D&D 1E Common House Rules for AD&D?

[Mannahnin]

Agree completely!

That's why I call 1e "Real D&D" and the other versions "FALSE IDOLS!"

That's what you were getting at, right?

Real Men, Real Rôle-Players, Loonies and Munchkins

Favourite FRPG:
Real Men: play AD&D
Real Rôle-players: play RuneQuest III
Loonies: play Toon
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite SFRPG:
Real Men: play Star Trek: The Rôle-playing Game
Real Rôle-players: play Space Opera
Loonies: play a variant Spawn of Fashan
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite 1920s RPG:
Real Men: play Gangbusters
Real Rôle-players: play Call of Cthulhu
Loonies: play a very variant Spawn of Fashan
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite SHRPG:
Real Men: play Champions
Real Rôle-players: play Superworld
Loonies: play an extremely variant Spawn of Fashan
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite modern day / spy RPG:
Real Men: play James Bond, 007
Real Rôle-players: play Mercenaries, Spies, and Private Eyes.
Loonies: play Creeks and Crawdads or an unrecognisable variant of Spawn of Fashan
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite Post-Holocaust RPG:
Real Men: play Twilight 2000
Real Rôle-players: play The Morrow Project
Loonies: play an extremely unrecognisable variant of Spawn of Fashan
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite King Arthurian RPG:
Real Men: play Chivalry and Sorcery
Real Rôle-players: play Pendragon
Loonies: play a variant of Spawn of Fashan so variant it shouldn't be called Spawn of Fashan anymore
Munchkins: play anything by TSR

Favourite combat system:
Real Men: like Phoenix Command or Rôlemaster
Real Rôle-players: like RuneQuest or GURPS
Loonies: like Toon or TF2V
Munchkins: like AD&D or Shadowrun

 

[PHATsakk43]

Does this mean they do not need to prepare spells ahead of time and can pick from the whole class spell list at the time of casting?

Or does it mean they prepare spells but do not expend spell slots when casting?

The former. I let them free cast from their allowed spheres (again, I’m starting with 2E AD&D). They are still required to pray for their slots and whatnot.

IIRC this was sort of implemented in 3/3.5 but only allowing substitution of memorized spells with equivalent level healing spells. I skipped the whole first two editions of D20 so I really don’t know 3/3.5 or 4 very well, so that may be incorrect. I’ve seen some AD&D tables that ran similarly, but I chose the more liberal version I described previously for two reasons.

One is purely mechanics, in that with the sphere system implemented in 2E AD&D there is a possibility that some specialty mythos priests would not have access to the Healing sphere.

The other is primarily thematic but also improves the experience of priests’ player experiences. A priest receives their spells directly from a third party. There isn’t any real reason why they would be required to ask for specific spells prior to casting save consistency with the M-U mechanic which was based upon a specific work of fiction, and does seem to work well within the game paradigm. I get from a consistency standpoint where priests could be assumed to “work the same” my experience has been that priests end up feeling solely as “heal bots” and the rest of their utilitarian spell lists are just not as often used. Many players simply feel coerced to load their slots with cure XXX wounds regardless of if they will be utilized or not, if due to pressure from the rest of the table if nothing else.

 

[Mannahnin]

The former. I let them free cast from their allowed spheres (again, I’m starting with 2E AD&D). They are still required to pray for their slots and whatnot.

We did this in 2E as well.

IIRC this was sort of implemented in 3/3.5 but only allowing substitution of memorized spells with equivalent level healing spells.=

Yes, IIRC in 3.0 they allowed it with healing spells only, then in 3.5 updated that to Domain spells.

The other is primarily thematic but also improves the experience of priests’ player experiences. A priest receives their spells directly from a third party. There isn’t any real reason why they would be required to ask for specific spells prior to casting save consistency with the M-U mechanic which was based upon a specific work of fiction, and does seem to work well within the game paradigm. I get from a consistency standpoint where priests could be assumed to “work the same” my experience has been that priests end up feeling solely as “heal bots” and the rest of their utilitarian spell lists are just not as often used. Many players simply feel coerced to load their slots with cure XXX wounds regardless of if they will be utilized or not, if due to pressure from the rest of the table if nothing else.

That was an issue we had in AD&D as well, and the same reason we implemented free casting for Clerics.

Ironically, while at the time we thought it was dumb that there were no healing spells at 2nd or 3rd level, between Cure Light at 1st and Cure Serious at 4th, and implemented a Cure Moderate Wounds at 2nd as one of our house rules, in practice that made the issue worse. When healing spells were only available at 1st and 4th you at least got to prep interesting utility stuff with your 2nd and 3rd level slots.

There isn’t any real reason why they would be required to ask for specific spells prior to casting save consistency with the M-U mechanic which was based upon a specific work of fiction, and does seem to work well within the game paradigm.

Fun trivia: In 1974 OD&D Clerics had spell books just like M-Us. They weren't done away with until the Holmes Basic set in 1977 (unless there's a Strategic Review article I'm overlooking).

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Fun trivia: In 1974 OD&D Clerics had spell books just like M-Us. They weren't done away with until the Holmes Basic set in 1977 (unless there's a Strategic Review article I'm overlooking).

I had totally forgot that! You, sir, win my grand prize today which is ... um .... TWO ESSAYS! Second place is one essay.

Anyway, it reminded me of one of my favorite and more obscure rules from REAL D&D, er, 1e, which is that Cleric's spellcasting was limited by the power of their deity. Specifically-

Clerics get 1st and 2nd level spells through study and faith.
Demigods could give spells from 3rd to 5th level.
Lesser gods could give 6th level spells.
Only greater gods could give a cleric seventh level spells.

Fairly certain that rule was almost entirely ignored at most tables.

 

[PHATsakk43]

Real Men, Real Rôle-Players, Loonies and Munchkins

I feel personally attacked by “Spelljammer in the Forgotten Realms.”

 

[PHATsakk43]

Ironically, while at the time we thought it was dumb that there were no healing spells at 2nd or 3rd level, between Cure Light at 1st and Cure Serious at 4th, and implemented a Cure Moderate Wounds at 2nd as one of our house rules, in practice that made the issue worse. When healing spells were only available at 1st and 4th you at least got to prep interesting utility stuff with your 2nd and 3rd level slots.

One of the really good things from PO:S&M was the inclusion of more cure XXX wounds spells.

 

[Theory of Games]

Most of these HRs are broken but YMMV.

 

[Mannahnin]

I had totally forgot that! You, sir, win my grand prize today which is ... um .... TWO ESSAYS! Second place is one essay.

Anyway, it reminded me of one of my favorite and more obscure rules from REAL D&D, er, 1e, which is that Cleric's spellcasting was limited by the power of their deity. Specifically-

Clerics get 1st and 2nd level spells through study and faith.
Demigods could give spells from 3rd to 5th level.
Lesser gods could give 6th level spells.
Only greater gods could give a cleric seventh level spells.

Fairly certain that rule was almost entirely ignored at most tables.

I always dug those rules. As I recall we referenced them in at least one campaign where we changed planes, where the Clerics wound up only being able to recover their 1st and 2nds because they were cut off from their deities until we got back.

One of the really good things from PO:S&M was the inclusion of more cure XXX wounds spells.

We were already doing our own house-ruled class stuff by the time those books came out, but in retrospect I'm not a fan of the additional Cure spells turning the Cleric into even more of a heal-bot.

 

[fuindordm]

The last AD&D game I ran had a metric ton of house rules.
The next one I will try to run closer to the book, and being very selective about UA inclusions.

Likely house rules (not simply ignored optional rules):

• Single-classed MUs can declare a themed list of spells (1 per level) representing their specialty. They don't count towards their maximum spells per level. If they find a spell on this list while adventuring, they automatically know it. They get bonus spells and spell failure % per the cleric table but a maximum of one bonus spell per level (so 15 Int gives only 1 1st and 1 2nd, not 2 1st and 1 2nd), and these slots can only be used to prepare their themed spells.
• Single-classed fighters and rangers can use weapon specialization from UA starting from level 4.
• Custom Monk class that uses psionics for special abilities
• Custom Bard/Skald class that starts from level 1
• Slightly modified psionic power list
• Any class can re-allocate its weapon proficiency slots during the training period when they level up. Any class can spend multiple slots to get cumulative +1 to hit with a weapon.
• Demi-humans can level up after reaching their limit but their class abilities do not improve. They continue to increase saving throws, THAC0 and HP.
• If you drop to -2, -1, or 0 HP and are healed to positive HP in the same round, then you are fully functional and don't have to take a week off to recover from the wound (i.e. your light wound is cured).
• Side-based initiative but lowest roll goes first. In fact, the d6 roll is your starting segment.

 

[the Jester]

What happens now? There's four possibilities, and an argument can be made for each:

She wakes up at 20,001 xp (i.e. back at 5th but right at the start of the level, much like a Restoration)
She wakes up at 22,301 xp (i.e. back at the start of 5th plus what she earned after the loss)
She wakes up at 24,367 xp (i.e. back where she started, overwriting her later gains)
She wakes up at 26,667 xp (i.e. full recovery plus keeping what she earned after the loss)

I prefer the last option. They threw off the effect and recovered, and they learned stuff along the way.

And a corollary question: what happens if a Restoration spell is cast on Jocantha in the meantime?

This restores you to the start of your level. It's not a natural recovery; although I want to give the pc their newly earned xp, that doesn't seem in line with the spell to me.

Just my 2 cp.