6 on a 7+), which is close to the expected number you get using your method with an 8- roll. A 6- under your method turns an expected 2 creatures, which is similar to the expected turnings on a 9+ from the original table. And a 4- under your method gives an expectation of ~1/2 creature turned, again similar to 11+ on the original table. Another tweak you might consider is to add +2 monsters turned for each extra row beyond 'T' on the table. That is, if you want clerics to continue to get better at turning weak undead as the cleric becomes more powerful. That is absolutely NOT how OD&D works, but it seems reasonable.
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