Hopeless Characters

I've been looking over a few posts on other web sites in the past few weeks regarding characters with low ability scores, or "Hopeless" characters. This sentiment has been around for a while now, even appearing in the rules for AD&D and Basic/Expert D&D back in 1979/1980. The thing about it is that I don't think that a character is truly hopeless unless the PLAYER thinks it is.

The premise of the original D&D game appears to be that of a bunch of people who have apprenticed in a chosen profession (class) heading off to a dungeon to recover treasure and make a name for themselves. Along the way they face terrible monsters, deadly traps, and devious puzzles. Those that overcome these become rich and famous. Those that don't...? Well, they become dungeon dressing to be found by those who later enter said dungeon in search of their own glory.

But here's the thing... abilities are MEANT to be random. If they weren't, then why roll the dice at all? If you won't play a character with any score lower than 10, why even roll the dice? It's statistically possible to have a character with all 3's. The same probability exists to roll a character with all 18's. But it's more likely that your score will fall in the 9-12 range.

Let's face it. No one wants to play someone JUST LIKE THEM in real life. No one who plays D&D or AD&D wants to play the couch potato with the huge gut who can barely lift a sword, no less swing one. No one wants to be the bumbling klutz or the moron who can't remember where he left his glasses (which are on his head...). No one wants to be known as the guy who foolishly agreed to some plan suggested by an NPC, just because he wasn't savvy enough to realize he was being duped. No, everyone wants to be the god-like hero of myth, the mighty warrior who gets all the girls, the powerful magic-user able to routinely hold dozens of spells in his memory at once, or the wise cleric who can see through deceit and resist the most potent charms. Let's face it, no one wants to play themselves in their fantasy.

But, I have to tell you, playing the foibles of lackluster characters is sometimes fun. Our most memorable characters were not the ones with 18 percentile strength, but rather the weakling mage who can't even hold his own cat familiar without becoming tired; or the fighter whose wisdom was so low that she could be convinced of just about anything; or the charismatic fighter who really wanted to be a paladin but just could not cut it. These low scores that "prevent" us from enjoying a character really give the character personality and background. However, this is not for everyone.

One of my friends once put this in terms I could understand. Superman is invulnerable, he's the fastest hero around, he's the strongest hero around, he has a computer-like brain, and he's dashing and charismatic. However, the character is boring as hell. Even the writers couldn't figure out how to write good stories about him. However, his bumbling sidekick Jimmy Olsen, or not-so-wise love Lois Lane (always getting into trouble) were much more interesting to write about. And so, although Superman could be said to have 18s in all his stats, he was still just a ho-hum character. You always knew he would save the day. There was no doubt about it. And when something becomes an absolute, when there's no chance of failure, the action becomes routine and boring.

Some players yearn to be Superman from 1st level. They want to win all the time. They need to succeed and be the best. They hate losing. Low stats means they have lost or aren't good enough. There is a section in the beginning of the Players Handbook regarding such a thing. In fact, later versions of the game assume that the characters are a cut above the rank and file of humanity (or dwarf-, elf-, and halfling-kind). But this is not how swords & sorcery fantasy should be. Everyone has to start somewhere. The game assumes that you are beginning at the ground floor and working your way up to fame and fortune, power and prestige. If you START at the top, as the saying goes, there's nowhere to go but down.

The definition of "hopeless character" has changed over time. Original D&D had no such thing. But if you look at the way the game played, ability scores were not very important. Basic D&D, which is based on OD&D, stated that characters whose ability scores were all under 9 were unplayable, but this was the first time that minimum scores were stated in the rules for each class. Before this, you could be a fighter with a 7 strength, or a magic-user with a 5 intelligence. You wouldn't be very good, but you could still exist. By AD&D, all the major classes needed at least a 9 in their "prime requisite" to qualify for a class. It was recommended that you have at least two scores of 15 or higher and no more than one score in the very low range (3-6).

The reason I'm bringing this up is that I'm trying to figure out why people hate 3d6 rolled in order as a method of generating characters. To me it makes little difference. But there are some people who adamantly despise this method of rolling. It seems that it boils down to two real ideologies here:

1. The camp that believe that all characters should be a "cut above" and be heroic in all ways. They believe that such characters should have no flaws, because weakness is no fun to play (for them). These people already know exactly what character they want to play.
2. The other camp seems to like organic character creation. These folks have no idea what they want to play and allow the dice to tell them what they can play. They don't go into the game needing to play a certain type of character, but rather learn about what character they just rolled.

I fall into this latter camp. I never make a character knowing what I want before I begin. I prefer to roll and see what I can be based on the rolls. I realize that I can't control the roll of the dice - it's random. Plus, it might allow me to run a character class or race that I don't get the chance to play all too often. Others have preferences and don't want to even try another class or race. For example, one of my friends would only play fighters or magic-users, and always human. He would not even consider demi-humans. His favorite character type was a fighter with extremely high strength who could swing a sword multiple times per round and decimate all his enemies without getting hurt himself. Is it any wonder that he loved Conan the Barbarian? But the game is supposed to fun, and this is a valid view. Just as valid is the player who rolls 3d6 in order to see what they can be. I guess the problem comes when a DM enforces his views of character creation on players who do not share the same view. This is why there are so many different methods of rolling characters in the AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide and Unearthed Arcana. In essence, the DM is supposed to know the likes and dislikes of his players before rolling characters. This is not always possible. However, allowing one person to roll with one method and letting others roll with another is not really fair and goes against the spirit of the game.

Call me a grognard, but I think that everyone should try and play a 3d6-straight rolled character at least once. Old style gaming can be a real fun time if everyone is on the same page. Just for kicks, I rolled up three characters using 3d6 rolled in order. These are my stats

1. Str 7, Int 7, Wis 9, Dex 12, Con 14, Cha 8 (possible thief)
2. Str 10, Int 11, Wis 12, Dex 9, Con 11, Cha 14 (any base class, leaning towards cleric)
3. Str 15, Int 18(!), Wis 9, Dex 11, Con 13, Cha 5 (likely fighter/magic-user, or MU at least)

As you can see, the stats tend to cluster in the middle range. This is due to probability with rolling multiple dice - you get the bell-curve. Obviously, most of your scores are going to be in the 9-12 range. This is average. Some people don't want to be average. Low scores and high scores are supposed to be rare, but they can and do happen. Look above. I managed to roll an 18 on one of those scores; I also managed to roll a 5 on the same character. Some ability scores are known to be "dump" stats. For example, if you're playing a fighter, Int and Cha become dump stats. If you're a thief, Int, Wis, and Cha become dump stats. Typically, Charisma is seen as useless to the base classes. Not so with sub-classes (mainly an AD&D thing). Suddenly Charisma becomes very important to druids and paladins. It SHOULD be considered for clerics as well, since they must preach to the masses and project the will of their god(s). Charisma is still a useful stat - it just depends on the style of play.

For example: It was assumed that players would seek out NPCs to assist them in their adventures. The concept of hirelings and henchmen has been around since the beginning. Of course, the terms "meat shield" or "red-shirts" have also, unfortunately, been around for that long as well. Let's face it - adventuring is risky business; you're going to get hurt and will most likely die unless you are very careful. The more targets there are, the less likely a casualty will be a player character. It's not a very heroic concept, sacrificing others so that you can survive. Then again, the premise of the game is not very heroic either - entering dank dungeons and stealing away with treasure that belonged to someone else (or guarded/protected by magic and traps). These are things that THIEVES are meant to do. They sneak into bad places and steal away with treasure, hopefully without any harm coming to themselves. So, in essence, ALL characters are really thieves (or "murder-hobos" as some refer to them). And the typical depiction of a thief is a rough-and-tumble scrawny guy who lies, cheats, and wheedles his way through life, avoiding combat when possible, and making out with as much treasure as he can carry. THIS is the way the game was envisioned by the creator(s). It didn't matter much what your strength, intelligence, wisdom, or dexterity were. What mattered is that you lived - by any means possible!

But back to "hopeless characters." We can now see that "heroic" characters were made to cater to individual desires. They were not meant to be adventurers in the original D&D sense. But let's face it, when you think medieval society, you assume knights, dragons, and damsels in distress. Enter the paladin. I believe that this sub-class was created to cater to those who needed to be the superhero. They needed high stats and a moral code. Strangely enough, no one I knew back in the day wanted to play a paladin as Lawful and Good. All they really wanted were the stats. And who wants to play a lowly fighter when you can play a demi-god of holy prowess? Eventually, sub-classes came to rule the D&D landscape. Since they needed higher scores to qualify, people started seeing 3d6 as "not good enough." So alternate methods were devised. Looking at the characters I generated above, I don't think any of them qualifies to be a sub-class (perhaps #3 could be an assassin?). And if your only goal in the game is to "be the best" or, more disturbingly, "be better than everyone else playing the game," then 3d6 isn't going to cut it. The added character classes and races in Unearthed Arcana continued this disturbing trend with barbarians, cavaliers, dark elves, duergar, etc. The new method of rolling characters (Method V) had players rolling multiple dice for certain key stats and taking the best 3 rolls. If you wanted to play a human fighter, you got to roll 9d6 and take the highest 3 rolls. Soon, if you were a fighter without percentile strength you were "doing it wrong."

To me, no character is truly hopeless. The lack of a stat does not mean that the character is worthless. In a truly randomly-rolled game, there is just as much chance of your 18/00% Strength fighter dying as there is my 10 Strength fighter. That 9 Intelligence magic-user may not know as many spells as your 18 Intelligence magic-user, but the game plays the same regardless. What needs to be addressed BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS is which type of characters the players prefer. Once a consensus is achieved, the Method of rolling can be established and the game can proceed. The DM also should establish guidelines for when a character may be scrapped because scores are not high enough for survivability; but even this can be waived if the player really wants to play such a character. They can be just as much fun, and usually more memorable, than those with god-like stats. Remember that magic items typically enhance abilities, and once the characters are beyond 1st level ability scores take a back seat to class mechanics.

My rule of thumb for "Hopeless Characters" is if you have more penalties than bonuses, you probably should rethink your character's chance to survive or even perform adequately in the chosen class. In the above examples, character #1 has 4 scores below 10. In Basic D&D one of these (strength) would result in a -1 penalty to hit and damage. But this is balanced by the +1 bonus gained from Constitution. In AD&D Strength of 7 would only cause a -1 to hit. This is a perfectly valid character, although some people see the lack of bonuses as a problem. After all, thieves don't really NEED strength to perform as thieves. Character #2 is dead average - he could qualify for any of the base classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, or thief). Again, this is a valid character. However, the lack of bonuses seems to turn some people off. Character #3 is an amazing example of the randomness of rolling 3d6. This character would make a powerful magic-user.... or would it? What benefit does a Basic D&D magic-user gain from such high Intelligence? They can still only cast a limited number of spells, same as a 9 Int M-U. Sure, they can speak 3 extra languages, but this doesn't affect their survivability all that much. In AD&D, that magic-user has a better chance of knowing more spells, and has more spells in their spellbook, and will likely level faster thus getting the character out of danger of dying too soon. However, they can still only cast ONE of those spells for the day, regardless of Intelligence. So you see, a high score is only desirable in the mind of the player. The game doesn't care WHAT your score is. The only classes that really suffer from low scores are fighters and clerics. Fighters with lackluster Strength can't kill things very fast, and may miss more often than one with high Strength. Low Wisdom clerics in Basic D&D have no real penalties; however, those with low wisdom (9-12) in AD&D have a chance of miscasting their spells! Thieves in D&D are not terribly impacted by average or high Dexterity in their class abilities; however, it provides a penalty or bonus to thief abilities in AD&D and high Dex may improve the chances of survival in combat by lowering AC in either system.

Comparing the ability bonuses in Basic D&D and AD&D, one can see that in Basic D&D, bonuses and penalties occur immediately beyond the average 9-12 range. In AD&D it depends on the ability score; some gain penalties/bonuses at very low/high numbers and some give benefits a bit above average. But generally speaking, in AD&D you want scores of 15+ to gain the bonuses provided on the charts. And this is the reason why Gygax made that statement of wanting at least two scores in the 15+ range. Also, if you peruse the charts in the Players Handbook, you will see that if an ability score is lower than a 6, it locks you into a particular class. For instance, a character with a 5 or lower strength can ONLY be a magic-user. It doesn't matter what your intelligence is (so long as it is 9 or higher). If you had scores of Str 5 and Int 8, then that would truly be a hopeless character. In the examples above, the only character with a score of 5 or lower is #3. That character has a Charisma of 5. Sure enough, consulting the PHB states that this character can ONLY be an assassin! However, the character has an 11 Dex and needs a 12 to qualify for assassin. Interestingly enough, this character is considered HOPELESS according to the rules since he cannot qualify for ANY class based on those stats. The DM would require the player to reroll, despite having rolled an 18 in Intelligence!! If the player wanted to still run the character, the DM would likely enforce the need to be an assassin and have the player run an elf to get the Dexterity up one point. However, elves must have a minimum Charisma of 8 so this character is unplayable!! The only way this character could work is if the DM made an exception to the rules, something the other players may not agree with as it seems as if the DM is playing favorites (especially if they are settling for a character they didn't really want to play based on their stats). The same does not apply to Basic D&D characters. Character #3 could be an intelligent fighter, a strong magic-user, or an elf character with no problems. It could also be a thief character (with good strength and great intelligence). The charisma in Basic D&D really has no effect on character choice at all.

So, as you can see, "hopeless" characters are really dependent on the version of the game you are playing, the rules/guidelines being used by the DM, and the desires/needs of the players. A 3d6-straight character is no more or less valid than any other method of rolling. The only way to get a character you truly want to play with the stats desired is pretty much selecting from a given array or selecting the class and rolling ranges between the minimums and maximums. For example, monks are one of the hardest classes to qualify for in AD&D. They require 15 Str, 15 Wis, 15 Dex and 11 Con. Rolling that with 3d6 is really hard - it's even pretty tough with 4d6 drop the lowest. Some DMs allow a player to choose their class before rolling dice, then roll ability scores. For example, a DM might allow a player to choose monk, then have them roll 1d4+14 for Str, Wis, and Dex, and 1d8+10 for Con while all other stats are rolled using the normal method. Again, it is the DMs prerogative and the player's desires which drive this. The rules used are not "lame", "broken," or antiquated, they simply have evolved over time to suit different needs.

AD&D Initiative Examples

I will admit right now that I do not use the initiative rules as written in my own campaign. However I do understand these rules and how they function, and I have used them in my AD&D dogma trial adventure (when I remembered that they applied).

As written, the rules for armed opponents vs. spellcasters is somewhat confusing and doesn't follow the normal flow of initiative as presented in the book. Many of us have taken that to mean that the rules are broken or don't make sense as written. This may be the case, or they were left overly simplistic to make the game run smoother. You decide which is right.

Here are some examples I just whipped up. I will attempt to explain each in as much detail as possible:

EXAMPLE 1
A melee between party A and party B has erupted in a dungeon chamber. The combatants had all engaged their opponents when a fighter from party B saw an opening and headed off to take on the magic-user in party A. They begin within melee range. Before initiative the magic-user declares he is casting a magic missile spell (casting time: 1 segment) at the offending fighter. The fighter is armed with a short sword (Speed Factor 3). Initiative is rolled and party A gets a 2, while party B gets a 1. According to the rules as written, we compare the casting time (1 segment) with the speed factor of the weapon minus the losing die roll (3-1 = 2) to get the segment when the attack occurs. Proceed from lowest number to highest. Thus the spell would come off first!

EXAMPLE 2
A magic-user is casting a slow spell (casting time: 3 segments) upon an evil cleric and his undead minions. The cleric is within melee distance of the magic-user (less than 10') and will strike at him using a footman's mace (Speed Factor 7). Initiative is rolled and the magic-user's party gets a 3 while the cleric's side gets a 5. Comparing the casting time (3 segments) to the weapon speed factor minus the losing die (7-3 = 4) we can see that the slow spell will indeed occur first.

EXAMPLE 3
An evil cleric player character is casting bestow curse (casting time: 6 segments) upon a fighter attacking him with a battle axe (Speed Factor 7). The initiative roll for the cleric's party is 1; the fighter's party rolls a 2. Comparing the casting time (6 segments) to the weapon speed factor minus the losing die roll (7-1 = 6) shows that the action is simultaneous. Thus the spell will occur at the same time as the weapon strike. Both attacks will take effect and neither will be disrupted.

EXAMPLE 4
A druid encounters a small group of goblins in the forest chopping down trees in a sacred grove. The druid engages the goblins and is able to dispatch all but one which is armed with a hand axe (Speed Factor 4). The druid begins casting his heat metal spell on the goblin (casting time: 4 segments). They roll for initiative and the druid gets a 5 while the goblin rolls a 2. Comparing the casting time (4 segments) with the weapon speed factor minus the losing die (4-2 = 2) indicates that the goblin will strike the druid BEFORE his spell comes off, despite having lost initiative. If the goblin hits, he can disrupt and spoil the spell.

EXAMPLE 5
An illusionist is casting color spray (casting time: 1 segment) at a hobgoblin armed with a longsword (Speed Factor 5). Initiative rolled results in a 3 for the illusionist and 4 for the hobgoblin. Comparing casting time (1 segment) to the weapon speed factor minus the losing die roll (5-3 = 2) indicates that the spell will go off before the hobgoblin can strike despite the hobgoblin winning the initiative.

EXAMPLE 6
A magic-user casts hold monster (casting time: 5 segments) at a frost giant wielding a huge battle axe (Speed Factor 7). Initiative is rolled with the magic-user scoring a 3 and the giant scoring a 3. Since initiative is tied, attacks are resolved in order of speed factors/casting times without adjustment by the losing die roll. In this case the spell occurs first (CT 5) and the axe after (SF 7).

Interestingly enough, this works also with activated magic items in melee, like potions, wands, scrolls, rods, staves, some rings and some miscellaneous magic items. Basically anything that lists how many segments it takes to use or activate. It doesn't work well with missile weapons or clerical turning, however, since no speed factor is listed. In such a case, use the general rule "you go on your opponent's die roll" to determine when the attack occurs. Remember though that, by the rules as written, weapons with multiple attacks in a round go FIRST and LAST. Thus, if the missile were a bow (Fire Rate 2), it would go before a spell caster and after the spell caster. This must be why magic-users cower behind their party (to gain a cover bonus, or at least concealment). It also explains the existence of spells like shield (which is better against missile weapons) and protection from normal missiles. If darts are being used, the thrower goes FIRST, on initiative, and LAST. If more than one combatant goes FIRST and LAST, use initiative to see which gets the jump on the other.

The next example showcases increased number of attacks based on speed factor. Note that this ONLY occurs on a TIED initiative, when both combatants are using weapons in melee, and only after having closed/charged; so this rule will only come up on rare occasions.

EXAMPLE 7
A thief armed with a dagger (SF 2) has been caught infiltrating an orc lair ahead of her party. She was discovered by an orc guard armed with a bastard sword (SF 6). They have traded a few blows and now find themselves tied for initiative. Since the orc's weapon is more than twice the speed factor of the thief's dagger, the thief will get two dagger strikes BEFORE the orc gets to swing his blade. This only occurred because of the tied initiative (or whenever speed factor becomes a determinant in who strikes first).

This next example indicates the use of Dex bonuses when engaged in missile fire.

EXAMPLE 8
A party of adventurers comes across a band of gnolls in the wilderness. The elf fighter/magic-user has his short bow at the ready and wants to fire at the gnolls before they close. His Dexterity score is 16, granting him a Reaction bonus of +1. Some of the gnolls are also firing arrows from long bows at the party. The gnolls have no Reaction adjustment (the DM decides they all have average scores). When initiative is rolled, the elf gets to adjust the party's roll by +1 for himself only. The party rolls a 4 and the gnolls roll a 5, so the elf also goes on 5. The elf and gnolls fire their first arrows simultaneously before he rest of the party and/or gnolls get to do anything.

Now, let's look at an example that defies rolled initiative -- charging. When charging, weapon length dictates who strikes first.

EXAMPLE 9
Assume a warrior with a spear is being charged by an angry giant boar (DM declares the charge before initiative). The warrior states he is setting his spear for the charge. Initiative is rolled with the boar scoring a 6 and the warrior a 5. Regardless, the warrior strikes first since his weapon is much longer. If the warrior hits, the boar will impale itself on the spear for double damage; otherwise the boar strikes the warrior at +2 to hit. If the warrior had only a dagger in hand, the boar would have struck first since it had an equally long weapon (tusks), but won the initiative roll.

AD&D Enchanting Magic Arms and Armor

As part and parcel of my research into making magic items, I still don't understand how one makes enchanted weapons and armor. If the weapon or armor has a special quality, like a flaming sword or armor of etherealness, then it's obviously a spell effect and there is a spell that matches or comes close in most instances. However, how does one make a +1 item? What differentiates a +1 item from a  +5 item?

I thought the spell enchanted weapon was the answer. It basically is a 4th level magic-user spell that makes a normal weapon function as if it were a magical one (presumably to be able to hit those pesky critters that require magical weapons to hit). But the spell does not itself give the weapon any bonuses to hit or damage, merely makes it equivalent to a +1 weapon to determine what it can hit (and still cause normal damage). Perhaps if this is used in conjunction with a permanency spell, then the item achieves true +1 status from the enchant an item spell? And perhaps multiple consecutive castings increase that value by +1 per spell infused. In order to make a +5 weapon, then, a magic-user would need five castings of the 4th level enchanted weapon spell, and be able to infuse them all at once.

So, if that's the workaround for weapons, how does one provide +1 protection for armor (and rings, cloaks, and other protective gear)? I suppose that could be a simple casting of protection from evil or similar spell that provides an armor class boost. Perhaps a shield spell? And how does that also confer saving throw adjustments? At least with protection from evil, the save bonus is inherent in the spell description.

Or maybe the plus is related specifically to the material from which it is made. There was a section in the DMG that broke down what all the armor types were made from, listing +1 to +5. Perhaps it's simply the act of making the armor magical that brings out the specific plus. In this way, a weapon, shield, or armor made from mithril will always have the same enhancement bonus, so long as it is enchanted in some way. Likewise, an adamantite weapon or armor would have a higher plus simply because of its construction. Therefore, a magical blade will never be made of simple steel as it could not possibly hold the enchantment (and probably why enchanted weapon does not provide a bonus to hit or damage).

Obviously this needs more research. However, it does seem to work and be supported by such instances as drow armor and weapons which seemingly absorb magical energies simply by being crafted in some way particular to the drow from these magical metals. It is important to note, however, that since they are not enchanted with enchant an item and permanency spells, their dweomer fades over time when removed from those radiations. Of course, that's just theory...

Further Thoughts on Recharging Magic Items

I've been doing some more research into magic item construction and recharging of charged items. It seems fairly obvious to me now that the spell enchant an item is essential to the process in AD&D. This spell (6th level magic-user spell, requiring the caster to be 12th level) enables an item to receive an enchantment - the spells to be used in the enchanting of the item. But this isn't as easy as it sounds...

Gygax never really wanted the Player Characters to make their own magic items. In fact, it's sort of the opposite of the game's premise. However, someone makes all those magic items, why not the PCs themselves? So the spell enchant an item was created and included in the rulebooks along with rules on the fabrication of magic items. The whole process is left rather nebulous -- probably intentionally. After all, if the process is known and established it becomes rather uninteresting. The downside to this is that the DM has to come up with something either on the fly during play or between sessions and this will differ from campaign to campaign. The costs are unknown, the time required is unknown, and the materials are unknown. All this is the purview of the DM.

Now, I think this is what makes being a wizard so fun and exciting! You get to learn esoteric things about the world you live in, how sympathetic magic works, what materials are gleaned from monsters to enchant different materials, etc. It also gives you something to look for in ancient tomes and lost libraries. However, the caveat is that you NEED a dedicated and invested DM to make this work. A casual campaign of occasional gaming is not the backdrop in which you should even try to make magic items. However, if you are a member of a long-standing, detailed campaign world, by all means, give this a try!

The majority of your investment will be time and money. You also need to be able to cast the spells to be placed into the magic item. Like begets like - the essence of sympathetic magic. However, I'm not sure you need to know all the magic spells when recharging an item. The only items with charges are wands, staves, rods and some rings or magic blades (usually those with wishes).

I'm more concerned with wands, however. I've rarely had a staff come into play (except a staff of curing and the Ruling Staff of Amun-Ra) and no one has ever found a rod. So, as far as I'm concerned, wands are the only charged magic items I deal with regularly. Heck, the wizard in the party has no less than 3 magic wands on her at all times (fire, frost, and conjuring), and the party thief has a wand of secret door and trap detection that sees regular usage. Even the druid has a wand of fear that sees infrequent use, and the ranger owns a wand of magic detection.

Now, interestingly, all wands in the DMG can be recharged, except a wand of negation or wand of wonder. Therefore, all their wands are potentially able to be recharged. The stickler is finding a magic-user (or cleric) with the means to do so. A magic-user would require enchant an item to perform this function; a cleric need only pray (but success is very slim). Obviously, neither would need to research the item in question assuming they already know all its properties. For example, the wizard in our group uses identify spells regularly to determine what her magic items are capable of. She knows all the functions for the wand of fire and the wand of frost, but still is missing 2 functions of the wand of conjuring. I would require her to do research only to get an idea of what is required for the wand of conjuring, should she have the opportunity and means to recharge it.

The wand of fire would require some or all of the following spells: burning hands, pyrotechnics, fireball, and/or wall of fire. Each spell cast into the wand during the enchant an item duration would restore a number of charges tied to the casting of that particular spell. Since she only knows burning hands and fireball personally, she can only restore charges of 1 or 2 per casting. Since she must be 12th level in order to cast enchant an item (and have that spell known), she will likely be able to memorize several of each spell. I would only require the one saving throw for the item to see if the enchant an item spell takes. Otherwise, the spell is wasted and the process must be started anew.

Looking at what is required for the wand of conjuring, however, it would be very difficult to replace the spells therein. The wand basically replicates the following abilities: read magic (conjuration/summoning), detect magic (conjuration/summoning), unseen servant, monster summoning I-VI, darkness 15' radius, prismatic sphere (or wall). Neither read magic nor detect magic cost charges to use, therefore they would be useless in recharging the wand (it's more a property of the wand bestowed to the wielder). She has no monster summoning spells, darkness spells, and is nowhere high enough in level for prismatic sphere. She might have unseen servant. So she could replace, at best, about 4 charges per casting of enchant an item (5 with her pearl of power).

The wand of frost would require some or all of the following spells: ice storm, wall of ice, cone of cold. These are all 4th or 5th level spells of great potency, although not as high as a wand of conjuring. Still they only cost 1 or 2 charges each as opposed to the number of charges needed by the wand of conjuring's abilities.

The cost of a wand of conjuring is grossly lower value than other potent wands, at only 35,000 g.p. for full charges. However, the experience point value is appropriately the highest on the list. The only wands more expensive are the wand of frost (50,000 g.p.) and the wand of secret door and trap detection (40,000 g.p.)! How these values are calculated is unknown, but there must be some mathematical relationship regarding spell levels, number of functions, etc.

Looking at the lesser wands, the fear wand would require only cause fear as a spell. Each spell cast into it would restore one charge. The wand of secret door and trap detection would require detect invisibility or true seeing and find traps. The wand of magic detection would obviously require detect magic as its only spell, and each casting would restore 1 charge.

Should there be a cost in the casting of the enchant an item spell? I think not for recharging, since the magic item is already created. However, this doesn't consider any possible research required to fully understand the magic item, nor would it cover any material component costs for the spells cast. Other than this, the only requirement is, therefore, time. Casting the enchant an item spell takes 2+1d8 days. Then the caster must insert as many spells as possible within 24 hours based on level of the spell used. The higher the spell, the longer it takes. If the spells cannot all be inserted within this time, the enchant an item spell must be cast again! It would probably take several castings to recharge a wand of conjuring or frost since those spells are so high in level. In any case, it would take months to recharge any wand to full charges, assuming that they were nearly depleted!

So, it seems that recharging wands is not as glamorous as it may seem. It would probably be less aggravating and time consuming to simply locate a new wand of the same type. However, some wands just don't come around too often and those that see frequent use might be worth the effort. However, if the magic-user is willing to give up their one and only 6th level spell at 12th level to become a magic battery charger, I say let them! You can always frazzle them later by making it known to others in the area that he or she can do so. NPCs would then search out the wizard looking to have THEIR wands recharged as well! This could be a lucrative business for the magic-user in question, so long as they have the required spells in their spellbooks.

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 17

Well, technically, that should be Pathfinder, but it's just a D&D clone anyway....

Last weekend was the first installment of our latest attempt to figure out Pathfinder. We all sat down and finalized things with the characters for the first hour, including a name change for our rogue (I refuse to call a girl "Frank"....). The role call for this adventure included the following:

• Elania (corrected spelling from last post), female elven cleric 1
• Ludo, male half-orc barbarian 1
• Axel Pine, male half-elf fey sorcerer 1
• Nicky, female human rogue 1
• Kruhnk, male half-orc barbarian 1

As you can see, the party is mostly elven spellcasters and half-orc battleragers, with a sneaky human thief in the mix. I opted to go with the adventure "Citadel by the Sea" by Sid Fisher from DRAGON Magazine #78 since I know this scenario inside and out and it showcases a lot of the stuff I wanted to test in the system (humanoids with classes, unique magic items, traps, poison, undead, and dungeon hazards). There's plenty for the party to do in a relatively compact dungeon environment.

My prep for the game was doubled on Saturday afternoon when I inadvertently erased the map I made the previous week in Game Table! I had to hastily remedy this before the game and skipped dinner as a result. The lack of blood sugar probably affected my DMing a bit....

I had the module set along the coast east of Sandpoint. Kruhnk was working as a longshoreman at the docks and hung out a lot at the local tavern with his drinking buddy Ludo, an out-of work mercenary from the area. Kruhnk himself was from out of town, having rowed into port in a dinghy from a shipwreck offshore. Kruhnk spent his money like water and when he needed healing for an injury, he would always visit Elania's shrine where she performed healing for the sick and injured. Meanwhile, Nicky was trying to get out of town after a few heists in the marketplace went badly. She was living in an abandoned home in town and spent most of her free time chumming around with the "dreamy" sorcerer, Axel Pine. All of the party members were aware of each other and all applied for a job as caravan guards heading east along the coast road.

The party was 5 of 8 guards hired and they set out in the middle of the week to a fishing community known as Awad. There they were to reprovision before heading inland to the next largest town. However, they encountered a number of refugees in wagons on the route, all claiming to have come from Awad where an elven curse had descended upon the village in the form of a plague! The caravan master, put out by having to let the refugees pass along the narrow road, eventually came to see that something was clearly wrong. He decided to head back to Sandpoint and find another way to the inland markets. However, Elania had already promised some of the refugees to seek out the source of the elven curse (being an elf, she felt it was her duty to do so). So the party left the caravan and got paid 25 gp each for their services. The caravan followed the refugees back to the west while the party continued on eastward to Awad, making it there by evening.

In the village they found a mob in the process of accosting an old man. While Nicky snuck around investigating the mostly abandoned village, the others made a beeline for the center of the community. Elania and Axel moved into the crowd and showed that they were elves - this caused an uproar of panic and pleading among the people. The old man, Crommard the Sage, pleaded for them to save him. The half-orcs took up defensive positions at Elania's side and the group moved forward to discuss things with the lead guard. Negotiations went decently, and Crommard was released into their care, but they were told to leave the village as the guards would not guarantee their safety during the night. So the party took to making camp outside the village to the east. Luckily no one accosted them during that time.

The next morning, after some scrounging for sea bird eggs for breakfast and some scouting in the village by the rogue, the party made a hasty advance towards the ruins on the eastern cliff. These ruins, they learned from the sage, were the site of an archaeological investigation by Crommard, his associate Sethus, and their work crew. Sethus had apparently contracted some form of plague and stumbled back to the village to warn the others before staggering off to die in the wilderness. Crommard hoped he was still alive and that he could be saved. The trip there was mostly uneventful except for a run-in with a mamma skunk and her kits. Luckily, Axel was able to identify the threat and steered the party clear. They arrived near the ruins by late afternoon and Axel noticed there was a humanoid standing outside the entrance to the place.

Nicky stealthed over to the wall and hid by a dead tree. There she saw a warty large orc with immense arms and stunted legs dressed in furs but otherwise unarmed (an ogrillon). He was apparently casually watching along the western cliff approach, alternately cracking his huge knuckles or picking his nose. Nicky returned to the others to report.

Ludo, acting as a drunken decoy (they had bought a bottle of fine wine from one of the refugees earlier), wandered off towards the cliff in a stagger, and stopped near the edge to relieve himself. The rest of the party used the distraction to run for the wall and the dead trees. The humanoid at the entrance noticed Ludo and hid partially behind the ruined gate wall to see what was happening.

* * * * *

We ended here at around 12:30 am Sunday morning. The players seemed entertained by the scenario although it did drag a bit when individual characters tried to hog the spotlight. The problem with a 'sandbox' approach is that sometimes the players wander about aimlessly. The system is a bit different from our usual D&D fare and the scenario was only hastily explained, so I guess that's partly my fault. I hate railroading, but sometimes it's necessary to drive the module on. Such a device will be used in the dungeons below (written into the module) to keep the players from dilly-dallying at every empty room (bad air may cause characters to lose Str/Con every 30 minutes). The barbarians have not yet been tested in combat so I'm not sure how two great-axe-wielding, raging half-orcs are gonna work here (the dungeons are very tight space-wise). I'm hoping to build some sort of 'party rapport' for when the 'bad stuff' starts happening. The half-orcs are going to be challenged the deeper this goes, and the elves are going to be taxed magically. Even the rogue will have her hands full with all the traps involved. I just hope they remain a GROUP and don't go all 'bazinga' on me.

If played to its conclusion, the adventure can be very rewarding (or very deadly), depending on how cautious and smart the players are. My greatest fear is that one of the half-orcs will turn evil and kill one of the elves with the treasure found (an intelligent evil weapon whose purpose is to slay elves). At this level of experience they may not have the magical means to do away with some of the conditions they will encounter (disease, poison, mental compulsion, etc.). Since this is a one-shot adventure I'm not too concerned with the outcome and they can make new characters as required on their own time. My concern is with running the system as designed and exposing the players to all the rules in order to compare and contrast with the other editions. The players are very enthusiastic about these rules and I see that they are very robust. My only complaint thus far is a lack of carrying capacities listed for containers. Cubic feet listings are useless if one has no conversion data and some of the items have even less info! The GM guide is very informative on running games and all the tools used to make things work. However, I would have preferred to have the magic item information in the GM Guide, not the Core Rules. If players want to make such things, they should have to research established formulae, not automatically know how to do something because they leveled up and took a feat....

Possible Solution to Energy Drain

This ability has always vexed me. It never made any sense the way it is presented. It's one of the few deadly attacks that gets no saving throw! A lowly 3 HD wight can decimate a party with this one ability. None of the methods of level draining presented in any of the rule systems seems correct as described.

So I keep searching for a rationale to keep this in the game other than avoiding creatures who have this ability. My player character's are deathly afraid of the level-draining undead. The druid in the party actually wished for immunity to undead level-drain after losing two levels to wraiths! They've faced vampires and (wisely) fled from the encounter after one hit on the ranger. Of course, by then I was using my house rule of Constitution drain instead. But even this seems rather lacking.

How does level equate with Hit Dice? Monsters are traditionally expressed as having Hit Dice and characters are stated as having levels. ALL monster Hit Dice are listed as being d8, while character Hit Dice range from d4 to d10 (or d12 if barbarians are an option). Some classes even start the game with an extra HD (rangers and monks). Witchdoctors and shamans can have levels in magic-user and/or cleric but this does not actually change their base HD which are calculated differently. So, as far as 1st edition goes, HD are NOT fully equivalent to Level.

So, Level is a measure of character POWER; Hit Dice are a measure of life energy. All creatures have Hit Dice; not all creatures have Levels. So it is safe to assume that Energy Drain, an attack that drains away one's life force, should not actually affect Level (which is gained through experience). Hit Dice are tied to character levels for advancement purposes but do not simply reflect physical health, but also luck, divine assistance, and expert skill. In essence, all player characters really are 1 HD creatures (as evidenced by the fact that animate dead treats all humanoids as 1 HD for purposes of creating skeletons and zombies). They achieve higher Hit Dice through life experience, but they are essentially 1 HD creatures no matter their actual level.

So it makes sense that the undead feed on Hit Dice instead of Levels. For example, a wight that hits a third level fighter causes him to face doubts, shakes his soul to its core, and strips away a bit of that divinity, luck, or confidence that gives him the edge he needs in combat. It should NOT take away the hard earned experience he achieved through his actions over those 3 levels.

Imagine a 9th level fighter facing off against a vampire. While the rest of his party is dealing with the undead minions and summoned wolves, the fighter is handling the vampire's powerful attacks. During the combat the fighter is struck a total of 3 times, each blow causing 2 levels of energy drain. Under the old system, the fighter is now 3rd level and will likely die in this combat. If instead, the vampire drains away his Hit Dice, then he is now a 9th level fighter with only 3 HD. All the fighter's "to hit" rolls, saves, and other level dependent abilities remain intact (as do his XP). The only difference is that his hit points are now reduced back to 3rd level maximums. So, he might be a 9th level Lord with only 25 hit points! Restoration spells would be able to restore lost Hit Dice as if they were levels, but obviously no higher than the character's Level. Also, if the character cannot afford a Restoration, he is forevermore a 9th level fighter with 3 HD. When he makes 10th level, he will have 4 HD. In fact, if he makes it to 20th level without losing any more Hit Dice to level draining, he would only have 9 HD +15 hp. A regular 20th level Lord would have 9 HD + 30 hp.

In this method, as with the old method of level loss, hit points gained for each level should be recorded on the character sheet. If the character is multiclassed, the Hit Die drain will occur to EACH class since Hit Dice are averaged over a level. So a 2nd/2nd/3rd level elven fighter/magic-user/thief will lose 1/3 HD from each class on the first hit, and 1/3 HD from each class on the second hit. He will be left acting as a 3rd level thief thereafter with 1-2 hp until restored. When he makes next level in each of his classes he will have the average of a d10, d4, and d6 added to this total as a 3rd/3rd/4th level character. If the undead hit him a third time before being restored, he would be dead.

This does provide a reason for early retirement of some characters. Imagine a poor 7th level paladin locked in a pitched battle with a wraith. If the paladin is struck about 4 times, he is now a 3 HD 7th level paladin. He is too weak to join his companions facing a dragon in another dungeon and may be relegated to a henchman status or retired from play. It would be interesting to play such a character, in my opinion, but other players see weakness as a detriment to their fun. The role-playing possibilities are very intriguing, however. Imagine that this paladin character decides that he would be better off serving as a cleric, seeing that direct conflict is not the path he wishes to continue. If his wisdom is high enough, he could opt to dual class as a cleric, perhaps one of a peaceful deity, and forego use of the sword and armor in favor of tending the wounded in the rear of a conflict. Such a character would be most welcome at my table! It gives the character an interesting background and progresses his story without starting over with a new character. Such a character would have a healthy fear of the undead to be sure!

Now, one might ask "what happens when a character slain by an energy-draining undead is raised from the dead?" The question is pretty much moot, however, since energy-draining undead who slay a character cause it to rise as the same type of undead (at half strength). Therefore, death to energy drain is permanent! There are no hit dice left to raise - the soul has essentially been consumed. What remains (or replaces) is a husk or a shadow of the character which is filled with the same hunger for life force.

This version of energy drain is less time-consuming and less fidgety than previous versions. The only stat being affected in combat is hit points (which are tied to Hit Dice). Attacks, saves, and other abilities dependent on LEVEL are not affected until all hit dice are consumed in that class (at which time the character is either dead or acting as only his or her remaining classes if multiclassed).

The last example one has to consider is that of the dual classed character. In this case, I believe that the current class Hit Dice would be drained first, then the previous class Hit Dice. Note that unlike multi-class characters, dual-classed characters keep their full Hit Dice over all their levels - they are not averaged across levels. To use the example above, the former 7th level paladin (3 HD) turned cleric is now as high as 4th level in cleric when he encounters another wraith. He fails to turn the creature and ends up in pitched battle against it. If he is drained, he will first lose 4 HD of cleric before losing his abilities to function as that class (although he doesn't LOSE the class). He will then be drained of his remaining paladin HD until dead. If he is drained 4 HD, he is currently acting as a 0-level character. If he gains another level in cleric through experience, he is restored to a 5th level cleric/7th level paladin status. However, prior to that time frame he is unable to turn undead or cast cleric spells. He is also unable to function as a paladin since his cleric class does not exceed his paladin class as of yet. He will also have only 3 paladin HD and 1 Cleric HD unless he can get the other HD restored. I would allow him to still fight but as a 0-level character. So adventuring might be very difficult for such a character, but not impossible. A Restoration would allow him to function as a cleric again, since I assume that it would only restore a HD in his current class, not his former class. Thus, if he were drained lower than his 4 cleric HD, his paladin HD would be even lower and are probably not recoverable until he is able to restore all his current cleric HD.

Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 16.5

Well, after making new Pathfinder characters last weekend, I learned that two of the players would be away at a wedding. The other players didn't want to skip a week so we ran a one-shot using the basic box adventure and the characters I converted for them from our 1st edition AD&D campaign. Therefore we had the following party members

• Falim ibn Adbul Akbar, NG human ranger 1
• Chow-Lin, CG human wizard 1
• Eraergon Patheney, N half-elf druid 1
• Hamlin Hoefurrow, NG halfling fighter 1

The number of characters was spot on for Pathfinder and the wizard's player took control of the halfling fighter (since in 1st edition he is her henchman anyway). The roles were familiar if the stats were not.

We started after tweaking and correcting some small mistakes made by the players for their feat selections and characters' abilities. The wizard chose to arcane bind to her beloved's betrothal ring and went with the Universalist school. The druid selected Nature Bond to the Fire domain since that is his favorite element. The ranger player selected Quick Draw and Weapon Focus (scimitar) for his feats.

After about an hour of talking and converting characters we jumped right into the adventure. The background has the players starting right outside the dungeon and giving them one action apiece to explore before ambushing them with two goblins. I gave the party a chance of surprise but the keen-eyed druid spotted the ambush almost immediately and warned the others before the goblins could attack. They liked the fact that the goblins didn't have like 30 hp apiece - in other words, normal goblins. The attacks worked fine, we remembered all the rules and all the bonuses. The combat went well and was resolved quickly. They looted the bodies and proceeded into the cave.

Once inside they quickly located a locked chest. They searched around and found a key to open the locked chest. They took stock of what they had and continued on, leaving the chest but taking the treasure inside. They found a gem and some coin as well as a potion vial.

They headed north into a room containing a glowing fountain of golden water. The ranger sampled the water and it damaged him for 1 point. They listened at a closed door but heard nothing. Voices from an open passage to the northwest caused them to stealthily approach but their light tipped off the goblins therein. Two goblins were sent to investigate the intrusion. One was slain by the ranger's javelin while the other retreated to warn his companions. The party moved into the room to face three goblin warriors and "King Fatmouth," a goblin witchdoctor (Wiz 3?). Fatmouth had three spells (2 magic missiles and a cause fear). He managed to target the ranger and made him "shaken" for 1 round. He also blasted the wizard with a dose of her own medicine (1 magic missile). The goblins were proving problematic because the halfling fighter kept missing. The druid was injured severely (down to 3 hp) so he withdrew to heal himself with cure light wounds. He then proceeded to use his fire bolt spell-like ability from the Fire domain. The ranger was doing well during the combat, slaying goblins (which he had taken as his favored enemy - who knew?) with his scimitar. After the party finished off Fatmouth, and the wizard was reduced to 1 hp, the last goblin was slain seconds after he tried to surrender (unfortunately, the halfling was the only one who did not speak Goblin).

The party decided to loot the chest in the room and took what they could from the goblin bodies. They got a lot of gold pieces, a wand, a ring, and some pearls. A nice haul and more than they had gotten in the last few editions! They looked around a bit before deciding it was too dangerous to continue with the wizard as injured as she was and no healing left for the day. The party took their loot and left for town. Each character earned 301 xp.

We ended here since it was 12:30 pm. The players all had fun and felt that the system was infinitely more playable than 4th edition (which has since become known as "the game which will not be mentioned by name"). I could tell that we switched rule sets too often because the players were getting confused with some of the terminology and when and how certain things worked. Despite having to repeat myself more than 3 times for each ruling, the session was fun for everyone! I'm looking forward to running the larger group next weekend. Also, the players said that they would like to continue playing THESE characters at a later time, when the other players are not available.... Seems like the session went very well indeed!

I now see that we should have stuck to using these characters through ALL the versions of the game. The familiarity of the characters' personalities and quirks would serve as a familiar touchstone in the changing morass of rules that we've been wading through. I did convert these characters initially, but I also wanted the players to experience new classes and races that they don't normally get to play. We played the original campaign for almost 15 years straight before doing this experiment, so they were due for a change. Now they are talking about possibly converting the campaign to a new system! Imagine that! Now, I prefer to stick with what I started, but the players see the 1st edition version as limiting now. The druid player in particular is not fond of tying himself to the druid organization. The ranger sees some of the followers as cool but doesn't want to settle down. The wizard sees the magic systems of the later rule sets as more inviting and logical. I'm not sure if this is the right move, but we'll see when we get back to that campaign. My suggestion would be to first try dogma rules with the old characters before making a drastic change to D&D 3.5, Pathfinder, or D&D 5.0. Besides, we still have one more Pathfinder run and the D&D 5.0 conversion to try out. Maybe I'll let them play a high level adventure in 5.0 to see if they like it....