Intelligence Score (Part 3): Proposal 1 – Intelligence gives players an Inspiration bonus.

Inspiration: when faced with a puzzle or technical problem that is proving difficult for the player to solve, a character may roll for inspiration. A roll of 1 on a d6 (modified by a players intelligence bonus, such that those with less than average intelligence are never inspired) indicates that the character has a burst of inspiration, a, to use modern jargon, light bulb moment.  The DM should provide the player with some inspiration. This may be a hint toward solving a puzzle, or if feeling exceedingly generous an explanation how some piece of equipment functions. It should never however be used as an AD&D Identify spell. When a group is trying to solve a puzzle the most favorable intelligence modifier for the group should be used.

As a game mechanic this isn’t as radical as it might seem. For example, a group of players are faced with a puzzle they are struggling to solve. A 17 intelligence character might have sold it in a jiffy but alas the players’ intelligence is a maximum of 14 in the group.  Which is pretty damn smart! (see http://victorbravo.net/dndmisc/int_iq.html) An Inspiration roll is made by the DM. The best intelligence in the group is 17 and +2 is applied to the roll. On a 1-3 (1+2) on a d6 the DM will offer a hint to the group. On a 4-6: no DM hint. These hints can be as cryptic as the DM wishes. This group bonus isn’t so strange – Gandalf solved the riddle to entering the Mines of Moria from Frodo’s suggestion, Gandalf just put it all together.

For characters adventuring alone, naturally they get only their own intelligence bonus applied.

For low intelligence characters adventuring alone, ones with an intelligence 8 or less no inspiration is offered by the DM. While this is workable it does lack granularity since there is little mechanical difference between an intelligence of 3 and 8. An abstract suggestion is that the DM becomes sparser in their descriptions. Low intelligence players must learn if they wish to survive alone they must methodically exam all items in a room and not rely on the DM to give the key important descriptions when they enter a room. Staying in a group with more intelligent companions is a better option.

On the topic of granularity I prefer a d6 roll compared to a d20 vs intelligence score. A d6 roll, occupies similar game mechanics to open doors (1-2 + strength bonus, min 1 max 1-5), hear noise (1 for fighter, cleric and MU, 1-2 demi-humans, thieves 1-2 improves with levels), find traps (1 for most characters, 1-2 dwarves), find secret doors (1 for most characters, 1-2 elves) and other examples. Indeed I feel the d20 roll vs ability is overused and look at this table for it’s granularity for an inspiration roll using B/X ability adjustments.

INT	1 on d6 +/-bonus	d20 vs ability
3	0	15%
4	0	20%
5	0	25%
6	0	30%
7	0	35%
8	0	40%
9	16.6%	45%
10	16.6%	50%
11	16.6%	55%
12	16.6%	60%
13	33.3%	65%
14	33.3%	70%
15	33.3%	75%
16	50%	80%
17	50%	85%
18	66.6%	90%

Average INT on d20 has a 50% chance of inspiration! D20 rolls are best when the DM wants a high chance of player success.

While the use of Inspiration Rolls makes intelligence a more desirable ability score, I can’t see the player creating a fighter hesitating overly long before applying that score of 8 to intelligence. In most play situations more intelligent characters will always be around in the party to give Inspiration. So mechanically I remain only partially satisfied with this solution. It fails to fully satisfy my philosophy: I want EVERY ability score to be important for EVERY character. Every player should rue a low score and be pleased with a high score. There should be no dump stats.

Next post: Intelligence Score (Part 4): Intelligence vs Wisdom

Intelligence Score (Part 2): Rules Retrospective: Intelligence Score

Unhappy with Intelligence as a default dump stat see Part 1, I have some suggestions to improve things. But first a Rules Retrospective.

The table posts badly so it can be downloaded HERE and it is also in MY STUFF.

Keep watching for Part 3 Intelligence Score (Part 3): Proposal 1 – Intelligence gives players an Inspiration bonus.

Intelligence Score (Part 1): searching for a logical in game mechanic that EVERY character desires

My philosophy on ability scores: I want EVERY ability score to be important for EVERY character. Every player should rue a low score and be pleased with a high score. There should be no dump stats.

Let’s take the six ability scores using B/X rules.

Strength – bonus to hit, damage, open doors. Even a magic-user could benefit from higher strength – they can’t always escape mêlée especially at lower levels. I intend to apply the strength bonus/penalty to the encumbrance allowance – see my DM screen, and look for a future post on this topic. Every character should wish to carry more treasure.

Intelligence – language bonus. Umm… Ok for everyone but I wouldn’t lose sleep over this one even if my intelligence were 8.

Wisdom – Saving throw vs magic – in a world of magic, helpful for everyone.

Dexterity – Missile to hit, AC, personal initiative – good for everyone.

Constitution – HP bonus – need I say more?

Charisma – reaction rolls, retainers – everyone wants to be beautiful, everyone wants to be liked. Clearly understood by player and DM, used easily and often. (Comeliness – an unnecessary distraction in my opinion. Whether a character is beautiful or just likeable/inspirational is something the DM and player can decide, usually early in the character’s career.)

Intelligence seems the least useful of all the ability scores.

There are certain ways to get around this.

Class Benefits

Firstly in OD&D, Holmes and AD&D intelligence affects the chance a magic user has of knowing each spell. Much as wisdom gives a bonus to number of cleric spells that can be cast / day in AD&D, and even a chance of spell failure, how non-Vancian is that! Apart from 18+percentile strength in AD&D these class benefits only apply to the spell casting classes.

But I want EVERY ability score to be important for EVERY character.

Abstraction and the Roll vs Ability Score

The abstraction of strength, dexterity and constitution (hit points) mechanically works very successfully in D&D, a combat orientated game. It has its flaws, but less than many other systems.

When a certain test of physical ability is proposed by a player many DMs apply a roll vs ability to determine this outcome. And this works pretty well for the three physical ability scores, particularly strength and dexterity.

Charisma, has it’s own reaction roll tables but from an abstract perspective is very easy to adjudicate by a DM even without dice rolls. A DM doesn’t need a dice roll to conclude that a higher a charisma character will get a better reaction from NPC’s compared to a lower charisma character.

Intelligence and wisdom are more problematic. Although some more recent systems solve puzzles and tricks with a dice roll – old school players quietly ask – where’s the fun in that? The trouble is though it is possible to roll play someone less intelligent or less wise, it’s much harder to roll play someone wiser and more intelligent than yourself. Hence the reason dice rolls are often employed.

Saving Throws

Wisdom gives a bonus vs magic in B/X. In Mentzer and Cyclopedia it gives save vs spells and AD&D it’s save vs magical attacks (more on this later). What I want to address is assigning each ability score to benefit a certain saving thow much as suggested in the Cyclopedia optional rules. Strength vs paralysis and turn to stone. Intelligence vs mind attacks (which is actually what wisdom does in AD&D). Wisdom vs spells. Dexterity vs wands and dragon breath. Constitution vs poison (but not death ray for some reason). Charisma vs nothing but at least you die pretty.

Linking each ability score to a saving throw is alright, but cumbersome, and not really going to stop intelligence being a dump stat. And surely resisting dominating mind magic is wisdom (will) not intelligence.

I want to try and propose better… Coming soon Intelligence Score (Part 2)

Acquirement and a Silver Based Economy (Oh Gary...)

In my last posting I was extolling your economic genius. Your AD&D was the only D&D system where the cost of hiring an armorer versus the output of the armorer made any sense.


Since my last post was a fair size ramble here is the relevant paragraphs copied again:

I hire an armorer in B/X and Menzter and it costs me 100gp/month (and that’s not taking into account building them an armory) and they make for me 1 plate mail suit, which I could buy for 60gp elsewhere and during this time they can’t maintain my other soldiers armor. Or they make for the month 5 weapons (5 swords = 50gp). I think I’ll have 10 off the shelf please and not bother having an armorer at all. I know supply demand –but it still doesn’t make sense.

AD&D 400gp plate mail and it takes my armorer 90 days for 300gp hiring cost – this is better. I might just hire one and he may even be able to feed his family. 180 gp worth of long swords for the cost of 100gp – yeah, I’ll have a weapon smith in my castle.
As for the armorer costs / month and their output – AD&D the whole way – Gary obviously put some thought into this very topic. I’m stepping in the footprints of a giant.


Unfortunately when I looked at chain mail it all goes wrong. AD&D DMG page 29. Armorer 100gp/month and takes 45 days to make a suit of chain mail. Chain mail can be bought in the Players Handbook for 75gp. As in, I pay 150 gold and he makes me a 75 gold piece of armor. And that's forgetting the DMG obscure rule that suggests it costs 10% additional to make an item on a per job basis. I assume that's for an armorer usually doing general duties and then tasked with an additional per job request, or not set up to churn out chain mail after chain mail.


Leather armor is just as confusing. Supposedly DMG says I need an armorer 100gp/month + leather worker 30sp/month (3gp/month) to make in 10 days a 5gp suit of leather armor. Seems, on price, more logical to be made solely by the leather worker but DMG says they make backpacks and other simple leather items, not armor.


Shields make an excellent profit - Armorer 100gp/month
Large shield 15/month (2days each) at 15gp each = 225gp
Small shield 30/month (1day each) at 10gp each = 300gp


Naturally it is unlikely there is a market for that quantity of shields or the ability to continue at this pace unless during wartime - but bang for buck shields are very economical.


Let's look at the weapon maker at 100gp/month (DMG page 34)
Scimitar 10/month at 15gp each = 150gp worth
Sword, bastard 8/month at 25gp each = 200gp worth
Sword, broad 15/month at 10gp each = 150gp worth
Sword, long 12/month at 15gp each = 180gp worth
Sword, short 20/month at 8gp each = 160gp worth
Sword, two-handed 5/month at 30gp each = 150gp worth


All very good economic sense.


What to do, what to do...


Ok, concentrating on the B/X armor and ignoring scale and banded etc, for KotB:


Metal armor is made by armorers. Leather armor by leather workers.


Chain Mail takes 30 days and costs 150gp (double it's current 75gp cost) Remember rule number 2 from previous blog.


Leather is made by a leather worker (3gp/month) who, let's say, specialises in armor (extra 2gp/month and perhaps works under the armorer) and can be made in 10 days for 5gp (AD&D price). Cost 5gp/month to make 15gp, but unlikely will make 3/month as assisting the armorer in other work. Alternatively made by armorer or mostly by his apprentices and can be made over 10 days additional to his other work, hence it's cheaper cost.


And let all of the above gp=sp since silver based economy.


That'll do pig.

Acquirement and a Silver Based Economy

Delta and others have suggested the D&D economy (as well as XP gained) should be based on a silver piece, instead of gold piece, economy. I heartily agree – though the devil as always is in the detail.

Rule Number 1:

D&D is a game of acquirement.

I’ll say it again for emphasis: D&D is a game of acquirement.

The player role-plays a character in a fantasy world using D&D rules and that character acquires things.  The character acquires greater power through the acquisition of more spells, better THACO, more hit points and better equipment. Though some of this acquisition is related to XP gained from defeating monsters the vast majority is from treasure.

Rule Number 2

Level 1 characters are Level 1.

A Level 1 character, though strong compared to the normal man, is a newbie. They should not be able to exploit the full breadth of the game at 1’st level, since that breaks Rule Number 1 – there is no need for acquisition.  A Level 1 character must be hungry to acquire things – and this should be literally so because they should go hungry when they run out of money.

Starting a Level 1 character in a gold-based economy with 30-180 gp (3d6) breaks rules number 1 & 2.

Let me illustrate using B/X rules.

Roderick the baker’s son is a Level 1 fighter. He rolls 12 on 3d6 and starts with 120 gp.

In B/X he purchases

Plate mail                  60gp

Shield                        10gp

Sword (normal)           10gp

Backpack                      5gp

And he still has 35 gp for other items and cost of living. Since he is likely to start adventuring immediately cost of living won’t be large – a single night at an inn is likely and from B2 a common room berth is 1sp and a private room 1gp; roast joint 2gp.

From Level 1 Roderick the baker’s son can afford the best armor in the game, stay in a private room, and eat roast joint the best meal in town.

Some baker his Dad must be: especially when bread is sold at the tavern (with markup naturally) for 1cp / slice. Assuming the baker is lucky enough to get 1sp / loaf to sell to the tavern that’s 1200 loaves of bread Roderick’s Dad has sold (requiring 100% profit since I have not accounted for any ingredients costs or the general upkeep and staffing of a bakery).

All the characters in D&D must have rich Dad’s indeed to start at 30-180gp, even the thieves. No rags to riches story here.

So rich baker’s son Roderick and his chums go adventuring kill a few goblins and gain d6 silver pieces per goblin. Hardly worth taking the time to search the bodies – foolhardy and reckless in fact to waste that time.

In the Goblin chieftain’s room Roderick and chums discover a pewter bowl holding 273 silver (27gp) and 321 cp (3.21 gp). 600 cn encumbrance for 30gp – NO thank you he’s leaving that behind.

They make their way into the Hobgoblins lair and discover the armory, where they see 1 suit of man-sized plate mail (yawn he’s wearing one already), 3 suits of man-sized chain mail (triple yawn – it’s worse then what he owns already) and many weapons that he’s not interested in since he has his trusty sword already.

"Give me magic or give me nothing," he cries. And he is 1^st level. Where’s the hungry acquisitive drive in that. Rule Number 1 is badly broken.

When my players find that hobgoblin armory (location 27) I want spontaneous nudity as they strip off their leather and put on the vestments of armor! This armory should be all their Christmas’ come at once. NOT HO HUM, it all looks a bit heavy, and no wonder the hobgoblins are easy to defeat look at their poor quality armor.

Options for KotB campaign

Move to a silver based economy

Increase the cost of adventuring

Moving to a silver based economy will make the finding of gold pieces far more exciting and even make copper pieces worth taking. A simple change in modules of pp=gp, gp=sp, sp=cp and cp= dropped; will achieve this fairly easily. 1sp=1XP.

But this change alone will still allow Level 1 Roderick to afford the best non-magical armor at 1^st level and turn up his nose at the hobgoblin armory.

Increasing the cost of adventuring is also required to keep Level 1 characters hungry and acquisitive.

Interlude Rules Retrospective.

Money through the Rule editions
	OD&D	Holmes	B/X	Mentzer/Allston	AD&D
Exchange	1gp=10sp=50cp 1ep= 2gp OR ½gp 1pp = 5gp	1gp=10sp=50cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=10sp=100cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=10sp=100cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp	1gp=20sp=200cp 1ep = ½ gp 1pp= 5gp
Leather	15	15	20	20	5
Chain mail	30	30	40	40	75
Plate mail	50	50	60	60	400
Shield	10	10	10	10	1-15 (variety)
Long Bow	40	40	40	40	60
Sword	10	10	10	10	15
2H-Sword	15	15	15	15	30
Mace	5	5	5	5	8
Hireling: Armorer	No rules	No rules	100 gp/month 1 suit armor 3 shields or 5 weapons / month.	100 gp/month 1 suit armor 3 shields or 5 weapons / month.	100 gp/month 90days plate, 45 days chain. Weapon maker 100gp/month, long swords 12/month

A few observations. OD&D had no idea about EP did it? The gp/sp/cp varies between OD&D and Holmes; B/X and Mentzer D&D; and AD&D.

Long Bows are expensive? Considering “In 1363 all men were ordered to practice archery on Sunday and holidays, hence the appearance of target ranges beside churches.” I would have thought they might be cheaper but the D&D campaign doesn’t have to be set in medieval England.

B/X and Mentzer D&D slightly increase the cost of armor; AD&D has big increases especially in plate mail. The cost of weapons identical in all rule sets until AD&D.

So AD&D increases the cost of adventuring. It even describes the D&D economy (player handbook page 35) as akin to Alaskan boom towns during the gold rush. “Costs in the adventuring area are distorted because of the law of supply and demand – the supply of coin is high, whiles supplies of equipment for adventurers are in great demand.”

Really. A starting Level 1 Fighter 50-200gp, Cleric 30-180, MU 20-80 and Thief 20-120. Apart from plate mail, which is an improvement, what can’t they buy at Level 1?

I also am intrigued by why anyone would hire an armorer to make armor, or how the armorer can make a living. (Or afford to have a Level 1 adventuring son)

I hire an armorer in B/X and Menzter and it costs me 100gp/month (and that’s not taking into account building them an armory) and they make for me 1 plate mail suit, which I could buy for 60gp elsewhere and during this time they can’t maintain my other soldiers armor. Or they make for the month 5 weapons (5 swords = 50gp). I think I’ll have 10 off the shelf please and not bother having an armorer at all. I know supply demand –but it still doesn’t make sense.

AD&D 400gp plate mail and it takes my armorer 90 days for 300gp hiring cost – this is better. I might just hire one and he may even be able to feed his family. 180 gp worth of long swords for the cost of 100gp – yeah, I’ll have a weapon smith in my castle.

So in AD&D at least we are closer to satisfying Rule number 1 & 2 and also having an economy that superficially at least, makes sense. And superficial is all I want I am not playing a sim or solving the credit crunch, though the so-called expert economists might do well to play D&D more.

But I want to play B/X. Just finding the rules above in my ancient AD&D books is headache enough.

A simple moving to silver based economy won’t do. My characters will still be too rich at Level 1. If I make all the weapons and armor stay as gp – that will hurt. 100 sp for that sword. Ouch. 400sp for chain mail. I’ll rob the town guard for that. 200sp for leather – I may as well adventure naked. 10x increase in cost - this seems too much.

I could just start the characters with less money. 1d6+charisma bonus x10 (Roderick was well loved by his Dad). This is good. Simple, quick, no major changes to rules, or having to reevaluate the cost of every piece of equipment.

Roderick could still afford plate mail at Level 1. Damn.

Not if I use AD&D prices, converted to silver pieces. Eureka. And it makes leather cheaper, which makes sense and gives Roderick some chance of surviving, since life is harder now he can’t start with plate mail. Oh he will love that hobgoblin armory, if he survives that long.

Honestly though, it’s my job as DM, to give him some help with equipment early on. If I feel generous that is. He could be loaned some chain mail, with strings naturally, but that sets up some good role-playing opportunities and stops shopping for equipment being like a visit to Wal-Mart. Perhaps a seasoned chain mail wearing Level 2 NPC could join the party – and ask for 25 % of the treasure!

As for the armorer costs / month and their output – AD&D the whole way – Gary obviously put some thought into this very topic. I’m stepping in the footprints of a giant.

So in summary for my KotB campaign.

Silver based economy. Gold->silver->copper (no EP or PP)

1gp:10sp:100cp.

I like the maths, it’s easier.

To add confusion (can’t help myself but shouldn’t be hard for my newbie players who know no better) silver pieces are minted by the guilds, called oh dear, guild pieces or gp. Gold pieces are minted by the sovereign: GP or SP.

Copper for peasants (day laborer 1cp/day), silver for the town (day soldier 1sp/day) and gold for the nobles.

Starting silver pieces = 1d6+Charisma bonus x10

Armor and weapon costs as per AD&D (or as equivalent as I can make it). I might just keep all the living costs (food, night in an inn) at the same costs as they are already in B2 in gp – that will keep characters hungry!

Next job - my DM screen will need to be adapted again!
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Image of pound coins from: http://www.irishviews.com/pound-coins.html