d100 - Random Rules & Rulings

House Rules are such lovely little things, they seem to crop up in play at every table I game with. The best kinds really seem to be the ones that are developed in play with player buy-in rather than those enshrined into the game before play begins. Some of my favorites seem to parthenogenerate in the moment, in response to specific situations.

So, here’s a table with a hundred, hand-picked, House Rules/Rulings, quite a few of which have seen at least a degree of play at my tables over the years (even if for only a one-shot or so). Some are stalwart favorites, that re-occur whenever prior players re-convene for a new game, whilst others are probably best considered strange smelling by-products of tinkering and experimentation. Still others might just seem like a good idea on paper or wholly preposterous to some Referees, and a few just stem from flagrant misinterpretations (or worse: strict readings shiver) we had in the very early days of the hobby without the benefit of oral tradition or online communities to codify play a certain way.

I suppose if you’ve ever had the perverse urge to quite literally “roll your own” version of those older Fantasy Adventure Games, this could be just the ticket. I know I’d be curious to see how that turned out 😊.

RC Hacks & House Rules pg 15: Turning Undead Table

Reviving these old Rules Cyclopedia posts to talk a little bit about a resolution system I’ve been intrigued by for a while now. Even though this is ostensibly a Rules Cyclopedia hack/house rule, it is naturally applicable to B/X and OSE as well.

On this page we have the table that a Cleric consults for Turning Undead. Specifically, I’ve been recently interested in Repurposing the Cleric’s Turn Undead Matrix for resolving various other tasks like “Thief Special Abilities” (I’ve discussed these in the past here). It can also be used to supplant the “Optional Ability Score Check” form of resolution for other tasks, which while convenient, is a crutch I have never particularly enjoyed employing for a variety of reasons.

Here is a quick simplified reproduction to refamiliarize you with how the table works (I’ve never been too fond of how the Rules Cyclopedia swaps the axes, and how it provides named Undead instead of HD...but I suppose that’s a nice way to telegraph some setting if you squint at it):

While not as robust or simple as the sainted Saving Rolls in Tunnels & Trolls (first universal task resolution system in an RPG!) because of the table lookup, I still think the Turning Undead Matrix checks a lot of my boxes for Task Resolution. Let us go over a few of these advantages first:

• It accounts for Character Level
  • The often used “Optional Ability Score Check” relies on Scores that do not strictly improve in most games and is usually just a simple roll under for pass/fail. This ties competency to one of the first six rolls players make to play the game during Character Generation and I’ve always felt it unduly punishes those with low scores but sufficient Player Skill to advance in level.
• It accounts for Task Difficulty
  • The “Optional Ability Score Check” usually has to be modified via ad hoc fiat for this (giving a “bonus” to the roll in the form of a negative number or increasing the ability score for the purposes of the roll), just as Thief Special Abilities sometimes receive that “circumstantial bonus” for a Rusty/Shoddy Lock.
  • With the Turn Undead table, there is a clear progression. Some Undead woefully outclass the Cleric at first, but with each level gained, new opportunities become available, and prior threats soon become trivial.
• Rolling High Is Good
  • Both the “Optional Ability Check” and Thief Special Abilities rely on a Roll Under comparison for resolution, while many other conventions in the rules incentivize the player’s rolling higher for better results. I’m not fanatical for this kind of symmetry in the rules, but the momentary cognitive whiplash of having to parse a “natural 20” as “bad” frustrates some players.
• It isn’t as “Swingy” in terms of probability (ie: it leverages the 2d6 Bell Curve distribution instead of a single d20 or d100 roll)
  • This makes median results appear more common over time (which does wonders for assuming default competency with tasks). There is seldom anything as de-protagonizing as that persistent 5% chance of a “20” on a Roll Under Check. Even with the highest natural Ability Score of 18, failing 10% of the time isn’t really reassuring.
• It features “Degrees of Success” that are not really present outside of a few other places (such as the Reaction Roll, which is probably a close cousin to this table)
  • T for “automatic Turn” and D for “automatic Destroy” result in different outcomes, producing different situations in play.
  • Ability Score Checks/d100 Thief Special Abilities are normally a binary pass/fail.
• It places Dice in the Player’s Hands
  • Some Thief Special Abilities are often rolled by the DM (Hear Noise, Find Traps, Move Silently, Hide In Shadows) because the results of the die roll can immediately dictate success/failure based on percentage chances or interfere with strategy (“Just because I didn’t find any traps...doesn’t mean there aren’t” etc. )
  • With the “Hazard Difficulty Level” obfuscated, the Player can still roll, while the DM consults the matrix for resolution. This is closer to the To-Hit/AC Comparison so it supports this kind of hidden information, but more importantly it doesn’t force players to witness their failure in real time, and creates an opportunity for narrated consequences rather than immediate assumptions of failure.
• It allows the Character to Attempt things outside of their normal Level
  • A First Level Cleric can attempt to turn 2d6 Ghouls (2* HD Monsters with a very powerful and potentially devastating Special Ability) although these chances are somewhat slim (only an 8.34% chance of rolling 11+ on the 2d6) this could easily circumvent a nearly certain TPK at lower levels.
  • This incentivizes trying things that might seem out of a Character’s Scope, and I always like to encourage that.
• Two Dice Rolled provide interesting opportunities for grafting on additional sub-systems/deriving metadata or repurposing the roll:
  • Doubles can have significance, both for “successful” doubles and “unsuccessful” doubles. This could even mandate a 2d6 roll on the automatic “T” and “D” results if you wish.
  • The highest or lowest result can be used on a simple d6 table
  • They could even be read as a d66 for an additional 36 entry table look up

So, with all these features available to us, how can we leverage the Cleric’s Turning Matrix for some Task Resolution outside of dealing with Undead? Here are some ideas:

Thief Special Abilities:

HD can be very easily re-contextualized as “Hazard Difficulty” in addition to the more common definition of “Hit Dice.” When establishing a Hazard Difficulty via fiat is not preferred or is not immediately apparent based on the fiction, one simple way to do so would be to use “level of the Dungeon” for Thief Special Abilities with a static/inanimate target (Open Locks, Find Traps, Remove Traps, etc.) or even “HD of Foe” for others that directly target a living creature (like Pick Pockets/Move Silently).

Example: A 1^st Level Thief wishes to Open A Locked Dungeon Door. They have descended to the second level of the dungeon (base Hazard Difficulty 2), so a 9+ is needed on 2d6.

This does mean that a 1^st level Thief travelling to the 4^th level of a dungeon will be facing some pretty insurmountable odds by default (although see below for some ways to allow for players to make decisions that address this by lowering Hazard Difficulty), but this does have the side effect of telegraphing danger directly, and even emphasizing the need for caution when exploring a dangerous new area.

Let us go through the Thief Special Abilities to see how this could work. Keep in mind that I only engage a resolution mechanism for these whenever the outcome would be interesting, and failure has consequences. An example I often use is that any Thief worth their salt, given the proper tools and enough time would be able to Open just about any nonmagical lock under ideal conditions, but these kinds of conditions are seldom found in the Mythic Underworld/Adventure Environment.

Open Locks: Level of Dungeon/Threat is a good way to establish initial Hazard Difficulty here, potentially adjusting it upward/downward for particularly complex/simple locks as necessary. I generally rule that Opening A Lock takes at least 1 Turn of activity on average and rolling above the number or achieving the T result on the Matrix means the Lock opens in 1 Turn (~10 minutes). For a D, this could be Hazard Difficulty in Rounds as deft, experienced hands swiftly guide their tools to the appropriate tumblers.

Have particularly perfect Tools? Lower Hazard Difficulty. Wish to take more time on a tricky (re: Higher Level lock), each additional Turn spent lowers the Hazard Difficulty for your roll by 1 (remember to check for those Wandering Monsters). Locked doors become much less of a barrier to exploring the environment with this system, but they consume resources in the form of Time with its associated Encounter Risk. Doubles on Failure could indicate Loss of a Lockpick/Tool, jammed lock. Successful doubles: reduce the duration to 1 round.

Find Traps: Level of Dungeon/Threat can again serve to establish initial Hazard Difficulty. Similar durations to above, and more time spent carefully investigating could reduce the target. With these “Detection” based Thief Abilities (this, and Hear Noise), there has to be something there to find, naturally, and to address the ponderous “constantly searching” problem I tend to allow those “D” results to just outright reveal traps of corresponding Threat as they’re encountered (a “Level 1 - Barely concealed Trip Wire” is completely obvious to a Footpad (2^nd level Thief). It’s usually the consequences of interacting with the Trap or it’s Triggers that create the interesting situation, not the de-protagonizing “Gotcha! Please make a Saving Throw!”

Remove Traps: Level of Dungeon/Threat again for initial difficulty. Similar durations to above, and more time spent carefully investigating the Trap/Triggers could potentially reduce this. Here we can leverage the 2d6 die roll in interesting ways in the event of Success/Failure if we wish to add some additional tension. Rather than just “springing the Trap” on Failure, perhaps it only springs if Failure and Doubles are rolled. Doubles on a “successful” roll could provide the Thief with the ability to subvert/repurpose the triggering conditions of the Traps.

Climb Walls: Much like Open Locks, given enough time, adequate tools, and ideal conditions Climbing is not normally something I’d require a roll to adjudicate. It’s only when these criteria aren’t met (vertically fleeing from crossbow wielding Bugbears, cascading slicks of ichor and damp, insufficient rope, etc.) that I’d look to the dice to resolve an ascent or descent. Taking additional time to “size up” the climb, secure ropes/tools, or “go carefully” etc. could reduce difficulty. A “D” could result in less time to scale the obstacle. Initial Hazard Difficulty can be based on the height here, perhaps increasing by 1 for every 20 feet.

Move Silently: As a Thief Special Ability with a “target” the HD of the target could easily serve as the default Hazard Difficulty (and this could be increased by a floor strewn with dead leaves or other such challenging conditions for Stealth). Distracted targets might lower the difficulty. Multiple Targets could be additive, or an Average of the HD could be used to establish this baseline difficulty. Particularly oblivious or attentive targets might see a modification here. Since this is usually used in conjunction with Surprise Chances or Evasion, D results could further improve these odds.

Hide In Shadows: Similar to Move Silently. Suboptimal lighting conditions could increase difficulty.

Pick Pockets: Target Hit Dice establishes Hazard Difficulty. If you are feeling lazy the sum of the 2d6 results could easily be the amount of coin pilfered.

Hear Noise: Perceivable Noise could be considered a “static” target (similar to Find Traps, there has to be a Noise To Hear), so conditions are important for establishing difficulty, but baseline Dungeon Level can work if there are no mitigating circumstances. The duration for listening is often handwaved as instantaneous, but I think the 1 Turn default (with decreases for D results) could also apply here, as could the “spend more time to lower difficulty” option. The longer you listen, the more likely it is that you hear something useful.

Taking a cue from my previous post on Thief Abilities, it could even be possible for Thieves to “Specialize” (treating them as a level higher for certain things, in exchange for being a level lower at others). I always liked the idea of a Master Pickpocket who focused his studies on that branch of thievery and wouldn’t dream of futzing with a Locked Door. Another option would be to increase the die type (d8) for Specialization.

This covers the standard Thief Special Abilities found in the earlier editions and clones, but let’s not let the Other standard Classes languish. How could this table be used for some of the things these Classes get up to?

Fighters: Need to adjudicate a Disarming attempt? Foe Hit Dice as Hazard Difficulty. Failing Doubles could cost you your armament, while doubles on success could sunder a foe’s weapon! Grappling/Tripping and other Combat Maneuvers could be likewise handled in this fashion. I’m sure that “T” and “D” results (and failing/succeeding doubles) could be reskinned into conditions imposed by Wrestling by someone appropriately inclined.

Magic-Users: Need to identify a Spell or Magical Effect? Level of Spell for Hazard Difficulty (Higher Level M-Us immediately identify the magics of the lowest orders...and maybe on a “D” they gain additional insight into the Caster?) Want to eliminate the tiresome tax of Read Magic for Scrolls? Level of Spell as Hazard Difficulty (some magics might be beyond the caster, but it does provide an option for a little bit of Over-casting...and chance of more interesting Failure/Fizzles than normal).

Need to resolve Ritual Casting? Use the “One Turn per Hazard Difficulty Level” rule, if you rush the Difficulty goes up...reduce it by taking more time/consuming expensive components/reagents, etc.

I have seen “Roll To Cast” systems utilize matrices like this before as well, which could be interestingly fiddly as a way of supplanting standard Vancian Magic (I do love the idea of being able to riskily “Overcast” higher level spells at lower levels). Doubles on Failure could indicate damage in addition to other consequences (you could sum, or more compassionately just use one of the die results). I don’t see it being too onerous as the “T” result eventually translate to an automatic success for lower level Magics. Perhaps “D” could adjust any variable parameters upward/affect more targets/provide additional benefit?

The Turn Undead Matrix could also be a good option for a desperate Caster to try to cast a Spell when their allotted slots are used, but I’d make sure that drastic consequences exist in the event of failure, and that some cost is required even with a “T” or a “D.” Again, we could leverage the results of the 2d6 or whip up a nifty d66 table with all sorts of lovely consequences (see TROIKAs Oops! Table for something handy).

Some of these options could also find their way to the Demi-Human Classes as well if you wish, or you could even implement it for resolving other common tasks: Foraging for Food (HD as Number of People You Need To Feed), Abstracting Evasion/Chases, or even crafting an Item.

Have any interesting ideas for Tasks that could benefit from the Turn Undead Matrix for resolution? Let me know!

First Level Spell Features - Compiled

An older post of mine seems to be getting some traffic, so I went ahead and compiled my First Level Spell Features into a single PDF document.

Embedded below:

An Arduin Table

As a lad, I saved up some money and visited a local and quite remarkable used bookstore. It was in the RPG section that I noticed several small yellow stapled booklets with intriguing artwork on the covers. I only had enough lawn-mowing money for three. So, I bought the first, second, and third of what I would later understand to be the Arduin Grimoires.

At the time I was only truly familiar with the most rudimentary basics of D&D as provided by the Holmes Blue Book. I wasn’t quite sure what to make of these new and strange booklets, which seemed to be inherently similar to the D&D I was familiar with, but chock full of completely different terminology and new exotic flavors.

Since complete compatibility between this new information and the ruleset I was already using would have been a daunting task for someone at my tender age, I did whatever any sane young DM would: I started cherry picking things that I found useful and/or interesting to me.

What I had never counted on, was that one table in particular would prove so interesting to my players. Page 7, of Book II “Welcome to Skull Tower.”

My players positively loved rolling on this for new characters and old. Even going so far as to roll on it for NPCs they encountered. Something about the level of additional, occasionally gonzo detail this added really seemed to resonate with them. Even I still have fond memories of the 1st level Bald Magic-User with No belly button and Cyan eyes, that we unanimously decided must have been some kind of vat-created homunculus, or how matching Tree birthmarks made an Elf and Human character implausible “siblings” in a way that would take nearly an entire campaign to flesh out.

I think about this table from time to time. Nowadays, things like eye-color/hair-color and pigmentation are largely left up to the choice of the players, with some more modern PbtA games like Dungeon World going as far as providing a few choices in playbooks for the character’s mien and appearance. Carcosa offers players the option of choosing one of the unfortunately difficult to randomize 13 pigmentations.

I think I’ll bring back the Arduin OPTIONAL CHARACTER APPEARANCE CHART. What’s a few extra d20 rolls during character creation? Maybe I’ll even allow direct rolls on the SPECIAL CHART for what players tend to consider as “Hopeless” characters. Heck, I might even keep it handy on my screen. The results of d20 attack rolls could easily be used to give opponents that one thing that makes them stand-out/memorable. “I’m going to swing my sword again at the Silver Eyed Goblin” etc.

This post would be remiss if it didn’t also address one of Arduin’s more terrible tables from the same volume: pg. 4’s FEMALE ATTRIBUTES CHART. To me, it’s a silly vestigial remnant of a thankfully different time, and never really saw any use at my tables. Even now, I tend to point to it as an example of how unpleasant and unnecessarily repellent the hobby could be in it’s nascency.

Skill Systems: Tweaking "The Middle Road"

Inspired to stitch together this post out of my languishing House Rules document by this post over on Papers & Pencils.

I also like to use “The Middle Road” approach, with a few modifications:

Skill Rating	Skill Die/Dice
UNABLE	1d4
ROOKIE	1d6
NOVICE	1d8
VERSED	1d10
EXPERT	1d12
MASTER	2d6
LEGEND	3d6

The “Ratings” are expanded a little bit, success is still on a 5 or more (making UNABLE impossible for the player without circumstantial modifiers...which are generally kept low/stingy). The bell-curve comes into play with MASTER which really increases the chance of success, but with a cost.

I don't tie skill improvement to level in any meaningful way most of the time. This is mostly to mitigate the “20 HD MASTER Blacksmith NPC” and “I gained a level and am suddenly an EXPERT at Tracking” issues, although Thief classes and formal training-as-cash/time-siphon can open up some additional improvement avenues during downtime with some good fictional explanations. Instead I like to tie Skill Rating improvement to actual play.

Any successful Skill Roll (5+) prompts for another skill roll immediately, and on a maximum die/dice result, the first letter of the next Rating is written down. Once you spell it out, you've achieved the next Rating (this is why all Ratings have 6 letters).

This has diminishing returns: It becomes more difficult to improve/master a skill as you get better as the chances of success increase, the chances of rolling the maximum also decrease. I also like that improvement is actually tied to “Doing the thing,” so players are encouraged to attempt it, even if the odds may not be great (Practice makes perfect!).

Skill Rating	Success Chance	Improve Chance
UNABLE	-	25%
ROOKIE	33.3%	16.67
NOVICE	50%	12.5%
VERSED	60%	10%
EXPERT	66.7%	8.33%
MASTER	83.33%	2.78%
LEGEND	98.15%	.46%

 If it's too harsh, you could also allow improvement on a “max roll” on the attempt itself, but this could possibly increase the speed of advancement a bit and homogenize expertise more quickly.

Thief types have some additional Rating advancement options to help protect their niche, and to ameliorate the malevolence of the fickle dice gods. Upon gaining a level, the Thief may choose one:

•                 Immediately Roll on All Skills for a Letter
•                 Three free letters to be distributed to any skill or skills the player chooses.

If they are part of a guild structure, they may also have easier access to Teacher/Mentor types for certain, non-competitive skills.

If you use class-based XP advancement (with faster advancing Thieves), another option is to allow Thief types the option of immediately spending 100 XP for an additional improvement roll on a Skill success. But my feeling is generally these Classes will likely be making the most Skill attempts anyway, their opportunities for improvement occur more often.

Another option for all classes is to seek out a Teacher/Mentor of a higher Skill Rating in the same skill that is amenable to training the character (often an adventure in itself once you’re seeking EXPERTs and above). After a week of downtime training, the Teacher rolls their Skill die/dice, and on a success the player is permitted to make a Skill roll.

If successful (over 5), they gain 1 letter, if unsuccessful they lose a letter as they have to shed or “unlearn” bad technique. If they roll the maximum (as for standard improvement), they gain 1 letter for each step in Rating difference (so a MASTER would grant the NOVICE three letters). This can be repeated (within reason, and time/resources permitting…training isn’t always cheap or free…I enjoy quest-dispensing Mentors), until the Teacher fails their Skill Roll, or the player reaches the Rating directly below the Teacher. At which point, the Teacher has no new wisdom to impart the student. I’d probably also prevent further training if a player is ever reduced to UNABLE in this way due to poor rolls. No risk, no reward.

Another option is to make the player hunt down a Teacher/Mentor with not only sufficient higher Rating in the Skill the player wishes to train, but also a TEACHER skill high enough to reduce the chances of failure. By using the TEACHER skill to transfer knowledge, instead of the skill itself the learning process becomes much more dicey. This makes finding a good Teacher almost as important as a proficient one. 

All starting characters receive 1 Skill at NOVICE based on Background, they can improve this skill to VERSED and/or take another at NOVICE by taking a voluntary UNABLE in a Skill (max 2 UNABLE skills). Anything else attempted is done at the ROOKIE rating. I’ve toyed with the idea of replacing/supplementing Ability Score modifiers with additional skills or letters (so someone with a -2 in Strength has to take two UNABLE skills involving Strength… or  someone with a +3 in Dexterity gets three free Ratings or letters to a skill or skills involving DEX). Thieves get more starting skill options, but I’ll probably need to cover that in a separate Class post.

I do still really like the idea of a Skill system emphasizing what the player's “Can't Do” rather than what they can (which I touched on here)...to prevent that character sheet paralysis that occurs with really granular skill systems and an invisible DC. When the odds of success are telegraphed to the player with everything they can attempt they may not even attempt the thing. Even though very little resolution is intended to be Player Facing in older versions of D&D (I touch on this problem in this ancient post), when improvement is tied to attempts, players may be more likely to try.

I briefly flirted with expanding Ratings a bit more, but I'm still not sure of the die/dice I would use:

ROOKIE              

TAUGHT

NOVICE              

TESTED             

ADROIT

VERSED

EXPERT             

MENTOR           

MASTER             

LEGEND             

SAVANT

As always, I’m open to thoughts/suggestions.

The Elf

Rules Cyclopedia: Page 25, The Elf Class

Here's an alternative implementation of the Elf Class that shifts the focus from the traditional D&D Elf to something a little stranger and unpredictable. I've had this in my house rules for a while now, but was recently reminded of it by noisms' excellent recent posts about his Faerie Knights. Let me know what you think or how you would hack it.

Prime Requisite: Charisma

Hit Dice: d6

Armor Training: +2 (Medium Armor)

Class Abilities:

Tied To The Seasons:

Elfs are mystically tied to the seasons by a magical grove that is planted on their “birth” in the Unseen Lands from which they hail. 

It is said that when an Elf laughs, wind rustles the branches and leaves of their grove, whilst tears shed by an Elf (often when regarding a thing of beauty, or in mirth or joy) provide rain. Sadness and brooding can produce violent storms. It is night in the grove when an Elf sleeps, and day when awake.

BECMI Rules: an Elf's grove is initially equivalent to 1 hex of untamed wilderness in the Unseen Lands, with a potential to increase in size (by an adjacent hex per level) as the Elf gains experience levels.

Domain level play for Elfs typically takes place primarily in the Unseen Lands, but this is fraught with peril, as conquering a hex typically involves politically embarrassing, winning archery contests, haggling and barter, or sometimes outright slaying another, adjacent Elf as real estate is at a premium.

Level-draining attacks raze a hex worth of wilderness grove, one hex per level lost.

Notably, an Elf's physical appearance and personality will also take on vastly different aspects in relation to their current season.

These quirks may have given rise to the tendency for Humans to try to classify a particular Elf into the more familiar sub-types (High Elfs, Wood Elfs, Dark Elfs).

At the start of play, an Elf can choose or roll on the following table to determine the current season in their grove, and gains the appropriate boons and immunities.

Roll or Choose	Season	Boon	Elf Type	Immunity
1	Spring	Low-Light Vision	“High Elf”	Charm Person
2	Summer	Exceptional Hearing	“Wood Elf”	Sleep
3	Autumn	Detect Secret Doors	“City Elf”	Protection from Evil
4	Winter	Darkvision	“Dark Elf”	Ghoul Paralysis

Here all the “traditional” Elf abilities are preserved, but are not all present in a given Elf simultaneously.

Spring/High Elfs:

Elfs in the season of Spring are at their tallest (often exceeding six feet) and most beautiful to humans. They possess a difficult to quantify savoir-faire, and are said to appear noble or comport themselves with an intrinsically regal bearing that is slightly unsettling and sinister (they possess large, unblinking eyes). Lighter hair colors and eye pigmentation predominate. “High Elfs” tend to be predisposed to political intrigue, courtly behavior, and arrogance. They are the self-styled “Lords” and “Ladies” of the courts and ruling classes of the Unseen Lands, where they favor high places like mountain tops, on which they build impressive castles to exact fealty from Elfs of other Seasons.

I always think of Mucha's Seasons when it comes to these Elfs.

Summer/Wood Elfs:

Summer Elfs shrink several inches from their height in Spring, and tend to broaden and become more sinewy in shape. Their skin darkens significantly and often takes a cast of olive green or loamy brown. Hair and eyes also seem to favor darker shades with tints of the forest, which possesses a powerful draw for Elfs in this Season. Their ears enlarge significantly. Xenophobic, insular, and bellicose personality traits tend to dominate the colloquially termed “Wood Elfs.”

Yes, you guessed it. They look like these guys.

Autumn/City Elfs:

Unfettered by the Superstition that limits them in other Seasons, Elfs in the Autumnal are most at home among other races and civilization in general. Often exceptionally daring and sociable, they work extremely well with others. Hair and pigmentation lighten from their Summer forms, and can even take on a seasonal cast featuring vibrant oranges, fiery reds, and even shades of purplish brown. They are slightly taller than their previous forms and seem preternaturally predisposed to haggling, good-natured trickery, and merry-making.

Have to fit these Elfs in here somewhere. Yes, Autumn Elfs can grow beards.

Winter/Dark Elfs:

When winter arrives at an Elf's grove, their hair becomes bone white or sometimes fall out completely. They are the shortest, rarely approaching five feet tall. Their skin is often eerily pale, with the occasional bluish, almost bruise-like cast. Their fingernails grow sharp and harden into small talons, and they become virtually nocturnal due to a sensitivity to sunlight brought on by their pallor and sensitive vision (their grove is sunlit when they sleep). They are rapacious, carnivorous, and untrustworthy, with an affinity for wolves and other creatures of the night.

Something akin to this, only slightly less “Undead-y.” Slightly. Or if you prefer, go with Shadow Elves.

An Elf may voluntarily shift the season of their grove in the Unseen Lands (moving to the next season in order) at any time, but this is a painful and grotesque transformation that is gruesome to behold when done without the proper attunement ritual (this typically involves fasting for a full day and night, on a full or new moon, or a pilgrimage to their grove in the Unseen Lands).

Rules: An Elf takes 2d6 damage when changing seasons without the ritual. The process takes a number of rounds equal to the highest roll of these two dice. The process can be hastened to a single round at the cost of an additional die of damage.
Entrances to the unseen lands are found in hexes with the usual chance to find hidden/concealed doors (1 in 6). These chances increase by 1 for Wood Elfs in a Forest Hex, City Elfs in a Settlement, Dark Elfs Underground (natural caverns only, or maybe in Swamps), and High Elfs in the Mountains. Chances also increase if the prevailing season is present in the Seen Lands (A snow covered forest in winter, lends a 2 in 6 chance to locate an entrance to a “Dark Elf” for example. While a City hex in the Fall has a 3 in 6 chance of yielding an entrance to the Unseen Lands for a “City Elf”).

Elfs only age (a single year) when shifting from Winter to Spring, lending credence to the oft-held superstitions concerning their immortality. Age to an Elf is a mostly voluntary process, and this seasons their outlook on life with a bit of hedonism and contempt for the more mortal races. They will often spend decades in a given Season, associating with only others of the same. Due to the marked change in appearance, it is quite possible to meet the same Elf twice over the course of your lifetime, and not recognize them.

Rules: Elfs subjected to aging attacks are actually affected normally, but attacks of this nature will also cause the Elf to suddenly shift to the next Season, taking the associated damage. An Elf's natural lifespan is roughly equivalent to that of the human stock from which they are all derived, when they are stolen as human children/babies by a pair of Elfs wishing to breed.

Elfs of venerable age inevitably become exceptionally cautious of changing seasons and will go to extreme lengths to maintain their current forms, for it is rumored that an Elf that reaches the end of his or her lifespan forgets much of this life, becomes quite diminutive in height, broadens significantly, and wizens, becoming a Dwarf. Dwarfs are naturally bitter when confronted by these reminders of their formerly beautiful and graceful states. Elfs, are often disgusted when confronted with their mortality in physical form, which partially justifies the traditional animosity between the two races.

Rules: An Elf that reaches it's Level Limit, instead of retiring from play can choose to begin advancement as a Level 1 Dwarf with the ability to forge Fey Metal and Elf Gold. An upcoming entry on Dwarfs will expound upon this process.

Elf Gold:

Elfs begin play with 2d6 pieces of Elf Gold. These coins appear to be made of purest gold but inevitably turn into gorse blossoms, leaves, acorns, or small gingerbread cakes an hour after being spent outside of the Unseen Lands (subject to Season). The Elf's name appears on the coin in Elfish, along with their stylized profile on one face, and a significant event in the Elf's life on the other.

Elfs use this Gold as currency in the Unseen Lands, and often trade it for things considered strange/unseemly from the real world (feudal serfs from the Seen Lands, songs, sweets, baby teeth, etc). The value of these commodities tends to vary greatly by Season, but an Elf can always acquire more Elf Gold from their brethren in the Unseen Lands by trade or performing services.

Additional Languages:

Elfs possess the ability to Speak (not necessarily write) the following languages in addition to Elf and the nearest local Human dialect: one Seasonal language and the language of one animal species native to their current region and season.

Season	Language
Spring	Treant
Summer	Pixie
Autumn	Hobgoblin
Winter	Gnoll

Animal Language (Choose or Roll)
1	Avian (all manner of birds)	6	Canine (dogs, wolves, foxes)
2	Rodents (rats, beavers, rabbits, etc.)	7	Feline (lions, tigers, domestic cats)
3	Serpentine (all manner of snakes)	8	Bovine (cattle, antelope, deer)
4	Saurian (all legged reptiles)	9	Equine (horses, mules, unicorns)
5	Ursine (bears, wolverines, badgers)	10	Aquatic (bony fishes)

Vulnerabilities:

Superstition:

During all seasons save Autumn, Elfs are affected by the Cleric or Magic-User spell Protection from Evil as if they were an Enchanted Creature, regardless of the Elf's actual alignment or intentions.

Cold Iron is Poisonous:

This prevents them from utilizing man-made worked armor and weapons. Instead, Elfs use a legendary alloy colloquially called “Fey Metal” which possesses many of the same properties of high quality steel, but without harming the Elf. Fey Metal can only be forged in the Unseen Lands, by ancient Elfs or more commonly, Dwarfs of exceptional skill. Price is in Elf Gold or feudal services to an Elf Lord or Lady, whose intrigues and machinations often spill out onto the Seen Lands.

Elfs take 1 point of damage per turn of prolonged contact with worked iron and it's derivatives. Attacks with weapons do normal damage. Although this damage cannot reduce an Elf below 1 hit point, the damage cannot be conventionally healed without a week-long sabbatical to their grove in the Unseen Lands.

Sweet Tooth:

Sugar is a mild intoxicant to Elfs, much like alcohol to Humans. It can also be highly addictive.

Elfs must make a saving throw versus Poison each time they consume sugar or food/beverages containing sugar. Failure indicates that they start to suffer the effects of inebriation (a cumulative -1 penalty per item consumed). Once they have partaken, it is often difficult to refuse additional helpings (easily implemented with a Wisdom check). 

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Some notes for conversion to 5e:

Although this may work better for Race as Class systems, here are some rough notes for implementation in Fifth Edition.

Tied To The Seasons:

You may determine that each season comes with some associated Ability Score bonuses/penalties, or perhaps different sets of Skill Proficiencies. I haven't thought too much about that, as it seems like it would engender too much bookkeeping or the need for four separate character sheets! Level drain razes 1 mile of their grove per point of damage.

Entrances to the Unseen Lands:

As above, but Elfs instead gain Advantage on Perception (for City Elfs) or Nature rolls to locate the entrance in favorable conditions.

Aging Attacks:

In 5e, I'd potentially allow the player to choose to age the years or shift seasons.

Superstition:

As above but for Protection from Evil and Good. Optionally, Elfs can be rebuked through Clerical Turning in all seasons but Autumn.

Cold Iron is Poisonous:

Elfs have gain the Poisoned Condition after wielding or wearing items made of worked iron or it's derivatives. To remove this condition, they must purify themselves in their grove within the Unseen Lands (a long rest in their grove should be sufficient).

Sweet Tooth:

CON check, DC 10 + 2 per serving. First failure results in the Poisoned Condition (alleviated by a long rest, short rest gives a Save). Must make a WIS check (same DC) after each serving to refrain from continuing to partake. Three successive failures result in the Elf passing out, and waking with a “hangover” and the Poisoned condition. Alternatively, just use the Exhaustion table.

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Still to do: Finish up the Seasonal Elf Spell Lists for BECMI. I really like the idea of each Season coming with a corresponding Spell List, and I'll be mining the Druid Spell list, GAZ 5: The Elves of Alfheim, and GAZ: 13 The Shadow Elves for ideas.

RC Hacks and House Rules: Page 226 - More Treasure!

The next random number takes us to page 226, still within Chapter 16: Treasure.

A couple of Treasure related charts here, but the one that really stands out as potentially much more useful than it initially presents itself is the Average Treasure Values Table.

Here we have a breakdown of Treasure types A-M (Lair only) by their average values in gold pieces. When I was younger, I always had an absolute blast generating treasure using the charts on the previous page. Having never owned the Monster & Treasure Assortment accessories, I instead made my own.

Classic D&D Hack:
I had a small container of index cards with alphabetic dividers A-V, with a dozen or so pre-generated treasure hoards waiting between each letter. I was always fairly meticulous about designing my treasures for adventures, but having a bunch of “DM Approved” hoards to hand out at a moments notice, definitely saved some time when players decided to sidetrack-down the lair of a Random Wilderness Encounter.

In the top right corner of each of these cards, I scrawled the overall gold piece value for the treasure for Experience purposes, but never in my many years of Classic did I ever bother to consult this Average Treasure Values Table to see how “close” I was with the average.

My first thought after studying this table was somewhat akin to a mental forehead slap. While the hours I spent throwing down percentile dice on the preceding charts were definitely fun, I could cut out some serious prep time by simply building this kind of Random Encounter coin out of these averages₁.

Let’s take the Medusa: Lair Treasure Type F

The average value of this treasure in gold pieces is 7,600. Although the coins indicated in the treasure table for lairs are in the thousands, we can break this down any way we wish:

200 platinum
2,000 gold
4,000 electrum
5,000 silver
10,000 copper

But wait! Sharp eyes may have noticed my math is missing a thousand gold. That’s where a quick d1000 comes in handy. I rolled a 464, which gives me some more gold to play with and “uneven” the numbers of the smaller coins. The remaining 536 will even out the gold and above. This option is great for sticklers that prefer organic hoards that are random down to the last copper piece. Since the denominations of coins are mostly metric, this adjustment process is pretty quick. Just watch out for that pesky electrum.

Another way this table comes in handy is when planning character advancement. The Medusae in my Rules Cyclopedia are only worth a paltry 175 experience points apiece. But add in the average treasure value of 7,600 gold pieces and now we’re talking some actual advancement for low to mid-level parties. Most DMs prefer to intuitively adjust treasure and experience awards on the fly, but this table could serve as fairly useful guides for beginners who are trying to design by-the-book adventures with character advancement in mind. Locate the Treasure type that is most inline with how many experience points you would like a given adventure to reward (remember to divide it by the party), then simply locate a monster that has that treasure type. This sort of backwards design seems rather strange to me, but I could see it being useful.

Also on this page we have a few more tables pertaining to another type of treasure. Any Dungeon Master worth his or her salt can look at the following list of words and be relatively comfortable with them:
Agate
Garnet
Topaz
Carbuncle
Jacinth
Onyx
Peridot

The DM wears many hats: actor, storyteller, puzzle-designer, world builder, and yes, even amateur gemologist. Although I prefer to encrust my gems on large, unwieldy surfaces to encourage time-consuming prying (more Wandering Monster!), gems are still a staple of the fantasy treasure hoard. Getting to know your gemstones a little better is quite easy with access to the internet. Familiarizing yourself with a few more gemological terms and expressions as well as having some visual inspiration can really help make that dreadfully boring “500gp ruby” a thing of the past.

1. Since these averages do not include the value of magical items, and for magic items, the only pricing information in the Rules Cyclopedia pertains to creation (which is only a rough indicator of actual value). This means that the DM can’t easily just “buy” magical items to place in a hoard using the Average Treasure Table values. This is just as it should be, providing a few extra steps of deliberation before plunking down that Horn of Blasting.

Rules Cyclopedia Hacks and House Rules: Thief Special Abilities

Rules Cyclopedia: Chapter 2: The Character Classes, Page 22.

Oh, I was hoping I would have a few more of these under my belt before tackling this, but the random number generator has spoken. Page 22 consists mostly of tables relating to the Thief character class, specifically, the Experience Table, Saving Throws, and of course, the Thief Special Abilities Table.

Gentle reader, versed in the ways of Classic D&D, I’m sure you can sense the reasons for my trepidation here, for there are a few features of the Thief Special Abilities Table that seem somewhat out of place among an otherwise light rules set.

I’ve made several attempts over the years to find a solution for what I see as the key problems with this particular Table. Problems may be too strong a word, bugbear is better.

Ktrey's Key Bugbears:

1. Percentile Based Resolution – Other than the Woodland Abilities of the Halfling, virtually none of the Special Abilities for other classes are tied to the success of a roll on a d%. I understand that the d% produces much more granulation than the other dice, but it still seems out of place for D&D PCs. After all, we’re not playing RuneQuest.


2. Six of the Eight Thief abilities, when tested by player, can lead to awkward game-play situations.
   
   
   1st level Thief Player: “I check for Traps” (rolls 52%)
   DM: “You don’t find any.”
   (Player knows that he rolled above his Find Traps, so there could still be traps and perhaps proceeds a bit more cautiously. Quite a classic quandary.)
   
   1st level Thief Player: “I try to Move Silently” (rolls 45%) “Crap.”
   
   
   Before you cry “player problem,” please entertain the inconsistency here, although failure at a task should always be a possibility for players, only a few other classes have built in thresholds like this (the Cleric's Turning Chart comes to mind). Fighter can swing his sword against a foe and the outcome is unknown until it is compared to the AC of the defender (which the Fighter can guess, based on the foe's armor, etc, but this is not a sure-fire way to determine the difficulty). Magic-User's get their spells off, and the Saving Throw determines success or failure (what does an Owl Bear save as again?). Thieves are first hand witnesses to their failure, in real time.
   
   The previous page in the Rules Cyclopedia (p. 21) has some text that addresses this with the following:
   

   “at the DM's discretion, either the player or the DM will roll percentile dice (d%).”

   I tend to automatically dislike anything that takes the dice out of the player’s hand, doubly so when it is tied to their character’s success or failure at a task.
   
   The Rules Cyclopedia also continues by mentioning circumstantial bonuses and penalties that can be applied to the chances in order to further obfuscate potential success and failure. A rusty lock granting a 40% bonus to Open Locks, etc.
   
   With the addition of these two caveats, percentage based abilities work a little better, but still just don’t seem to fit in with the understated elegance of the rest of the rules.
   


3. Poor 1st level Thieves begin play with the following percentages:
   

   Open Locks 15%
   Find Traps 10%
   Remove Traps 10%
   Climb Walls 87%
   Move Silently 20%
   Hide In Shadows 10%
   Pick Pockets 20%
   Hear Noise 30%
   

   These aren’t terrible odds on paper, with most of the abilities increasing by five each level for the first eight levels, but in actual play, lower level thieves simply can’t shine without hefty “circumstantial help” from the DM or incredibly consistent luck.

In the past, I’ve done some rather strange things to address these issues. Some proved more popular than others, and as with any of my Rules Cyclopedia House Rules, these can be taken, left, or adapted to fit. If anything I hope to promote more discussion about polishing an already shiny system that is perfectly playable as-is.

So without further ado, I present some Hacks and House Rules for Page 22 of the Rules Cyclopedia:

To address Key Bugbear 3 (Poor 1st Level Thieves) I’ve occassionally let players add ability score based amounts to their Thief Abilities:

Ability Option One: DEX x 5
This gives beginning thieves anywhere from 15 to 90 points to spread out among their Thief abilities. Allowing for a great deal of customization (to fit backstory, or character concept). To limit this somewhat, I recommend that players adhere to certain restrictions; no thief ability can be raised above what it would be for a 5th level thief, or no ability can receive more than 20 points this way. Like most Point-Buy additions, this option does result in more book-keeping, as players need to keep track of their bonus points and actual level percentage separately. In play, it also tends to make for some pretty darn competent thieves, which is generally only ideal for a short campaign.

This option is very hackable to boot. Consider trying DEX x 4, or 3, or 2, or even 1 depending on personal preference and the power-level you promote. It's just a little extra-oomph for the Thief who fancies themselves a master locksmith, but would never dream of picking a pocket.

Ability Option Two: Ability Based Bonuses.
This option ties different stats to the different thief abilities. Then, either the ability score, or more stingily, any ability score bonus is applied to the Thief Ability in question.

Open Locks - DEX
Find Traps - WIS
Remove Traps - INT
Climb Walls - STR
Move Silently - DEX
Hide In Shadows - DEX
Pick Pockets – DEX (Possibly CHR?)
Hear Noise – WIS

Dexterity is arguably one of the best of the six ability scores in Classic D&D, providing that much needed Armor Class boost at lower levels, as well as the bonus to hit with missile weapons. This option takes some of the bite and power out of the attribute, and may lead to more careful ability score selection.

While the above ideas primarily seem to address the power level of thieves, some of the options outlined below also work wonders for this. This section outlines some ideas for dealing with Key Bugbear #1: Those Pesky Percentages!

Pesky Percentages Option 1 or D6 Forever!
Some other intrepid House Rulers have worked to convert the Thief Abilities into tasks that can be resolved with a d6. Their rather impressive work on this subject can be found on this page: Thieves and Rakes: A Variety Of Class Options. While I haven’t had the chance to playtest these rules, they do seem to strike me as sound. And I especially like that the rules dovetail nicely with the extant “find secret doors” and “listen” rules for demihumans.

Pesky Percentages Option 2 or Task Difficulty as Armor Class
Give Thieves the Fighter’s Attack Progression for attempting their Thief Abilities, and give their obstacles an Armor Class based on difficulty. Decide whether or not you would like to allow Dexterity bonus (or even other ability bonuses) to figure into this roll. The Thief then simply writes a THAC0 next to each of his abilities and task resolution is handled with the roll of a d20 against the DM determined AC of the obstacle. As a handy hint, this Obstacle AC can decrease as the character descends deeper into a dungeon.

This Option also helps bring back some of that “mystery” to thief abilities, as the player will likely never know the difficulty of the obstacle they are trying to overcome, and therefore won’t automatically be tempted to assume failure or meta-game (see: Ktrey's Key Bugbear 2). Unless a One is rolled and there are provisions for automatic-failure. I have in mind an upcoming article on one of the more venerable (second perhaps only to the Critical Hit?) house rules: The Fumble. The “Joys of Fumbling” will provide some advice on how to handle these 1s.

Pesky Percentages Option 3 or Convert Thief Abilities to General Skills
Since Stealth (choose terrain) is already a General Skill, some Dungeon Masters may be tempted to simply convert the other thief abilities into Rules Cyclopedia General Skills. These General Skills can use Dexterity, or for more variety, the optional ability scores above. While this does mean that Thieves will start off with 8 more General Skills than the rest of the character classes, and may be spending all of their skill slots improving these abilities rather than taking on new General Skills, they are Thieves after all, and this is only a method of representing their specialized training and niche. For this very reason, limiting or disallowing other classes to take these skills is highly recommended to keep the Thief special. One could even give Thieves another “Thievery Skill Slot” every few levels (I’ve had success with adapting the Weapon Mastery table for this) to encourage them to use their normal slots to take other skills.

Caveat: With high ability scores the chance of success for thief abilities converted in this manner increases dramatically, so liberal application of those “circumstantial modifiers” might be needed. On the flip side, a set of +1 Lock Picks, or Boots of Silent Step +2, become wonderful treasures that fall in line with the Fighter's ubiquitous +1 Longsword. (Lock Picks +10%? Please.)

Or, if you prefer to not deal with the headaches of “circumstantial modifiers”, give each of the Thief General skills a flat base. Say, 8-10 (or cruelly roll randomly! Yikes!) and allow them to be improved normally with slots via advancement. With this method it might be better to use the “growing d6” method for resolution (helm tip to Sham’s Grog n’ Blog for highlighting this niftiness). Simple tasks are resolved using 2d6, standard tasks are resolved using 3d6, for more difficult tasks, increase the number of d6s and ring in the bell curve.

Pesky Percentages Option 4
Slot Based Thief Abilities or When Things Just Get Weird.
This one is rather radical, but was fairly fun for the players. Thieves use the Magic-User’s spell progression for their “Thief Slots.”

Glancing over the Spell Lists for the respective Spell Casting Classes, let’s look at some Thief Abilities and their Magical counterparts.

Find Traps – 2nd level Cleric Spell – Find Traps)
Open Locks – 2nd level Magic-User Spell – Knock)
Remove Traps – 3rd level Magic-User Spell - Dispel Magic?)
Move Silently – 2nd level Cleric Spell – Silence 15’ Radius)
Hide In Shadows – 1st level Magic-User Spell - Darkness, or 2nd level Invisibility)
Climb Walls – 2nd level Magic-User Spell – Levitate?)
Pick Pockets – 1st level Magic-User Spell – Charm Person?)
Hear Noise – 1st level Cleric Spell – Detect Evil?)

Some are less than perfect fits I agree, but bear with me. For the most part, Thieves will use the standard method in your game for Thief Special Ability resolution, but giving the Thief a limited number of Daily “auto-success” for their abilities could considerably improve their chances to shine.

Some interesting questions crop up: Do they meditate on any of these techniques every night and pick a new one from their “Thief Slot List” each day (like Clerics)? Do they begin with access to only one to study nightly, and then “learn” them from other, more experienced thieves or musty manuals of thievery (Magic-User)? Are there new and exciting Thief techniques that can be learned? Are the game mechanics of these “Thief Slots” identical to the spell effect (modified to have Magic read as Traps in the case of Dispel Magic)? These are some thought-provoking questions for the DM brave enough to attempt or adapt this hack, and are tragically beyond the scope of this installment.

At roughly the equivalent level for Clerics, and exactly for Magic-Users, the spell casting classes already have the ability to perform these tasks, edging in on the territory of the Thief while simultaneously tying up a precious spell slot. I find it helps to keep in mind that Thieves tend to advance much quicker than the other classes, but this advancement doesn’t really seem as rewarding as the others (and only produces a lot of erasures beneath their “Thief Abilities” section on their sheet).

What about the 7th level Thief and their first 4th level “Thief Slot” you ask? Well a quick glance at the spell lists reveals some potential candidates:

4th level: (Cleric Spell - Neutralize Poison (“I've spent years building up an immunity to Black Dougal’s Bane”)
For dastardly thieves, its reverse Poison could also be neat.
4th level: (Magic-User – Polymorph Self) Disguise anyone?

By turning creativity up, it becomes pretty difficult to place a limit on which spell effects Thieves could potentially replicate as one of their “Thief Slots.”

Be warned however, this option is straying very far out of the stalwart Keep of house-rule territory and closer to woolly woods and chaotic caves of “System Revision.” In fact, it seems that something very similar was tried previously with the old Warlock RPG as one of the first attempts to “fix” D&D:

Warlock RPG - Thief Special Ability Charts

Some good ideas here for “Thief Slots,” but again, this is dangerously close to rewriting the game. Using these, I’d be tempted to start writing up some “Fighter Slots” and then I might as well be fiddling with another Edition.

Which of these Hacks/House Rules do I use in my games? Well, currently I don’t have a Classic D&D game running (although I’m looking to rectify this soon), but one of my last games with Thieves used the Task Difficulty as Armor Class option with a surprising degree of success. Almost to the point of me adopting the progression across the board, with each class using the Fighter progression for various Class related tasks, but that, I’m afraid, will need to wait for another post...

Bah. Who am I kidding? For my next game, I'm just as likely to play completely by the book with my Thieves. The Rules Cyclopedia just plain rules, and the above could just be considered a lengthy thought exercise. But do let me know if you find anything interesting, useful, or unclear.

Dedicated to the memory of Luven Lightfinger, Apprentice extraordinaire (Str 13, Int 14, Wis 9, Con 12, Dex 16, Cha 13) who lost his life “In Search of the Unknown” along with his party’s Elf due to rolling poorly versus a portcullis trap:

If all attempts to escape fail, the persons trapped will be doomed to their fate.

Thank you Mr. Carr and B1.