Throwing a Grapple

A grapple is a hook or claw used to catch or hold something. When tied to a rope and thrown to catch a grip, the grapple aids in climbing. A grapple may also be used to drag the bottom of a waterway, catch items floating on the surface of the water and be used to grapple vessels together for convenience or as preliminary to boarding.

Throwing a grapple involves hurling the claw outwards with success, then hooking the claw tightly against resistance by pulling the rope taut. Snagging off the rope to keep it taut is often needed if the rope is then used to retain its hold or to support weight. The process of throwing a grapple is not unlike rolling a d20 to hit. The table shown indicates the armor class that the thrower needs to hit for the grapple to be successfully hooked.

The process requires the full movement rate of the thrower for that melee round. This includes testing the rope if successful, but not snagging the rope off, which requires 2 action points (AP). Failing includes the time needed to hold the rope until the grapple comes to a rest and avoid being hit (automatic) if relevant. It requires 2 rounds to ready a grapple to be used again.

A grapple can be taken as a proficiency. The non-proficiency penalty applies only when the grapple is used as a weapon; however, taking the grapple as a proficiency provides a +3 bonus in throwing. Further, because an emphasis in throwing the grapple can be put on either strength or dexterity, a bonus from one or the other can be applied when throwing a grapple. The strength bonus is applied when holding the grapple; otherwise, the dexterity bonus is applied.

Striking an enemy with a thrown grapple or one that is used in combat will cause 1-4 damage. The table below shows the grapple’s range adjustments.

See Also,
Campaign
Combat
Grappling & Ungrappling Ships

Anachronism

Certain elements of knowledge and technology deviate from Earth's traditional history in the world that I run. That world is meant to take place in the year 1650 (though the passage of time has caused some campaigns have reached 1653).

This page includes a list of instances where circumstances that should exist do not, or where circumstances that should not exist do.

• Chemistry. Theoretical chemistry has it's time scale extended to 1800. For game purposes (and through the influence of magic), it is presumed that knowledge of chemistry (called alchemy) extends 150 years beyond the actual Earth year of the game. Despite this knowledge, however, the vast population continues to be very superstitious, while alchemists with this knowledge are quite lazy in its employment. Additionally, there is a substantial influence from high level druids who wish to maintain the planet's status quo that keeps theoretical chemistry from being applied to mechanical or chemical engineering products (a form of advanced, targeted ludditism).
• Firearms & Cannon. Marginally exist. Technically, it is ruled that the technology for the manufacture of these things allows for their potential creation. Gunpowder can be made, cannons or gun barrels can be forged, the weapons would fire normally upon manufacture. It is judged, however, that the necessity of keeping gunpowder dumps to maintain the effectiveness of these instruments in war are amazingly vulnerable to the employment of magic that all attempts to employ such weapons in large numbers has failed. There are simply too many minor spells or cantrips that could be used by a low level mage - willing to sacrifice their life if need be - to explode gunpowder . . . and many other items or methods-of-delivery that could be carried by others into a camp to easily destroy a very expensive cannon or collection of pistols and flintlocks. Thus firearms & cannon are considered impractical.

See Campaign

Common Language

Describes a universal language spoken by virtually all the races of Alexis' World, superimposed so as to simplify matters of communication.  Early in my experiences as a DM, I found the peculiarities surrounding multiple languages was less than satisfying in game play.  Not having language skills outside of my native language English, I found it difficult to successfully present situations where language was an obstruction ~ and, on the whole, I did not find such situations providing an effective emotional response from players.

So I got rid of commonly used language. The term, "common language," comes from early D&D.  Other languages from common do exist, but almost entirely as written clues, which must be comprehended through the use of spells or applicable sage abilities.

See Campaign

Wishes

Because of fairy tales such as The Ridiculous Wishes or The Monkey's Paw, the value of making a wish in the Dungeons & Dragons game setting has always been subject to a thematic taint. It is unclear, from the style of a particular DM's play, whether or not the existence of the wish is a game feature or an opportunity to produce a spontaneous morality play, with the DM as moralist. Thus players have been required to produce exact words of uncompromising perfection when stating a wish, as an effort to restrain the DM from twisting the intended meaning of the wish and thus punishing the player for daring to use this ridiculously dangerous stab-yourself-in-the-chest ability.

D&D is not a morality play or story and the rules that apply to wishes must restrict the DM as much as the player. The DM cannot be allowed to use his or her discretion. Everyone using a wish should have a clear and reasonable idea of its effect and limitations, enabling them to employ this magic without fear of arbitrary consequence.

Because of the difficulty of this requirement, and the very wide latitude of possible effects that a wish might have, there are consequences that must be considered regarding both the campaign and upon the enjoyment of the game. As Bernard Suits describes it, "Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome necessary obstacles." We don't want to make the power of wishing so formidable that it will overwhelm the game and make every desire possible for the players, so that the game ceases to be worth playing. At the same time, we do not want to contain the effectiveness of the wish by means of threat, guilt, supposed punishment for choosing the wrong things or by means of the DM's autocratic authority.

The rules below are intended to solve this quandary.

Rule 1: the DM is not allowed to misconstrue the player's intended purpose. When making a wish, the player should be able to specify clearly what is wanted, in circumstances where what's asked for is not merely a thing or an event. Most of the time, the point of inconsistency will likely result from an interpretation of the rules on this page. The onus falls upon the DM to empower the player to make themselves clear, discussing the matter before the wish is made, if need be. The DM should also be prepared to ret-con the wish and its results in the time immediately after the wish has taken place, if need be, in order to ensure that the player is completely happy with their intended purpose. Take note: if the player takes an inordinate amount of time to settle on the desired wish in a situation where time is relevant, such as during combat, the player's indecision should be held against the player by requiring a round or more to pass before the wish's asking has actually come to pass.

In all cases, the DM should always provide the most likely standard thing, in the most standard fashion that is recognized. That is, a "wagon" will always be of the most probable size of wagon that is for sale at a particular town, and not something much larger or much smaller. If an earthquake is wished for, the DM should decide upon the most probable size of earthquake that would meaningfully get the attention of people (that is, "feels" like an earthquake). The DM should not produce some minor tremor and argue that it is "technically" an earthquake, or even that "most earthquakes" are only tremors. When we think "earthquake," we have an image of widespread damage. The DM should recognize that wishes are meant to be powerful and adhere to that standard. The player will be wholly justified in receiving exactly what was wished for, without niggling or poor practice on the DM's part.

Rule 2: the Player is not permitted to needlessly accessorize the wish. It should be understand that one wish means to ask for one thing. Desirably, the player should be able to wish for a thing or event, and then apply one adjective to that wish. For example, the player could ask for a blue wagon, but not a big, blue wagon. Thus the player is enjoined to minimally describe the effect or thing desired, without positing that it has additional abilities, features, persons to service the thing or any other addition which must be considered a an additional wish. With regards to an earthquake, a player could ask for a "big" earthquake or a "devastating" earthquake, but not an earthquake that alsospecifically targets a specific house. That's two wishes and cannot therefore be managed with one wish. If the word "and" or "but" or "also" can be inserted into a given wish, it is probably two or more wishes and should be exempted.

Rule 3: the Player's character cannot affect things the Player cannot fully comprehend or identify. For example, a player's character cannot wish to "abolish France." In no way can the player fully comprehend the full nature of France, or any other entity that is vastly beyond the player's conception. Likewise, the player could not wish to change the course of a river they have never seen and cannot comprehend (particularly in a world without clear maps), nor ask for the deaths of thousands of people who cannot be personally known and identified by the player, nor ask for anything on a scale with which the player's character has no reckoning.

The Player's character can wish for things that affect persons or entities about which the player has sage knowledge, but only insofar as that knowledge reaches. For example, a player who is aware of a King's existence on the throne of a particular country can wish for the death of that king (but cannot name the manner of death, as that would be a second wish) ~ but would not be able to wish for the death of a specific King's advisor whose name isn't known, though it is fairly certain the King does have an advisor. Take note that to ask for the death of the most trusted advisor would break rule #2; the death of a single advisor could be asked for, but not specified.

In general, it should be assumed that the player's character can wish for things that directly affect his or her self; places where they are or have been; creatures which they recognize or can name and events regarding the consequences of which can be reasonably comprehended. The fallout from the obliteration of France is far too uncertain to be included in this list ~ and we must assume that the combined will of the gods and all other magical beings in the known universe are there to check the ad hoc disappearance of massively important entities.

Rule 4: The Player's character cannot meaningfully alter the game's fundamental structure. Players will be inclined to wish for the most obvious things: to be stronger, to be smarter, to possess more experience, to be able to cast more spells and be harder to hit and so on. Since this rule must take into account the running of an 18th level mage able to cast a wish spell [placeholder] every day, the possibility of increasing every stat of every party member, and all their followers, to a maximum degree, is a game breaking circumstance.

Therefore, it is argued that while the Player may be able to conceive the difference between, say, having 10,000 x.p. and 20,000 x.p., the player's character cannot. If the character were to ask to be wiser, more powerful, etcetera, they would be doing this without the benefit of having numbers assigned to these things that would tell them they were more powerful. Therefore, while the character would believe they were more experienced, wiser, stronger and so on, the character's actual stats would not change.

The character's wish might be more specific. If the character said, "I wish to be strong enough to break open that door," that would be granted ~ but it would NOT translate into a change of stats and it would not translate to every door. If the character were to say, "I wish to be strong enough to break every door," the specificity of the wish is lacking; it requires an answer to the question "where;" the implied answer, "in the universe," is an accessorization of "every door," and therefore is counted as two wishes. Not just every door, but every door somewhere.

Likewise, characters cannot be made smarter about things such as sage abilities. They can wish for an ability such as, "I wish I could ride a horse," which can be translated into the minimum of sage ability that enables this. A character could not, however, propose, "I wish I were an alchemist," because the player has no conception of alchemy and this would break rule #3.

Conclusion

For the present, I am convinced these rules serve to contain the power of the wish, while enabling a considerable amount of latitude on the player's part. In general, I believe that a player possessing a wish should be entitled to wreak considerable effect on the world, within the above boundaries.

It should be noted by players that wishes do not occur in a vacuum. If a king were wished dead, very likely the source of the death would be known within minutes, as the king is surrounded by clerics and mages with divination spells and other determination methods at their disposal; the king would likely be wished alive again within the hour, which would then create a focused effort to identify (again, through various means), the name of the original wisher, the location of said wisher and, within a few hours, the presence of a number of high level officials and potentially assassins teleported to that location for the purpose of arresting, killing or otherwise punishing the wrong-doer.

Players should always be aware that the presence of wishes in a campaign are a sort of nuclear option, where everyone with the power tends to treat its effects upon the powerful with a no-hands-on policy. Mess with them and they will mess with you. And since everyone in the world agrees to this cold war, there are many, many more ready to stamp down on a non-conformist than the number of non-conformists the player character likely knows.

No doubt, more theoretical points will have to be added to this page, given future instances where the wish crops up in a campaign. In no manner should it be assumed that this page pretends to cover all possible contingencies.

See Also,
Campaign
Limited Wish

Wild Magic

A form of magic that does not correspond to spells, devices or any other form of controlled necromancy, existing in the natural world as a random, inconstant influence on events and happenstance. Virtually anything can be explained as random magic, such as coincidence, synchronicity, fate, karma, ball lightning, creatures falling from the sky, spontaneous combustion, the origin of horrid or baffling creatures and so on . . . any and all of which may defy explanation.

Upon another level, wild magic is the impetus that puts in motion all the forces of the universe. It is the soul of power that resides at the base of all things, the ghost in the machine, the atman, the means by which breathing powers the body. It is the magic that makes crops grow and seas rise, that topples mountains and cracks open the earth, that brings gravity and magnetism into existence, that causes the atomic foundation of matter to be orchestrated in the manner that it is. Wild magic is the thing that even the gods must take into account where it comes to the rules that define their limitations as well as those of mortals.

There is no reliable way to control wild magic. One method of perpetrating its existence is the discipline of occultism, which can have potentially disastrous consequences when invoked.

The reasons for my wanting there to be such a thing as wild magic should be obvious; it serves as a handwaving mechanism for all the absurdities and inconsistencies that exist in a D&D world. At the same time, as a DM, I do not invoke wild magic as a justification to do whatever I desire; it is an explanation for the weirdness of the world, and only that.

See Campaign

Trade & Equipment

The following pages are related to trade, distribution of resources and equipment for purchase.

Armor List
Coins
Equipment Notes
Freight
References
Sources
Trade System
Weapons List

See General Index

Ternketh Keep (module)

Ternketh Keep is a module produced by Alexis Smolensk that can be purchased for $10 through a donation on the blog, Tao of D&D.  The module is presented in Publisher Format, as a PDF or as a set of Images. The benefit to the Publisher version is that all the parts of the module - furniture, doors, walls, etc. - are fully interactive and can be used to build other adventures.

The description below gives an abridged version of the modules' introduction:

INTRODUCTION

Ternketh Town is an unusual collection of floating platforms, and bridges that drift some two thousand feet above the ground. At the center of these is Ternketh Keep, a place of peace and contemplation where monks and lords would rest, study and converse. The floating town was launched more than a thousand years ago for reasons that aren’t precisely known (it is suggested the DM should create a reason that suits the campaign); since that time it has drifted from land to land, moving in a great circle over the whole world.

The contents of the keep, and its history, should allow for the DM to create a unique purpose for the keep that does not necessarily conform to the one I chose to run for my campaign. In the game that I ran, the keep was deserted, the inhabitants attacked and killed by nearly two hundred harpies. This happened about four years ago. These harpies dwelt in great numbers on Ternketh for a time, until the number of victims dwindled and the harpies left in groups. There remain a dozen of the beasts in Ternketh Keep.

Approaching Ternketh

It is presumed that the party has some means of reaching the town. Perhaps they have an airship, perhaps they are able to fly or they are teleported into the adventure by themselves or by someone powerful. If themselves, it is suggested that the number of beasts (or the type of beasts) be greatly altered. I would estimate that the adventure as planned would be sufficient to frighten a group of 5th – 8th level characters, depending on how much healing power they have. The original idea was intended for AD&D . . . so adjustments would have to be made in the number and power of the creatures if the adventure were adapted for later editions. Going forward, the description hereafter will presume the party has arrived in an airship.

Ternketh Town

The main town is made of platforms that surround the keep in a large circle. Each of these platforms, or ‘docks,’ are large enough to serve as a foundation for a dozen residences that are built together as a block, with a narrow street that runs around the outside. This street is perhaps ten to fifteen feet wide and serves only foot traffic.

The docks are built close together, so that one can cross from dock to dock by rope bridges, 10 to 30 feet long. Underneath the docks are posts, as though the docks were built on water – but of course, the docks float.

The party’s airship can be used to look down into the keep (in which case, the Ramparts map should be shown to the party). If the airship is small enough, the party can set down in the yard; alternately, the party may wish to dock the airship to the outer wall and step onto the ramparts. The party may also prefer to dock the ship somewhere by the town and proceed to the keep using the bridge between the keep and the town (see below).

Townspeople

There yet remain a dozen of the beasts and perhaps a hundred people – these are protected by a venerable wizard, Shan, who is too old to campaign or fight. Shan keeps a part of the town safe by setting out glyphs and wards, the precise location of which he changes. The harpies have been caught by these and now leave the remaining residents of Ternketh alone. The party can meet these residents, and Shan, who can explain what has happened.

Shan will have a limited knowledge of the interior of the keep. He will say that it has two levels below ground, that there is a treasure room and that there are an unknown number of harpies who dwell there, that there are barracks for soldiers and a central tower where the chief lord dwelt. He had only visited the keep many times, but as he did not live there his only experience is with the yard itself (the ‘ground’ of the keep). He has not been even there in ten years, as he was getting quite aged when the harpies attacked.

If the party decides to enter the keep and see about cleaning it out and finding the treasure room, Shan has little he can do to help. He possesses no potions, no magic items, no special gifts to give; he cannot even offer to put a ward on the party to protect them because he needs all he has for the town. He cannot walk along with the party and the other people of the town are too frightened to go anywhere near the keep. The party should not expect help.

Approaching the Keep

While the keep is in the middle of the town, no part of the keep is less than 100 feet from the nearest edge of any town dock. It can be approached without flying only by the stone bridge that links one town dock with the east edge of the Keep. This bridge is narrow, only about eight feet, with walls on either side that are only two feet high and crowned with machicolations (which are about three and a half feet above the stones of the bridge). The walls are only a foot thick, the machicolations only six inches. Obviously, the nature of the bridge was designed to discourage persons from wandering across for pleasure. The dock side of the bridge has no fortifications whatsoever, suggesting that the town was friendly in design and rulership.

Mythology

A growing account of all things mystical, magical and supernatural in the game world, including the nature of religion and religious iconography, the presence of gods and their minions and the planes of existence, establishing the nature of the "unknown universe" that is outside the scientific and perceptible, or ordinary universe.

Abaddon, Keyholder of the Abyss
Abyss
Angel
Avalon
Brisingamen
Chidambarum
Crann Bethadh
Demonic Culture and Origins
Demonic Possession
Devilish Culture
Eden
Elysium
Four Elements
Gehenna
Grigori
Higher Planes of Existence
Jannah
Lower Planes of Existence
Outer Planes
Pandemonium, one of the Outer Planes
Paradise
Prime Material Plane
Purgatory
Tartarus*
Thought Made Manifest*
War in Heaven
Wild Magic, magic that manifests without direction or purpose

Clothing Insulation (CLO)

The insulation of clothes are often measured in the unit "CLO", where 1 corresponds to the insulating value of clothing that is needed to maintain a person in comfort, sitting at rest, in a room that is 21 C (there are other considerations but these can be ignored for game purposes).

My general concern is that players are able to determine the appropriate amount of clothing that their characters should be wearing for each temperature grade - and that they are able to easily calculate what their CLO would be if they wore this or that. Here is the table on the left as a downloaded excel file, which allows the character to write 'yes' to each piece of clothing they are wearing, to have their total CLO calculated:

"Comfort" for game purposes is defined as the character operating at all ability scores at full. As discomfort increases, however, ability scores fall - as the character becomes less able to strain, reason, endure, react or maintain a peaceful disposition. It is desirable that players should consider the weather before launching themselves upon an adventure, taking into consideration things like their lower ability stats, the amount of armor they can reasonable expect to wear and the amount of time they can engage in combat before suffering serious fatigue.

The table gives a general sense of the comfort level that is possible, depending upon the temperature grade and the amount of insulation the character has added. The comfort level is indicated by the amount of CLO that must be worn at that temperature grade. For each temperature grade the character is removed from their comfort level - whether due to the weather being hotter or colder - that counts as a 1 point reduction to their ability stats.

For example:

Albert is wearing clothing sufficient to give him a CLO of 0.8; he is residing where the temperature is warm and he is taking no action. He is therefore comfortable, as any clo between above 0.5 to 1.0 is sufficient to be comfortable.

However, Albert decides to go to the market; as he is moving about, buying things, his 0.8 CLO is now above the 0.5 maximum that is necessary for him to be comfortable. As a result, all his ability stats count as 1 point lower.

Albert sits down to rest, but the sun shines harder and it becomes balmy. He is still not comfortable, because now the maximum amount of CLO he can wear is 0.5 - so that even sitting he is -1 to all ability stats. However, he fights back and removes his doublet with sleeves, reducing his CLO to 0.5. He's bareskinned from the waist up but he's comfortable. His stats revert to normal.

The evening comes and the temperature drops down to pleasant. Unfortunately for Albert, he can't find his doublet - and now he needs to be wearing a CLO of at least 1.0 to be comfortable. Whereas before he was too warm, now he is too cold. Once again, his ability stats drop by one point.

See Also,
Campaign
Temperature Grades

Clothing Insulation Calculator

The calculator can be found at this link.

The link is an excel spreadsheet intended to simplify the comparison of clothing worn, in different weather conditions, with the relative comfort of the character. Some liberties have been taken ~ many of the clothing insulation modifiers have been adjusted for what I believe would be more accurate for medieval clothing. However, anyone using the document can easily change the variables as they wish.

The calculator then adds together the combined CLO (clothing insulation) for all articles worn. Then the user must input the temperature, in celsius. This then calculates the "ease": the amount of CLO necessary to be perfectly comfortable while at rest.

Then there are figures that indicate the amount of damage that a character will suffer if participating in that activity with their present "ease" for a 12-hour-period ~ that is, a day of travel or a night of sleeping/rest. Hit point penalties are indicated if it is too cold for the clothing that is worn or if it is too hot.

Moreover, there are three lines for calculating the effect of "heating up" while in combat. As combat goes on, characters will begin to sweat uncomfortably, to the point where they will begin to take damage PER ROUND in addition to all other considerations.

This is entirely optional, obviously, for anyone using the table for their campaign.

See Campaign

Addiction (malady)

Addiction in my game describes the compulsion that characters possess for hard drink or for stimulants and hallucinogens (such as tobacco, opium or qat), the dependency upon which can require a character to daily partake, at some expense, or to become stressed and less effective when these substances are not available.

Most often, a character will acquire an addiction through the character background generator, due to a negative roll against a middle to low wisdom. Addictions are reckoned as a measurement of material that must be drunk, eaten or smoked within the space of a day or a week. When addicted characters fail to obtain their dose, they can temporarily lose ability points or combat ability until such time as they can acquire a 'fix.'

Kicking an Addiction

To get rid of an addiction, a character must make a wisdom check each day to abstain from use of the substance. Success at this roll will not, in the short term, suspend the negative consequences of failing to partake, it is the only path that will, in the long run, end the dependency. The character must, initially, succeed at a wisdom check for seven days running. All wisdom checks are presumed to have been made at sunrise of a particular day. For each successful string of seven days, a character will receive a +1 bonus to all further wisdom checks with regards to their addiction, provided they do not fail to make a wisdom check and attempt to relapse. In relapsing, the character will immediately take steps to acquire the substance they need and use it. If this occurs, the character has lost all ground gained and must begin their resistance anew.

It should be obvious that this makes it almost impossible for a character to become free from an addiction on their own. It is so easy to relapse that, if the substance they need is available, they will certainly fail again and again to kick their addiction. There are, therefore, only two real paths to kicking their addiction:

• The first is for others to take steps, often combative steps, to ensure that the character cannot relapse even if the character attempts to do so. If it happens that the character, failing to make a wisdom check, is kept from relapsing until sunrise the following day, they will be entitled to another wisdom check. If this succeeds, the character will not attempt to relapse that day, the crisis will be past and the character's forward accumulation of days is not compromised.
• Secondly, the character can put themselves under the care of a physician able to aid in detoxification. This will give a +3 bonus to all wisdom checks made under the physician's care, in addition to bonuses gained by repeated weeks of success.

Thus, the path of success will mean that the character, with the help of friends and a physician, will steadily improve their bonuses week by week until it is impossible for them to fail a wisdom check.

Further Issues

Note, however, that friends must be vigilant in keeping a watch on an addicted character, as the character will give no sign of intending to relapse. As well, the player, having spent multiple sessions with a character of lowered strength, dexterity or other ability statistic will likely want to quit their treatment, returning to their use of whatever substance. These negative consequences, difficult as they are, do not go away until characters have truly freed themselves of the dependency.

Finally, a character can be compelled to fight other characters (though I do not support player-vs-player, this is a special case) from a sort of madness, if physical restraint is applied against a character's will. In cases where a character is in a town, where these substances are easily available, this may be necessary.

To determine a character's success at obtaining a substance in a town or city (where anyone might possess the substance), the character should make an intelligence check; success would indicate that the character has somehow met an individual willing to pass the substance quietly into the character's possession (addicted persons help each other). One other random character in the party, keeping watch on the addicted character, should make a wisdom check to see if this exchange is observed. If it is not, consider this:

The character may obtain this substance on a day when they have not failed their wisdom check - just in case they may want it later. Therefore, the character may already be ready to use the substance with a wisdom check is failed . . . potentially within minutes of sunrise. Thus, a failed wisdom check by the party will mean the relapse has occurred, even in the wilderness. Occasionally subjecting the addicted character to a search could prevent this, but any such searches that occur when the character is actually in possession (make the intelligence check to know) should result in a player-vs.-player conflict. Suffice to say that choice of weapons is left up to the characters.

Last, it must be noted that each time a character wants to relapse and fails to do so, the character should make a system shock survival roll (see Player's Handbook). Failure to succeed at this roll will mean the character will fall to a random disease of random nature and degree.

See Campaign

Mercenary Hirelings

When hiring mercenaries, the type that are available is dependent on the wisdom check of the character seeking for such persons (see Enlistment of Hirelings). See the table below:

The table indicates the modifier to the character's wisdom in seeking the mercenary hireling sought. For example a character with a 16 wisdom makes a wisdom check in acquiring a hireling, rolling a 7. This is 9 points below the character's wisdom, so the list of hirelings that are available for hire are those with a modifier of -9 or better. The artillerist, which has a modifier of -10, means that the character would need to roll a 6 or less to have a chance of finding such a person.

Because of the difficulties in finding truly unusual or experienced mercenaries, characters are encouraged to hire agents to find such persons rather than seeking directly for them. On the other hand, easy to locate mercenaries such as light footmen or light archers may be easily found by characters who may even have a relatively low wisdom.

The table above also indicates the weapons, armor and cost of such mercenaries. At present, I have no plans to make this table adjustable for the difference between one market and another ~ but perhaps someday I might.

See Campaign

Intoxication

Characters who choose to imbibe ale, mead, beer, wine, spirits and other intoxicating beverages may be subject to becoming intoxicated. There are three states of intoxication:

• flushed, where characters self-identify physical or mental feelings not associated with sobriety.
• tight, where characters self-identify as being aware of their surroundings but have difficulty controlling their physical selves.
• smashed, where characters cease to effectively self-identify.

A sober character who fails a save upon imbibing alcohol becomes flushed; another failed save makes the character tight and a third save will cause the character to be smashed. Saving throws are indicated below, based on weight and race.

Reaching any of these states will have effects upon various attributes of the character, as indicated on the right. Intelligence, wisdom, dexterity and charisma are lowered as the state of intoxication deepens (*bards are immune to charisma effects).

Moreover, with characters that are smashed, every decision that the character makes that is not a response to some other action (being asked a question, being led, being attacked and so on) requires that the character make either an intelligent check or wisdom check (player's option) before such action can be initiated. The DM should feel free to judge these situations on a case-by-case basis, but the player's perspective should always be taken into account.

The increase in hit points reflects a diminished sense of pain, fear and caution experienced by persons who are inebriated, as well as a general tolerance for physical abuse. It must be noted, however, that if those hit points that have been gained from intoxication are reduced to zero, the character must make a dexterity check (taking into account the character's lowered dexterity) to see if the character has also sustained an injury at that time. The amount of injury points a failed roll produces will be equal to 1 for a flushed state, 1-2 for a tight state and 1-3 for a smashed state. The injury will not be felt, however, until after the character has become sober - so that the character's effectiveness should not be adjusted until that time (though any healing given to an intoxicated character must address the injury before improving the character's hit points).

Once imbibing enough, the character makes a save against progressing to the next level of intoxication:

The numbers listed under each character race indicate the saving throw that must be made if a 'drink' is taken (according to the character's weight). A drink is defined as 2 ounces of spirits, 8 ounces of strong ale (as opposed to a short beer, an ale-like drink made without hops) or 6 ounces of wine. Once this amount has been consumed, a saving throw can be made to determine if the character has increased their inebriation or not. Only one saving throw must be failed for the character to become flushed. It requires two failed saving throws altogether for a character to become tight (counting the one that made the character flushed). It requires three failed saving throws to cause a character to become smashed. In each case, the saving throw is adjusted by constitution as noted.

Where time is a factor, the character should roll a d6 to see how many ten minute periods it takes for the increased inebriation to take hold. For example, a male dwarf weighing 155 lbs., with a 14 constitution, fails to roll the necessary 9 on a d20 to retain his present sobriety. However, though the greater inebriation is now inevitable, it requires 1d6 x 10 minutes to pass before our dwarf feels these effects. We may imagine that he rolls a 4, indicating he will become flushed in 40 minutes. However, our dwarf continues to drink during that time. He has another glass of ale and fails again, approximately 30 minutes before he is due to become flushed. He rolls a d6 again and now he rolls a 1 - indicating he will be tight in 10 minutes. When this case arises, presume that the character will move from sober (none of what he has drunk so far has had any notable effect) to tight all at once, once the ten minutes have passed. Where conflicts occur, consider only the result where the greatest degree of intoxication will occur.

There is room on this system for other forms of intoxicants, such as mead, dwarven ale, etcetera. Simply assign an amount in ounces for such that defines that beverage as a "drink" - then roll a saving throw accordingly when that amount is consumed.

See Campaign

Rouse Sleeping Creatures

Creatures in normal sleep may be aroused by noise or physical interaction, the result being dependent on how much noise, how specific the noise is and how physical is the effort of waking. Creatures are divided into three groups: heavy sleepers, normal sleepers and light sleepers. The effect of stimuli on each kind of sleeper is as follows:

• Heavy sleepers must be aroused by shouting that is done very close or by rough shaking. This requires 3 action points (AP) expenditure from an outsider, who must enter the sleeper's hex first (which counts as an additional AP cost). Loud sounds such as combat or shouting that happens around the sleeper will eventually awake the sleeper in 2 to 3 rounds (with a 50% chance of each). For 1 round after waking, heavy sleepers are -3 to hit in combat and cannot spellcast. Treat as fully awake thereafter.
• Normal sleepers can be aroused by shouting their name or giving a single kick costing 2 AP, either of which can be done from an adjacent hex. If done from 2-3 hexes away, normal sleepers will awake upon hearing their names on the second attempt (in the next round), or from hearing the sound of fighting. For 1 round after waking, normal sleepers will be -1 to hit in combat and can spellcast only cantrips or 1st level spells. Treat as fully awake thereafter.
• Light sleepers will be aroused by hearing any non-stealthy stranger moving within one hex of their person, upon hearing their name hissed from two hexes away, or upon being touched. This last requires 1 AP expenditure from an outsider in an adjacent hex. Additionally, the sound of a weapon leaving its scabbard, a crossbow being loaded, an arrow whizzing past or any weapon contact will awake them. Light sleepers should be treated as fully awake at once.

Determining if a creature is a heavy, normal or light sleeper is as follows:

• Magical creatures of all forms, including undead, faeries, creatures from the outer planes and dragons, should be counted as light sleepers. This group will also include beasts with an intelligence greater than 7 (average), along with animal felines and canines.
• All other non-humanoid creatures should be counted as normal sleepers.

Humanoids are calculated as follows:

• When known, add intelligence, wisdom and constitution to obtain a sum.
• For monster humanoids where wisdom and constitution are not known, double the monster's intelligence and add the equivalent of the humanoid's probable strength. For example, a bugbear's intelligence is 8 and it's strength is considered to be 17. This produces a sum of 33. Where applicable, make estimates based on this principle.
• For monster humanoids, add 1 point per hit die above the first. A bugbear would add 2 points.
• For player demi-humans and humans, add 1 point per level.
• Thieves, assassins and monks should add an additional 3 points.
• Mages, illusionists and bards should subtract 3 points.

If the sum is 36 or less, the humanoid is a heavy sleeper. If the sum is between 37 and 45, the humanoid is a normal sleeper. If the sum is 46 or better, the humanoid is a light sleeper.

This system is deliberately designed to be prejudiced against humanoids, for game-playing purposes.


See Also,

Campaign

Combat
Helpless Defenders

Enlistment of Hirelings

[this needs a note about charisma]

For details regarding the relationship between characters and hired persons, see Hirelings.

Hirelings are paid per month, up front, before they participate in any activity. It is presumed for game purposes that player characters have some reasonable ability to determine the quality of persons applying to be hired, and that given the time and circumstances of the campaign setting that most persons are much more loyal and respectful than in the present day. As such, it is presumed that a hireling will not flee with their wages, unless the employer deliberately accepts hirelings of poor quality (see below).

When enlisted, hirelings will provide the base materials necessary to perform their jobs. For example, men-at-arms will provide their own armor and weapons; artisans will have the specialized tools necessary to perform their work; a rider will typically provide their own horse; a scribbler their own pens. However, it should be noted that permanent structures will not be made available by the hireling, such as laboratories, forges, ships and boats, office furniture and so on. These things will have to be provided by the employer.

Methods of Location

There are four basic methods of seeking persons who can be enlisted as hirelings:

Frequenting Inns & Taverns will cost characters 5 g.p. per day in bribes, drinks and other insundries, enabling them to interview enough persons to have a chance of locating reputable hirelings. By this method, the character makes a wisdom check. If the check succeeds, the enlistment of a hireling will be successful that day. The character may make an attempt to locate a hireling once per day, to a limit of one day per 1,000 persons (with a minimum of once) that inhabit the city, town or village, per month. This means that if a given city were to have a population of 8,000, the character could attempt to find hirelings in that city eight days out of every month, indefinitely. A city with more than 30,000 persons can be searched every day without fail.

Hiring a Crier will cost characters 20 g.p. per day. The crier being hired must be a local resident, who will carry the respect and trust of those who hear. A crier will drive potential hirelings to the character, freeing the character to act otherwise for the main part of the day. Hiring a crier will allow the character to make two wisdom checks per day, the success of each resulting in an enlisted hireling. Since criers are in high demand, a crier may only be hired once per 3,000 persons that inhabit the city, town or village, per month. Thus, in a city of 8,000 persons, a crier could be hired three times per month.

Posting Notices in Public will cost characters a flat outlay of 50 g.p. To do so, however, requires that the character be able to prove residence, have a writ of passage, be a member of a local guild or in some similar way show themselves to be a citizen of worthy standing. Over the space of a week, posting notices will enable the character to make one wisdom check per 1,000 persons that inhabit the city, town or village. Each successful roll will result in an enlisted hireling.

Hiring Agents to Seek Prospects will cost characters a flat outlay of 10 g.p. per prospect sought. No roll must be made, as the agents who have been hired will provide the enlisted hirelings as requested. The maximum number that can be enlisted by this method will be equal to one hireling per 500 persons that inhabit the city, town or village. An agent will take a minimum of two weeks to provide up to twenty hirelings, then an extra week over and above that for each additional twenty hirelings desired. Thus, to provide 100 hirelings would require six weeks.

Nature of Hirelings

When obtained, hirelings will typically possess a morale of 9 (several factors may adjust this number). Ability stats can be rolled, usually with 3d6. Most hirelings, those who possess one amateur skill (see Sage Abilities) will not have an experience level. All hirelings who possess an authority-level skill, a study or a knowledge field will have one or more experience levels.

Players who have successfully obtained more hirelings than they actually want will likely want lists of ability stats and personal skills that will enable them to choose the best candidates for enlistment. It should be assumed that characters cannot distinguish the difference between one potential candidate and another from a surface interview, and that the hireling enlisted was, in the opinion of the character at the time, the best person for the job. This will save enormous amounts of time.

Types of Hirelings

There are many, many varieties of hireling that can be hired. At the moment, this list is a placeholder for additional content to be added later. For the present, I will add a link for the one type that was requested by my campaign: the mercenary.

Poor Hirelings

Characters who are desperate for any hireling may choose to ignore their wisdom checks and merely accept any person who applies. The purpose of the wisdom check above is to enable the character to disregard an unworthy applicant ~ but the character may choose to hire them nonetheless, from desperation or from the surety of knowing the hireling cannot escape (for shipboard crew, for example).

In such cases, the hireling should be judged to have a base morale above nine. A d6 is rolled, resulting in a morale of 12 [1-3], 11 [4-5] or 10 [6].

Such persons will be of low character. Each day that they are required to work, the hireling should make a morale check ~ a failure will result in one of three possible effects. In each case, the hireling will have:

• done something grossly incompetent, resulting in something of value being wasted or damaged. Roll randomly among items/materials the hireling regularly affects.
• acted dishonestly, rolling a d20 on a list including theft of something worth less than 5 g.p. [1-5], drunkenness [6-9], deliberate failure to work or accomplish anything [10-17], lying in a way that causes someone else to act incompetently [18-19] or acting in a manner that allows an outsider to make use of tools, facilities or the name of the employer [20].
• initiated an aggressive encounter with a co-worker, a guest of the employer, a tradesperson or other outsider, chosen by the DM. Such disputes will usually result in a minor fracas, a point or two of damage and potentially an unwillingness to participate together among co-workers, or a refusal to provide services by outsiders.

Hirelings of this type may have their morale improved by a forced situation in which they have to act in a positive manner. They will never, however, cease to be some sort of problem.

See Also,
Campaign

Hirelings