The Lizard Man Diaries now has a Logo!

+Luka Rejec blessed the Google+'o'sphere today by taking requests for 1d4 drawings. I was lucky enough for my wish of a drawing of a "lizard man writing an an old scrappy diary" to be granted. I was pretty chuffed because I really, really, really like Luka's style.

Here's the original drawing in all it's glory:

 You can find the new logo lounging on a rock at the top of the page.

Thanks again Luka!

Letting my players create their own Classes

In my current Labyrinth Lord home game I let my players create their own Character Classes.

One of the main reasons I started running Labyrinth Lord (essentially b/x d&d) is because of the astonishingly large wealth of content roaming the blogosphere at large. In terms of sheer mass of stuff to inject into your game, there has never been a better time in history to be playing d&d. There is near limitless new ideas, monsters, rules, settings, character classes, etc, etc getting pumped out of the innumerable quality blogs/zines/pdfs all over the internet, every single day. 

My players don't really read blogs though. I let them know they could trawl the internet for any class that tickles their fancy and vaguely fits into B/X d&d and bring it to the table. Unfortunately that didn't  happen and I got thinly veiled complaints about the stifling simplicity of the base Labyrinth Lord character classes.

I extolled to them the virtues of the OSR philosophy of actual interaction with the game world, as opposed to New School character builds, skill sets and feats and how simplified character creation facilitates that...but they weren't getting it.

So, I let them know they could make their own Character Classes. And that they did.

I provided them with my simplified "Quick and Easy Player Handbook for Old School D&D / Labyrinth Lord"  which gave them the general template for a B/X character class.

Basically all I required before unleashing a new character class unto my game is the following:

• The HP dice they use (normally d4-d8).
• The XP they need to get to level 2 (any where from the Thief's 1250 to the Elf's 4000).
• The class's armor and weapon restrictions (if any).
• The class's special abilities.

It's been the case so far that first three points are used to counterbalance the wild and whacky ideas that are implemented in the fourth. My players seem to really like wild and whacky special abilities. 

I generally decide on which of the original classes baseline To Hit Bonus and Saving Throws the new class will use. I obviously also make a few changes, edits and power balancing to the class before it's good to go.

It's proved to be a great exercise.The players with their own customer character classes are much more invested in their characters. As a GM who likes to see players create their own goals, rather than me giving them specific quests and adventures, I' excited to already see long term goals be formulated and extrapolated from the core mechanics of the custom classes. I also like the new classes, because weird character classes make the game more entertaining for me to run.

I've also now got access to three new Labyrinth Lord / B/X compatible character classes out of the deal, which I'm going to put up on my blog for the world to enjoy. Those being;

• A Shaman with a randomized "healing" mechanic. 
• A Psionic warrior who forms mental bonds with his targets, which cause mental stress and disorder when said bond is broken at the death of a target. 
•  An Arachnomancer, which is basically a thief with spider abilities rather than thief abilities. 

Expect to see them on the blog soon!

Am I crazy? How do you feel about letting your player's bring their own creations to the table?

& Magazine Issue 8 (features some of my art)

Issue 8 of the OSR Ad&D focused "&" Magazine is out. 

It's an Urban Adventure themed issue with 96 pages of free Ad&D content.

While I'm more of a B/X kinda guy any old school is good school in my (school) books.

This issue also features some of my ink artwork (and stay tuned the next issue might just have a cover done by me).

 http://www.and-mag.com/

Labyrinth Lord Bard Character Class

Here's my Labyrinth Lord Bard Class originally published in Brave the Labyrinth Issue 3. I would suggest downloading it as it's got a lot of good stuff in it. 

The Bard: 

Requirements: CHA 9
Prime Requisite: STR and DEX
Hit Dice: 1d4
Maximum Level: None

Bards travel the lands searching for new stories to sing. If they happen to get rich along the way, that’s fine by them too. Adventuring Bards are bards who have traveled with a group of adventurers, singing their tales, until realizing: “Hey, I could do this adventuring stuff myself!".

Bards can be found in any of the usual adventurer hot spots, singing at the inn between seducing girls and swindling gold.

Adventurer Bards have a magical relationship with their music, using it to control the minds and emotions of the people (and monsters) around them. A Bard’s rough and tumble lifestyle allows them to wear some armor and swing a sword, but they're not great at either, preferring to talk or trick their way out of sticky situations.

On reaching 9th level, a Bard may buy or construct an Inn or Tavern in a suitably busy town or hamlet. The Inn or Tavern quickly attracts a reputation across the land for being a good source of wholesome entertainment, courtly intrigue, or dastardly villainy, depending on the Bard's alignment. Travelers, adventurers, and pleasure seekers flock to the Inn or Tavern from far and wide and the Bard does not have to look far to find interesting people with even more interesting tales. These individuals can point the Bard and his party in the direction of adventure, as well as provide secret knowledge that only comes from loose lips receiving the VIP treatment. The ale sales should make the Bard a pretty penny as well.

Bards use the Magic-User Attack Tables and Saving Throw Tables and the Thief Level Progression Table. They may use shields, but cannot wear armor heavier than leather. Bards cannot use weapons with a base damage higher than 1d6.

Song Knowledge: Bards have the ability to gauge the emotion and general lyrics of a song, even if they do not understand the language it is sung in. For example, they can tell the difference between an orcish war chant and an orcish love song without knowing how to speak orcish.

Hear Noise: A bard is particularly adept at listening out for peculiar noises, or deducing what may be happening on the other side of a door via sound. For this ability to work, the area around the Bard needs to be quiet. Due to years of musical practice, the bard is slightly better at this ability than the Thief. Bards are particularly adept at comprehending lyrics or general meaning of songs heard through doors and walls.

Level Chance to Hear Noise (d6):
1-2:     1-3
2-4:     1-4
5+:      1-5

Hide in Plain Sight: Bards have the ability to disappear in a crowd. This ability has been gained from years of running away from unappreciative crowds and furious fathers. If there is a large crowd of people in an area (more than 5 people in the majority of 10' foot squares in the room/street/plaza/etc.), the Bard can slip away unnoticed from whomever happens to be chasing him. Alternatively, the Bard may just want to blend into the crowd, denying his normal flamboyant demeanor.

Level Chance to Hide in Plain Sight:
1: 13%
2: 17%
3: 20%
4: 27%
5: 30%
6: 37%
7: 47%
8: 57%
9: 67%
10: 77%
11: 87%
12: 90%
13: 97%
14+: 99%

Busk: Bawdy or solemn, making the incorrect song choice from his repertoire can be dangerous for a Bard. If a Bard succeeds at busking, he has picked the right songs for the crowd and they happily tip him for his playing. Crowds tip 15% of their carried wealth to the Bard. The size of the crowd depends on how much work the Bard has done in drumming up interest in his show, or where he has chosen to play. If the Bard fails his busking attempt, the crowd either happily ignores his poor choice of music or is incited into a murderous rage. The Labyrinth Lord must roll 2d6 on the Reaction table to determine this. Busking attempts take approximately 30 minutes to an hour of ingame time.

Level Chance to Successfully Busk:
1: 23%
2: 27%
3: 30%
4: 37%
5: 40%
6: 43%
7: 53%
8: 63%
9: 73%
10: 83%
11: 93%
12: 95%
13: 97%
14+: 99%

Beguile: Regular folk can become enamored with a Bard, so much so that they may be willing to work for him for free (as long as their basic needs are taken care of). When attempting to hire a Retainer, if the Labyrinth Lord rolls a 2 (including modifiers) on the Retainer Reaction to Hiring Offer table, the Retainer offers to work for free. The other benefits of +1 to Retainer morale also apply. If the Bard insists on mistreating the Retainer, they may end up demanding pay (probably at the most inopportune time for the Bard).

Reaching the 5th Level: A Bard can comprehend languages with 80% probability. The Bard cannot communicate in the languages he comprehends. If the roll does not succeed, the Bard cannot attempt to comprehend that language again until he reaches a higher level of experience. The Labyrinth Lord may want to keep this roll result secret and not allow the Bard to know if he has succeeded or not. The Labyrinth Lord may then tell the Bard character what he thinks he is comprehending from the person that is speaking to him.

Reaching the 6th Level: A Bard can read and cast magic from Magic-User (and Elf) scrolls with 40% accuracy. A failed rolls means the spell does not function as expected, and can create horrible effects, at the Labyrinth Lord's discretion.

Reaching the 8th Level: A Bard can read and cast magic from Magic-User (and Elf) scrolls with 80% accuracy. A failed rolls means the spell does not function as expected, and can create horrible effects, at the Labyrinth Lord's discretion.

Song Spells: Bards have the ability to cast magic spells through their songs. To do so they are required to be playing a two-handed instrument (Lute, Flute, Bagpipes, Violin, Harmonica, Panpipes, etc.) when they cast the spell and to maintain the spell. Bards do not have the same explosive nature with magic as Magic-Users and need to continue playing their instrument in order to keep their magic power at play in the world. The instant the Bard stops playing, the spell he has cast fails, even if it has time remaining where it would still be in effect. The Bard needs his party members to give suggestions and directions to people under the effect of spells like charm person and geas, because if the Bard speaks he must cease playing his instrument. Song Spells do not last longer than their listed effectiveness, even if the Bard continues playing.

To learn new spells, a Bard needs to find another Bard who knows the Song Spell and is willing to teach it. Bards are not overly protective of their known Song Spells, but demand gold for their lessons (1,000 gp per
Song Spell level).

Bards have a limited choice of magic compared to Magic-Users. The Song Spells Bards can use are listed below.

Level 1: Bless, Charm Person, Remove Fear, Sleep, Ventriloquism.
Level 2: Silence, Snake Charm.
Level 3: Haste, Hold Person.
Level 4: Charm Monster, Confusion, Detect Lie, Plant Growth.
Level 5: Feeblemind, Hold Monster.
Level 6: Geas.
Level 7: Power Word Stun.
Level 8: Irresistible Dance, Mass Charm.

Bard Song Spells Per Day Per Level:

Bard Level	Spell Lvl. 1	Spell Lvl. 2	Spell Lvl. 3	Spell Lvl. 4	Spell Lvl. 5	Spell Lvl.6	Spell Lvl. 7	Spell Lvl.8
1	1
2	2
3	2	1
4	3	1
5	3	1
6	3	2	1
7	4	2	1
8	4	2	2
9	4	2	2
10	4	3	2	1
11	4	3	2	1
12	4	3	3	1
13	4	3	3	2
14	4	3	3	2	1
15	5	4	3	2	2
16	5	4	4	2	2	1
17	5	4	4	3	2	1	1
18	5	5	5	4	3	2	1	1
19	5	5	5	4	4	2	1	1
20	6	5	5	5	5	3	2	2

Quick and Easy Player Handbook for Old School D&D / Labyrinth Lord

I created a quick and easy handbook for my players (some of who are pretty new to RPG's). Even the relatively lithe Labyrinth Lord core rulebook seemed too dense so I wanted something even simpler.


The whole document is right here. 




It is basically Labyrinth Lord with some of my own house rules and tweaks that stream line and slightly change the game.

Here is a rundown of the changes;

• Ascending AC
• Dexterity gives a bonus to ranged to hit AND damage 
• Wisdom improves d6 trap detection for all classes
• Wisdom improves all saving throws
• Intelligence gives a bonus to the number of spells a Magic User can memorize
• Charisma gives a bonus to the number of spells a Cleric can memorize
• Clerics can turn "something their god hates" rather than just undead
• Intelligence under 8 means you can not speak Common.
• Neatened XP progression levels
• Max HP at level 1 
• d20 Thief skill system (the brilliant Target 20 system) 
• Simplified encumbrance and pack animal system
• Simplified starting equipment system 

It probably needs a couple of edits, and I may end up simplifying it even more but it could be handy for giving to people completely new to D&D to get across the core concepts quickly. 

Simple Carrying Capacity and Pack Animals for Old School D&D

Characters can hold as many items as they have Strength (ie; If they have Strength of 10, they can carry 10 items.) Items that could realistically "stack" together count as 1 item.  Armor and wielded  weapons do NOT count towards this total.

Characters start  the game with as many things as they can carry (each thing must cost 40gp or less). Characters do not get to keep gold left over from this process, Armor and Weapons count towards this total.  

If a Character would like to transport more stuff than they can carry, they may employ pack animals.

Pack Animals  MUST be fed every day. Feed costs 1 gp a day. Pack Animals will die after 2 days without feed.

When they are purchased, Pack Animals roll a dice to see how many things they can carry (as below:)

Donkey (8 gp) = d6 items

Mule (30 gp) = d10 items

Pony (30 gp) = d6+2 items

Horse, draft (40 gp) = d12 +2 items

Horse, riding (75 gp) = d12 + 4 items

Horse, war (250 gp) = d12 + 6 items

Cart (100 gp) = 20 items (must be pulled by a donkey or better).

Wagon (200 gp) = 30 items (must be pulled by a horse or better).