charisma doesn't necessarily mean how charming you are, it also includes your appearance, so if you look like satin people tend not to like you to much
@anarchist i can't remember but that's my story and i'm sticking to it
@ajardoor they're not mine, they're yours. PC dwarves can be whatever. NPC dwarves are theoretically vikings until they open their mouths, at which point my lack of any proper conception of a convincing "viking accent" puts their heritage in doubt.
make it as a wizard, only spells either take 5 minutes to cast (rituals) and can be attached to an object or are always on (subject to approval) spells can be from the cleric druid or wizard list.
plus you get a random deformity. find a chart and roll it
Zak, how do you resolve thieves using their skills? I understand I wouldn't necessarily need to know this as a player -- assuming you roll the dice -- but I might want to port this system over to my home game.
Awesome way to keep things simple. You could add some kind of cool bonus for characters built with the Bad Motherfucker rules. Like max hp, free dog, random trait or magic ability, etc. that they get the first time they play.
Character generation rules for Zak's games ("AD&D20")...
1. There are methods of character generation, disaggregated by associated bragging rights, choose whichever you want...
A) ("Pornstar's first character" rules): Roll 4d6, pick the 3 highest and assign to the 6 stats. These are the rules the girls used for their first characters. B) ("Veteran" rules): Roll 3d6 for each stat, assign as you please. C) ("Bad Motherfucker" rules): Roll 3d6, in order.
2. Here are my canonical races and their associated bonuses, click to enlarge... [Image]You can also be a sea elf (can survive underwater indefinitely but has to be fully immersed for ten minutes once per day) or, if you want to get crazy with it, any other thing you want so long as it's humanoid, its bonuses and penalties balance and you can convince me it's cool before gametime.
3. We use the 3.5 system, for bonuses and penalties. Like if you have a 12 or 13 in a stat, you're +1 to things associated with that stat, if you have an 8 or 9, that's -1, 6 or 7 is -2, etc. Write the number next to the stat. That same link will tell you where your base melee mod, damage mod, missile mod, ac mod, save mod and con mod are. Or just ask me and I can hook you up.
4. Classes available are Ranger, Paladin, Barbarian, Cleric, Thief (Rogue), Druid, Wizard, Fighter. Feel free to reskin them. I am also experimenting with a witch class, if you want in on that, talk to me. Once you pick a class, write down the attack bonus and save mods for your class from here.
5. You do not start at first level with maximum hit points. If your con penalty is such that you'd get 0 or fewer hit points, take d4.
6. No feats or skills. Except: thieves get skills--just pick 8 from the list here. No skill points, just pick 8. Pick 9 if you have an 18 int.
7. Other stuff to pick for your class and starting gp is summarized below, click to enlarge...[Image](The barbarian part is messed up--add 4 to strength and con when raging--which you can do once per day.)
8. If you have a lot of time before the game, go here or to the AD&D player's handbook and buy stuff with your starting gp. If you don't, just tell me what you want and get it ok'd. If you write down a weapon's special 3.5-style crit you can have it--if you forget, you don't. We use "size m": damage only.
Any reasonable item on neither of those lists may be bought on a penny, nickel, dime, quarter, dollar basis. PCs may have familiars or buy dogs according to these rules, but all brand new PCs in any given party can only have one attack animal between them.
9. Clerics: possible gods...Vorn: Grim grey god of iron and rain, Tittivila: horned goddess of mutation and healing, Gor: bullheaded god of law, Ch'od: esoteric weirdo god, Cult of the White Web: Creepy spider cult, or invent one of your own. After and only after you have chosen your path, the DM will reveal special spells available to those of your order.
10. If you got spells, note duration, area of effect, etc. They can be from any system you want so long as you're comfortable with me tweaking them. I may use AD&D or 3.5 versions of spells, it's idiosyncratic, if my interpretation of a spell totally harshes your buzz we will discuss it before play starts and come to an agreement.
11. You may import old characters from any D&D-derivative (S&W, LL, C&C, 4e, Rolemaster, Tekumel, WFRP, LOTFP, DCC, Harn, Gurps, Pendragon, etc.) into the campaign if you have them, if they had 0 xp (or less) as of July 26, 2011, and if their stats can be intelligibly rendered in D&D format as a character of the appropriate level for the adventure I'm running. Strip them back to stats and hp, figure out the bonuses and penalties, and transfer them over. Consult me about anything weird or high-powered, we'll negotiate about it.
12. You may want to roll up a backup character or two. Motherfuckers die.
______
When's the next adventure? Don't know. Not in a planning kinda mood.
"If You Want To Be In One Of My Games..."
19 Comments -
Your gnome did gnoble service. Vorn smiles upon him.
August 12, 2011 at 10:42 PM
Awesome.
August 12, 2011 at 10:49 PM
Are your dwarves Scottish, Vikings or Dwarf Fortress?
August 13, 2011 at 3:43 AM
Why do Tieflings get minus Charisma and plus Wisdom? I would have thought it'd be the opposite, since they're demon-like.
August 13, 2011 at 4:02 AM
charisma doesn't necessarily mean how charming you are, it also includes your appearance, so if you look like satin people tend not to like you to much
August 13, 2011 at 4:24 AM
@jeff
unless you give them max hp at first level...
@anarchist
i can't remember but that's my story and i'm sticking to it
@ajardoor
they're not mine, they're yours. PC dwarves can be whatever. NPC dwarves are theoretically vikings until they open their mouths, at which point my lack of any proper conception of a convincing "viking accent" puts their heritage in doubt.
August 13, 2011 at 8:18 AM
Goddamn.
This is nice and simple. I'm totally going to be adopting this* for future games I run.
*...with my own tweaks of course - LotFP thief skills, f'rex :P
August 13, 2011 at 9:09 AM
if i remember correctly, that witch class seemed pretty cool, wouldn't mind trying that
August 13, 2011 at 12:22 PM
"unless you give them max hp at first level..."
I had one guy get an MU up to 5th level with 5 hit points.
August 13, 2011 at 2:57 PM
@syrus
make it as a wizard, only spells either take 5 minutes to cast (rituals) and can be attached to an object or are always on (subject to approval) spells can be from the cleric druid or wizard list.
plus you get a random deformity. find a chart and roll it
August 13, 2011 at 11:03 PM
Shortest NeoRetroclone ever!
August 14, 2011 at 9:04 AM
Zak, how do you resolve thieves using their skills? I understand I wouldn't necessarily need to know this as a player -- assuming you roll the dice -- but I might want to port this system over to my home game.
August 15, 2011 at 7:06 AM
@Evan
roll under appropriate stat (dex, wis or int, usually) plus situational modifiers and the thief gets one re-roll per level if s/he has that skill.
August 15, 2011 at 11:16 AM
How do you handle multi-classing? I have a thief with wizardly aspirations, who'd love to go a'flailsnailing . . .
August 16, 2011 at 9:03 AM
@temujin9
start as one class, then you spend xp to"buy" a level of another.
August 16, 2011 at 9:12 AM
So I made a character. How do you like the sound of a dwarven shipwright who does "dock jobs" (rogue)?
August 17, 2011 at 12:28 AM
Awesome way to keep things simple. You could add some kind of cool bonus for characters built with the Bad Motherfucker rules. Like max hp, free dog, random trait or magic ability, etc. that they get the first time they play.
January 12, 2012 at 11:43 AM
@Josiah - bad mofo IS a cool bonus!
January 24, 2012 at 7:07 PM
Can my god be Serpentor?
January 24, 2012 at 8:31 PM