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Being in the Main the Mouth of Olde House Rules

Su n d a y, Se p t e m b e r 1 3 , 2 0 1 5

What We're Doing...

Combat in Pits & Perils Part II (Lethality)

Somereviewershave(rightly)notedthatPits&Perilsproduces
generallymoredurablecharactersthanitsOSRcounterparts,which
canfundamentallyaltertheexperienceofagenrenotedforits
totalpartykills.Forinstance,afirstlevelmagician(the
weakestclassphysically)startsthegamewithagood5HP,whereas
theaveragemeleeattackscores1pointofdamage.
ComparethistoD&D,whereasingleorccaneasilykillafirst
levelfighterwithonestrikeshouldtheyrollmaximumdamagewith
theirsword,andthisfact,combinedwithsaveordiepoisonand
mechanicaltraps,generatesadegreeoflethalitythatmanyplayers
havecometoexpectofthegame.

Pits & Perils

Nowthisisexhilarating,butP&Ptakesadifferentapproachand
doessoforthereasonslistedbelow:
(1)Itaffordstheplayersmore"dwelltime"intheadventure,
meaningtheygettoparticipateforatleastawhile,evenifthey
eventuallydie(whichcananddoeshappen)...
(2)Furthermore,itmakeshitpointsanactualresourcetobe
managed.Thinkaboutit.InD&D,randomdamagecaneasilybypass
anysupposedbufferaffordedbyhaving"more"hits,makingitan
unreliablemeasure.HitpointsinP&Pareamorestableindicator
ofcurrentsurvivabilityand,ingeneral,reflecttheparty's
previouschoicesand/orstrategy,etc.
Evenso,deathCANhappen,althoughwesuggestreadingPartIof
thisseriesbeforegoingontolearnhow...

Oldschool fantasy roleplaying

Barons of Braunstein

But,forstarters,understandthatcertainencountersshould
benuisanceaffairsatbest.Nototalpartykills,butthebattle
willdrainhitsandlimitedspells,makingthegroupweakerfor
theirnextfight,oftenwithlittletoshowforit!

Oldschool historical roleplaying

Blood of Pangea

Thethreatofdeathisan
exhilaratingandeverpresentthreat...

TherearemanywaystoexploitP&P'suniquerulestocreatean
atmosphereofmenaceandlethality,somenofurtherthanthebasic
rulebookandsomeimagination:
Animalsandsimilar(natural)beastshavingmultipleattacksper
round(typically,abiteandtwoclaws)aredangerousbecausethey
haveseveralchancestohit.Often,theseenjoyattackand/or
damagebonusesperlevel/sizeforaddeddanger.Forinstance,a
bearhitsnearlyhalfthetime,dealingatleast2pointsofdamage
easilyupto6perroundwiththerightluck!
Wolvesaren'tquiteasstrong,butattackingroups,makingthem
incrediblydangerous.Sobewarned...

Narrative pulp fantasy roleplaying

Some(lessnatural)enemies,likegargoylesandghouls,alsoget
multipleattacksperroundandhaveotherspecialabilities,likea
resistanceto(normal)missilesortunneling,etc.

BoP: Retrospace

Crocodiles,flytraps,andjelliescandrown,digest,orotherwise
swallowuptheirvictimswholeinamostterribleway...
Andlet'snotforgetthepoisonousand/orvenomousthings,like
spidersandsnakes,whodealoneormorediceofdamageinstantlyif
thevictimfailstosave.Giantspiders,whoseldomgoalone,can
paralyzetheirunluckyvictimsandtrimtheparty'srankswhenevery
swordandspellisneededtosurvive.
Nowobviously,spellusingenemiesorthosewithspecialattacks
thatemulatemagicareverydangerous.Evilmagiciansdon'tneedto
worryaboutsavingspellsandwillhappilydischargeseveralBolts
intothepartybeforefleeingthroughthesecretdooronlytheyknow
about,leavingtheresttofaceahostilemobofgoblinhenchmen
minustheirfighterand/ormagician(orelf)!

Scifi expansion to Blood of Pangea

Suchenemiesabound,andtherefereeshouldusethem...

2016 (14)

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Other Blogs

. . msjx . .
An Abominable Fancy

There'ssafetyinnumbers,and
enemieswilltakefulladvantageofthis...

Blog of Exalted Deeds

Blood & Battle

Humanoids,likegoblinsandorcs,arerelativelyweak*andwill
employstrategytomakeupforthis,oftenseekingsafetyinnumbers
whenoutonpatrol.Thesegettheoutnumberingbonus(+1)while
theirsuperiornumbersholdandmightbearmedwithbowsorsimilar
weaponry.Poisoned(1d6)darts?Youbet!
Ambushesalongwalls(ornarrowvalleypasses)arecommonand,
wheneverpossible,archerswillseekoutcovertomakeany
counterattackmoredifficult(2).Strategyisessentialhere,and
miniaturesarealwaysusefulintacticalsituations.

Deep Delving
die heart
Don't Split the Party
Dungeon Mastering by Candlelight
Eye Ray of the Beholder
Gaming Ballistic
Gorgonmilk

Finally,strongerorcsmightweararmorandemploytwohanded
weaponryforadded(+1)damage.Thisiscommonamongstchieftains,
accompaniedalwaysbyanelitebodyguardandpossiblyaguardian
wolfincaseenemiesgettooclose.Allsuchencountersshouldbe
balancedandfair,butchallengingnonetheless...

Gothridge Manor
Grumblefist Games
Halfling's Luck
Necropraxis

Ofcourse,trapscanalsodealmultiplediceofdamage,andthe
refereeshouldcleverlyplacethesewithaneyetowardswhosetthem
andwhy.Again,thesecanbeundonebycleverstrategy.

Playing at the World

Prime Requisite

NoneofthisismeanttodenigrateD&D,whichweloveforthe
excitingandlethalexperienceitoffers.Butasplay,inevitably,
begantofocusonroleplayingandcharacteridentification,even
itsdesignersbegantointroducerulestoenhancecharactersurvival
beyondasinglebloodysession.Provisionslikererollingany
resultof12forhitpoints(pertheMoldvaygame)attesttothe
basicneedforsurvivabilityinanotherwisedangerousworld!

Quickly, Quietly, Carefully

*Ingeneral,themoreenemiesarepresent,thelowerindividualhit
pointsshouldbe(1HPorcsinnumbersaredangerous)...

Semper Initiativus Unum

Rended Press
RetroRoleplaying: The Blog
RPG Knights
Save vs. Total Party Kill

States Myopicus
Sword+1

Posted by Olde House Rules at 6:11 PM

Tenkar's Tavern

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The Disoriented Ranger

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