Adventures

Party Organisation

Size: The ideal group size is between 6 and 8 characters—large enough to confront the challenges of the adventure while not so large as to be disorganized. If not enough PCs are present, the players may wish to hire retainers (see Retainers).

Classes: It is wise for a party to have a mix of characters from different adventuring classes. Combat-focused characters are essential for protecting the group from danger, while other classes each have magic or other special abilities to handle different situations that may arise in an adventure.

Level: As new PCs join play, the experience levels of the characters in the party may diverge. It is recommended that characters more than four levels apart should adventure separately, as challenges and rewards suitable to characters of vastly different experience levels do not match.

Marching Order

Before starting an adventure, the players should determine the typical arrangement of their PCs when exploring. This is known as the party’s marching order. For example, players may move in a two-column formation, with well-armored characters in the front, weaker characters in the middle, and a rear guard. The group may define standard marching orders for common situations (e.g., exploration, combat, opening doors, searching, etc.).

The Caller

If the players wish to, they may nominate one of their numbers as the spokesperson of the group, known as the caller. This player is responsible for informing the referee about the actions and movements of the party as a whole. Delegating this role to one player—rather than having each player notify the referee of their PC’s individual actions—can speed up play.

The caller’s character usually takes on the role of party leader and should thus have a high Charisma score and be located near the front of the party.

The Mapper

One player should create a map of the explored areas based on the referee’s descriptions. Details such as monsters or traps encountered, clues to puzzles, or possibly interesting unexplored areas may be noted on the map as it is drawn.

Dividing Treasure

The spoils of an adventure may be divided between surviving characters in whatever way the players agree on.

Non-magical treasure: This is typically divided evenly between player characters.

Magic items: The players must decide which character keeps each item. One method is for each player to roll a die and compare the results. The highest-rolling player gets to pick a magic item first, the second-highest-rolling player gets the next pick, and so on.

Time, Weight, Movement

Tracking Time

When an adventure is underway, the referee should keep track of the time that elapses in the imagined world, known as game time. This is distinct from real time: what may take the players and referee mere seconds to describe may take PCs hours or even days to complete.

For example, when characters explore a dungeon, the referee tracks the number of turns that have elapsed; when characters are exploring the wilderness, the number of days elapsed is tracked.

The referee must adjudicate what may be accomplished in a given period.

Resources

As game time passes, the referee should pay attention to the resources that the party consumes. For example, food, water, fuel for light sources, durations of spells or magical effects, etc.

Tracking Movement

As player characters explore the imagined world, the referee should keep track of their location on a prepared map. The map is usually kept secret from the players, who must rely on the referee’s descriptions of the areas they explore.

The referee should refer to the characters’ movement rates to determine how long it takes for characters to move from one area to the next (see Game Statistics).

Group Movement Rate

An adventuring party will usually want to stay together. The speed of the slowest member determines the movement rate of the party as a whole.

Measurements

Time: Rounds and Turns

Aside from everyday time increments (minutes, hours, days, and so on), the following special units are used in the game.

Turns: 10 minutes of game time. There are six turns in an hour. Time is measured in turns when exploring dungeons (see Dungeon Adventuring).

Rounds: 10 seconds of game time. There are 60 rounds in a turn. Time is measured in rounds during encounters, especially in combat (see Encounters and Combat).

Distance: Inches, Feet, Yards, Miles

This game uses imperial or customary US units to stay true to its origins. Distances are measured in inches (notated with a ”), feet (notated with a ’), yards, and miles.

Distance Conversions

• 1 foot = 12 inches
• 1 yard = 3 feet
• 1 mile = 1,760 yards = 5,280 feet

Weight: Coins

Weight measures typically come into play only when discussing how much characters can carry (see Encumbrance below). As coins are the most common treasure adventurers find, all weights are measured in coins. (Ten coins are equivalent to one pound.)

Encumbrance (Optional Rule)

Some groups may wish to use a system to track the amount of gear and treasure a character can carry and how this affects their movement rate.

Tracking Encumbrance

Encumbrance measures both the weight and bulk a character is carrying.

Treasure: The encumbrance of treasure carried by a character should be tracked. The encumbrance of common items of treasure is shown in the table below. The referee should decide the weight of other forms of treasure.

Equipment: Two options for tracking the encumbrance of characters’ equipment are presented below. The same system should be applied to all characters.

Maximum load: Any character can carry 1,600 coins of weight. Characters carrying more than this cannot move.

Option 1: Basic Encumbrance

Treasure: The treasure’s weight is tracked to ensure that the character’s maximum load is not exceeded.

Equipment: The weight of armor, weapons, and adventuring gear is not tracked and does not count toward a character’s maximum load.

Movement rate: This is determined by the type of armor the character is wearing and whether they carry a significant amount of treasure (as judged by the referee). The actual weight of the treasure carried does not affect the movement rate.

Option 2: Detailed Encumbrance

Treasure: The weight of coins and other treasure carried is tracked.

Equipment: The weight of the character’s armor and weapons is also tracked (the weight of these items is listed in the equipment list. Miscellaneous adventuring gear (backpack, spikes, sacks, etc.) may be counted as 80 coins of weight.

Movement rate: The character’s movement rate is based on the weight of all significant items carried, including treasure, weapons, and armor.

Ability Checks

The referee may use a character’s ability scores to determine the character’s chance of succeeding at various challenging tasks.

Rolling an Ability Check

The player rolls 1d20 and, if the result is less than or equal to the ability, the check succeeds. If the roll is greater than the ability, the check fails.

Modifiers

Bonuses or penalties to the roll may be applied, depending on the difficulty of the task. A modifier of -4 would be a relatively easy ability check, and a +4 would be very difficult.

1s and 20s

A natural 1 should be treated as a success and a natural 20 treated as a failure.

Damage, Healing, and Death

All characters and monsters have a hit point total, representing their ability to avoid death. Many attack forms, including attacks with weapons in combat, subtract hit points from this pool.

Death

A character or monster reduced to 0 hit points or less is killed.

Destruction of Items

If a character is killed by a destructive spell or special attack (e.g., a lightning bolt spell or a dragon’s breath), their equipment is assumed to be destroyed.

Destruction of Magic Items

Magic items in the possession of a character who is killed by a destructive spell or special attack may be allowed a chance to survive, as follows:

• Save: For each item, a saving throw may be made using the character’s saving throw values.
• Bonuses: Items that grant a bonus in combat (e.g., magical weapons and armor) may also apply this bonus to the saving throw.

Healing

Natural: A character or monster recovers 1d3 hit points for each full day of complete rest. The character or monster will not heal that day if the rest is interrupted.

Magical: Healing may also occur through magic, such as potions or spells. This kind of healing is instantaneous. Magical healing and natural healing can be combined.

Saving Throws

All characters and monsters can make saving throws to avoid the full effects of certain magical or special attacks.

Categories

There are five saving throw categories used in the following situations:

• Death or Poison (D): When targeted by a death ray or poison exposure.
• Wands (W): When targeted by an effect from a magical wand.
• Paralysis or Petrification (P): When targeted by an effect that paralyzes or turns to stone.
• Breath Attacks (B): When targeted by a dragon’s breath (or other monsters with a breath attack).
• Spells, Rods, or Staves (S): When targeted by a baneful spell or an effect from a magical rod or staff.

When to Roll a Saving Throw

The appropriate saving throw and the effects of success or failure are indicated in the description of the spell, monster attack, or adventure scenario.

Saving Throw Tables

Characters: Each character class has its table denoting the saving throw values of characters of each experience level.

Monsters: Most monsters use the saving throw table under Combat Tables. Some monsters’ descriptions may note that they use the table for a specific character class.

Rolling a Saving Throw

When affected by a spell or attack form that requires a saving throw, the player or referee must roll 1d20 and compare the result to the appropriate saving throw value:

• Greater or equal: A result greater than or equal to the saving throw value is a success.
• Lower: A result of less than the saving throw value is a failure.

Successful Saves

Damaging effects: A successful save against an effect that causes damage means that the damage is halved.

Other effects: A successful saving throw against an effect that does not cause damage means the effect has been entirely avoided or negated.

Saving Throws Versus Poison

Failure: A failed save against poison is usually fatal.

Damage: If a poisonous attack also inflicts damage, the damage is not affected by the success or failure of the saving throw.

Combat

Combat Sequence Per Round

1. Declare: Spells and melee movement.
2. Initiative: Each side rolls 1d6.
3. Winning side acts:
   1. Monster morale
   2. Movement
   3. Missile attacks
   4. Spell casting
   5. Melee attacks
4. Other sides act: In initiative order.

Declare Spells and Melee Movement

Players must inform the referee if they intend to cast a spell or move when in melee. Other actions need not be declared.

Initiative

Roll 1d6: For each side at the start of each round.

Winner: The side with the highest roll acts first. Other sides act in order from highest to lowest roll.

Ties: Both sides may roll again, or actions on both sides may be resolved simultaneously; this means both sides may inflict deadly blows on each other!

Slow Weapons

Combatants attacking with two-handed melee weapons (and some missile weapons—as indicated in the equipment description) always act last in the round, as if they had lost initiative.

Individual Initiative (Optional Rule)

Instead of an initiative roll per side, a roll may be made for each individual involved in a battle, modified by DEX (see Dexterity under Ability Scores). The referee may determine an initiative modifier for very fast or slow monsters instead of applying a DEX modifier.

Monster Morale (Optional Rule)

See Morale (Optional Rule).

Movement

Outside of Melee

Movement rate: Combatants can move up to their encounter movement rate each round.

Maximum duration: Combatants may move at this rate for at most 60 rounds.

In Melee

When in melee with a foe, only the following forms of movement are possible:

• Fighting withdrawal: The combatant moves backward at up to half their encounter movement rate. There must be clear space behind the combatant.
• Retreat: The combatant turns and flees from melee, moving up to their full encounter movement rate. This round: the retreating combatant may not attack; the opponent gains a +2 bonus to all attacks against the retreating combatant and ignores any AC bonus due to the combatant’s shield (if applicable).

Missile Attacks

Possible when opponents are more than 5’ from one another (see Attacking).

Range Modifiers

All missile weapons have ranges noted in the equipment lists.

Short range: +1 bonus to attack rolls.

Medium range: No bonuses or penalties.

Long range: -1 penalty to attack rolls.

Beyond long range: Attack not possible.

Targets Behind Cover

Complete cover: The target cannot be hit.

Partial cover: The referee may apply attack penalties of -1 thru -4 (e.g., a small table might incur a -1 penalty; dense woods might incur a -4 penalty).

Spell Casting

Freedom: The spell caster must be able to speak and move their hands. A spellcaster cannot cast spells if gagged, bound, or in an area of magical silence.

Sole action: No other actions may be taken in the round when casting a spell.

No movement: The spell caster cannot move and cast a spell in the same round.

Line of sight: Unless noted in a spell’s description, the intended target (a specific monster, character, object, or area of effect) must be visible to the caster.

Disrupting Spells

If a spell caster loses initiative and is successfully attacked or fails a saving throw before their turn, the spell being cast is disrupted and fails. It is removed from the caster’s memory as if it had been cast.

Melee Attacks

Possible when opponents are 5’ or less from each other (see Attacking).

Other Sides Act

Repeat steps 3.1 to 3.5 for each side, in order of initiative (highest first).

Attacking

Attack Rolls

1. Roll 1d20
2. Apply modifiers: STR for melee; DEX, range, cover for missile attacks.
3. Determine hit AC: Look up the result in the attack matrix row for the attacker’s THAC0 (see Combat Tables). This column is the AC score that the attack hits.
4. Result: If the hit AC is equal to or lower than the opponent’s AC, the attack hits. Referee rolls for damage.

Ascending Armor Class (Optional Rule)

Groups using the optional rule for Ascending AC (see Game Statistics) should use the following attack procedure instead.

1. Roll 1d20
2. Apply modifiers: STR for melee; DEX, range, cover for missile attacks.
3. Determine hit AC: Add the attackers’s attack bonus to the attack roll. The result is the ascending AC score that the attack hits.
4. Result: If the hit AAC is equal to or higher than the opponent’s AAC, the attack hits. Referee rolls for damage.

1s and 20s

Natural 20 attack rolls always hit. Natural 1 attack rolls always miss.

Invulnerabilities

Some monsters are immune to certain attacks. In this case, damage is not rolled even if an attack hits.

Attacks Per Round

PCs normally attack once per round. Some monsters have multiple attacks.

Attacking and Moving

Movement and attacking may be combined in the same round.

Rolling for Damage

PC attacks: Inflict 1d6 damage. STR modifies the damage of melee attacks.

Monster attacks: Deal damage as indicated in the monster’s description.

Minimum damage: An attack that hits always deals at least one point of damage, even when damage modifiers reduce the number rolled to 0 or less.

Death: A character or monster reduced to 0 hit points or less is killed.

Variable Weapon Damage (Optional Rule)

Some groups may prefer different weapons to inflict different amounts of damage. In this case, PC attacks inflict the damage indicated for the weapon in the equipment lists.