Presenting the state of the OED House Rules for 2022: we've bumped up both the Player's and Judge's rules documents to version 1.0.7. Some of the more important edits you'll find there:
Player's Rules
- Combat Feats have been reworked & rebalanced for a better overall distribution. (In particular, Rapid Attack is no longer the hands-down best choice.)
- Sweep Attacks are noted as a universal ability for all Fighters, as opposed to the ambiguous state it was previously left in (and the Cleave feat consequently removed). See numerous analytic posts in which we researched this issue in 2021; in short, if you're going to play with O/AD&D listed large numbers appearing for low-level monsters, then players need this ability to stay competitive.
Judge's Rules
- Mechanics based on a d6 roll have been synchronized to follow a low-roll for success model, following the majority of the instances in the LBBs. See here for the analysis on that.
- Slime/ooze monster mechanics were edited to match results of recent polls we ran (to be presented in the near future).
Monster Database
- At least as important as any of the above, we've recently significantly expanded the Arena simulator program to include common wizard spells, magic-using and exotic monster types, etc. EHD (Equivalent Hit Dice values) have been modified to reflect that; basic monsters (giant-types, etc.) mostly stayed the same, while some outliers had large changes (e.g., vampires, golems, etc.).
- All monsters now have a justified EHD listings (previously some special or spell-using types were left with a null entry).
- The database has been expanded with more monsters from the OD&D supplements (now over 200 listed!).
- Quick copy-paste stat blocks are now at the OEDGames site; the complete database in spreadsheet format is kept in the repository at Github.
We'll plan to post more updates and reflections on lessons from that recent simulator work in the coming weeks. Big thanks to the Wandering DMs patrons for kicking around and giving invaluable feedback and motivation on most of these issues. If you play around with these rules, tell us how they play for you!
Hoo Boy, I got some edits to make now too.
ReplyDeleteHa, thanks for attending to that!
DeleteNice update! I'm glad to see that all the monsters have a defined EHD now
ReplyDeleteThanks for saying that! It was actually Baquies above who lit a fire under me to make that happen. ^
DeleteI noticed in the section on vampires that you use the Monster Manual stats for the wolves... why not the Volume 2 guideline that "larger beasts (such as wolves) will receive one Hit Die" under the section on small insects and animals? The MM figures always seemed absurd to me. Why should a wolf, averaging under 100 pounds body weight, be as hard to kill as two 180-pound soldiers put together?
ReplyDeleteIt's a reasonable argument. For a source, I'm also looking at OD&D Swords & Spells p. 18, 35 where wolves are likewise given 2 hit dice. You'll notice I entered 2 for hit dice and not the MM 2+2. It's that S&S entry that put me over the edge to honor that for OD&D.
Delete... arguably these are big wolves, following Chainmail p. 36 where "giant wolves" are indicated as fighting like Light Horse. But even there, S&S, etc. they're always distinguished in some way from wargs/dire wolves.
DeleteYou must have thought you made that edit but not actually done it; I just looked a second time at your Judge's Rules and it's there in black and white - : Summoned monsters are Rat (AC 7, MV 15, hp 1, Atk 1, Dam 1 pt),
Deleteor Wolf (AC 7, MV 18, HD 2+2, Atk 1, Dam 1d6).
I just took a peek in S&S as well, and the asterisk note on the line for wolves actually refers to them as wargs. So it seems to me like S&S makes the assumption that only wargs/giant wolves will be involved in mass combat, since everywhere else it simply refers to them as wolves. I'd be happy enough with 1 HD wolves and 2 HD wargs, though I think that it vampires are summoning wargs rather than ordinary wolves it should be clearly stated as such.
Ah, good catch. I was focused on the Monster Database entry, I guess they've gotten out of synch. Making an edit to appear in the JR for next time.
DeleteTo me, the asterisk on S&S p. 18 makes wargs look like a sub-type, as they are in CM and MM. If plain "wolf" is a good enough description there and p. 35 it's good enough for me. But honestly it's close and I've wavered on that in the past.
Berserking: Rage to gain +4 levels (hits, saves, and hit dice) for one melee; afterward, save vs. breath or lose ability for the day.
ReplyDeleteWhat is meant by one melee in the Berserking feat above? Is it one round or one combat?
If you make the save vs. breath can you continue to use the feat should your character be in combat?
Yeah, I mean it to be one melee combat for that berserker (several rounds). It's intentionally left a little vague for DM adjudication of the exact extent. E.g., I'd probably keep it going while a berserker is running at an enemy or banging themselves with their own shield, say. If you make the save post-combat then it's available for your next fight.
DeleteAfter a perusal I couldn't find where you include the fighters slap-chop ability. Is this on purpose because it is in the actual rules and OED isn't a retro-clone?
ReplyDeleteThat was the case up until this iteration. It's now on p. 2 under Fighter Feats: "When fighting 1st level (1-hit-die) opponents in melee, fighters get one attack per level", with a couple paragraphs in the follow-up footnote.
DeleteLooking at the rules, you have a rudimentary skill system: Climbing, Detection, Doors, and Swimming, plus an implied Survival and Tracking from the fighter feats. They could have a spot on the sheet. How does someone without Tracking track? There has to be some low chance. Have you thought of boiling down the Outdoor Survival rules into OED?
ReplyDeleteAlso, OED in general would be handy in expanding a Dungeon Robber-like framework.
Thanks for that! I do have an outstanding tasklist item to formalize my wilderness rules in use, based on Outdoor Survival (so many todo items). I do feel like I'm just extrapolating the default 2-in-6 that the LBBs put down for a lot of things (doors, traps, listening, secret doors, etc.).
DeleteNow that Sweep Attacks are officially on OED rules, should I somehow adjust the monsters' EHD (and their XP) to take that into account? Specially when I'm evaluating how hard my encounters are going to be
ReplyDeleteOps. Sorry. I already found the answer to my question in one of the "numerous analytic posts" 5 minutes after clicking "publish". So no need to bother haha
ReplyDeleteNo sweat, glad you found it!
Delete