Early morning raid? Need to get out of town before sun up? Hire a knocker up, and ensure you don’t oversleep. One silver per wake up call.
Bonus: Oversleeping rule
When awaking at a particular time is desired or important, a character must save vs. their constitution, or oversleep for 30 minutes per point rolled over their CON.
Been running a mine (DSG 49-56)? Those uncut stones aren’t worth half of what they will be once finished. Cut out the middleman and get a Jeweler. He can cut and finish D10 stones per day. All jewelers are level-0 and are paid 15% of the value of the stones they cut.
An inspector is a level D4 Assassin, but is completely unwilling to harm or kill, except in self-defense. He can, however, use the spy rules from DMG, pages 18-19. Inspectors are hired on a per mission basis, and require 4 gp daily.
Heralds may make proclamations and prepared statements on behalf of a character. Heralds may be used to introduce a character, along with any titles and achievements, as they enter a room. Characters receive a temporary +1 to Charisma with those present for the introduction. Heralds can also act as a Master of Ceremonies while a character holds court (Use herald’s Cha. when “holding court”). Charisma is always a herald’s highest stat. Heralds cost 6 GP weekly.
A governess is a woman hired to help raise children with proper class and sophistication. Children that are raised with a Governess receive a D3 to their Charisma score upon maturation (13?). Governesses are paid 50 gp yearly, and room & board must be provided.
A falconer is a master of directing hawks for use in hunting. Falconers cost D6+5 GP per month. Having a falconer gives an effective +1 Charisma while participating in any hunt, do to the prestige associated with it.
After hiring, roll the following:
5 in 6 chance of being able falcon trainer
4 in 6 chance of being able falcon breeder
3 in 6 chance of being able falcon trapper
2 in 6 chance of being able horseman
1 in 6 chance of being a level D6 Fighter
Excavators are specialists in digging, mining and sapping. They are level-0 and cost 4 gp monthly. Excavators used in an active combat zone receive double pay. They can also clear heavy debris, such as crushed or crumbled curtain walls.
Use the mining rates from Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide:
Ditchers are laborers who dig castle moats and building foundations. They are a necessary step in establishing a stronghold. The going rate for ditching in normal soil is 1 gold to hire on, plus 1 silver per cubic foot dug, and 2 gold when the job is finished. Ditchers will rarely travel with a party, however they may be hired on at a stronghold in other capacities.
If Ditching is required in hard clay soil, sand, granite or some other difficult terrain, prices rise accordingly. And specialists may be necessary.
Zombies make excellent ditchers if the PC’s alignment allows for that sort of thing. There is no monetary cost for zombie ditchers and though they dig more slowly than living counterparts, as they have no need for rest, the per day effect is the same. The moral/alignment cost is a different matter.
A camp-follower is a civilian who travels with a party or military unit from place to place, usually as a prostitute. Camp followers may be male or female, and though they may have children with them, the children may not serve as “camp followers,” per se. Camp followers raise hireling and henchmen morale (the degree of which depends on the camp follower to party-size ratio).
Base Price: 10 gold per week (human) ((specialists will cost more so prices may vary))
A colportier, if retained by the PCs, will distribute books, pamphlets, scrolls or handbills on behalf of the characters. These materials are most commonly secular political propaganda or writings of a religious nature. The colportier is like a page or messenger to the public .
A bravo is a low level man-at-arms. The bravo acts as an enforcer or thug, willing to threaten or beat others at their employer’s order. They are bullies, however, and require morale checks at -4 to attack dangerous monsters or armed characters. A bravo is never lawful, and rarely of good alignment.
Bravo (50% chance Thief or Fighter, D3 Level): 5 gp weekly
An almoner is a cleric that distributes cash to the poor. Characters that are required to relinquish their wealth may do so through their almoner as well as through their religious/monastic organization. Having an active almoner will spread the renown of the PC as a Good and Lawful person.
Almoner (Level D2 Cleric): 20gp per month. Requires at least 50gp per month to distribute.
Please note: these rules aren’t in play until the DM says so
The DMG had some really fascinating things to say about the mechanics of charging. The rules are presented in an odd oder, so here are all the listings for FURTHER ACTIONS in the COMBAT section:
Close To Striking Range: This merely indicates that the party concerned is moving at base speed toengage the opponent. This action is typically taken when the opponent is over 1″ distant but not a long distance away. Play goes to the next round after this, as melee is not possible, although other activity can, of course, take place such as that detailed above (half-movements and such). Charge:This action brings the charging party into combat on the charge round, butthere are a number of considerations when it is taken.
~~Movement Rate Outdoors: Movement bonus for charging in normal outdoor settings is 33%% of base speed for bipedal creatures, 50% forquadrupeds. ~~Movement Rate Indoors: The indoor/dungeon rate is greatly reduced dueto the conditions. Therefore, all movement at the charge is double basespeed, remembering that encumbered creatures are not allowed thecharge. Note: The opponent must be within 10′ distance at the terminationof the charge in order for any blows to be struck during that round. ~~Armor Class of Charging Creatures: There is no dexterity bonus allowedfor charging creatures. Creatures with no dexterity bonus became 1 armor class lower, i.e. easier to hit. Thus on AC 3 creature becomes AC 4. There is no penalty to AC 10 creatures for charging, however.
~~Melee At End of Charge: Initiative is NOT checked at the end of charge movement. The opponent with the longer weapon/reach attacks first. Charging creatures gain +2 on their “to hit” dice if they survive any noncharging or charging opponent attacks which occur first. Weapon length and first strike are detailed under StrikeBlows .Only one charge move can be made each turn; thus an interval of 9 roundsmust take place before a second charge movement can be made.–
The difference between the indoor outdoor movement may seem odd at first, but remember you are traveling in yards when outdoors. More importantly, those of us with longer weapons (talking to you, you two-handed swordsmen, pole-arm users, bastard and long-sword wielders) – ((not talking to you, you Freudian armchair analysts)) – if an opponent is sporting a weapon shorter than yours, you can hit them first on a charge with an automatic +2 to hit. You lose your Dex bonus to your AC, or suffer a neg 1 for that round. But still pretty sweet!That being said – there are some times when charging is definitely a bad call.
Set Weapons Against Possible Opponent Charge: Setting weapons is simply a matter of bracing such piercing weapons asspears, spiked pole arms, forks, glaives, etc. so as to have the butt of theshaft braced against an unyielding surface. The effect of such a weaponupon a charging (or leaping, pouncing, falling, or otherwise onrushing)opponent is to cause such opponent to impale itself and take doublenormal damage if a hit is so scored.
So I am thinking that the important take-home message of these charging rules is to look before you leap, or rather, check before you charge. If your weapon is longer than you opponents, consider charging. If they have any pointy pole arms, do not charge! But you know what, you already knew that. Odds of your having a weapon longer than an opponents spiky pole arm in near moot, but still important to keep in mind. Now here is a fascinating little bit of info:
Weapon Speed Factor:(edited) When weapon speed factor is the determinant of which opponent strikesfirst in a melee round, there is a chance that one opponent will be entitledto multiple attacks. Compare the score of the lower-factored weapon withthat of the higher. If the difference is at least twice the factor of the lower,or 5 or more factors in any case, the opponent with the lower factoredweapon is entitled to 2 attacks before the opponent with the higherweapon factor is entitled to any attack whatsoever. If the difference is 10or greater, the opponent with the lower-factored weapon is entitled to 2attacks before the opponent is allowed to attack, and 1 further attack at thesame time the opponent with the higher-speed-factored weapon finally isallowed to attack. Note that such speed factor considerations are not applicablewhen either closing or charging to melee, but after on initialround of combat, or in cases where closing/charging was not necessary,the speed factor considerations are applicable.
Yes. Yes! Reasons to be a dagger wielder! Reasons to have a short-sword. According to these rules – Ingbee, with his short-sword (Speed Factor 3), should get two attacks each round when fighting against an opponent wielding a flail (SFs 6 or 7), for example. Hell, if he is fighting some pole-arms, that is three attacks! Per round! Ulla forbid Igbee’s ever mixing it up with two handed swordsmen, but that is awesome to know! Dagger users, with the Speed Factor of 2, they can get multi-attacks all over the place. Sweet beans!
– While perusing the AD&D DMG, I came across a few rules/tactics of note I am thinking we should be aware of both as players of the game and in light of the current party. Found some great stuff on attacks of opportunity and running the fuck away (yeah, yeah, yeah, I’m playing a halfling thief). Well, it’s not exactly an “Attack of Opportunity” per se, but it certainly looks like an opportunity to attack! ~ DMG, p. 70, COMBAT (MELEE)
Breaking Off From Melee: At such time as any creature decides, it can break off the engagement and flee the melee (break it off). To do so, however, allows the opponent a free attack or attack routine. This attack is calculated as if it were a rear attack upon a stunned opponent. When this attack is completed, the retiring/fleeing party may move away at full movement rate, and unless the opponent pursues and is able to move at a higher rate of speed, the melee is ended and the situation becomes one of encounter avoidance.
– Okay, first of all – that is bad ass! This goes for both monsters and players, though I suppose that in the case of fighting an intelligent creature with no discernible “back” then the bonus would be mitigated accordingly. The rules for stunned opponents and attacking from behind are as follows (even though we are all probably pretty familiar with this rule):
Rear Attacks: Opponents attacking from the rear gain a +2 to hit, negate any consideration for shield, and also negate any consideration for dexterity. Stunned, Prone or Motionless Opponents: Treat all such opponents as if being attacked from the rear, but in this case the ”to hit” bonus is +4 rather than +2.
Magically Sleeping or Held Opponents: If a general melee is in progress, and the attacker is subject to enemy actions, then these opponents areautomatically struck by any attack to which they would normally be subject, and the maximum damage possible according to the weapon type is inflicted each time such an opponent is so attacked. The number ofattacks or attack routines possible against such an opponent is twice the number normally allowed in a round. Otherwise, such opponents may be automatically slain, or bound as appropriate to materials at hand and size, at a rate of one per round. Note that this does not include normally sleeping opponents (see ASSASSINS’ TABLE FOR ASSASSINATIONS).
-Then I read something rather terrifying and intriguing. Melee in D&D is Fight or Flight!
Who Attacks Whom: As with missile fire, it is generally not possible to select a specificopponent in a mass melee. If this is the case, simply use some randomnumber generation to find out which attacks are upon which opponents,remembering that only a certain number of attacks can usually be madeupon one opponent. If characters or similar intelligent creatures are ableto single out an opponent or opponents, then the concerned figures willremain locked in melee until one side is dead or opts to attempt to breakoff the combat. If there are unengaged opponents, they will move tomelee the unengaged enemy. If the now-unengaged figures desire toassist others of their party, they will have to proceed to the area in whichtheir fellows are engaged, using the movement rates already expressed.
– Now first of all, this was just flat out strange being told what a character would do in melee. What if I don’t want to engage an unengaged enemy? What if I want to stab the engaged one? Reading this initially, it didn’t really hit me, but that is because I didn’t realize exactly what Breaking Off combat entailed. So my reading of this rule is that once a character has engaged with an opponent, they need to stay on that opponent until they are downed or until they break-off the attack (break it off). And so it follows that once an intelligent creature is engaged in melee with a character, that fight is to the death or until a character breaks it off (break it off). As terrifying as that is, note the extremely important detail that this only applies to single combat and that makes perfect sense. If two somethings are attacking another something, the out-numbered something should be able to strike at any of his attackers who are in range. Perhaps this is obvious, but I find this an important rule to be cognizant of- even if it sounds a little scary.
– But then check out this gem!:
Flank attacks:All flank attacks negate any defender armor class additionfor shield. Attacks against a rear flank, where the opponent is virtuallyunable to view the attackers, negate dexterity armor class bonus.
-Holy fuck, yes! Ok, so yeah – this tactic can certainly be used against a few shield toting members of our current party, but our Cuthbert Campaign has enough melee capable players that flanking and rear-flanking are viable options. Remember what a bitch that Moat-house Asshole was? Shoulda been Flanksteak! This is only really an option when ganging up on a single target, but it should be in the party’s repertoire for appropriate situations.
That being said, what was that bit in Breaking Off From Melee about pursuing (break it off)?
PURSUIT AND EVASION OF PURSUIT: abridged for wordiness Pursuit And Evasion In Underground Settings: When player characters with attendant hirelings and/or henchmen, ifany, elect to retreat or flee from an encounter with a monster ar monsters,a possible pursuit situation arises. Whether or not pursuit will actually takeplace is dependent upon the following: 1. If the MONSTER MANUAL so states, then pursuit will certainly occur. 2. If the monster or monsters encountered are semi intelligent or under,hungry, angry, aggressive, and/or trained to do so. 3. If the monster or monsters encountered are of low intelligence butotherwise suit the qualifications of 2.. above, then pursuit will possibly occur
A. If the party outnumbers the potential pursuers, then pursuit is 20% likely. B. If the party is about as numerous as the potential pursuers, then pursuit is40% likely. C. If the party is outnumbered by the potential pursuers, then pursuit is 80% likely. D. If condition C. exists, and furthermore, the potential pursuers conceive of themselves as greatly superior to the party, then pursuit is 100% certain.
Modifiers To Pursuit: There are several circumstances which will affect thepursuer. These are: 1. Barriers: Physical or magic barriers will slow or halt pursuit, i.e. locked portal, a broken bridge, a wall of fire, etc. 2. Distractions: Actual or magic distractions will be from 10% to 100%likely to cause pursuit to falter or cease altogether. A. Food: Food, including rations and/or wine, will be from 10% to100% likely to distract pursuers of low intelligence or below, providingthe food/wine is what they find palatable. B. Treasure: Treasure, including precious metals, gems, jewelry, rarestuffs such as ivory or spices, valuable items, and/or magic will be10% to 100% likely to cause pursuers of low or greater intelligenceto be distracted. 3. Multiple Choice: It will mast often come to pass that the pursued take aroute which enables them to cause the pursuer(s) to have to make decisions as to which direction the pursued took in their flight.
-Now there are a bunch of finer points and percentiles and chances listed in the DMG for different conditional circumstances, but the gist is that if all else fails, dropping food and treasure is a hilarious and awesome way to give yourself a chance for escape. This may not be a paladin’s cup of tea – but what if he were say, saving a baby from some cultist bandits that will sacrifice the helpless infant the moment they get their grubby hands on it? That’s some highly noble tactical withdrawal going on. (Actually, that isn’t such a great example as I am pretty certain that heavy armor restricts running speeds, so let’s say it was a band of peg-legged cultist bandits and the point stands.) Additionally, rules are provided for parties on the run, and modifying movement rates by the slowest party member. There are also detailed rules for evading pursuit outdoors which take into account terrain modifiers and lighting conditions.
So there we go. Breaking Off From Melee rules, Attacking in Single Combat, Flanking and Rear Flanking, and the nuances and options to consider when pursuing or evading pursuit. Tactical options, people!
Only members of the fighter class and the ranger sub-class can make use of weapon specialization. This discipline is manifested in the character’s choice of one weapon to practice and use, to the exclusion of others. If weapon specialization is to be practiced by the fighter or ranger, that decision must be made when the character is initially created. Weapon specialization counts as two weapon proficiency “slots”; that is, a fighter may choose a weapon of specialization in addition to two other weapons of proficiency to count for the character’s initial allotment of four proficient weapons, while a ranger may have one weapon of specialization and a single weapon of proficiency as well. Specializing in a bow other than a crossbow requires an additional proficiency “slot,” so that a fighter who specializes in the use of a bow may have only one other weapon of proficiency to start with, and a ranger specializing in the bow can have no other weapon of proficiency at the start of his or her adventuring career.
The benefits of weapon specialization are as follows.
Melee Weapons: The character is + 1 to hit and + 2 to damage with the special weapon, on top of all other strength and magic bonuses. The weapon must be a specific type, such as long sword or broad sword, as opposed to a general sword. In addition, the fighter gets additional attacks per round with the special weapon. The specifications for these additional attacks override the figures given on the Attacks Per Melee Round Table hereafter, and are summarized on the Weapon Specialization Table below.
Bows: Fighters and rangers using the long, short, or composite bow as a special weapon are entitled to a “point blank” range category. Point blank range is from 6’ to 30’. The character is + 2 “to hit” and on damage rolls against targets within this range, and furthermore any successful hit deals out double damage (a total of 6-16 points for a non-magical arrow) to the victim, plus bonuses for strength or magic if applicable. Additionally, a bow specialist who begins the round with arrow nocked, shaft drawn, and target in sight is entitled to loose that arrow prior to any initiative check. Short range for a bow specialist is from 30‘ up to the lower limit of medium range for that bow. The bowman is + l to hit and damage at short range. Bow specialists may also gain additional attacks at higher levels.
Crossbows: In the hands of a specialist, these weapons have a “point blank” range of 6’ to 60’ (this completely overtakes the short range of a light crossbow in the dungeon). The crossbow specialist is + 2 “to hit” and damage against targets in this range, and receives the double damage benefit as for a bow; thus, a light crossbow bolt fired by a specialist at point blank range will do 6-12 points of damage, exclusive of bonuses (if any) for strength and magic. At short range the crossbowman is + 1 to hit and damage. At medium range the crossbow specialist is + 1 to hit, but gains no bonus on damage by virtue of specialization. Crossbow specialists also increase in rate of fire with level, and the amount of this increase is dependent on whether a light or heavy crossbow is used. Crossbowmen also gain the “aimed shot” advantage of bowmen, so that if the crossbow is cocked and aimed and the target is in range, the crossbowman gets a free shot before initiative is rolled.
Other Missile Weapons: Users of other sorts of missile weapons gain a + 1 bonus “to hit” and a + 2 bonus on damage. Their number of attacks per round depends on the initial fire rate of the missile weapon.
Double Specialization: A fighter or ranger may either initially or at a later time decide to gain double specialization in his or her chosen weapon. Only melee weapons, excluding pole arms and the two-handed sword, may be used in double specialization. Double specialization is taken instead of a proficiency “slot” whenever the character qualifies for a new weapon, and can only be taken in the weapon type that the character is already specialized in. Double specialization gives the wielder + 3 to hit and + 3 to damage with that specific weapon.
Final Note: All “to hit” bonuses granted by weapon specialization are not magical in nature, and will not affect creatures that are only hit by magical weapons. If a ranger or fighter is wielding a magic weapon that is of the weapon type that he or she is specialized in, all magical bonuses apply in addition to the bonuses gained for specialization.
Unearthed Arcana, p.18
I’m willing to include these rules, with some small adjustments: Rangers can only specialize in missile weapons, and no double specialization. Anyone disagree?
It is assumed that an appropriate type of head armoring will be added to the suit of armor in order to allow uniform protection of the wearer. Wearing of a “great helm” adds the appropriate weight and restricts vision to the front 60″ only, but it gives the head AC 1. If a helmet is not worn, 1 blow in 6 will strike at the AC 10 head, unless the opponent is intelligent, in which case 1 blow in 2 will be aimed at the AC 10 head (d6, 1-3 = head blow).
From DMG
Just read this part for first time. Anyone who hasn’t bought a helmet, I suggest you do so. I love yelling “HEADSHOT!”