While becoming aware of the shortcomings of Labyrinth Lord, I was also thinking about what to exchange it with. There are things I don't like about 3.5/PF, but the truth of the matter is that those systems also have things I do like. And then there's the not inconsequential aspect of us owning all but a few of the 3.5 books, as well as several d20 games, including Pathfinder. I just can't justify purchasing a new system just to play-test it.
Here the result of my ruminations. If we end up pulling the plug on LL, I think I'll use something like this:
This D&D 3rd Edition hack intends to provide a system that balances the various aspects I want from of
fantasy roleplaying. The chassis of this system is 3.5, with certain
mechanics from Star Wars d20 Revised Edition welded on. Magic has
also been been changed somewhat so as to give it certain Vancianesque
qualities. Some house rules have also been included in this post.
The following changes are applied to
the 3.5 rules.
Alignment
Alignments are divided into Lawful,
Neutral, and Chaotic.
Rolling
20
If a 20 is rolled on a “to hit”
roll, normal rules apply. If a 20 is rolled on a skill check, it
counts as an open ended roll, and the die is rolled again, adding the
new number to the total.
Hit
Points
Hit Points are divided into two
categories, Wound Points (WP) and Vitality Points (VP). A character's
Vitality Points reflect the amount of punishment she can take before
taking any actual damage. Arrows will shoot through her cloak or miss
by a a hair's width, sword blows will be parried or glance off
armour, she will roll to break falls, etc. VP is determined by class
levels and Constitution modifier. Only when all VP has been spent, or
if an attacker scores a critical hit, will she take any actual
damage, or WP. WP is determined by Constitution score. If a character
has 0 WP, she is unconcious, and if she is brought to (-
Constitution) WP, she is dead.
Note that when rolling for VP, all 1's
are re-rolled.
Armour
Armour does not make it harder for
anyone to actually hit someone, rather it makes it harder to injure
them. As such, instead of AC, armour provides the wearer with Damage
Reduction (DR). The DR is subtracted from any WP damage inflicted.
Shields give the bearer an increased Defence. Note that characters gain a bonus to their defence based on their class.
Table 2.1: Armour
Cost
|
DR
|
Max
Dex
|
Armour
Check
|
Weight
|
|
| Light | |||||
Padded
|
10
gp
|
1
|
8
|
0
|
10
lb.
|
Leather
|
5
gp
|
1
|
6
|
0
|
15
lb.
|
Chain shirt
|
100
gp
|
2
|
4
|
-1
|
25
lb.
|
| Medium | |||||
Hide
|
15
gp
|
3
|
4
|
-3
|
25
lb.
|
Scale mail
|
50
gp
|
3
|
5
|
-3
|
30
lb.
|
Chain mail
|
150
gp
|
4
|
2
|
-5
|
40
lb.
|
Breast plate
|
200
gp
|
5
|
3
|
-4
|
30
lb.
|
| Heavy | |||||
Banded mail
|
250
gp
|
6
|
1
|
-6
|
35
lb.
|
Half plate
|
600
gp
|
7
|
0
|
-7
|
40
lb.
|
Full plate
|
1,500
gp
|
8
|
0
|
-8
|
50
lb.
|
Table 2.2: Shields
Cost
|
Defence Bonus
|
Weight
|
|
| Buckler |
2 gp
|
+2
|
2 lb.
|
| Small wooden |
3 gp
|
+3
|
4 lb.
|
| Small metal |
5 gp
|
+3
|
6 lb.
|
| Large wooden |
5 gp
|
+4
|
5 lb.
|
| Large metal |
10 gp
|
+4
|
8 lb.
|
| Tower |
15 gp
|
+5
|
15 lb.
|
Weapons
All
weapon damage is doubled. A dagger does 2d4, an arrow from a longbow
does 2d8, etc. All weapon threat-ranges remain unchanged from the 3.5
PHB.
Defense
Bonus (DB)
Characters
gain a bonus to their defense based on their class and level. The
effective DB of a character is (10 + class DB + Dex bonus + misc.)
Table 1.1: Defensive Bonuses by Class
Lvl
|
Barbarian
|
Bard
|
Cleric
|
Druid
|
Fighter
|
Paladin
|
Ranger
|
Rogue
|
Spell Caster
|
1st
|
3
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2nd
|
3
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
3rd
|
4
|
2
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4th
|
4
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
5th
|
5
|
3
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
6th
|
5
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
7th
|
6
|
4
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
8th
|
6
|
4
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
9th
|
7
|
5
|
6
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
10th
|
7
|
5
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
6
|
11th
|
8
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
12th
|
8
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
7
|
7
|
7
|
13th
|
9
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
14th
|
9
|
7
|
8
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
15th
|
10
|
7
|
9
|
9
|
10
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
16th
|
10
|
8
|
9
|
9
|
10
|
10
|
9
|
9
|
9
|
17th
|
11
|
8
|
10
|
10
|
11
|
11
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
18th
|
11
|
8
|
10
|
10
|
11
|
11
|
10
|
10
|
10
|
19th
|
12
|
9
|
10
|
10
|
12
|
12
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
20th
|
12
|
9
|
11
|
11
|
12
|
12
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
Multiclassing
When
multiclassing, a character gains all the benefits of the 1st level of the new class, except from the DB. When adding a new class,
subtract 2 from the DB given for the class (e.g. a 4th lvl
Bard multiclassing as a Fighter would have a DB of 3 from his
previous class, plus 1 from his new class, giving a total DB of 4).
Magic
Magic is not a passive tool, it is a
wild and terrible force, harnessed through rituals and force of mind.
When a magician memorises a spell, he actually binds the magical
essence to his soul. The spell progression table determines how many
spell-levels he can store. To determine his capacity, add all spell
levels + bonus spells. It is possible to memorise more spells than
this, or spells of a higher level than what's available for the
magician's current level, but this comes with a price.
Memorising extra spells
If a character attempts to exceed his
safe limit for spells within his range, he must roll a Caster Level
check, DC 15 + extra spell levels. If this is unsuccessful, he fails,
but until he's rested at least 8 hours, his casting of any spell will
be treated as if he's exceeded his safe limit.
Memorising high-level spells
If the magician attempts to memorise a
spell of a higher level than safely allowed, he must roll a Caster
Level check, DC 15 + spell level. If this is unsuccessful, he takes
Intelligence damage equal to the level of the spell. In addition,
until he's rested at least 8 hours, his casting of any spell will be
treated as if he's exceeded his safe limit. Note that the caster's
level will determine the spell's effect (e.g. a Fireball cast by a
3rd lvl character will do 3d6 worth of damage).
Casting spells
To cast a spell, the magician must roll
a Spellcraft check, DC 10 + spell level. If successful, the spell
works as normal, while failure means the spell was not cast. A fumble
will result in the spell running amok - it may target someone at
random, or cause some other catastrophic mishap. If the modified
result is twice the DC, the spell will work at maximum potential
(e.g. a Fireball will do 10d6 worth of damage).
Spell Books
A magician may memorise any spell he
has access to, be it in a spell book or on a scroll. To read another
magician's spell book, the magician must roll a Knowledge (Arcana)
check, DC 15 + level of scribe. Note that since stealing a magician's
spell book is such a lucrative undertaking, most magicians will write
their librams in code, and often put both magical and mundane traps
on the book.
Taking 10/Taking 20
You can take 10, but you may not take
20 on the above noted checks.
[Picture source unknown]
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