SADFAG

After the OGL mess, everyone seems to be publishing or advertising their own rulesets to offer each one up as the new lingua franca. I am sort of entertained and irked by how they are all simultaneously super conventional, while also trying to sneak in certain house rules. I see you! So, in light of all that, below is a definition of what I think is the most bog-standard version of the D&D game.

Standard Average Dungeon Fantasy Adventure Game

Are you tired of rulebooks that pretend to be something other than a reprint of B/X, The Black Hack, or Into The Odd? Have you spent 60 years of your life trying to complete the system of German idealism? Do you ever drink wine and eat pizza with your friends and then, all of a sudden, want to play a game around the table, but then you are too embarrassed to pull out any of the aforementioned books or their imitators because you do not want to explain how you got caught up in a niche online “community” that spends countless hours—that you will never get back—arguing about whether or not this or that is OSR? What does that even mean?

SADFAG is a little guide for improvising and running little role-playing games. Obviously, with so many capital letters, its name has to stand for something. It is not just one acronym, no. It is three combined! This ruleset is Standard Average: it is so middle of the road that Chick-Fil-A asked to put it on their menu, but then they rescinded after realizing I was giving kinda fruity vibes. The setting is Dungeon Fantasy, the very same regurgitated pseudo-medieval shit you’ve had shoved down your throat since 1974. Finally, it is an Adventure Game. You will play rough-and-tumble adventurers in a fantastic world, seeking treasure and fighting monsters, because of course you are. Is that seriously the only thing that interests you? Hope not, anyway.

Have you even asked your friends if that’s what y’all wanted to play together, or did you trick them into thinking this was Dungeons & Dragons, Fifth Edition because you are too insecure to talk to them about your own interests, or because you secretly resent them for wanting to play something that is popular or familiar to them? Well, it’s way too late to back out of this one now, motherfucker! Better hope you can convert them to see the light of old-school D&D, or that they will still want to come over to hang out after tonight.

So, to reiterate, this is not me throwing my hat into the lingua franca ring. This is just my attempt at describing something that sort of exists already. I've mentioned before that there is already a cultural conception of what constitutes D&D, not necessarily tied to a certain rulebook or even propagated by one. This is my attempt at wrangling that game together, or at least the one with the old-school bent (as opposed to the one I prefer, which is pretending to be a cute and silly character with my friends).

You can consider the Keystones page, also on my blog, as a bibliography for this.

• 1. Phases of the Game
  • 1.1. The Underworld Phase
  • 1.2. The Wilderness Phase
  • 1.3. The Dominion Phase
  • 1.4. The Encounter Phase
• 2. Characters
  • 2.1. Class
    • 2.1.1. The Fighter
    • 2.1.2. The Mage
    • 2.1.3. The Cleric
    • 2.1.4. The Thief
  • 2.2. Ancestry
  • 2.3. Background
  • 2.4. Hit Points
  • 2.5. Equipment
    • 2.5.1. Encumbrance
    • 2.5.2. Economics
  • 2.6. Ability Categories
  • 2.7. Experience Levels
• 3. Combat
  • 3.1. Attack Rolls
    • 3.1.1. No Attack Rolls
  • 3.2. Saving Throws
• 4. Monsters
  • 4.1. Fellkin
  • 4.2. Undead
• 5. Dungeon Design
• 6. Closing Commentary

1. Phases of the Game

A player character may progress through three tiers of play: Underworld (levels 0-3), Wilderness (levels 4-7), and Dominion (levels 8+). However, in some more contemporary campaigns, these stages are not restricted to certain character levels but are situations that characters may experience at any level. Overall, the exact nature of these adventuring contexts vary between campaigns, in form or content.

Throughout each of these tiers of phases, combat is likely to occur as player characters encounter monsters or other non-player characters.

1.1. The Underworld Phase

The exploration of a hostile or dangerous area, and then the extraction of treasure from that site. Time ticks in sorta-kinda ten-minute increments, during which the party traverses rooms or allocates tasks to its members (pick the lock! force open the door! disarm the trap! listen for monsters!). Every one or two such turns, the referee rolls to see if a random encounter occurs; there will be approximately one encounter every one hour or six turns. Usually, the party requires a light source to see, and the most common one is the torch which lasts for one hour or six turns. The party may also become fatigued and thus forced to take a rest every hour, resulting in an encounter check made without taking an action that turn.

Movement rates (e.g. 12") are traditionally converted to tens of feet (e.g. 120’), although lately the convention is to consider rooms and hallways as abstract spaces which take a turn to traverse, rather than as standard real distances. The party moves as fast as its slowest member in any case.

1.2. The Wilderness Phase

The exploration and conquest of an unsettled territory. A party is often considered to travel 18 or 24 miles a day under good conditions, which is equivalent to 3 or 4 six-mile hexes respectively. Sometimes travel occurs in day-long turns where, simply, the party travels that many hexes, consumes however many rations, and potentially encounters monsters. Other times the day is divided into turns of many hours each, about four or six depending on one’s preference, during which one hex is traversed (and, perhaps, one encounter check is made). Overall, the rates of travel are fairly consistent, but the increments in which they are experienced may differ; some rulesets may even have both of these procedures for different situations. The party must stop to rest each night, or for one day out of the week.

It is rare, although not unheard of, for individual character movement rates to apply on the Wilderness scale. A movement rate (e.g. 12") could theoretically be converted by treating every 3" as 6 miles or 1 hex (e.g. 24 miles or 4 hexes). Flying creatures treat 1" of their flying speed as 12 miles or 2 hexes (e.g. 144 miles or 24 hexes).

1.3. The Dominion Phase

The development or management of a character’s holdings, accumulated throughout their adventures in the Underworld or Wilderness phases. The campaign transforms into a game of war or of political intrigue, often planting the seeds of a later campaign. Time ticks on a scale of weeks, months, or even seasons.

In less restrictive games, early level characters (who likely do not own any property or whatever) may participate in a Downtime phase similar in form to the Dominion phase but less grandiose in scope; these two phases are usually one and the same if they both exist.

1.4. The Encounter Phase

Occurs as a subroutine in any one of the above phases, when the party encounters a non-player character or party. Their reaction is determined randomly if it is unknown, often using a 2d6 mapping to five categories:

Random NPC Reaction

2d6	Reaction
2	Hostile
3-5	Aggressive
6-8	Uncertain
9-11	Indifferent
12	Friendly

If combat ensures, then turns either alternate between teams or individual combatants. The element of surprise may grant the benefactor one or two extra rounds of action prior to actually taking initiative. If the opposing side faces significant loss or is otherwise demoralized, they may have to check morale in order to continue fighting (often 2d6 versus a morale score from 2 to 12, typically 7). Allied non-player characters may also make morale checks if they feel threatened.

Each combatant gets one move and one action per turn. Movement rates given on the inch scale (e.g. 12") are converted to real units by treating every 3" as 10’ (e.g. 40’).

2. Characters

There are a couple considerations when creating a conventional character for a typical fantasy adventure game.

2.1. Class

Characters may or may not be classed. Classed systems restrict certain features and abilities only to certain classes, while classless systems find ways to allow all characters to employ or participate in those systems. Four common classes include Fighter, Mage, Cleric, and Thief. The Thief was not originally included with the other three, but has overshadowed the Cleric over time due to it being perceived as a more fundamental fantasy archetype.

Characters beginning at level 0 often start without being classed, and only acquire a class upon attaining level 1. However, most classed games begin characters at level 1 with a class already chosen.

2.1.1. The Fighter

Excels at attacking enemies. They may attack multiple times per turn (e.g. equal to their level), unlike other characters who may only attack once. They may otherwise have special combat abilities available only to fighters, such as being able to negate an attack made against oneself. They are usually the class with the least frills and so do not often find their abilities analogized in classless systems. During their Dominion Phase at level 9, they are expected to own or rule over land.

2.1.2. The Mage

Practices arcane magic. They are usually allowed to prepare a certain collection or number of spells per day, often restricted by their level. There are usually five or six spell levels, mapped approximately to two of a mage’s levels as shown below. Classless games will often treat spells as physical or sometimes even “mental” items of which a character can only carry or memorize a certain amount, and which can each only be cast once per day. During their Dominion Phase at level 10 (or 11), mages are expected to manufacture magical items.

Mage Spells

Mage Level	Level 1 Spells	Level 2 Spells	Level 3 Spells	Level 4 Spells	Level 5 Spells
1	1	–	–	–	–
2	2	–	–	–	–
3	2	1	–	–	–
4	2	2	–	–	–
5	2	2	1	–	–
6	2	2	2	–	–
7	3	2	2	1	–
8	3	3	2	2	–
9	3	3	3	2	1
10	3	3	3	3	2

Recent systems give mages a number of spell points or dice to use each day, which can be spent on casting spells (or to increase the power of a spell with variable effects). Mages may meanwhile memorize a certain number of spells, or store spells in physical items such as scrolls or books, spending points in order to cast them.

Increasingly, there is also less power disparity between spells, focusing instead on magical effects with flexible or informal use cases. This is especially common in systems where spells are represented as physical items. In such cases, spell level is no longer applicable, and spells are instead collected in a single list or are randomly generated.

2.1.3. The Cleric

Usually considered a combination of Fighter and Mage, or more recently a standalone class emphasizing fellowship and (by extension) religious dominion. Traditionally, they have an ability to turn away undead monsters based on their relative strength; this is often converted into a spell for classless systems, or for classed systems that happen to be without Clerics. During their Dominion Phase at level 8, they are expected to preside over a vast religious institution.

Cleric Spells

Cleric Level	Level 1 Spells	Level 2 Spells	Level 3 Spells	Level 4 Spells	Level 5 Spells
1	–	–	–	–	–
2	1	–	–	–	–
3	2	–	–	–	–
4	2	1	–	–	–
5	2	2	–	–	–
6	2	2	1	1	–
7	2	2	2	1	1
8	3	3	2	2	1

In the below chart, “T” means that the Cleric automatically turns away 2d6 undead of the given hit dice, while “D” means that the Cleric automatically disintegrates them. Otherwise, the number indicates the score on a 2d6 necessary in order to turn them away.

Cleric Versus Undead

Cleric Level	HD 1/2	HD 1	HD 2	HD 3	HD 4	HD 5	HD 6	HD 7+
1	7	9	11	–	–	–	–	–
2	T	7	9	11	–	–	–	–
3	T	T	7	9	11	–	–	–
4	D	T	T	7	9	11	–	–
5	D	D	T	T	7	9	11	–
6	D	D	D	T	T	7	9	11
7	D	D	D	D	T	T	7	9
8	D	D	D	D	D	T	T	7

2.1.4. The Thief

Uses special or supernatural abilities (depending on one’s preference) to accomplish incredible feats of utility. They have a distinct skillset or a unique ability to improve their skills, usually related to difficult tasks during the Underworld Phase. Sometimes the Thief is renamed the Expert when their potential skillset is broader than abilities just applicable to dungeon crawling. Older games have a preset list and development of skills, but more recent games allow the player to customize their Thief’s skillset or even declare skills flexibly. The Thief is not a class that enjoys much of the spotlight during the Dominion Phase owing to their somewhat narrower focus relative to the other classes.

2.2. Ancestry

In the original games, a player’s choice of class was either extremely restricted for non-human characters, or these restrictions were such that non-human ancestries were defined as being classes unto themselves. Traditionally, the Dwarf and the Halfling are Fighters with greater resistance to magic or improved reflexes, respectively. The Elf can be a Fighter or a Mage, or is defined as a distinct class with combined albeit limited features of both.

Since these ancestries usually take on the form of only slightly modified classes, it seems to be more common now to treat ancestries as sources of simple special abilities, with or without class restrictions on them. Below is a list of some common ancestral features. Try to guess with what fantasy ancestry they were each originally associated!

1. Improve saving throws by +4 (20%).
2. Become unnoticeable in brush or shadow.
3. Double chance of finding secret passages,or a regular chance of finding them passively each exploration turn.
4. Notice slanting passages or other architectural features.

2.3. Background

Although some systems include both ancestries and backgrounds, generally speaking a character’s background has replaced ancestry as a way of encoding a character’s unique abilities. This serves three functions: (i) it expands the scope of factors besides ancestry which may be considered as granting a character some abilities, (ii) it may impact not only abilities but also starting equipment or social standing, and (iii) it communicates certain facts or ideas of the game world which are pertinent to how players interact with it.

There is even a recent tendency to employ backgrounds as a substitution for classes, such that characters are not restricted in features or advancement but merely begin with certain abilities that set them apart. The ways in which classes, ancestries, and backgrounds interact depends on how you would prefer to structure player characters as they begin or continue to develop.

2.4. Hit Points

The average player character has d6 or d8 hit points per level; the dice are called their hit dice. In classed games, the size of one’s hit dice often depends on their class: d4 for Mages, d4/d6 for Thieves, d6/d8 for Clerics, and d8/d10 for Fighters (between different characters, be consistent about whether the higher or lower die is used). Some systems, using d6 only, may simply pace the number of hit dice a character receives based on their class; this is done either by spacing out an increase in hit dice, or by giving pips instead of a whole die.

Many rulesets allow players to reroll all their character’s hit dice at each level, rather than just adding one due to the existing total. Players may even restore or reroll hit points every session, every game-day, every turn of rest, or every encounter. More traditional, stringent systems may allow player characters to regain only 1 or ½ hit point per day, or 1 hit die per week of rest, with a constant number of maximum hit points (increased at level-up).

Although hit points per level is what sets apart D&D even from its earliest competitors, some recent rulebooks have taken to giving player characters a constant range of hit points. This usually tends to be in the ballpark of three attacks' worth (e.g. 10 or 3d6), comparable to what many consider to be a sweet spot of character survivability at third level. You could even still peg hit points to class, just not to level.

2.5. Equipment

Staring items can be bought, randomly determined, or automatically granted based on the character’s class, ancestry, or background. Some systems, especially classless ones, even base a character’s starting items in part on their hit points, in order to give characters with low hit points a better chance of survival (with better weapons, magic items, or some such benefits that characters with high hit points do not need). A character is often expected to start with the following:

• One weapon.
• One or two useful items.
• Enough torches for one hour or six turns of dungeon crawling.
• Enough rations for one week or seven days of outdoor exploration.
• Enough money to buy something else that might come in handy.
  

A useful rule of thumb is that the one or two useful items are usually specific to a character's background or class.

2.5.1. Encumbrance

Traditionally, a character’s carrying capacity is measured in coin-weight (⅒ lb.). Now it is more typical for it to be measured in abstract slots representing items of significant weight, volume, or even function. This corresponds with an increased emphasis on dynamic resource management, whereas before it was only expected that players should keep track of a character’s equipment and treasure weight. Below, movement rates in inches are given for various degrees of encumbrance.

Weight-Based Encumbrance

Movement	Coin Weight	Slot Weight
12"	400	10
9"	600	15
6"	800	20
3"	1,600	40

It is important to keep in mind that, often, slot-based systems have hard limits on carrying capacity and do not allow characters to carry more in exchange for moving more slowly. Alternatively, they may only have two degrees of encumbrance, equivalent to 12" and 6", based on whether one is carrying less than their capacity or more than that (up to a maximum of, say, twice their capacity).

Characters may be considered as carrying their weight in different places. For example, if a backpack is considered to carry up to 400 coin-weight or 10 slots, that is likely all a character needs to worry about besides their gear and armor. Then the character can even remove their backpack during or prior to an encounter to improve their movement rating. Below is a simplified version, taking into account only one’s armor and if they are wearing a backpack or not. It is derived from the B/X table, which considers whether one is carrying treasure instead of a general backpack because it did not emphasize resource management.

Simplified Encumbrance

Armor	No Backpack	Backpack
None	12"	9"
Light	9"	6"
Heavy	6"	3"

2.5.2. Economics

A character traditionally starts with 3d6 × 10 gold pieces, especially if they are not given the basic equipment described above out of the gate. Otherwise, characters may only start with enough gold pieces to buy one or two more significant pieces of equipment.

Below is a list of typical item costs and their weights in coins or slots. All costs are expressed in gold pieces, whose function is merely to interface between the subsystems of encumbrance (above), economics (here), and experience (below). Coin weight does not translate cleanly to slot weight since slot weight is not a representation of literal weight but of gameplay significance. Half-slots represent small items which can be bundled into one slot; whether two or three or more items take up this space depends on one’s preference or on the specific situation. Sometimes, weapons are only classified as one-handed (1 slot) or two-handed (2 slots).

Equipment Costs & Weights

Item	Cost	Coin Weight	Slot Weight
Light Weapon	5	20	½
Medium Weapon	10	50	1
Heavy Weapon	15	150	2
Leather Armor	20	200	2
Chain Mail Armor	40	400	4
Plate Mail Armor	60	600	6
Shield	10	100	1
Crowbar	10	20	1
Lantern	10	20	1
Mallet & Stakes	10	20	1
Flask of Oil	5	5	½
Rations (1 week)	5	200	2
Rations, Iron (1 week)	15	30	1
Rope (50’)	10	30	1
Torch	1	10	½

A week’s stay at an inn probably costs 10 gold pieces. So does hiring a minimum wage laborer to follow you around for a day, although you may want to pay them more or give them a share of treasure to keep them happy, since how well you treat them typically impacts their willingness to be on your side.

2.6. Ability Categories

This is not an uncontroversial section. Not only are there different ability categories between different systems, but the function of abilities differs just as well. We can speak mainly of two kinds of systems: those where ability categories dictate a character’s potential to progress in a class, or those where ability categories define a character’s likelihood of success at different actions. The latter predominates in the OSR despite how the former was the original way in which they used (strength helps Fighters, Intelligence helps mages, and wisdom helps Clerics). The only thing that is semi-consistent is that ability scores are often generated using 3d6, or something with a similar range (e.g. 4d4, 2d6+3, etc.).

Classed games tend to use the original six ability categories, while classless games are likely to reduce them to three: dexterity, strength, and willpower (a combination of the typical three mental abilities, and occasionally substituted for one of them). The latter three may be said to correspond with Thieves, Fighters, and Mages, aligning with the common view mentioned before that Thieves are more fundamental to fantasy fiction than Clerics are. As of late, some systems split willpower back into intelligence and charisma in order to accommodate or represent Mages and Clerics respectively, especially with the more recent reinterpretation of Clerics as leader characters.

Systems where ability categories play an active role tend to have universal resolution procedures to represent difficult tasks, such as rolling d20 less than or equal to one’s ability score (and sometimes greater than some floor number), or rolling d20 plus an ability bonus greater than or equal to some target number. Usually this interfaces with the combat subsystem if it exists. In such a case, the utility of Fighters may not be in their greater likelihood of attacking, but in their variety of unique combat maneuvers. Likewise, in general, classes tend to not offer bonuses to rolls as much new subsystems altogether.

2.7. Experience Levels

Traditionally, and statistically speaking, a character must explore, extract treasure from, and defeat monsters in six dungeon rooms of their level before accumulating enough experience to level up. The ratio of experience earned from treasure or combat is a matter of preference, though predominantly the former is greatly emphasized and we can suppose that a character gains most of their experience from treasure. Suppose that a character requires 2,000 experience points to level up, and 20% of these are expected to be from monsters (at about 10 points per hit die). That leaves 1,600 experience points from treasure, which is considered to be 1,600 gold coins in value.

Experience point requirements originally differed between classes, but now it is more conventional to standardize these requirements based on what is typically expected of Fighters (whose own requirements were less than those of Mages, and more than those of Clerics).

Character Advancement

Level	Experience
1	0
2	2,000
3	4,000
4	8,000
5	16,000
6	32,000
7	64,000
8	120,000
9	240,000
10	360,000

3. Combat

Characters lose hit points in combat and die when they lose all their hit points. Usually, small weapons deal d4 points of damage, medium weapons deal d6 points, and large weapons deal d8 points. When one character attacks another, they must make an attack roll using d20; the roll is modified by the character’s class, level, and occasionally a relevant ability ranking (such as strength for melee attack rolls). Only if successful will the target lose hit points.

Some systems have characters deal damage based on their class. The die size is typically the same as their hit die size, e.g. a mage always deals d4 points of damage.

Also, it's become more conventional for characters not to die at 0 hit points, but instead to make a saving throw against death or to roll on a "death & dismemberment table" where they will likely get fucked up but at least also likely not to die.

3.1. Attack Rolls

The likelihood of the attack roll’s success depends on the target’s armor class and occasionally their ranking in an ability such as dexterity, intelligence, or wisdom. Armor class can be represented either as a descending or ascending value, and the exact way in which the d20 is used is often based on how armor class is represented. Below is an example of ascending armor class, where the player must roll greater than or equal to the number indicated (plus any bonuses due to their character’s class features or individual abilities).

Armor Class

Armor	Target Score
Leather armor	10
Chain mail armor	12
Plate mail armor	14
Shield	+1

If a character's class and level improves their to-hit likelihood, the following formula is approximately conventional: Fighters gain +0.75 per level, Clerics and Thieves gain +0.50 per level, and Mages gain +0.25 per level. Fighters may also begin with +1 at first level. Monsters tend to have +1 per hit die, up to +10; minions with less than 1 hit die have no bonus. Below is a table with approximate bonuses at each level, but in some systems points are accumulated in increments greater than 1 level at a time (e.g. every 3, 4, or 5 levels).

Attack Bonuses By Class

Level	Fighters	Mages	Clerics	Thieves	Monsters
0	–	–	–	–	+0
1	+1	+0	+0	+0	+1
2	+2	+0	+1	+1	+2
3	+3	+1	+1	+1	+3
4	+3	+1	+2	+2	+4
5	+4	+1	+2	+2	+5
6	+5	+1	+3	+3	+6
7	+6	+2	+3	+3	+7
8	+6	+2	+4	+4	+8
9	+7	+2	+4	+4	+9
10	+8	+2	+5	+5	+10

Sometimes, Fighters gain +1 per level as monsters do, and non-Fighters gain +0.5 per level.

Some common conventions include:

• Large weapons require two hands to wield.
• Mages can only equip light weapons or armor.
• Clerics cannot equip heavy weapons or armor.
• A shield can be broken in order to negate an attack.
• Heavy armor will encumber its wearer.
• Small weapons deal increased damage while sneak attacking.

3.1.1. No Attack Rolls

It is common lately to remove attack rolls from the game, always rolling for damage. Using such a system, the to-hit bonuses above do not matter and characters are given some extra hit points to account for the greater risk represented by combat.

Sometimes these extra hit points are given as a distinct pool, equal to one of the character’s ability scores (e.g. strength or constitution) or determined separately. In such cases, the pool is difficult to recover except over time, while the ‘regular’ hit points can be recovered quickly. Other times, first level characters simply start off with more hit points than they gain each level; e.g., a Mage might always start with 4 hit points, and d4 more each subsequent level. An important distinction to keep in mind while creating two pools of hit points is that while monsters can be physically big and strong, player characters tend to rely on their luck, skill, or plot armor. Therefore if distinguishing between 'flesh' and 'grit' hit points, it may be worthwhile to give monsters and player characters different proportions of each.

Since theoretically it takes two hits to defeat a character with 1 hit die (due to the likelihood of attack rolls), a simple solution is to give level 1 characters an additional hit die. This also has the benefit of defining level 0 characters or minion monsters as having only 1 hit die.

Armor serves to reduce damage taken, rather than to modify attack rolls per se.

Armor As Damage Reduction

Armor	Reduction
Leather armor	-1
Chain mail armor	-2
Plate mail armor	-3
Shield	-1

3.2. Saving Throws

Saving throws are typically employed when a source of potential damage is environmental rather than personal, when a source of potential damage is levied against multiple targets, or when otherwise the typical attack roll does not make sense. The target (not the attacker) rolls d20 in order to avoid damage, in some cases taking half damage even on a successful save. It is common for spells to require the target to make a saving throw.

Often saving throws are based on the character’s ability categories, but traditionally they are based on the character’s class and level, and are specific to categories of threats (e.g. poison, death ray, petrification). Generally speaking, a target number of 14 (or 7 for d20 descending) is expected of most first level characters, except for Halflings and Dwarves with an average of 10. Fighters improve their save by 2 points every 3 levels; Mages by 2 points every 5 levels; and Clerics by 2 points every 4 levels. This can be approximated as 0.5 points every level.

Taking 14 (plus level modifiers) as the basis, below are typical modifiers for each class by saving throw category.

Traditional Saving Throws

Category	Fighters	Mages	Clerics	Thieves
Death Ray, Poison	+2	+1	+3	+1
Wands	+1	–	+2	–
Paralysis, Petrification	–	+1	–	+1
Breath Attacks	-1	-2	-2	-2
Spells, Rods, Staffs	-2	-1	-1	-1

One may choose to use constitution, dexterity, and charisma abilities (or others) as the basis of saving throws, but I’d express caution about doing so with 3d6 scores directly. Instead, bound their variability by converting them to bonuses which the player can add to rolls (against a typical target number of, say, 14). Below is an example, standard formula, with both bonuses and equivalent d20 target numbers:

Ability Bonuses

Score	Bonus	Target
3	-3	17
4-5	-2	16
6-8	-1	15
9-12	–	14
13-15	+1	13
16-17	+2	12
18	+3	11

The above bounds saving throws to have a 20% to 50% chance of success.

4. Monsters

Monsters have hit dice in the range of 1 to 20 (usually 1 to 10), or as low as ½ for especially weak minion monsters. The size of the hit die is usually either d6 or d8, approximate to the typical player character. Monsters with 4-7 hit dice may be defined as having two attacks per combat turn, and those with 8+ hit dice may have three per turn. Some monsters have bonuses or minuses to their hit point total, especially low-level monsters for whom such modifiers make a decent difference; the bonus may also be applied to one of their attack rolls.

If two movement rates are given, the second refers to the monster’s flying speed.

A monster’s morale rating generally depends on their hit dice ranking, with low-level monsters having a morale of 6 or 7 and high-level ‘boss’ monsters having a morale of 10 or 11. The main exceptions are undead monsters who do not have morale, and so will just keep fighting.

4.1. Fellkin

• Kobold (AC 12, HD ½d, Move 9", Morale 6): Attacks as normal.
• Goblin (AC 13, HD 1d-1, Move 9", Morale 7 ): Attacks as normal.
• Orc (AC 13, HD 1d, Move 9", Morale 6): Attacks as normal.
• Gnoll (AC 14, HD 2d, Move 6", Morale 8): Attacks as normal.
• Ogre (AC 14, HD 4d, Move 6", Morale 10): Attacks for d6+2 damage.
• Troll (AC 15, HD 6d, Move 6", Morale 10): Restores 3 hit points per combat turn.
• Giant (AC 15, HD 8d to 12d, Move 12", Morale 10 ): Deals 2d6 damage on a successful attack.

4.2. Undead

• Skeleton (AC 12, HD ½d, Move 6", Morale –): Attacks as normal.
• Zombie (AC 11, HD 1d, Move 6", Morale –): Attacks as normal.
• Ghoul (AC 13, HD 2d, Move 9", Morale –): Paralyzes any creature it touches.
• Wight (AC 14, HD 3d, Move 9", Morale –): Drains one experience level on a successful hit, and can only be hit by magic weapons.
• Wraith (AC 16, HD 4d, Move 12/24", Morale –): Like wights, but even magic weapons deal half damage.
• Mummy (AC 16, HD 5d, Move 6", Morale –): Infects target with a disease that slows the speed of healing. Vulnerable to fire.
• Spectre (AC 17, HD 6d, Move 15/30", Morale 11): Drains two experience levels on a successful hit, and can only be hit by magic weapons. Those killed by a spectre become spectres themselves.
• Vampire (AC 17, HD 7d to 8d, Move 12/18", Morale 11): Similar to spectres, but restores 3 hit points per combat turn. They can only be killed for certain by impaling them through the heart with a wooden stake.

5. Dungeon Design

Traditionally, two out of six dungeon rooms are occupied by monsters, and half of all occupied rooms have treasure. Only one sixth of unoccupied rooms have treasure, usually hidden or booby-trapped. Each treasure hoard contains enough value to provide 50% to 75% of experience towards a level, such that every eighteen rooms with five hoards one can expect to level up three or four characters (including experience earned from contending with monsters). More recently, the tendency has been to increase the value of treasure in order to account for shorter play sessions.

With respect to form, a well-designed dungeon has multiple points of entry and a non-linear layout with multiple avenues of traversal. In terms of content, a dungeon is best when it is treated as a naturalistic environment, having some function for its inhabitants and feeling lived-in overall. Having competing factions in a dungeon produces intrigue, especially when the dungeon is conceived not as a single site but as a larger territory being fought over.

6. Closing Commentary

• The character structures originally used by Dave Arneson persist to some degree into classic D&D. The three tiers of play correspond with the three original fighter levels (flunky, hero, superhero) and the power ranges expected of monsters. The five levels of spell-casting also persist, despite them being stretched out over ten levels. We can use these simpler schemes to help contextualize the system as a whole, or even simplify it.
• Minion monsters with ½ hit dice are central to the original conception of D&D as a skirmish war game, offering an easier experience for low level characters. Yet as the emphasis shifts from war gaming to survival horror, the need for such mooks decreases. The vestigial combat system will probably never go away, but one can imagine that it is unnecessary if saving throws against attacks were used instead.
• Movement ratings are always in increments of 3", such that a typical unencumbered character has a rating of 4 × 3". Using values on the scale of 1 to 4 (for player characters) may be more useful when converting between multiple abstract scales, especially when one is not using a twelve-inch ruler to represent tabletop distance.
• There is room for more optimization with respect to slot inventory. Previously, I have suggested turning currency into a more abstract measure so that it can be counted by slots rather than by allowing a character to carry (e.g.) 100 coins per slot. To summarize: let 10 gold pieces be 1 “bag of coins”, and require 200 bags of coins to level up (although items of treasure may certainly be worth many bags of coins). Different grades of coin can still be used, but the assumption is that the bags of coins used for everyday purchases are of the lowest grade (e.g. copper). See "Exchange, Encumbrance, Experience: Reconstructing D&D's Economy" (2022-10-03). In any case, that is not remotely conventional.
  
• It has become almost conventional to use hazard dice to abstract bookkeeping during the Underworld and Wilderness phases, where a random event is rolled every one or two turns. Common events include: (i) random encounter, (ii) hint of a random encounter, (iii) fatigue, (iv) spell expiration, (v) resource loss, and (vi) a ‘free’ turn. See "Overloading the encounter die" on Necropraxis (2014-02-03).
  
• This is some conspiracy shit, but I'm pretty sure that the torch was originally conceived as lasting only for one exploration turn (being analogous to rations being sold in sets of 7 for 1 week), and hence they are bundled into packs of six to last together for one hour. Thinking of torches this way is more preferable to me than how they are usually treated now, since it means that we can treat the hour-long torch as a big fucking thing that takes up a reasonable amount of space (1 slot).