My Three Favourite House Rules

Long time no post. Life, work, other priorities.

But I am still playing. 

Kids D&D using B (Mentzer) and X (Cook) is where I am at.

But rather than leave my blog site forever up and running with a fairly random last post I would rather leave my favourite 3 house rules on my home page. So here they are.

Rule Number 1 No dump stat. EVERY ability score counts for EVERY character

Intelligence gives XP bonus / penalty  (I don't use prime requisites but do use class minimums). "You catch on quick, you must be pretty smart," applies to every character.

Ability Score	XP Adjustments
3	-15%
4+5	-10%
6-8	-5%
9-12	No adjustment
13-15	+5%
16-17	+10%
18	+15%

Based on this post.

Wisdom bonus gives saving throw bonus / penalty to ALL saving throws.

Wisdom is will power and fate (do the god's love you or hate you).

Ability Score	Saving Throw Adjustments
3	-3
4+5	-2
6-8	-1
9-12	No adjustment
13-15	+1
16-17	+2
18	+3

Based on this post.

Charisma gives bonus / penalty to starting gold. How much do people care for you and want to help you survive as an adventurer.

Ability Score	Adjustments to starting gold pieces
3	0 (rags, what you wear is all you have)
4+5	10-60gp (1d6)
6-8	20-120gp (2d6)
9-12	30-180gp (3d6) No adjustment
13-15	40-240 gp (4d6)
16-17	50-300gp (5d6)
18	60-360gp (6d6)

Rule Number 2 Poison made simple

Poison does damage over time. If player fails their saving throw: Roll for damage, roll for time, start the poison. Simple and anxiety inducing for players. 

Slow poison even has a role now. 

I generally roll 1d4 for damage and 1d6 per HD of the poisoning creature for rounds of damage ie I emphasise time over immediate damage.

eg 3 on d4 then 4 on d6

"You lose three hit points damage as the poison courses through your body, what do you want to do?"

"Wait"

"You lose another three hit points"

"Take healing potion"

"You gain 5 hit points but lose another three hit points from the damage"

"I've got no more healing!"

"You lose another three hit points"

"I'm down to 1 hit point!"

"The poison seems to have stopped."

Based on this post.

Rule Number 3 Mounts have to make a morale check to enter dangerous situations 

It makes high morale mounts very important and makes mounted combat unpredictable.

Mounts must pass a morale check to enter dangerous situations, eg combat, jumping a chasm etc. I check start of every round in combat.

If failed the mount and its rider will take no action that round (as the mount bucks, repositions etc), except for the option to flee from combat at maximum movement. A mounts morale can be modified by expensive training or if the character has animal handling ability modifiers (non-weapon proficiency or the like), but no mount should have a modified morale of 12, unless magically induced eg paladin's war horse. Makes a +1 moral horse worth purchasing and worth naming.

Based on this post.

Saving the Saving Throw: B2, B3 & B4

I hate d20 ability score checks. I have no real justification for this, I just do. Perhaps I recoil from their viral like growth as the game developed. What ever happened to the humble saving?

Perhaps an ability score is used when the DM expects the player to survive (eg roll with d20 under 15 strength), whereas, at low levels anyway, saving throws are like ward spells, protecting you when the badness has already occurred and giving you one last, but low probability, chance to live. The dragon has breathed, you have looked at the medusa, the snake has bitten.

I wonder however if the problem with saving throws is we DMs aren't imaginative enough with how we use them. Well this DM isn't, you can answer as you wish.

So as part of my Research for the Old School Adventure Guide I'm going to go through the rules and modules I own and pick out where and when saving throws are used. Building a bank that hopefully will prove inspiring and informative. Luckily I purchased many modules in the days when the pdf's were for sale, so a Find 'sav' will certainly speed the process. Else it will be the index or the foibles of my own sight.

Ready, steady, save or die.

[Warning: potential spoilers ahead]

B1

(Sadly I don't own B1)

1. Save vs Poison at +1 or die: Compartments in a Loan Bank
2. Save vs Poison or sleep for 3 turns (no save <4th level): Compartment in a Loan Bank
3. Save vs Poison or disease (25% chance the character will die in 1-6 days. Otherwise the character will be too sick to adventure for one game month): Giant Rat (monster)
4. Unspecified save for the mapping character, requiring a 19 or 20 secret roll by the DM, to throw off a direction confusion spell in a labyrinth.
5. Save vs Magic at -2 when picking up an evil object or fall under the influence of a demonic spell. [Save vs Magic isn't a category in OD&D, Holmes, B/X, Mentzer or AD&D - yep that's Gygaxian consistency for you]
6. Save vs Spells or flee for 1 turn: Cause Fear (spell)
7. Save vs Spells or be mesmerized into chanting a hymn to chaotic evil.
8. Save vs Poison or Die: Medusa asp-hair
9. Save vs Turn to Stone or turn to stone: looking at Medusa

1. Save vs Spells to avoid being affected by the sleep gas.
2. Save vs Paralysis at +2 or fall into the liquid-like body of the diger and drown in 1 turn: Diger (monster)
3. Save vs Death Ray or fall into fits of uncontrollable laughter for 3 rounds, after which lose 2 points of strength and 1 point of constitution for 2-8 turns.
4. Save vs Death Ray at +3 to avoid being hit by the falling stone slab, else 2-12 points of damage.
5. Save vs Death Ray for half damage of 1d6, from falling into a pit trap (no save for falling)
6. Save vs Spells for beast to avoid being calmed and relaxed by the magical harp being played by a skilled harpist (a skill the player characters may lack)
7. Save vs Poison at +2 due to age of poison to avoid death: poisoned needle on handle of a false doorway
8. Save vs Paralyzation at +3 to avoid paralysis: breaking a strange looking egg (take 1-4 damage no save in addition)
9. Save vs Death ray to avoid coughing uncontrollably for 1-4 rounds by dust from a whirlwind: Poltergeist (monster)
10. Save vs Spells or be charmed by the whistling sound: Giant Marble Snake (monster)
11. Save vs Spells at -3 to avoid heavy sweet smell that has the same effect as a sleep spell: Purple Moss (monster)
12. Save vs Paralysis or slip and fall down: Oil Spray Trap
13. Save vs Spells to avoid shattering of all the characters flasks and vials when touching a glowing gem that starts shrieking when touched (additionally causes a wandering monster check): Glowing Gem Trap
14. Save vs Spells to avoid fear (character runs away for 2 game turns): Statue Trap - causes fear when touched.
15. Save vs Poison or shrink to 6" tall for one hour: Shrink Gas Trap
16. Save vs Spells or be blinded 2-12 turns: Flash Trap

1. Save vs Poison or be too sick to do anything for 1 turn: goo spit from the Cave Locust (monster)
2. Save vs Poison or die: Killer Bee (monster)
3. Save vs Paralysis or fall unconscious for 1-10 rounds: bite of a Vampire Bat (monster)
4. Save vs Spells or become an undead creature 24 hours after death, DM choice of undead: Vampire Bat (monster)
5. Save vs Poison or be blinded: spit from a Spitting Cobra (monster)
6. Save vs Poison or die: bite from a Spitting Cobra (monster)
7. Save vs Poison or die: poison needle trap
8. Save vs Death Ray or choke to death within 6 rounds (additional 1-6 damage no save): spore from Yellow Mold (monster)
9. Save vs Spells or run away in fear for 1-4 turns: Haunt (monster)
10. Save vs Death Ray or run away in fear (3rd level or less only): Giant Shrew (monster)
11. Save vs Paralyzation or be paralysed (elves immune): Ghoul (monster)
12. Save vs Poison or disease (25% chance the character will die in 1-6 days. Otherwise the character will be too sick to adventure for one game month): Giant Rat (monster)
13. Save vs Paralysis or be paralysed for 2-8 turns: Carrion Crawler (monster)
14. Save vs Paralyzation or be paralysed (elves immune): Thoul (monster)
15. Save vs Dragon Breath or be taken over by the spirit of a dead 6th level cleric: touching the clerics white robe
16. Save vs Spells or weapon sticks to the body of the iron statue: Iron Statue (monster)
17. Save vs Paralysis or be paralysed for 2-8 turns: Gelatinous Cube (monster)
18. Save vs Fire based spells at -2: Wood Golem (monster)
19. Save vs Turn to Stone or turn to stone: looking at Medusa
20. Save vs Paralysis or be paralysed until Mummy attacks: Mummy (monster)
21. Save at +2: Displacer Beast (monster)
22. Save vs Dragon Breath for half damage (5-30): Hellhound (monster)
23. Save vs Turn to Stone or turn to stone: gaze of the basilisk (monster)
24. Save vs Spells or become 1' tall: reading a cursed scroll
25. Save vs Spells or lose half Strength and Dexterity (-20% on all thiefly ability rolls) for 24 turns: Gas trap on treasure chest
26. Save vs Spells at -2 or be charmed: Devil Swine (monster)
27. Save vs Spells at -2 or be charmed :gaze of a vampire (monster)
28. Save vs Dragon Breath for half damage (3-18): Chimera (monster)
29. Save vs Dragon Breath for half damage: Blue Dragon (monster)
30. Save vs Spells or be charmed for one day (effects opposite sex only): Werefox (monster)

Comments:

1. Gygax doesn't seem to like the saving throw

2. Save vs death ray, paralysis or spells: if there is a logical choice for each circumstance, I can't see it in the above examples. Sadly, this was my fear. 

I Will have the Fortitude not to Reflexly do something I will later regret.