nerfherder
Adventurer
For those that haven't seen the OD&D rules, here are the character stats from Gencon when I played in Diaglo's demo game.
Roger the Cleric
2nd level
HP 4
Move 6
S 8
I 9
W 14
C 4
D 15
Ch 9
Healing prayer that can heal everyone in party by 1HP.
Equipment
Plate + shield
Mace
Holy symbol
Holy water
Caltrops
Mule
Rations
2 X 50' rope
10' pole
Backpack
Sling with 9 bullets
Incence
Censor
As you can see, the character sheet format is very easy to read, with all the information right in front of you. I wrote mine in my journal, but I believe other people used index cards or sheets of plain paper.
Character generation took approximately 15 minutes, with most of that time being spent finding the most comfortable spot on the sofa.
Some players will be disappointed with the emphasis on using figures in combat. We used lead figures (don't lick your fingers, children!) on a hex sheet during wilderness trecking, and then on a square sheet when combat was joined. Some people will also be disappointed by the lack of open content - OD&D is a completely closed system. When I asked Diaglo about this, he told me to osric off!
I managed to squeeze lots of crunch out of the Referee. I'll write it out in full below:
I forget how initiative was determined (I believe a die was rolled), but I do remember that everyone wrote down their character's actions for the round, and read them out when their turn came. Fortunately, I managed to smuggle out the index card I wrote my character's actions on, so you may be able to glean some more rule crunch from this:
1. Hide mule behind a bush and secure it.
2. Stand behind a tree (hey, have you seen his HP!) and shout encouragement to my fellows.
3. Load a bullet into sling, and fire at nearest enemy. Duck behind cover.
4. Load another bullet, fire sling at nearest enemy and duck back behind cover. Shout "Go team!" (I couldn't remember what role a cleric was meant to be, so I picked cheerleader)
5. Load sling. Step out bravely and sling nearest guy. Shout out "In the name of the lord!".
6. Rest, while shouting encouragement to the team. (see, I told you there were fatigue rules)
7. Sling nearest enemy.
8. Throw rock (that's what happens when you only write down 9 sling bullets on your character sheet).
I hope this information is useful, and helps you to decide if you want to upgrade to OD&D.
Roger the Cleric
2nd level
HP 4
Move 6
S 8
I 9
W 14
C 4
D 15
Ch 9
Healing prayer that can heal everyone in party by 1HP.
Equipment
Plate + shield
Mace
Holy symbol
Holy water
Caltrops
Mule
Rations
2 X 50' rope
10' pole
Backpack
Sling with 9 bullets
Incence
Censor
As you can see, the character sheet format is very easy to read, with all the information right in front of you. I wrote mine in my journal, but I believe other people used index cards or sheets of plain paper.
Character generation took approximately 15 minutes, with most of that time being spent finding the most comfortable spot on the sofa.
Some players will be disappointed with the emphasis on using figures in combat. We used lead figures (don't lick your fingers, children!) on a hex sheet during wilderness trecking, and then on a square sheet when combat was joined. Some people will also be disappointed by the lack of open content - OD&D is a completely closed system. When I asked Diaglo about this, he told me to osric off!
I managed to squeeze lots of crunch out of the Referee. I'll write it out in full below:
- To hit - roll 1D20 and tell the referee what you rolled. The referee will tell you if you hit. If you have, roll 1D6 for damage. The referee will tell you what effect that has on your opponent.
- Being attacked - the Referee rolls some dice and tells you what happens to your character.
- Fatigue - after a period of time in combat, your character will get fatigued. You can decide to rest, or continue fighting, with penalties.
- There were also options for setting spears against enemy charge, etc. You told the referee what you wanted to do, and he told you what the effect was. Sometimes a die was rolled.
I forget how initiative was determined (I believe a die was rolled), but I do remember that everyone wrote down their character's actions for the round, and read them out when their turn came. Fortunately, I managed to smuggle out the index card I wrote my character's actions on, so you may be able to glean some more rule crunch from this:
1. Hide mule behind a bush and secure it.
2. Stand behind a tree (hey, have you seen his HP!) and shout encouragement to my fellows.
3. Load a bullet into sling, and fire at nearest enemy. Duck behind cover.
4. Load another bullet, fire sling at nearest enemy and duck back behind cover. Shout "Go team!" (I couldn't remember what role a cleric was meant to be, so I picked cheerleader)
5. Load sling. Step out bravely and sling nearest guy. Shout out "In the name of the lord!".
6. Rest, while shouting encouragement to the team. (see, I told you there were fatigue rules)
7. Sling nearest enemy.
8. Throw rock (that's what happens when you only write down 9 sling bullets on your character sheet).
I hope this information is useful, and helps you to decide if you want to upgrade to OD&D.