Against the Giants: Mystara Style!

After 13 years of waiting, I'm finally getting to play G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief in 1st edition AD&D with a group of people who have NEVER experienced this Gygaxian classic adventure! It took forever to get them to agree to do this, but once I explained the XP and treasure that accompanies high level adventuring, they decided to go for it. They planned for 2 whole weekends before setting out from Specularum north to the Black Peaks and the town of Threshold. I set the steading in the mountains south of the road between Threshold and Verge in the Known World setting of the Basic/Expert set.

The party is comprised of:

Eraergon "Eric" Patheney, 10th level half-elf druid
Chow-Lin, 10th level Ethengarian human magic-user
Falim ibn Abdul Akbar, 7th level Ylari human ranger
Myriam the Scholar, 8th level Ylari human cleric of the Eternal Truth
Katerina Katrina, 6th level Traladaran human Thief (henchman)
Hamlin Hoefurrow, 6th level halfling fighter (henchman)
Gustav Strata, 5th level dwarven fighter (henchman)
Stefan Defoe, 5th level Darokinian human fighter (henchman)
female lantern bearer hireling
10 light crossbowmen hirelings
1 crossbowman sergeant hireling
2 pack mules

Yep, that's a classic party of 20(!) individuals and 2 mules. I have NEVER had such a large group enter a module before, and this should be exciting.

I got them to the secret cave without much fuss. They spent two whole sessions setting up their cave, reconnoitering the steading using polymorph/shapechange, invisibility, and scrying, tracking ogres leaving the steading and counting up possible numbers of giants inside. I talked them out of waiting around outside to take out the giants, since that would have ended in disaster. They eventually agreed to enter the place in the pre-dawn hours and hopefully catch the giants unaware and asleep.

The 1st actual session of them entering the place occurred 2 weeks ago, near the end of the night. They entered the cloak room and took out the sleeping giants both downstairs and in the guard tower. They ended that session thinking this would be a cakewalk.

Last week's session saw them taking out the sub-chief in his own bedroom (somewhat short battle) and using tactics for like the first time ever. The giantess in the bed they polymorphed into a mule and left her in the bed. They moved on north down the corridor and found the giant's nursery, but they backed out and left the kids asleep. The next barracks room they entered contained 10 sleeping giants. They cast silence on them and then systematically killed them in their sleep (none woke up). They were making good progress, all the way to the trophy room on the east side, when they opened the chief's chamber door and pissed off his guardian cave bear! That woke up chief Nosnra who grabbed his weapon and headed for the secret door. While the others were dealing with the bear, the chief called out for help and ran to the wolf pen doors to get the dire wolves on the intruders. The party druid charmed the cave bear but the racket has roused the chief's wife who burst through the southern door with her pet cave bear.

We ended the session with the party in the trophy room + the charmed cave bear (which the druid spoke to). The chief was heading to the outbuilding to rouse the barracks and send them into the battle while the wolves were sent in to deal with the intruders. Several other giants may have heard the alarm. The chief's wife is pissed at being woken so early and she'll likely take it out on the party somehow. I intend on keeping the chief alive and safe through this whole ordeal, perhaps sending him down to the second level. I've learned my lesson with this group, not to give them an inch. They like "no save" spells and can eliminate most threats through ranged attacks. The magic-user is likely to use up her last charge on the Staff of Power she obtained last adventure so I won't need to worry about that item anymore. :)

This could be a TPK, or at least teach them not to try and circumvent the way the module is written. If they had simply entered the place when the feast was occurring they would have had a much easier time of killing the giants, in my humble opinion. They have wands of cold, fire, conjuration, paralysis, a staff of power, a djinni bottle, several 5th level spells among the spellcasters, and a host of healing abilities. I really think that entering the place with a dwarf and halfling fighter was also key since they have better AC against giants.

Can't wait to play this combat out!

Premise Behind Most D&D Modules

I've been gearing up for running G1: Steading of the Hill Giant Chief for about 13 years. My players are finally as close as I can get them. They established their base in the cave outside the Steading and are now using surveillance on the place to see what's going on and how they can approach this problem.

Here's the problem: They don't want to go in! They want to draw the giants out in the hope of taking them on in small groups and eliminating the steading by setting it aflame. Although this tactic is not unheard of, I could not stress enough how utterly wasteful such a tactic is. They think that eliminating the giants is more important than finding out who is the intelligence behind the attacks. How completely demoralizing for me. I was so psyched to play a good old fashioned dungeon crawl and they want to play siege warfare.

I suppose I may have led them on this path by allowing them all the gear and mercenary help they would require for free from the Duke. However, I envisioned them hiring henchmen, not soldiers. I kept asking them if they wanted to hire henchmen. They refused, instead taking up a 10 crossbowmen and 10 light hobilars with 2 sergeants. They thought they were approaching caves full of giants - they had no idea they would be finding a wooden fortress in the mountains. I allow the characters to make their own assumptions and plan their own attacks, only giving them warnings about how the system works in relation to their plans. If they attack the steading in the manner they are planning the party will be wiped from existence!

First off it is specifically stated that the steading will not burn. The timbers are so soaked with moisture that they will take enormous heat for extended periods to catch aflame. The druid's solution: wall of fire. We already house ruled the call lightning spell to be used once/round for 1 round/level with concentration maintained throughout the duration (still needs to be cast outdoors). I believe the druid is looking to cook the giants with lightning bolts as they emerge. With three gates, they can be surrounded and the dire wolves set upon them before they can get very many spells off. Even if the mage manages to get slow off in time, their deaths will simply be delayed, not prevented. If the entire steading is roused, the allies of the giants will likely participate in the attack - stone giants and a nasty cloud giant. These opponents are the deadliest. They are the most likely to make saving throws, the most likely to cause mortal damage, and the most likely to hit with boulders at range. The chief alone could eliminate all the henchmen with his ballista-crossbow. In the end it will end up being a rout at best and a total party wipe at worst. Either way my campaign will likely come to an end. I see no good that can come of this.

To step in and explain the situation to the party goes against my principles as a DM. Almost ALL modules written for D&D were DUNGEONS. They were meant to be areas to enter and loot, not eliminate at the front door and sift through ashes for surviving items. I'll give them kudos for coming up with a plan to take as few casualties as possible, but that's not the way the game is meant to be played. Wilderness is little more than a means of getting from a safe place TO the dungeon, encounters and all. Very few adventures are strictly wilderness based, and even then lairs are akin to dungeons so the concepts remain true. They'll have to accept this fact and run the scenario as it was meant to be run. I WILL have my fun, damn it!

1st Edition AD&D Initiative: Clarification

Another confusing issue in AD&D is the initiative roll, especially when some members of the party are not involved in melee with the monsters. The examples in the books are either flat out wrong according to the rules provided or so situation specific as to be practically useless.

At the core, initiative is pretty straightforward. A d6 is rolled for both sides of the combat (players and monsters), sometimes by the DM and sometimes by the players and the DM (depending on preference). I prefer to allow the party to roll their own initiative, but I keep track of it in the margins of my combat notes. If the combat is simply straight melee, then I don't worry about anything other than high roll goes first. It's the other actions that bog the game down.

When timing is important, actions during the melee round need to be broken down into segments. If a creature is only moving, then each segment they move 1/10 of their movement rate (so a 12" movement rate moves 12 feet each segment). A segment is 6 seconds long and there are 10 segments in a combat round (1 minute). The d6 works best since it can tell you when in that segment or round that you go.

Spells must be announced BEFORE the initiative is rolled. This is because casting begins on segment 0 of the round and proceeds for as many segments as the casting time. If a spell requires one segment to cast, it requires the entire segment to cast. This is important. Spells works outside the normal initiative roll; however, if two spellcasters are casting spells at the same time with the same casting time, the one with the winning initiative roll casts first (possibly disrupting the other's spell at the last possible second). Any successful attack or damage to a casting character or monster BEFORE the spell is complete disrupts the spell.

Many magic items have activation times. Potions need 1 segment to drink and 2-5 segments to take effect. Spell scrolls are cast as spells using the casting time (protection scrolls have a reading time listed). Some rings, wands, staves, and rods have multiple activation times depending on the power used. Some miscellaneous magic items have activation times as well. These are all treated as beginning on segment 0 and occurring at the end of the segment indicated.

Now, how do you determine when a person goes in the round? Easy, look at your opponent's die roll. If the party won initiative, they go on the segment of the monster's initiative roll. The monster's losing initiative goes on the party's higher initiative roll. Say the party won initiative with a 4 and the monster's got a 2, the party would generally attack on segment 2 and the monsters on segment 4. So in essence, the party is rolling to see when the monster's go and the DM rolls to see when the party goes!

Tied initiatives resort to using weapon speed factors for attacks. The die roll itself is still used for undefined abilities like turning undead and missile fire. We use the 2nd edition version of multiple attacks since it makes more sense: the first attack comes in initiative order, and subsequent attacks occur at the end of the round in initiative order. (The actual method of multiple attack routines per the DMG indiactes that when you have 2 attacks in the round, the attacker goes FIRST and LAST.) Hasted creatures always attack first, and slowed creatures (including zombies) always attack last. Tied attacks that fall on the same segment are simultaneous. Spells cast with the same casting time on a tied initiative both occur simultaneously.

Let's look at a few combat examples using characters from my home campaign....

PARTY
Chow-Lin, 10th level human magic-user with several spells remaining
Eraergon ("Eric"), 10th level half-elven druid with scimitar +1 and several spells remaining
Falim, 7th level human ranger with dancing falchion and jambiya
Myriam, 8th level human cleric with mace +1 and several spells remaining
Hamlin, 6th level halfling fighter henchman with short sword of speed +1 and bullet sling

MONSTERS
2 ogres wielding huge battle axes
1 hill giant wielding club
2 dire wolves

On round one, Chow-Lin declares to cast magic missile (casting time 1 segment) at the giant. Eric casts heat metal (casting time 4 segments?) on one of the ogres. Falim declares a charge at the other ogre, Hamlin is slinging at a dire wolf, and Myriam is casting spiritual hammer (casting time 5 segments?) at the other wolf. The ogres are charging to attack, as are the dire wolves, and the giant is picking up boulders for throwing. Initiative is rolled and the results are Party 3, Monsters 4. Since Falim and the Ogres are charging, these attacks occur at the end of movement. Falim moves at 12' per segment and the ogres are moving at 9' per segment. If the encounter occurred only 40' away then they will clash at segment 2 since charging ignores initiative and the longer weapon strikes first (in this case the ogres). One of the ogres intercepts Falim. The dire wolf attacking Hamlin also arrives on segment 2 due to 18' movement per segment. The other dire wolf is charging Eric. The other ogre charges on to Myriam. Since the ogres and wolves were charging they get to attack at the end of their move. Here is the breakdown, segment by segment.

ROUND ONE
1: Chow-Lin's magic missile spell hits the giant for 15 points of damage.
2: The ogres attack Falim (hitting for 10 points) and Myriam (missing). The dire wolves attack Hamlin (hitting for 6 points) and Eric (hitting for 4 points). As a result, Hamlin must now switch weapons and Eric loses his heat metal spell. Since Falim charged also he gets to go at the end of this segment (after the ogre) and swings for a hit causing 12 points of damage.
3: The giant hurls one boulder at Chow-Lin, hitting for 9 points of damage.
4: Hamlin switches weapons from sling to short sword. Eric can do nothing since he lost his spell.
5: Myriam spell comes off (since she was not interrupted) and her spiritual hammer now is cast upon the ogre attacking her. She misses this round.
6-10: Nothing else happens.

This round we have melee with Falim vs. Ogre 1, Myriam vs. Ogre 2, Hamlin vs. Wolf 1, Eric vs. Wolf 2, and missile/spell combat between the giant and Chow-Lin. Chow-Lin declares a slow spell (3 segment casting time) on the ogres and wolves (but the giant is just out of range) and Eric and Myriam are drawing weapons so they will automatically lose initiative. Hamlin has a hasted 1st attack and a normal sword attack, so he will go first. Initiative is rolled - Party gets a 5, Monsters get a 2.

ROUND TWO
FIRST: Hamlin attacks his wolf for 7 points of damage.
1:
2: Myriam's spiritual hammer attacks her ogre and hits for 4 damage. Falim strikes at his ogre hitting for 15 points of damage, killing it. Hamlin's normal strike hits for 5 points of damage.
3: Chow-Lin casts slow on the wolves and ogres, making them attack every other round and last from now on.
4:
5: The giant tosses a boulder at Chow-Lin who is separated from the melee but fails to hit. The boulder rolls harmlessly away behind the melee.
6:
7:
8:
9:
10:
LAST: Eric strikes with his scimitar at an ogre and hits for 4 points of damage. Myriam draws out her weapon but misses. The slowed ogre and wolves attack now: all miss their targets.

The 3rd round Falim has no target and must cross to the giant. He cannot charge again this turn. Hamlin is attacking Wolf 1, Eric is attacking the Wolf 2, Myriam is attacking Ogre 2, and Chow-Lin has decided to cast magic missile at the giant again. Combat continues at this point with the ogre and wolves attacking last and everyone else going on initiative.


As it states in the DMG, most attacks will come on segments 1-6. High level spells will usually go last, and low level spells will come early in the round. Spellcasting in combat is very tricky and it's good to have a backup plan when creatures come at you fast. The above example is rather complex but can be seen to work within the guidelines of the rules.

So initiative is not so scary after all and can be resolved fairly easily if the participants simply take their time. The rules as written make things overly complicated and should be reduced to this version in order to make the game run more smoothly. It may be ADVANCED D&D but that doesn't mean you should need a computer to figure out how to run combat!

1st Edition AD&D Surprise: Not So Difficult

While learning AD&D at the tender age of 13, we made a lot of bad assumptions about the game and how the dice worked. Probability was new at the time and the elegance that Gygax used in creating a fast-paced and exciting game sometimes went over our heads. Surprise was one of those things. In retrospect, the concepts are not that hard to understand, just not explained as elegantly as the mechanic itself.

The Dungeon Master's Guide I feel makes a number of assumptions: 1) you've played wargames in the past; 2) specifically you've played original D&D with the Chainmail rules; 3) you've used the alternate rules in the Greyhawk Supplement before; and 4) you understand the convention of dice and probability as relates to most situations. Having never played miniature battles in my life, the conventions explained in the AD&D DMG were mysterious at times and assumptions made matter-of-factly made little or no sense to me. To make matters worse, the editing errors added another bit of confusion into the mix (the surprise segment table in the PHB or DMG is in error on one of the lines). My first gaming experience using surprise was non-standard at best (vs. drow in the underdark) so it's no wonder we got it all wrong.

The most important decision about surprise is if it exists. Obviously the chance for surprise is going to almost universally apply to the player characters since they are the invaders into the realm of the unknown. Creatures in the dungeon will almost never require light sources, are aware of the noises usual to their environment, and some can even sense intruders mentally or through special abilities. Magical wards being tripped , traps being set off, doors being broken down, etc. all lead to 0% chance for surprise for the monsters. On the off chance that the characters are able to mask their presence somehow (invisibility, all using infravision to see, demi-humans or thieves sneaking about, etc.), then the monsters MAY be surprised. Planned ambushes are another problem, however. A wandering monster is typically the only instance of surprise  most commonly occurring in a play session. So step 1 is determining who is aware and who can be surprised. As stated, surprise is usually unilateral and almost always against the players.

Step 2 is rolling to see if surprise occurs. In essence, the elegance of the roll is that 1d6 is used for both the chance to be surprised AND the number of segments of surprise. It's my belief that this is only stated for STANDARD 2 in 6 surprise; non-standard surprise where the surprise is given as a percentage or on a different die type needs to be handled by the DM. It is my belief that there should never be more than 2 segments of surprise [EDITED], as supported by the existence of "complete surprise" (see later article on surprise segments). In any case, only roll for the party that can be surprised, modifying the roll based on whether the monsters or players have a better or worse chance of surprising. For example, a ranger is only surprise 1 in 6. A bugbear can surprise 3 in 6. Assuming that only the ranger can be surprised, the bugbear has 1 in 6 chance better than normal so the ranger is surprised 2 in 6.

Step 3 is determining how long surprise lasts. If normal 2 in 6 chance for surprise exists, simply use the die roll to determine the number of segments. If a 1 is rolled, the surprise lasts 1 segment. If a 2 is rolled the surprise lasts for 2 segments. During a surprise segment, a character or monster is allowed its normal number of attacks, missile fire at 3x rate (not used by this DM), and can cast fast spells requiring 1 or 2 segments as required. Activation of magic items requiring 1 or 2 segments may also be used. The side that is surprised cannot perform any actions so long as they are surprised. Dexterity reaction adjustments reduce or increase surprise for the individual only. If a person has a +1 reaction adj. and his party is surprised for 1 segment, then he is not surprised and rolls for initiative as usual. A person with a -1 reaction adj. would be surprised for 2 segments; note that a penalty can never create surprise, it only modifies existing surprise.

Now, the controversy has to do with the terms surprise and complete surprise. These terms were used in the DMG with no explanation given. It has always meant to me that surprise is 1 segment and complete surprise was 2 segments. But nothing in the books supported this definition....until I re-read module G3. In the adventure there are some wererats on the 2nd level that are stated as always attacking with surprise (6 in 6), then gives a range of segments based on a die roll (1-3 = surprise, 4-6 = complete surprise). Now, according to the examples given, normally that would indicate 6 segments of surprise since 100% surprise is the same as reading 6 on a d6. However, there are a lot of creatures in the G-D-Q series with better than normal chances of surprise and a reduced chance of being surprised. How many segments should they get? The answer is to use the convention written into G3. Assuming the roll of an additional d6 with each surprise check, one die would represent the chance for surprise, and the second would indicate the number of segments of surprise (1 or 2). This could apply to ALL surprise checks, including monks percentile chance and odd monsters with increased or decreased chances of surprise. It all makes sense.

For another example, refer to the module T1, a very low level module that is meant as an introduction to AD&D. Most of the monsters in the moathouse have an increased chance of surprise and almost no chance of being surprised. In particular, the spider in the tower has a 5 in 6 chance of surprise. Should that mean that the spider gets 5 attacks on a hapless victim if the party rolls a 5? I think not. No more than 1 or 2 segments of surprise should exist, modified by Dexterity for the individual. After all, a spider attacking a 1st level character would have a good chance of killing them in the 1st encounter - not a good way to introduce AD&D to a neophyte!

So, the concepts are not that difficult to understand once you know where it all comes from. Better examples and clarified steps would have helped immensely. I'm so glad that I now have a handle on this concept and feel confident to house rule it when necessary.

Players vs. DMs: Edition Pendulum

In over 30 years of played D&D in one form or another I have noticed that the game has slowly gone from being pro-Dungeon-Master to pro-Player in a steady swing from original D&D to D&D 4.0. However, with the failure of 4.0 to keep the populace entertained the designers have decided that D&D Next (or 5.0) will be more of a compromise in sharing the power. The pendulum begins it's slow and inexorable return towards power in the DM's hands.

The lack of formal rules to explain all actions and consequences of said actions in the original boxed set of D&D led many to create house rules to fill in the gaps. This eventually made D&D a personal experience that could not be shared easily at conventions or gatherings since the rules were being interpreted in various ways. Hence, everyone was playing a game that was called D&D but had no relation to any other game being played.

The Holmes Basic set was an attempt to consolidate and better explain the rules for beginners, but even this fell flat by introducing previously unseen rules that further complicated things. The Moldvay/Cook version was the best form of D&D ever published (in my opinion) but still had issues of its own (namely demi-human "classes" and oversimplified rules).

1st edition AD&D was an attempt by Gygax to firmly lay down the rules in a manner that would allow convention gaming to proceed regardless of location and DM style. In essence, it was to be the end-all be-all of the rules, the ultimate authority. In that regard it was very strict, gave DMs the power to restrict everything about their games, and was heavy-handed in how it meted out punishments for wrong actions or inattentiveness in the dungeon. In essence, it gave DMs the power in the game. All character classes were severely restricted, choices were kept to a minimum, and everything could be run right out of the book with little prep time. The onus was on the players to keep track of their character's abilities and items even if they had no idea what they did or how many charges they had, etc.

In 2nd edition (and the end of 1st edition) these original strictures were relaxed and more customization was added to give the players more control over their characters. The style of play went from being gamist (where the player is assuming a role but is still the mental force) to being novelist (where the player takes on the role completely, to the point of assuming what the character does and does not know as the rule). Dice rolling became the method of solving problems through the use of non-weapon proficiencies and spells became more user-friendly. Also many of the more divisive roles (evil characters, half-orcs, and assassins) were removed from the game along with some of the eastern flavor (namely monks, which I've always believed were more inspired by 1970's kung-fu movies anyway). Soon the options became so overwhelming that it was clear that none of the options were play-tested to see how they affected the game.

In the D&D 3.0 edition the entire game paradigm shifted. The game became more skill-oriented and all results were based on the dice roll. Whereas ability scores used to have little impact on the game, now they were the main focus (affecting everything from character abilities, to saves, to combat rolls, to skill checks). Suddenly, the "average" character meant very little as a choice for non-power gamers. The inherent power creep became even more obvious when magic items were REQUIRED to be possessed by a character in order to make them a match for the monsters. Numbers increased at an alarming rate to the point that modifiers were increasing to the point that by 10th level a character was a minor godling that could eliminate most threats. No longer did the DM have the option of running a quick game out of the book. Hours of preparation went into each encounter trying to balance and modify existing creatures. Groups were reduced in size from requiring 8-10 characters down to 4 characters, thus increasing character power even more.

In D&D 3.5 the rules were tweaked to try and bring balance back to the game. All spells and abilities were "standardized" and increased in power in a logical yet flawed manner. Spells no longer bent the rules but became part of the structure. In fact, the pigeon-holing of abilities and classes led them to add in even more customization to offset this. Of course, the bloat killed the game as it had with 2nd edition. What they didn't realize was that all you really needed to run the game were three core books. Everything else was fluff. You can't run a company on fluff. And so Wizards was bought out by Hasbro and the game took a turn for the worse.

D&D 4.0 was my exit point, the last straw so to speak. Up until that point I was a D&D zombie, buying up any and all product related to the game religiously whether I would use it or not. The game changed so drastically in form and function that the only recognizable feature was the name. I can't tell much about this version other than the fact that I saw very little of it on surviving book store shelves. The presence on the internet was also reduced, so far as I can tell.  This version gave all the power into the hands of the players, even going so far as to reducing the threat posed by monster minions by only giving them 1 hp (thus one-shot kills), allowing spell casters an ungodly amount of spells and abilities to use each day, and granting healing abilities to all classes. Play balance was normalized and thrown out the window.

Loyal D&D 3.5 players jumped ship to Pathfinder (a D&D 3.5 clone) and I tried this as well. However, taking the essence of D&D away does little to remedy the situation. I wanted true Gygaxian D&D back. And so I returned to my roots in AD&D 1st edition. But even now I find myself tweaking and house-ruling the game. D&D 3.0 did much for explaining the really ambiguous rules and making sense out of some of the more broken spells in the original version and I find myself quoting these rules on occasion to my old players. Each edition has aspects I liked, rules that seemed to work, and insights that really showed how clever D&D was. Will it ever be perfect? probably not. But at least the power in 5.0 seems to be shifting back towards the DM (where it should be). However, anyone that tries to get rich off the game by NOT publishing adventures instead of splatbooks is just fooling themselves. DMs need adventures to entertain their players; players don't need more powers to befuddle and foil the DMs carefully laid plans.