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Getting the AD&D feel in 5th edition
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<blockquote data-quote="fuindordm" data-source="post: 6425001" data-attributes="member: 5435"><p>So I've been giving some thought to what aspects of AD&D I really liked, and which are really distinct it that edition. Most of the things I've thought of are already close enough to 5th edition that I don't think any tweaking is necessary! But here are a couple of my ideas, please feel free to add your own:</p><p></p><p><strong>1. XP for treasure, more than XP for monsters.</strong></p><p>This one is easy. The 1e DMG was pretty explicit on the subject, as I recall: you reward the PCs for getting what the PCs really want, which is fame and fortune. If they can sneak into a lair and recover most of the loot without getting hurt, so much the better. This is how people would really behave in the sort of fantasy world we're imagining--combat is fun, but people don't go looking for it when there is a risk of injury and death!</p><p></p><p>Suggestion: Grant XP for treasure at a 1xp=1gp rate. Introduce training costs as a way of soaking up the treasure. Grant XP for monsters at 10%, so combat still contributes. </p><p></p><p><strong>2. Natural healing is slow, magic healing is weak.</strong></p><p></p><p>By the book, PCs in AD&D heal very slowly and rely on <em>Cure Light Wounds</em> for a very long time to keep themselves in fighting trim. (In practice, of course, a party would often finds scrolls and potions to extend their time in the dungeon.) This has two important consequences for the style of the campaign: players plan fights to avoid getting hurt (ambush or avoidance are common tactics), and the party often needs to rest several days between forays. </p><p></p><p>In 5th edition, 2 long rests is always enough to get you to full strength. In fact, the roles of HP and HD owe a lot to 4th edition's HP and healing surges. In 4th edition, healing surges were the true measure of player stamina, not HP. </p><p></p><p>So I'm thinking that HD can represent long-term fatigue and even wounds. I'm OK with HP fluctuating wildly during and between combats, to represent the PC's short-term capacity to avoid damage in a fight. But when the party runs out of HD, they are getting pretty tired and have probably been seriously hurt by dropping to 0 HP a time or two.</p><p></p><p>Suggestion:</p><p></p><p>To create an incentive for ambush/avoidance over straight combat, introduce a COST to reaching 0 HP.</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you drop to 0 HP, you lose 1 HD from your pool. This represents the loss of stamina from the wound you just took.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">If you are hit by an attack while at zero HP, lose another HD from your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">(optional) If you receive a critical hit, lose 1 HD from your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">(optional) If necrotic damage takes you to zero HP or inflicts a critical hit, your next CON save is disadvantaged.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">(optional) If psychic damage takes you to 0 HP or is a critical hit, your next WIS save is disadvantages.</li> </ul><p>There are lots of possible effects along these lines that could be added, such as forcing your next roll of HD to be at disadvantage, tacking on extra HD losses when you are vulnerable to a damage type, and so on.</p><p></p><p>Furthermore, we can play with the healing spells a little:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A cure spell (not healing word) cast with a 3rd or 4th level slot restores 1 HD to your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A cure spell cast with a 5th or 6th level spell slot restores 2 HD to your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A cure spell cast with a 7th level or higher slot adds 3 HP to your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The Heal spell adds 4 HD to your pool.</li> </ul><p>So powerful healing magic actually cures your "wounds", but low-level healing just restores your short-term combat energy.</p><p></p><p>Finally, to encourage more down time between forays, we can tweak the effects of a long-term rest:</p><ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A long rest restores 1 HD to your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A 24 hour rest restores 2 HD to your pool.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">A successful DC 15 Healing check during a 24 hr rest restores an extra HD to your pool.</li> </ul></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="fuindordm, post: 6425001, member: 5435"] So I've been giving some thought to what aspects of AD&D I really liked, and which are really distinct it that edition. Most of the things I've thought of are already close enough to 5th edition that I don't think any tweaking is necessary! But here are a couple of my ideas, please feel free to add your own: [B]1. XP for treasure, more than XP for monsters.[/B] This one is easy. The 1e DMG was pretty explicit on the subject, as I recall: you reward the PCs for getting what the PCs really want, which is fame and fortune. If they can sneak into a lair and recover most of the loot without getting hurt, so much the better. This is how people would really behave in the sort of fantasy world we're imagining--combat is fun, but people don't go looking for it when there is a risk of injury and death! Suggestion: Grant XP for treasure at a 1xp=1gp rate. Introduce training costs as a way of soaking up the treasure. Grant XP for monsters at 10%, so combat still contributes. [B]2. Natural healing is slow, magic healing is weak.[/B] By the book, PCs in AD&D heal very slowly and rely on [I]Cure Light Wounds[/I] for a very long time to keep themselves in fighting trim. (In practice, of course, a party would often finds scrolls and potions to extend their time in the dungeon.) This has two important consequences for the style of the campaign: players plan fights to avoid getting hurt (ambush or avoidance are common tactics), and the party often needs to rest several days between forays. In 5th edition, 2 long rests is always enough to get you to full strength. In fact, the roles of HP and HD owe a lot to 4th edition's HP and healing surges. In 4th edition, healing surges were the true measure of player stamina, not HP. So I'm thinking that HD can represent long-term fatigue and even wounds. I'm OK with HP fluctuating wildly during and between combats, to represent the PC's short-term capacity to avoid damage in a fight. But when the party runs out of HD, they are getting pretty tired and have probably been seriously hurt by dropping to 0 HP a time or two. Suggestion: To create an incentive for ambush/avoidance over straight combat, introduce a COST to reaching 0 HP. [LIST] [*]If you drop to 0 HP, you lose 1 HD from your pool. This represents the loss of stamina from the wound you just took. [*]If you are hit by an attack while at zero HP, lose another HD from your pool. [*](optional) If you receive a critical hit, lose 1 HD from your pool. [*](optional) If necrotic damage takes you to zero HP or inflicts a critical hit, your next CON save is disadvantaged. [*](optional) If psychic damage takes you to 0 HP or is a critical hit, your next WIS save is disadvantages. [/LIST] There are lots of possible effects along these lines that could be added, such as forcing your next roll of HD to be at disadvantage, tacking on extra HD losses when you are vulnerable to a damage type, and so on. Furthermore, we can play with the healing spells a little: [LIST] [*]A cure spell (not healing word) cast with a 3rd or 4th level slot restores 1 HD to your pool. [*]A cure spell cast with a 5th or 6th level spell slot restores 2 HD to your pool. [*]A cure spell cast with a 7th level or higher slot adds 3 HP to your pool. [*]The Heal spell adds 4 HD to your pool. [/LIST] So powerful healing magic actually cures your "wounds", but low-level healing just restores your short-term combat energy. Finally, to encourage more down time between forays, we can tweak the effects of a long-term rest: [LIST] [*]A long rest restores 1 HD to your pool. [*]A 24 hour rest restores 2 HD to your pool. [*]A successful DC 15 Healing check during a 24 hr rest restores an extra HD to your pool. [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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