D&D 1E Favorite Obscure Rules from TSR-era D&D

[TwoSix]

Is it? I'd think it'd be 5% if it was two d20s, but lower with a d12 and a d20. You eliminate any chance of a match on 40% of the d20 rolls. So wouldn't it be 3%?

Nope. No matter what you roll on the d12, you always have a 5% chance to match it on the d20.

As long as the bigger die is a d20, the odds of matching the smaller die are always 5%. Same odds if it was d6 and d20, or even a d3 and d20.

 

[Mannahnin]

Nope. No matter what you roll on the d12, you always have a 5% chance to match it on the d20.

As long as the bigger die is a d20, the odds of matching the smaller die are always 5%. Same odds if it was d6 and d20, or even a d3 and d20.

Heck. I brute-forced it in my head with the d3 (and a d1) examples and proved to myself that you're right.

 

[Orius]

All these strange little rules is why I'm trying to hammer an old school ethos into 3e rather than trying to house rule 2e.

I hate it, because it's another place where 2E completely fails to give good or clear guidance to the DM. There's not even a recommendation of best practices. They could easily have kept the 1E rule but clarified it by saying that the DM chooses, to accommodate your concerns. Or done so but given advice to the DM that it's ok to take requests from the player, and to make sure that a single-classed M-U gets a good spell because they're reliant on those spells, like Mentzer advised in the 1983 basic set DM's book.


It's funny because the 1E says that "Superior players will certainly co-operate; thus, spells will in all probability be exchanged between PC magic-users to some extent. No special sanctions need be taken to prevent such exchange - although this cooperation should never be suggested or otherwise encouraged, either."

Here's the thing though: 2e is written with the idea that people DMing it already know how to DM, the 1989 DMG advises new DMs to start with D&D, which at the time was Mentzer. So it may very well assume the DM has already read that earlier advice!

That's really at the heart of the 2e's DMG's problems: it's written for the experienced DM who knows how to make rulings already. But by the time the 1995 DMG comes out, the Red Box was replaced by the Black Box (1991) with the RC providing the rest of D&D's rules and procedures, and then the D&D line is mostly cancelled except for a repackaging of the Black Box which I assume was only produced as a legal technical screwjob on Dave.

Though the 1e DMG's advise on spell sharing is solid. Smart players will learn tos hare resources, and the DM doesn't need to tell them they can do it. It's 1e rewarding system mastery!

The heck with it, here we go:
View attachment 365451

That comic leaves out Roger's brilliant reply:


"Of course. However; you forgot to enclose a self-addressed stamped envelope. We regret that Waldorf must lose the experience points and gold for his victory."

 

[James Gasik]

I think you're conflating the paladin's native protection from evil ability with the circle of power created when they wield a holy avenger.

 

[James Gasik]

You're right that he's using the wrong name, and the circle of power is the dispel magic circle a paladin gets when he's got a holy sword held unsheathed.

But he's right about the protection downgrade. In 1E all paladins, right from first level, have a continual Protection from Evil 10' Radius on them (a 4th level Cleric spell). "The protection encircles the recipient at a one foot* distance, thus preventing bodily contact by creatures of an enchanted or conjured nature such as aerial servants, demons, devils, djinn efreet, elementals, imps, invisible stalkers, night hags, quasits, salamanders, water weirds, wind walkers, and xorn. Summoned animals or monsters are similarly hedged from the protected creature. Furthermore, any and all attacks launched by evil creatures incur a penalty of -2 from dice rolls ”to hit” the protected creature, and any saving throws caused by such attacks are made at +2 on the protected creature‘s dice." (1E PH p 44 for the spell description)

*(ten feet for the 4th level spell and the Paladin ability)

In 2E this gets downgraded to just "A paladin is surrounded by an aura of protection with a 10-foot radius. Within this radius, all summoned and specifically evil creatures suffer a -1 penalty to their attack rolls, regardless of whom they attack. Creatures affected by this aura can spot its source easily, even if the paladin is disguised." (2E PH p27)


Really? In our 5E games people love to stay close to the Paladins, at least from 6th level on, because of Aura of Protection. Add the Paladin's Charisma bonus to ALL your saves as long as you're within 10' of him? ! Yes, please! And depending on your Oath it probably gets even better at 7th? Hoo baby.

Aura of Courage doesn't come along until 10th. And it's certainly nice, but more niche in utility.

Right, it's not a "circle of power", though it is a circle.

Yeah, it's a weird thing that crops up in games I'm in and I don't know why- if I'm a cleric, other characters seem bound and determined to run as far as they can away from me so I can't cast cure wounds- if I'm a Paladin, they don't want my bonus because then "the DM will hit us with fireballs!"

But even just affecting the Paladin, +Cha to saves is stupidly awesome in a game where you're meant to have 4 terrible saving throws.

 

[the Jester]

View attachment 365513

You're looking for bullet point 9: "If a paladin has a "Holy Sword" .... he or she projects a circle of power 1" in diameter when the Holy Sword is unsheathed and held; and this power dispels magic .... at the level of magic use equal to the experience level of the paladin."

 

[James Gasik]

You're looking for bullet point 9: "If a paladin has a "Holy Sword" .... he or she projects a circle of power 1" in diameter when the Holy Sword is unsheathed and held; and this power dispels magic .... at the level of magic use equal to the experience level of the paladin."

No, lol, as I said in response to Mannahnin, I meant protection from evil. I know what a holy sword does, and I never considered that a paladin class ability, since I've played many Paladins who didn't own Holy Avengers, lol.

 

[Alzrius]

One fun fact about the BECMI/RC rules that I'd overlooked until recently was that neither the five boxed sets nor the Rules Cyclopedia have rules for natural healing in them. If you wanted those, you'd have to look in the "1070" black boxed set. (Special thanks to @Jack Daniel for mentioning that in the other thread.)

 

[James Gasik]

I mean, who really used natural healing anyways? I mean, sure, you rest, you get some hit points back, we all do it, but we never relied on it. The idea of taking weeks to heal up was never a thing in any game I ran, and the abundance of healing potions in published adventures just reinforced this.

I really felt you were meant to have magical healing, and the existence of long recovery times was nothing more than the game saying "yeah, make sure you have a Cleric".

 

[John R Davis]

Yup
Definitely used ageing rules. Get it right and you can tweak a nice bonus