[Game Theory] A Note on Running Medieval Cities & Society - It's All About the Relationships

[This ended up being its own post, though it started as a note regarding the City writeup I was doing.]Something that bothers me about most RPGs is that pre-modern cities are not treated differently sociologically. So there are police, firefighters, post-industrial shopping (standardized goods on offer), etc. Weird OSR RPGs or the Judge's Guilde Wilderlands are usually better about this, but then they replace the modern city with weird sociology that's usually just a twist on the modern (e.g. Demons are the Bureacracy!). 

The truth is society should be structured differently if we're going to pretend we're in a medieval town, and it is cool. In the past, instead of regularization, forms, standardization, everything is anthropocentric. This means human relations, who you are in relation to your neighbors, who your father is, your trade and skills, your family's reputation and actions, determines how you get treated and what you can do.

Here are some principles to understand about actual pre-modern (Medieval and Renaissance) cities:

1. There is no (centralized) bureaucracy. Bureaucracies are expensive endeavors - you have to employ all these specialists who aren't making anything useful except regularizing and standardizing procedures and interactions. That's all great when you have millions of inhabitants and need sanitation, identification records, etc., but you don't really have that in pre-modern times.  I know, bureaucracy is a word based on the Byzantines, but this really refers to specific pockets: the court of the emperor kept payment records for military purposes, household expenditures, keeping rent; the church may have baptism records, etc. You certainly don't have the all-encompassing bureaucracy where you can find information in archives, file reports, identification records are kept, etc. Instead, it's all decentralized and ad hoc, and a municipal government is not structured like one. 
2. Courts and law exists, for the rich. These are preeminantly spheres for nobles to resolve their property disputes, rights of voting on taxes and privileges (so-and-so can collect the forestry tax, keep the tolls for entering the city, whatever). They are not for everyday crimes, and you do not get a lawyer if a common man did something. Instead, whatever corporate body you belong to handles that on your behalf. And there are no records except what you keep (reallly, there are plenty of records about land and inheritance disputes, but those are kept by the Guild, nobleman, or King's court).
3. Justice, Rights, Law, and Security is Based on Your Status and Affiliations. So how did things work, surely you weren't just summarily executed or allowed to be killed in the streets on accusation? Well, all this stuff was handled through whatever affiliation you had, starting with your family. Your family was probably butchers or bakers or candlestick makers, and they would be part of a guild that would have its rights determined by the larger body they belonged to - the town, the burghers, and ultimately the king. Within the family, you'd be subject to your husband, then him to his father (unless the man had left that household to start his own), and he to the council of candlestick makers, in turn subject to the council of the burghers of the town, who would dispute with the nobles, church, and king for the rights their members had. All those body worked out competing rights and duties with each other, and would dispute and conflict over them. 
4. What does this class/guild/corporate (meaning 'body' not capital) mean for the adventurer? A few things: (1) Anybody can fuck with you if you don't have some guild to defend your interests. Baselessly accused of murder or theft? Too bad hobo, the Tavern Keeper, recognized member of the Publicans Guild, says you stole from him, and he asked the Court of Justice of Nuremburg to chop off your hand. Better flee. Or maybe he just says that when he doesn't like you and won't go to Court at all. He'll sort it out later with breaking Guild rules about how he treated the travelers (remember, "customer" means you go there alot; if you're a traveler unlikely to be seen again....) .  (2) If you want some rights, you better join up with someone - declare loyalty to a noble house, etc. Generally, this means you better get a patron, and you want him to be powerful. Or maybe you become a patron yourself. You set yourself up as the Free Company of Dumbledorf and pay a lawyer to have your charter recognized by the king and pay some laborers who are sick of living with dad on the farm to be your guards and shit. You'll probably treat them better than the Lord of the village, right? (3) Friends are a big deal. If you're friends with the publican's actual customer, you're likely to get treated alot better, not robbed etc. Suddenly, all those in-character dialogues/Charm/Charisma rolls are a much bigger deal, even for just sleeping for the night. Also, people are likely to ask you and care about where you're from and why you're in their town. None of this anonymous modern traveling for "business." Makes for fun jokes about being minstrels or whatever.
5. As a corollary, there's really no police and corruption (as we understand it) was rampant. Robert Peel in the 1830s invented policing (don't give me that vigiles in Rome crap; those were private firestarters, just ask Crassus or Lepidus maybe). The King has men-at-arms and knights, but your town may just have the right to call up all able-bodied citizens or loyal subjects or whatever. Some Guilds will be better armed than others, though the peace is kept between them by the bigger body - the king or duke or mayor's guys. Hence, all the old west stuff too about Sheriffs or Marshals deputizing folks - that's kind of how it worked. As you can imagine, this leads to alot of (unpunished) violence. Probably the number 1 cause of death in pre-modern times, along with drunken accidents (if it wasn't a plague year). Corruption too flows from this, a guild (or individual in it) that was taking too much in 'taxes' could be brought to court, usually by the higher noble authority who thought those taxes should go to them. But otherwise, they're probably just going to pocket whatever and only pay the higher ups if they want their favor (who in turn may get suscipious if Bobby Merchant suddenly has a fine house filled with the latest Flemish cloth). 
6. Gaming wise, then, any "guards" are going to be in the employ of a notable ruling body of your choice - the Mayor maybe in the largest cities, the most powerful local lord. This means the 'guard' doesn't neutrally enforce the law, it goes out and enforces what that master wants them to do. To buttress 'the guard,' people known to have rank (I'm Sir Montagu, Vassal of the Lord Buttface of this Town, as you know and can see from my fine codpiece, and I order you to arrest that man!) can conscript the able-bodied (who often are required to train and hold arms by royal decrees) to enforce 'the law' - i.e. arrest or kill their enemies. The Lord or Master of those notables will sort it out legally later. Again, a lot of violence results, often with youths (frequently university students) taking it upon themselves to arrest and beat people known to be disliked by important people, in hope of getting their favor ("Will no one rid me of that troublesome priest" being a super famous example). So if the PCs piss of an important family, expect people to jump out of the woodwork to kick their ass or get kicked out of town.
7. In the countryside, where the vast majority of people live because most everybody dies from disease and malnutrition in the cities (except well ordered (Germanic) small towns maybe ? don't know enough), it is even worse. If you're a peasant, you give all your stuff to your lord. Also, he's basically the only place you can appeal for justice (the church kept their own courts, for divorce - not allowed - and trying of priests in some times and places). That's why being a smallholding farmer called a Yeoman or Freeman (whose official title was usually Goodman, so like Goodman John instead of Mr. John) was such a big deal. You could actually keep most of your stuff, maybe even accumulate enough wealth to pay the fees for inheriting your childless cousins land after 50 years of backbreaking farming. Though still good luck of the powerful and rich lord's son decided to rape your daughter or something - you can go to the King's court, but unless the King has beef with the Lord too, you're likely SOL. Technically, it's still a crime against the king's peace, but he's not going to arrest a powerful and useful supporter just for killing and raping someone. That's why too it's better in the cities; teaming up with a bunch of skilled craftsmen who can boycott an arbitrary lord is a better bet.
8. On goods: This point has been made before, but I will make it again: there is no standarized production of goods. This was true about the world until the 20th century basically (some places started earlier). So the good you see on RPG lists are really being made for each buyer or resold. The prices Gygax wrote down when making D&D were based on military orders for wartime (I need 2000 plate harnasses), many from around the Hundred Years War or War of hte Roses. So they're a good guide if you're buying in bulk (of course merchants buy wool, sheep, eggs, lumber in bulk too) and give a rough rule of thumb. But for an individual buying something, he needs to find a craftsman and special order it. Nobody is going to invest hundreds of hours of work into a suit of armor to have it sit on the shelf (maybe the dude has a few display copies). Game this as you will, but basically except for poor quality (salvaged) arms and armor, I make the PCs find the right craftsman and have it take some time. This means they can lose all their coin invested with the guy if they end up (invariably) getting accosted by the guard.

If you want to read more about the general outlook and thinking of these things I recommend all the D&D and medieval posts on skerple's blog, especially this one about the pre-modern society generally. Beyond reading sociological histories, you can also just agree with Foucault about the past - he went on deep dives into medieval parish death records and shit. All this changes with the Enlightment, because after a few centuries of inefficient government like this, the kings and nationstates start keeping more records, regularlizing, and removing the rights of intermediate classes to more efficiently pay for armies and navies to fight their enemies, and more efficiently enforce their tax collection efforts, etc. A nice cycle.

These considerations are good thinking for Warhammer and other fantasy rpgs set in the more human-centered times of the past. The fact that you need to have a relationship, based on your trade and actions, should give some great roleplaying opportunities. I'd recommend it over just treating your game as modern, capitalist thing where you shop off impersonal lists and assume you can roll into town and keep your stuff and your secrets without interacting with the powers that be.

Thinking about B/X Skills

I really like the elegance of the idea of using roll d6 to determine skill-like tasks, as in B/X with 1-in-6 chances of finding secret doors and so on (good post here ). But in practice I have problems with my players not really understanding it. I certainly can't rely on them during the game to understand and be fluent with them even when they're on the character sheet, like when we've played Lamentations of the Flame Princess.

To deal with this, in the rules I actually use, it's just attack roll style for all skill checks - roll d20, add ability scores + a bonus for "skills" (PCs get 2, rogues more). Although that's the compromise I've come to when actually running a game, I'd like to use LOTFP or B/X style 'skills' again (for B/X, rogue/thief skills converted to X-in-6 probability ala LOTFP). To fix the problem with it being counter-intuitive players, however, I'd keep these DM rolls. I wouldn't mind explaining, and would roll in the open, but I'd rely on the PC to describe the action and then simply roll the check myself. A more "fiction focused" way of doing skills if you will. I like something about the simplicity and straight-forwardness of the d6 skills, while I like how in LOTFP they increase with level. I think I also like there being a set list of skills. The universal mechanic of using the save for skills keeps everything consistent, but it lacks the soul of some set skill checks - I feel like PCs are just so much more likely to ignore explaining what their PCs are doing and saying "I make a stealth check."

One question I'd have, though, is whether to add ability score bonuses. My inclination is to use them. I like how a usual 1-in-6 break down doors type check quite naturally flows into adding a STR bonus, so a strong character has a 3 or 4 in 6 chance with the door. It reinforces the importance of ability scores. You could add INT bonuses to search checks or whatever, making that an important ability for non-wizards too. Another variation, to go with the more DM-facing check, is that then you can have circumstances in which you add the score bonus and circumstances you don't - maybe adding DEX to Stealth checks if unburdened and not wearing armor or something. Likewise, adding +1/+2 for smart PC preparation or appropriate equipment. If I did this, I'd have to ensure NPC/monster checks are similarly competent, which is a downside that removes some of the elegant simplicity of the d6 system.

Obviously, the d6 skill system works, we've got plenty of playtesting that it does. Anyone have experience as to whether it helps immersiveness (less "I make a stealth check" instead of describing hiding?), or whether people have tried this system more DM-facing or PC-facing?

My D&D Rules

So I've been meaning to post the "house rules" I use for awhile. Basically, I'd like to use them as a reference point for discussing other peoples' rules and considering new rules for problems at the table right now (initiative and negative HP are my current problem children). See below for the two version of my 'most popular fantasy game ever' rules. If you've played D&D for any period of time, you can probably use these as a complete ruleset, so please feel free to gank and steal. The "North Kingdoms" version is an incomplete version I used when I was running a more Tolkien-ish setting (that hadused several different rulesets over the 2+ years I ran it, starting with Balrogs & Bagginses) and the "Ironlands" version is what we use now (setting, as described, is kinda TSR Birthright + Game of Thrones + Warhammer mashup).

A giant thing to understand about these rules is that I use them to play with like 6-8 players every session, so they need to be pretty clear and streamlined, and the emphasis is fun die-rolls, ability to pull off mad-cap actions, and some role/specialization protection.

[I'll update this entry with the rules and the character sheets I use when I get access to google drive later]


Influences
So, my home rules are based on several rulesets you've heard of if you follow d&d stuff. These are Lamentations of the Flame Princess (only apparent in the character sheet design now), Beyond the Wall, Small But Vicious Dog, Pits & Perils, Blood & Treasure, a little bit of Adventurer Conqueror King, and Swords & Wizardry (and, of course, Basic D&D). There's also the houserule about using a d30 to replace a roll once per game, stolen, I think, from Jeff Rients. Basically, I took Beyond the Wall, did my own spell system based on Pits & Peril's idea for super simple level-less spells, made the ability/skill checks roll over Saving throw or 18 (ala S&W), and added the automatic cleave attack kinda from ACKS to everyone who hits in melee. These rules aren't up to date to what we do at the table, so I'll update- the main changes are we now always roll-over, and there's basically just 1 save (not the favored/disfavored), and I'm thinking of making the save increase 1 pt. per level; the spells get tweaked a lot too. There's no real explanations of the rules in here, so you really should buy one of the above rpgs to go with it (I'd suggest Beyond the Wall and LOTFP in particular).

Features
Class-wise, there are only 3 - Fighter, Wizard, Rogue, and I mix-and-match these to create multi-class based classes like Paladin, Ranger, "Bard." These rules are probably not what I would create or use in a vacuum (they're close, mine would likely be closer to semi-classless LOTFP like in Undercroft #3 with level-less spells) , but I aim to please my players, and these give them nice options at both character creation and while leveling up (options without proficiencies/feats). The rules give the PCs a lot of power, but not third edition or fifth edition D&D power.  The feel I'm going for is like 2nd edition streamlined to actually be easy to understand at the table.

One thing I liked about an ACKS game I ran for like 1.5 years was that the players got to pick some neat proficiencies for their characters every few levels, but the game was pretty much otherwise basic d&d. One of the things Beyond the Wall does well (I had to junk that game's awesome background generator, it wouldn't work at my table and had the wrong feel for how we wanted the setting of our new campaign to be) is provide these options without the implicit restrictions that a list of proficiencies has. I also don't like that in ACKS the new proficiencies are tied to increased to-hit values. I included this in my game. Every few levels, warriors get a new fighting ability like weapon specialization or improved criticals or something, wizards get their spells, and rogues get more skills and backstab. There's also, of course, improved to-hit, improved HP, and improved saves.

Level-less Spells
The other major feature of these rules is the Spell system. In reaction to the huge number of spells in 5th edition and having to learn which spell was which level, I basically just junked all that. What is the point of spell levels again? To me, it seems like a legacy thing that's not important. Making spells stronger at higher levels seems fine, as does giving more castings per day, but tracking spell levels that seem pretty arbitrary is, at this point in the history of elf games, a waste of time. I've included most of the spells everyone has heard of: a version of confusion, fly, fireball or whatever, so these rules are compatible and all, but why can't a first level dude cast fly? And why separate spells for magic missile, acid arrow, and fireball? Shouldn't the low level wizard's fireball just be puny? For special high-level effects, like teleport or finger-of-death, I just imposed extra requirements (e.g. teleport requires expensive silver dust and can only be cast at dawn or dusk) to make them more like rituals, so you get a better result anyway. I also know so much better about what all the spells do, as I've simplified them so they can fit on a single page or two chart. I had to put stuff like duration, range on there, because otherwise the players would get frustrated at the lack of predictability in what will happen; this may not be ideal from a feeling that magic should be unpredictable viewpoint, but I think it's a necessary concession to game-ability. I confined the wackiness and unpredictability of magic to a Winds of Magic chart for when wizards want to test fate with powerful spells (e.g. they have to check Winds with teleport) or more castings. I haven't seen a wild magic results chart I particularly like, so I just make up something appropriate when the Winds go against the PC.

Below 0 HP
I have a critical/below zero wounds chart. The one I have currently in the rules has not actually been used, it ended up being too unwieldy in the middle of combat when PCs are getting felled. Basically, it's now 0 hp = unconscious, -1 to like -3/-4 just bleeding out at 1 hp, -5 to -7 1 pt permanent ability score loss, which I just roll a d6 (1 = STR, 6 = CHA in order of character sheet) and some creative effects based on which score I rolled, -8 to -9 2 pts permanent ability loss and described effects, and -10 death, whether there by bleeding or the initial blow. If I were hardcore, I'd do death at 0 or something, but the PCs just spend so much time on the characters I like some flexibility about death.

I'd love thoughts and questions from anyone, otherwise please enjoy this barebones houserule document. For me, it scratches all the itches in just the way I like.

*  *  *

The Rules
Still haven't had a chance to upload proper pdf versions, but here's a text version of the more Tolkienish fantasy rules.

D&D Rules Reference Sheet: Characters & Rules

Character creation:

1	-4
2-3	-3
4-5	-2
6-8	-1
9-12	0
13-15	+1
16-17	+2
18-19	+3

(1) Ability scores roll 4d6, drop lowest, assign to 6 ability scores Strength (STR), Dexterity (DEX), Constitution (CON), Intelligence (INT), Wisdom (WIS), Charisma (CHA). Ability scores give bonuses (or penalties) to certain actions, and you roll ≤ on 1d20 to do other actions (e.g. bash down door with STR).

(2) Pick class:  Warrior: hp 8 + d8/level, armor any, save favor toughness/fortitude, abilities – (1) weapon specialization +1 to hit, +2 damage, (2) fighting ‘feats’ or ‘styles’: archery x2 bow attacks/rd, berserk, fell-handed* close-combat improved critical, dour-eyed* ranged improved critical, guard* +1 AC, mighty +1 dam. all weapons, resolve* +2 saves, weapon specialization* another weapon, dual-wield. * can take multiple times.

Level	Warrior	BAB	Feat	Saves
1	0	+1	WS+1	15/16
2	1200	+2		15/16
3	3600	+3	+1	13/15
4	8600	+4		13/15
5	18,600	+5		11/14
6	30,600	+6	+1	11/14
7	45,000	+7		9/13
8	64,000	+8		9/13
9	85,000	+9	+1	7/12
10	113,300	+10		7/12

Rogue: hp 6 + d6/level, armor no hvy, save favor reflexes, abilities – (1) skilled: two additional skills at first level, gain new skills at odd levels 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th; (2) backstab: +1D6 damage when attacking a vulnerable area (throat, eyes, etc.), and when the target is unaware of where the attack is coming from. Increases at 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th for a maximum of +5D6 damage; (3) first-strike: rogues go first on initiative, unless surprised or confronting another rogue (all rogues go first, then others).

Level	Rogue	BAB	Skills	Stab	Saves
1	0	+0	+2	+1D6	15/16
2	900	+1			15/16
3	2700	+1	+1	+2D6	13/15
4	6500	+2			13/15
5	14,000	+3	+1	+3D6	11/14
6	23,000	+3			11/14
7	34,000	+4	+1	+4D6	9/13
8	48,000	+5			9/13
9	64,000	+5	+1	+5D6	7/12
10	85,000	+6			7/12

Wizard: hp 6 + d6/level, armor none, save willpower, abilities – (1) cast spells: 1 per level daily, start knowing 1+INT, (2) sense power, (3) draw power, cast another spell that day by making INT save; if fail, the Eye; (4) research spells from writings or teachers.

Level	Wizard	BAB	Saves
1	0	+0	15/16
2	1500	+1	15/16
3	4500	+1	13/15
4	10,800	+2	13/15
5	23,300	+2	11/14
6	38,300	+3	11/14
7	56,600	+3	9/13
8	80,000	+4	9/13
9	106,600	+4	7/12
10	141,600	+5	7/12

 (3) Pick Skills: start with 2 (rogues start with 4 total): e.g. Athletics, Cooking, Forgotten Lore, Stealth, Tracking, etc.  Skills add +2 to relevant ability score when skill useful. Can pick same skill twice for +4 bonus.

(4) Languages: start knowing own language (common for men, elvish for elves, etc.) and one more of choice, plus one more language per INT bonus.

(5) Equipment: start with clothing, basic equipment to support any skills (lockpicks for Lockpicking), basic adventuring equipment of choice (rope, tinder, water flask, whetstone, etc.), plus 4d6 silver. A character carry a maximum of 10 items , with armor not counting. Warriors, also, start with a chain mail shirt (+4 AC), or leathers (+2 AC) with a bow for free, and the weapon they’re specialized with.

(6) Stats: write down max HP = starting + CON; saves; Melee AB (BAB+STR), Range AB (BAB+DEX); weapon to hit and damage; AC = 10 + DEX + armor/shield; Spells for wizards.

Equipment List – 10 coppers to 1 silver, 10 silver to 1 gold, 100 coin is 1 item for carrying purposes

Other equip, animals, hirelings: consult Beyond the Wall 14-15

Arms

D4	dagger, sling, club, wooden sword	4 coppers
D6	spear, mace, bow*, short sword, axe	8 silvers
D8	longsword, battle axe, longbow*, crossbow*	16 silvers
D10	greatsword, longaxe, lance, halberd, arbalest*	32 silvers

*ranges: effective 50’ for bows and crossbows, 75’ for longbows and arbalests; greater than that -6/disadvantage, max range x4 effective; crossbows and arbalests require 1 round to reload.

ranged weapons add ½ STR bonus, rnd up

Armor

+2 AC	Leathers, padded tunic		25 silvers
+4 AC	chainmail shirt	-3	100 silvers
+6 AC	chainmail hauberk*	-6	500 silver
+8 AC	heavy chainmail corselet* (rare)	-9	1000 silver
+2 AC	shield	-1	10 silvers
+1 AC	buckler, lt. shield		5 silver

penalties listed apply to movement, stealth, and other skill checks, at DM discretion.

*these are heavy armors, which are slow (1 full rd. to stand, lose initiative ties)

untrained armor wearers: subtract AC from AB & cannot cast spells

Rules – 

·                     Tasks and ability checks: If it's not clear that the PC will succeed at something they're doing, roll d20 + relevant ability score modifier + 2 if skilled (+4 double-skilled) v. Saving Throw, then succeed. Some tasks should be extremely hard and have a target number 18 (including tasks the character has no experience with).

·                     combat: to attack, roll d20 + STR (melee) / DEX (ranged) bonus + BAB + weapon modifiers v. target’s Armor Class (AC) [10 + DEX bonus + armor/shield]. If equal or beat AC, roll damage (weapon damage + STR bonus v. modifiers) and subtract from enemy hp.

·                     saves: in certain situations, such as to resist spells, magic effects, area affects and other situations where chance and fate are large factors, characters make a save, roll d20 equal/higher than the particular save.

·                     below 0 hp: When target falls to 0 or lower hp, it is out of combat and probably dead. PCs consult the Death & Dismemberment table to determine what happens to them if go below 0 hp.

·                     deathblows: if an attacker downs an enemy to 0 hp or less, can make a free immediate follow-up attack that does not require moving (throw a spear, hack an adjacent enemy).

·                     initiative: actions happen in an order that makes sense according to the narrative, generally each side rolls 1d10, ties meaning simultaneous action.

·                     critical hits: natural 20+ = max damage plus roll weapon damage, if max, roll again (no limit)

·                     fumbles: natural 1 = exposed to extra attack, fall over, weapon breaks/disarmed, etc.

·                     d30: once per game session, the character may replace a roll, even afterwards, with a d30 roll

·                     allies & followers: a PC can have 1 ± CHA bonus in loyal followers (check if mistreated though) (this includes loyal beasts); all others will be only mercenaries, and probably actively flee or betray in their own self-interest

·                     spells: cast 1 spell per level daily (can learn or know more), can cast more but may gain the attention and ire of Dark Powers (the Eye) if fail at casting roll.

Other Races & Classes

Multiclasses: to represent rarer types of characters, can multiclass: (1) pick 2 classes (warrior/wizard), (2) use higher XP requirement, (3) alternate between class features, choosing 1 favorable or that 1 class has, then 1 disfavorable.

Elves (multiclass warrior/rogue, warrior/wizard, or rogue/wizard): requirements – all ability scores must be 12 or higher; abilities – (1) Keen-eyed, see great distances and sharp outlines, +2 ability checks; (2) Immortal – unaging, immune to mundane diseases; (3) Fey – resist being enchanted or charmed (+3 to saves); (4) Autumn Folk – vulnerable to despair, hopelessness (-4 relevant saves), must make periodic save or retreat to the elvish havens after setbacks.

Dwarves (warriors, warrior/rogues): requirements – Con must be highest score and be 13+; +1 Con, -1 Dex; abilities – (1) Stonesense, can detect the contours and structures of stone through the stone with a Wis check; (2) Hardy,  a dwarf’s CON bonus is 1 higher than normal; (3) Fire-hardened, dwarves may subtract their CON bonus from any fire-based damage they take; (4) Secret Name, those with knowledge of the dwarf’s secret true name may use it against him (+5 to all acts vs dwarf); (5) Greed, dwarves have -4 penalty to all spells, effects, and trickery invoking their greed for the glittering things of the earth.

Halflings (rogues, warrior/rogues): requirements – Str must be 10 or less; abilities – (1) Spirit, halflings have a +2 bonus to all saves and grant all adventuring companions +1 to their saves; (2) Pluck, halflings may reroll all 1s rolled on d20 (once); (3) Small, halflings start with 4 hp (+CON) and may never increase their strength higher than 10, and may only use weapons that do 1d4 or 1d6 damage (unless magic increased base weapon damage).

Men (optional) – DM may allow men to add +1 to one ability score of choice at 1st level, especially appropriate if there are numerous other races in the game.

Advancement

·                     Gain XP for accomplishing quests and goals (500 xp to 1000 xp); roleplaying and fun (10 xp to 100 xp); accomplishing personal goals like researching a new spell, finding a wife, building a hall, fulfilling an oath, and so on (500 xp to 1000 xp); and defeating enemies (100 x HD^2 / number of allies fighting).

·                     At 3rd and 7th level, add +1 to two ability scores; at 5th and 9th level, can gain Trait or +1 to two ability scores (depends on how game is going). DM may allow a Trait (see FA for examples) at 1st.

Highborn Elf (example other class)

Level	Elf	BAB	Saves
1	0	+1	15/16
2	1500	+2	15/16
3	4500	+3	13/15
4	10,800	+4	13/15
5	23,300	+5	11/14
6	38,300	+6	11/14
7	56,600	+7	9/13
8	80,000	+8	9/13
9	106,600	+9	7/12
10	141,600	+10	7/12

 hp 6 + d6/level, armor no hvy, save favor willpower, abilities – (1) weapon specialization, +1 attack, +2 damage (usually longsword or longbow); (2) cast spells; (4) elf – keen-eyed, immortal, fey, autumn folk.

[Without the elf abilities, this can also represent Dunedain-types, with suggested spells including Healing Touch and Banish Undead]

[For an elf loremaster type, can replace casting spells with casting cantrips and rituals, starting with 2 each]

Other Rules Notes

·                     berserk: when fighting, can go berserk, cannot wear armor (shields ok), add 1d6 temporary hp, +2 attacks/+2 damage, do 1d4 melee attacks per round, lasts 1d6 rounds + CON bonus. During berserk, ignore effects of falling below 0 until -10 (although severed limbs are still severed). At end of berserk, the berserker collapses, exhausted; if he does not sleep, he will perform all actions at -6; he also suffers the effects of any grievous wounds.

·                     poison: generally, if fail save take 1d4 dam. per round for 1d6 rounds per enemy HD; more dire poisons exist, such as those causing blindness, paralysis, and instant death.

·                     fire: the first few rounds of a new fire, even with ‘burning oil,’ only cause 1d4 damage.

·                     mounted combat: as much higher, riders attack footmen at +2 (similar to any attack from greater height, can give same bonus to trolls or other giant creatures attacking only 1 footman) and riders are +2 AC unless attacked by polearms or ranged weapons. On a mounted charge, riders are +4 attack from momentum, double melee damage (inc. bonuses), and horses may trample attack. Only trained warhorses will fight in combat, regular horses will attempt to run away continuously.

·                     morale: base is 7± CHA bonus of leader, check 2D6 equal or under. Check when leader acts cowardly, lose a number of allies, etc.

Other  Multiclasses

Ranger

Level	Ranger	BAB	Skills	Saves
1	0	+1	+2	15/16
2	1200	+2		15/16
3	3600	+3	+1	13/15
4	8600	+4		13/15
5	18,600	+5	+1	11/14
6	30,600	+6		11/14
7	45,000	+7	+1	9/13
8	64,000	+8		9/13
9	85,000	+9	+1	7/12
10	113,300	+10		7/12

 hp 6 + d6/level, armor no hvy, save favor reflex, abilities – (1) weapon specialization, +1 attack, +2 damage (suggested longbow or longsword); (2) highly skilled (suggested Tracking, Stealth, Herbalism); (3) first strike

Wildling (Beorning)

Level	Wildling	BAB	Feats	Saves
1	0	+1	2	15/16
2	1200	+2		15/16
3	3600	+3	+1	13/15
4	8600	+4		13/15
5	18,600	+5		11/14
6	30,600	+6	+1	11/14
7	45,000	+7		9/13
8	64,000	+8		9/13
9	85,000	+9	+1	7/12
10	113,300	+10		7/12

 hp 8 + d8/level, armor none, save favor reflex, abilities – (1) warrior feats: berserk + mighty; (2) 4 starting skills (suggested Survival, Stealth, Athletics, Animal Taming); (3) first strike

Dwarf Crafter

Level	Crafter	BAB	Skills	Saves
1	0	+0	+2	15/16
2	1200	+1		15/16
3	3600	+1	+1	13/15
4	8600	+2		13/15
5	18,600	+3	+1	11/14
6	30,600	+3		11/14
7	45,000	+4	+1	9/13
8	64,000	+5		9/13
9	85,000	+5	+1	7/12
10	113,300	+6		7/12

 hp 8 + d8/level, armor all, save favor fortitude, abilities – (1) weapon specialization, +1 attack, +2 damage (suggested battleaxe); (2) 4 starting skills (suggested Smithy, Tinker, Engineer)

SPELL	DURATION	RANGE	SPECIAL EFFECT
Alarm	1 day/level	touch	any creature crossing area wakes and alerts caster
Bless	1d6 rounds	touch	grant +2 to all d20 rolls
Bolt	instant	60'	3D6 dam., other effects based on element of bolt (lightning)
Call	instant	self	send for the caster's familiar
Calm	1 turn/level	30'	pacify any number of animals (no save) or stupid monsters
Charm	1 turn/level	sight	1 non-hostile target feels as fast-friend or lover with caster
Circle	1 turn/level	10’ (d.)	creates protective barrier; +2 AC, saves, must save to cross
Cure	instant	touch	treat poison or lesser curse on a single target; requires herbs
Curse	instant	touch	inflict curse on a single target; if lays duty, called Quest
Dispell	instant	touch	reverse or cancel any spell or magical effect ; roll off w/mages
Enchant	permanent	touch	place spell in object, lasts until effect takes place
Fear	1 turn/level	30'	panic any number of enemy targets who can see/hear caster
Fire	1d6 rounds	60’	control size and shape of flames in range
Form	1 turn/level	self	assume form of chosen beast, or gain portion of that form
Foresight	1d6 rounds	self	experience a premonition of future events, in trance or dream
Gust	instant	60’	wind knockdowns any number targets, blow away arrows
Heal	instant	touch	restores 1D6 hp
Hide	1 day/level	touch	prevent object from being seen, found, or scried upon
Hold	1d6 rounds	30'	immobilize a single man-sized target
Hope	1 turn/level	30’	remove panic or prevent route any # enemies
Knock	instant	touch	open sealed or locked doors; Lock is inverse
Know	instant	sight	read the true feelings of a single target
Light	1 turn/level	30'/60’	light a radius around an object; or blind/flash as an instant
Mend	instant	touch	magically fix and make whole broken objects
Mist	1 turn/level	sight	form obscuring foggy cloud all around caster
Move	instant	60’­	throw or move man-sized object or creature
Ruin	instant	60'	call down a magical hail storm , 1D6 dam. all in range
Ruse	1 turn/level	30’	create a visual illusion around a person or small area
Scry	1 turn/level	touch	in reflection, see known place or through servant’s eyes
See	1 turn/level	self	see through all illusions, glamours, disguises
Send	instant	sight	deliver a 10-word message heard on the winds
Shatter	instant	30'	break a single weapon or crumble a small area
Shield	1 turn/level	self	+6 AC, mystical sphere of protection from physical attacks
Silence	1 turn/level	30'	silence a radius around the caster
Sleep	1 turn/level	60’	put into deep slumber 2D4 HD of creatures/people
Tangle	1d6 rounds	30’	tangling vines slow and impair (-3 AB, -20’) all in radius
Tongues	1d6 rounds	30’	speak target’s tongue or make him incomprehensible
Turn	1 turn/level	30’	brandish at undead or demon, they flee or are held at bay
Waters	1d6 rounds	60’	raise, lower, or control flow of waters
Ward	1d6 rounds	touch	target resists all attacks until acts offensively
Word	1d6 rounds	60’	1 target obeys sensical 1-word command in known tongue