Yearly Archives: 2013

House rules

Necropraxis House Rules PDF (click to download)

I have finally compiled my most frequently used house rules into a PDF. Click on the thumbnail image to download the PDF.

Some notable changes (probably only of interest to my immediate players):

Save to retain spells for magic-users is no longer active, mostly because we always forget to do it in practice. I still like the idea, though LS has informed me that adopting this rule in his own game has seemed to have made a particular magic-user PC dominant.
Scrolls now require only 1 week to craft, irrespective of the spell level (GP costs are unchanged). What this means in practice: players can make one scroll as a downtime action.
I managed to restrain myself and only sneak in one new house rule in the process of writing this document, which is sustaining spells (to replace traditional durations). This is from my recent work on magic for JRPG Basic.

Not currently present, but likely in some future update:

Poison rules. I still haven’t figured out a method that I am happy with, mostly because I would like something that makes thieves better at using poison than other classes.
Attack progressions. I’m currently using this attack ranks system, but I’ve come to feel that it is a bit cumbersome and the starting probabilities are maybe too generous. Possibilities that I have been considering: use the MEN ATTACKING table exactly as presented on page 19 of Men & Magic, but give fighters an additional flat +1 to hit, or switch to using hit dice as attack bonus (I floated this idea once, but the reaction from players was not enthusiastic).

Following are the house rules in HTML for easy reference, in both quick and detailed forms.

Quick

Death & Dying: save or die at 0 HP, success means unconsciousness.
Encumbrance: carry 1 significant item per point of strength, -1 cumulative penalty per extra item.
Two-Handed Swords: damage is 2d6, take highest result.
Dual Wielding: +1 to attack.
Burning Oil: 1 round to prep, ranged attack, 1d6 fire damage per round (save ends).
Falling: 1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen, save for half damage, save or die if falling more than 50 feet.
Suffocating & Drowning: 3 failed constitution checks followed by save or die every round thereafter.
Healing & Recovery: re-roll all hit dice at the start of every session.
Spell Duration: one non-instantaneous spell may be maintained indefinitely.

Detailed

Death & Dying

When reduced to 0 HP, make a saving throw. Success indicates unconsciousness, failure indicates death. Unconscious characters may be revived after combat with 1 HP.

Healing & Recovery

After spending time to recuperate in town, re-roll all hit dice. This will generally be done at the start of each session. This rule was inspired by Empire of the Petal Throne.

Melee Weapons

Weapons do 1d6 damage by default. Two-handed swords deal higher damage on average (roll 2d6 and take the highest result), but require both hands to use and so prevent the use of a shield. Dual-wielding two single-handed weapons is also an option, and provides +1 to the attack roll. Rules for two-handed swords and dual-wielding were borrowed from Philotomy (http://www.grey-elf.com/philotomy.pdf).

Burning Oil

Burning oil does 1d6 fire damage and requires the target to make a saving throw. On success, the fire goes out and will do no more damage. On failure, the fire keeps burning and will do another 1d6 damage (and require another saving throw) during the following round (repeat this procedure every round until the fire is extinguished). In addition to the per-round saving throw, a burning creature may opt to spend their turn trying to put out the fire (this grants an additional saving throw). Flasks of oil may be lit beforehand and then thrown (this takes two actions, one for prep and one for throwing) or thrown unlit and then ignited by a separate action (such as a thrown torch), requiring a second attack roll. In either case, the two actions may be taken by separate characters if situationally appropriate. A natural attack roll of 1 indicates that the attacker has fumbled and doused themselves in oil instead (if this oil is already burning, follow standard procedure as outlined above). A flask of oil is significant for encumbrance purposes.

Spell Duration

Any spell that is not instantaneous may be sustained indefinitely. Only one such spell may be sustained, and if another spell with duration is cast, the previously sustained spell ends. Sustained spells also end if the caster becomes unconscious.

Scrolls

Magic-users of any level may scribe scrolls. 100 GP per spell level and one week of work are required. Scrolls of spells that are level higher than can be prepared may be scribed, assuming that the magic-user has access to a spell book with the spell in question. For example, a first level magic-user can create a scroll of fireball (a third level spell) for 300 GP in one week. A scroll is significant for encumbrance purposes. The crafting rule was inspired by Holmes Basic.

Encumbrance

Adventurers may carry a number of significant items equal to their strength score. For each item beyond this limit, there is a cumulative penalty to all physical rolls (attack rolls, saving throws, and so forth). For example, a character with a strength of 9 may carry 9 items without penalty, but if that same character carries 12 items, there will be a penalty of 3 (12 items – 9 strength = 3) applied to physical rolls. Significant items include things like a sword, a scroll, a potion, a quiver of arrows, a coil of rope, or a book. Insignificant items include things like a coin, a sack, a ring, or a fishhook; a pouch of up to 100 insignificant items may be carried without using an encumbrance slot. The only special case is armor, which takes up one encumbrance slot per category (light = 1, medium = 2, heavy = 3). This rule was inspired by LS (http://www.paperspencils.com/2012/03/18/making-encumbrance-work/).

Falling

1d6 damage per 10 feet fallen, up to 5d6. Save for half damage. Additionally, if falling more than 50 feet, a save versus death must be made to avoid instant death.

Suffocating

Every round during which a character is unable to breathe (such as when under water), a constitution check is required. Three failures means breath can no longer be held, and the character’s lungs are exposed to the environment. For example, this might mean that gas is inhaled. If underwater, this means that the character is drowning, and every round thereafter a save versus death must be made. Failure means the character has drowned and is dead.

Experience

1 XP is gained for each GP of treasure spent. This is the only way to gain XP.

Spell Interpretations

Continual Light (cleric 3)

Each magic-user or cleric may have only one continual light spell active at a time, but continual light otherwise bypasses the normal spell duration rules (that is, another spell with non-instantaneous duration may be sustained along with the continual light).

Raise Dead (cleric 5)

A raised character must make a survival check (using the percentage as determined by constitution score). Failure means the character is not raised, and can never be raised. If the check is successful, the character is restored to life but also loses a point of constitution permanently. Further, life and death are not to be trifled with, and there will almost certainly be some other consequence to tampering with the order of things.

Sleep (magic-user 1)

A saving throw applies.

The genesis of Cade Casey

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Egg of the Phoenix (source)

Or, making a 2E character.

Erik of Wampus ran the tournament module Egg of the Phoenix on G+ as an experiment. I got in on the last of three sessions dedicated to the adventure, and given that the character I usually play in Wampus is only a third level FLAILSNAILS planeswalking magic-user (originally from Barrowmaze), Slin Zad the Purple, I decided to create a higher-level second edition character for the hell of it. I had about 30 minutes before the session started.

First, roll ability scores. 4d6 drop the lowest arrange to taste: 12, 14, 14, 14, 15, 14.

Second, determine level. Wikipedia tells me Egg is intended for characters of level 5 to 9, so 4+1d5 = … 8. I need to make this character quickly, and I guess it would be fun to roll up a random intelligent magic sword, so let’s go fighter. Human, of course, by default. Abilities: str 14, dex 14, con 15, int 12, wis 14, cha 14. Wow, 2E is pretty stingy with attribute bonuses. Those physical stats only grant +1 HP per hit die and nothing else. That’s okay, 8d10 +8 HP yields… 64 HP. (Jot down THAC0, to-hit table, and saves).

Still no back story… Courtney’s NPC traits tell me smells of smoke, grave, and violent. 2E’s secondary skills table tells me he was a farmer.

How about that magic sword? Following some rolling in the DMG, +3 bonus, int 13, communicates by empathy, 2 primary abilities, alignment: neutral good. Okay, so the sword is neutral good and he is violent by nature, so the sword is probably a force of restraint in his life. Making up sword backstory… was created by some ancient extradimensional agency to recover/destroy/warehouse things that might cause chaotic imbalance in the multiverse. Agency may be long gone, but if so the sword doesn’t know that and has tasked its wielder with seeking out agency headquarters in addition to guiding the champion to dangerous items which must be contained. (Aside, from the section on intelligent weapons in the 2E DMG: Such weapons are useful to give higher-level fighters some additional tactical options and limited-use special abilities.)

Powers: detect magic, 10′ radius (rolled twice, so that becomes 20′ radius) at-will (by chance, that fits the sword’s purpose, to track down dangerous items, perfectly). In pursuit of its mission, it can confuse enemies (as per the spell) on a hit (save vs. spell to avoid). Shoe S. named the sword during the session: Most Furious Gantling.

What about other magic items. Weren’t there some guidelines in 2E about equipping high-level NPCs? Flip flip flip… can’t find it… okay what seems reasonable? How about 1d4 (= 3) rolls on the magic item table the DMG? Yeah, that sounds good. Roll roll, banded armor +2, cloak of elvenkind (yep, this is definitely a 2E character), and ring of fire resistance (ah, that explains the “smells of smoke” trait).

For other mundane equipment, I’ll just use my strength-based encumbrance for guidelines because it’s the best and so Cade can carry up to 14 items before taking encumbrance penalties. I’ll just pick some mundane items: helm, 50′ rope, grappling hook, magic sword, pouch of 3d6 x10 (= 140) GP, shield, heavy crossbow (damage: 1d4+1, 1d6+1 vs. large creatures), case of 20 quarrels, dagger (1d4, 1d3 vs. large), rations, rations, waterskin, 6 torches. Insignificant items: cloak of elvenkind (insignificant because it’s clothing), ring of fire resistance, flint & steel, banded armor +2 (insignificant because it’s magical). There is one encumbrance slot free before penalties start to accrue in case I need to pick something up during the adventure. Yep, I’m inserting my house rules in unilaterally, but they are mostly restrictive, so I don’t think Erik will care. AC 4 (banded), +2 (magical bonus), +1 (shield) for final AC of 1.

Specialized in long sword, because that’s the main class feature of fighters in 2E. +1 attack, +2 damage, two attacks per round (which I didn’t actually remember during play). No non-weapon proficiencies, because who wants to deal with that noise.

So, I have a mystic X-Files eternal champion type, dominated by Most Furious Gantling.

Worked out well in the session too, though he lost two levels to some jerk vampire and so is now only 6th level with max HP of 48. I’m figuring the sword probably had something to do with giving him all those levels to begin with, though that was a one time thing that the sword most likely can’t do again (at least not without visiting headquarters, which may be the product of some past cosmic cycle and so dust by now).

Magic-User spell selection

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Based on a G+ conversation, I had a few thoughts about how magic-users acquire spells. The method that seems most commonly used is the following:

Several starting spells (often randomly determined)
A free spell when gaining a level (either chosen or rolled)
Spells may be copied from spell books (perhaps at small cost)
Spells may be copied from scrolls (which uses up the scroll)
New spells may be researched (at great cost, often only at higher level)
There might be an intelligence-based % chance to know roll (AD&D)

Taken together, these rules have some consequences, especially if rule 6 (% chance to know) is not enforced. Specifically, given that it is rational to share knowledge between party members, magic-user spell lists often converge as players trade spells. Further, magic-user spell lists grow without bound. The process of spell accumulation is fun, admittedly, but if you enjoy bounded power levels, such accumulation might be suboptimal.

If I were starting a new game of TSR D&D (or simulacra), instead I might do something like the following.

3 random spells to begin with
1 random spell per level gained
No spell books
The only mode of scroll use is one-shot casting

I would also divide the spells into schools and allow specialists, which would draw their random spells only from the chosen school. Specialists would also gain one extra spell slot to make up for the loss of versatility and represent their focus. Thus, a player that definitely wanted to play an offensive magic-user could opt for an evoker, and be guaranteed to only get evocation spells, at the cost of generality.

This would help keep power levels more controlled while still supporting my favorite aspects of the magic-user class (creativity, preparation, being able to bust out a big nuke solution every once in a while). Magic-users could still have access to an arbitrary number of spells through the use of scrolls, but scroll use needs to be more carefully considered since scrolls are nonrenewable resources. It would also encourage more emergent character development as not every magic-user would be able to cast sleep and fireball (to be fair, that is also addressed by % chance to know spell rules, but those rules have other issues, such as increasing the importance of the intelligence score).

This will obviously not work well for players that want more control over the development of their character. It is not intended to be a panacea though, and I think it would be satisfying for players that enjoy the process of character emerging from the juxtaposition of randomly determined characteristics and events during play.

Second sight

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Odilon Redon – Joan of Arc (source)

Being a replacement for elven infravision and the first level magic-user spells detect magic and detect evil.

Those with the second sight can see many things hidden to normal vision. Such perception often manifests as numinous auras of sometimes indescribable colors. To the second sight, magic-users radiate the presence of their prepared spells and enchanted items crackle with energy or leak glittering seepage. Specific enchantments reveal aspects of their nature visually; for example, a fire enchantment may seem to seem to be wreathed in smoke and smell of ash. Magical sigils seem to drip with esoteric power or burn with inner radiance, though exact interpretation requires read magic or equivalent sorcery. Cursed or doomed creatures are swathed in dark shrouds, or surrounded by horrible, gibbering entities. Magical invisibility is like a blazing beacon to one with the second sight. Supernatural or otherworldly creatures, such as demons, often reveal different aspects or dimensions of their true form, which nevertheless may be too terrible or incomprehensible even for those that can see into the hidden realms. Second sight does not allow the detection of illusions or reveal curses in items that have not yet attached to victims. If the second sight is a natural facility (such as for elves and other faeries), it is always active.

Random Wizard Questions

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Because questionnaire lists are fun. Original question source here.

(1). Race (Elf, Dwarf, Halfling) as a class? Yes or no? Yes, but I also like the OD&D approach of separating race and class but limiting the classes that specific races can take, and the ACKS approach of creating a number of unique classes per race (for example, the elven spellsword and elven nightblade). Also, the race-classes work well for humans, too (just consider the elf to be the fighter-mage class, for example, or the halfling to be something like a scout).

(2). Do demi-humans have souls? Probably not. The real question here is most likely about how raise dead works. My current method requires a successful constitution-based roll (so there are no guarantees), and also results in a permanent stat decrease. I would probably require something different for elves, though elves have not been unlocked as a player class in Pahvelorn yet.

(3). Ascending or descending armor class? All the custom rule sets that I’m working on right now use ascending, but I can deal with either. In either case, care must be taken to avoid an arms race of bonus escalation (+5 swords versus +5 armor, and so forth).

(4). Demi-human level limits? I prefer overall level limits, like E6, but don’t mind demi-human level limits either. This post by Jeff is worth reading. Most games don’t last so long though, so I don’t have much practical experience here.

(5). Should thief be a class? Sure, though campaign seems to do thief skills differently. In my own games, I think thief skills work best when the cost of use in time is clear (due to random encounter checks) and I prefer to consider failure as “no progress” (with a much smaller chance of a critical failure) so that starting thieves aren’t quite so inept.

(6). Do characters get non-weapon skills? Generally no, though right now I’m pretty excited about the simple d6 skill system I put together for the JRPG Basic game, and I think this would work well in trad D&D too.

(7). Are magic-users more powerful than fighters (and, if yes, what level do they take the lead)? I don’t know; I haven’t seen this cause any problems in play. My preference is usually for low power play though. My understanding is that the whole “quadratic wizard” thing arose from experiences in high level optimized 3E play, which I have no experience with.

(8). Do you use alignment languages? No, but the idea would work well for the languages of heaven and hell (or the black speech of Mordor).

(9). XP for gold, or XP for objectives (thieves disarming traps, etc…)? XP for gold spent seems to have the benefit of objectivity and also (bonus) requires little work on the part of the referee.

(10). Which is the best edition; ODD, Holmes, Moldvay, Mentzer, Rules Cyclopedia, 1E ADD, 2E ADD, 3E ADD, 4E ADD, Next? I think B/X (Moldvay Basic and Cook/Marsh Expert) is the tightest and most approachable. OD&D has a lot of hidden virtues, and in some ways has my favorite engine. It requires a lot of work to fill in the gaps though, which is both a benefit and a drawback. AD&D has some inspirational content (DMG demon generator, Fiend Folio), but as a whole is way too complex for me, and begins many negative trends, such as making ability scores too important (and thus making randomly generated characters less attractive to play). 3E had a lot of good ideas for streamlining game mechanics, but became too much about character optimization. High level characters also differ too much in power from low level characters (I prefer a more gradual power curve). 4E also introduced some innovations, but it homogenizes the classes too much in pursuit of balance, rests too much on numerical illusionism, and requires miniatures to get full use of the tactical depth available in the rules. 5E has some useful concepts like bounded accuracy, and interesting mechanics like advantage, but it remains to be seen what the final product will look like, and whether the modularity will support a game simple enough to appeal to me. My favorite D&D art is probably from Moldvay Basic, AD&D, and some parts of 2E.

Bonus Question: Unified XP level tables or individual XP level tables for each class? Either way. I’m tempted to just have everyone use the fighter progression, even in older games, because I don’t think it really matters.

Religious Influences

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TBZ setting book, page 142

I have been reading Tenra Bansho Zero, and it’s really interesting to see how religion is handled in the default setting. Unlike most non-historical western RPGs, each of the religious groups has a very specific real world antecedent that should be immediately recognizable by those that are familiar with Buddhist history.

Phoenix Sect. Tiantai/Cheontae/Tendai Buddhism; most institutionalized. The Phoenix Sect is accepted as “official” Buddhism by the Shinto techno-priest overlords of Tenra. Mt. Hiei is obviously the inspiration for Suzaku Mountain.

Ebon Mountain. Chan/Son/Zen Buddhism, concerned more with individual enlightenment, also most associated with martial arts.

Bright Lotus. Pure Land Buddhism; salvation through recitation of a mantra. Popular with common people due to the accessibility of the teachings.

(These are oversimplifications, but they are not mischaracterizations.)

How many western RPGs create fantasy versions of Christian sects? Not many. The reason is probably rooted in the satanic panic, but it is nonetheless odd that the west is more sensitive about tapping directly into religious heritage for fantasy inspiration, preferring to go the safer route by appropriating things that are at least one level removed from direct religious practice.

There are some stirrings of deviations from this tendency (for example, the 30 Years War setting for LotFP’s Better Than Any Man, and this post about Biblical mythology from Beedo, though it is worth noting that both of these are more directly historical than Tenra). The Books of Pandemonium, by Rafael Chandler, about a war between heaven and hell on earth, might fit the brief, though I haven’t read it myself, so I don’t know how directly it draws from Christian doctrine.

JRPG Basic Golems

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Within the setting, golems fill the role of giant robots, mecha, built minions, malevolent constructs, and even adventure locations. The golem wars serve as a landmark setting element, which can be incorporated in a number of different ways depending on the particular campaign. Golems will also be the basis of at least two upgrade classes, the golem crafter and golem knight. They will likely interface with spell crystals and mana somehow, though I haven’t totally worked out those game systems yet. The “JRPG Basic” project now has a real name: Gravity Sinister.

Golems

Golems are constructs fuelled by magical energy. They have dramatically different forms and powers based on the materials used for their manufacture and the skills of their creator. The first golems were originally created by mages as servants. As the art form of creating golems developed, it became more specialized, requiring practitioners to dedicate their entire attention to the crafting of magical automatons, to the exclusion of other kinds of magic. Such mages became known as golem crafters.

The use of golems spread as their power was discovered. This led to the creation of golem armies, used by wizard lords to conquer vast swaths of land. The destruction wrought by these powerful constructs in service of war was great, toppling kings and forging empires. However, the real danger posed by golems came later, as many living mages lost control of their automaton servants, their will usurped by the spirits of long-dead arch-mages. What ended the tyranny of the golem kings is unknown, but in the wake of the golem wars, creation of golems has become anathema and is looked upon with great fear. Golem crafters thus rarely advertise their skills. Many ancient golems still moulder (or lurk) in unexplored ruins.

There are several different types of golem.

Puppets

The first golems were simple, mindless constructs which could be directed by mages to do specific tasks. They had minimal intelligence, and usually required continual magical attention, like remote controlled robots. Despite this limitation, some puppet golems can be immensely powerful. Puppet golems are still created, but due to the stigma attached to golem creation, they are usually disguised.

Hosts

The next evolution of golems was as spirit prisons. Golem crafters learned how to prepare a mechanical body so that it could be inhabited by a spirit. The conjuration and binding of this spirit was an elaborate process. Wise mages learned how to strip most of the individuality from the bound spirit, leaving a pliable, but still intelligent, core. Host golems do not require continual direction, but are still mentally inflexible and lack initiative. Hosts continue to follow their programming for eternity if they outlast their creator, which many do.

Haunts

The golem shell is an animate, motive creation, with will supplied by some external source, such as a mage. However, as essentially platforms for consciousness, golems are also susceptible to other influences, as was learned when the first banished lich spirit figured out that a golem was a perfect foothold in the material world. Though undead mages are the greatest of such spirits, kept alive by pure force of malevolent will, other unquiet incorporeal undead can also occupy incorrectly created (or damaged) golems. Such undead spirit possessed golems are called haunts, and often become slowly twisted to reflect the nature of the undead spirit, such as the bony skeletomaton, haunts possessed by spirits so old they have lost all but the most basic will, or the ravenous, golems possessed by hungry ghosts which seek unending gluttony, despite being unable to digest mortal remains or ever truly derive sustenance from eating. Some powerful haunts have strange necromantic powers, such as the ability to animate corpses or summon other undead spirits.

Feral Golems

Most sophisticated golems that remain have become feral, either through hatred of humanity for past servitude, insanity from long entrapment in ancient ruins, or corruption by demonic entities. Sages speculate that the strange energies released by meteorfall have contributed to the aberrant behavior of unchained golems. Some feral golems are engines of destruction, attempting to reduce anything in their path to ash, while others are more devious, hunting conscious beings for their own, inscrutable purposes. All are extremely dangerous. The component parts of feral golems can still be quite valuable to a skilled golem crafter though, so despite the danger, they are still sought out be the reckless and greedy.

Carapace Golems

Once the creation of more autonomous golems was forbidden, the golem crafters turned their considerable intelligence toward other ends, and carapace golems were born. These golems require a pilot and can do nothing without a conscious driver. Special seals are built into carapaces so that they can only be operated by a particular individual, limiting the danger and creating a special caste of attuned operators. They are similar in some ways to the earliest puppet golems, but do not require magic on the part of their operator to control. Instead, they bond mentally with their users and augment their capabilities. The nature of this connection varies from carapace to carapace. In some cases, the carapace provides little more than an adaptable exoskeleton, but other carapaces interface directly with the nervous system of the pilot, providing access to golem vision and other magical senses. There are stories of pilots becoming lost in their carapaces, fusing with the magical construct, and transforming into a new, hybrid form of biomagical life. Carapace golems are the only form of golems that are not generally considered forbidden, and some golem knights are greatly admired for their skill and bravery.

Husks

Husks are golems which retain some of their motive force, but have become otherwise alienated from most of reality. Previous programming has been lost or warped, and if they were ever once conscious, that intelligence has been buried or destroyed. Husks are rarely dangerous, but often have strange fixations, such as arranging rocks in piles, staring at waterfalls, copying the motions of animals, or building intricate structures for unknown purposes. They rarely acknowledge or interact with anything living. Some husks have become integrated into the natural world, such as the great pollenating husks, which serve as a vital part of the mobile forest ecosystem.

Moving Fortresses

Huge, moving war machines were the pinacle of golem creation during the golem wars. Most were destroyed or sealed away by those fearful of their terrible power. Despite their great complexity and power, the basic design of a moving fortress is similar to a carapace, though often requiring many mages and pilots to coordinate the actions of such a titanic construct. There are also stories of moving fortresses possessed by demons, or attaining autonomy through their own complexity. Golem crafters still argue about whether such things are actually possible, or just legends spread by those that fear the use of golem craft.

Adventurer class

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Talysman had this idea about universal first level, the core of which is that all PCs start with the capabilities of first level in all four main classes. That is, a first level character is sort of like a multi-class character that can use all weapons and armor, can prepare one spell, can turn undead as a first level cleric, and can use all thief abilities as a first level thief. However, when advancing, the player must choose a class. Characters never lose those first level abilities, but must choose which set of abilities improve (by advancing in a particular class).

Here is my take on a similar idea, called the adventurer class, which is meant to be the only class available. Yes, this does defeat the underlying idea of class, but that’s okay. It’s a way to play “classless” D&D without actually changing the rules much. This class is probably slightly more powerful than most classes, but definitely weaker than the B/X elf, and maybe weaker than the traditional cleric. If only this class was available, I would use the fighter XP chart (because it is the easiest to remember), but if in mixed company (such as FLAILSNAILS) it would probably make sense to use the magic-user progression (for balance).

In a certain light, this adventurer class looks like another take on the thief. It could be played in many different ways, depending on the ability scores and choice of equipment. I think it would work well for a swords & sorcery setting. A martial (but stealthy) Conan type would be easy to construct, as would an agile failed wizard’s apprentice (like the Mouser), or a doomed swordsman warlock (Elric). A character with good physical stats would lean toward the fighter archetype, whereas one with high intelligence will be better at magic (due to the intelligence check scroll magic system).

The skill point system is designed so that only one skill choice is needed per level. It still allows individualization, choice, and progress, without the problems and complexity introduced by character builds and optimization.

Intelligence checks for magic use is intended to introduce some uncertainty into sorcery without requiring a heavy mechanical system. Also, given that magic must be found, it avoids the information overload potential of the magic-user class. Most sorcery being consumable (scrolls) avoids the power inflation problems of magic in a campaign (for those of us that enjoy the creative problem solving encouraged by low power campaigns).

The adventurer does not have the cleric’s turning ability, but can accomplish cleric functions with scrolls of protection, holy water, and healing potions.

Hit die: 1d6 per level up to level 9, +1 per level above 9
Attack: as fighter (+1 per HD if using attack bonus)
Save: as fighter
Weapons & armor: any (though armor penalizes skills)
Scroll magic
Adventuring skills

The adventurer uses the skill system created for the JRPG Basic game. Basic skills (climb, listen, search, and stealth) begin at 1 in 6. Expert skills (devices, locks, and steal) begin at 0 in 6. The force skill is 1+STR in 6 and may not be improved. Adventurers gain 1 skill point at first level which may be allocated to any of the basic or expert skills. Another such point is gained every time an adventurer gains a level. No skill may be raised above 5 in 6. Medium (chain) armor penalizes skills other than force by 1. Heavy (plate) armor penalizes skills other than force by 2.

Adventurers have the ability to cast spells from scrolls. To do so, an adventurer must make a successful intelligence check (1d20 less than or equal to the intelligence score). On failure, the scroll is not consumed, and the magic may be attempted again later. Adventurers may also use all magic items.

At first level, and when gaining a level, an adventurer gains +1 to the ability score of the player’s choice (max 18).

JRPG Basic white magic spells level 1

White Magic Spells Level 1

Absorb
Barrier
Courage
Cure
Endure
Gust
Light
Repel
Restore
Seal

Absorb

Properties: interrupt, ranged.

Spell contest to cancel all damage from a single target elemental spell, which need not be targeting the caster of absorb. Gain one temporary mana if the targeted spell is successfully absorbed.

Barrier

Properties: ranged, sustain.

Make a spell check (versus an enemy’s attack roll) to deflects mundane missiles directed toward the target of barrier. Mundane missiles include arrows, sling bullets, spears or snow balls, but not boulders. This effect works as an interrupt, but unlike most interrupts does not count toward the standard one interrupt per round limitation.

Courage

Properties: allies, sustain.

Dispel magical fear in all nearby allies. If sustained, grants a continuing +2 bonus to morale and saving throws versus fear.

Cure

Properties: ranged.

Target regains 1 HD +WIS HP. Deals 2d6 +WIS damage if cast against an undead target (half damage on miss).

Endure

Properties: ranged, sustain.

Choose an element. Target gains +1 to saving throws against that element and damage reduction equal to the caster’s WIS to damage of the chosen elemental type.

Gust

Properties: ranged.

Conjure a powerful blast or single target vortex of wind. This wind is strong enough to knock over a charging horse. Vortex will do damage to a flying creature (damage-2d6, half damage on miss). On a hit, the vortex will also knock the flying creature out of the sky.

Light

Properties: light, sustain.

Magical light radiates from the crystal. This light illuminates as a torch and wards against creatures of shadow.

Repel

Properties: area, sustain.

Spell check +WIS versus magic defense forces any affected undead to retreat from the caster. If sustained, any undead affected will retreat before the caster (though they may still fight in melee). The caster must spend another point of mana and make another spell check if more undead are encountered, thought the previous repel effect is maintained.

Restore

Properties: touch.

A medium sized mundane object may be mended or restored to working order. Restore will knit together a cut rope, straighten a bent sword, or repair a broken vase. Restore does not allow a new object to be created from disparate parts.

Seal

Properties: sustain.

Magically lock a door or gate. The spell must be broken for the portal to be opened (picking a lock, forcing a door, or massive damage will not work).