Here is part two of my Basic house rules as promised.
Spells & Magic:
a. Bonus Spells: Casters with 15 or more in Prime Requisite gain a bonus spell at each spell level.
b. Ray of Energy: Elves and Magic-Users may cast the following spell a number of times per day equal to CL+INT:
i. Ray of Energy (0 Level)
Range: 25' + 5' per Character Level
Duration: Instant
Effect: The caster fires a ray of eldritch energy at a single target. Caster must succeed on a ranged touch attack. Damage is 1d3.
c. Spell Books: Spell Books weigh 200 cn, and must be consulted for one hour each day (Elves and Magic-Users only).
d. Spontaneous Casting: Casters may cast any spell available to them by level, without memorization etc.
Allowing bonus spells for high stats is there for the single purpose of granting the cleric a spell at first level. I have heard that Labyrinth Lord simply changes the spell table, but I think this works. Spell casters will be better than before, but not unfairly so (I hope.) Ray of Energy was designed to combat spell caster fatigue. Clerics continue to be useful even after their spells are exhausted but the MU is pretty much one and done. To prevent constant and annoying retreats/rests, I devised Ray of Energy to keep them in the game longer. This seemed to work beautifully. Spells remained limited and the cautious elf player kept his rays in reserve for the most part. I like that the ray is not a guaranteed hit, but I wonder if making it verse touch AC (9 most of the time?) isn't making it too powerful. Especially as it might disrupt spell casting. That might be a future alteration but for now it stays as written. The spell book rule addresses something not covered well in the books, but it seems to be implied. Finally, spontaneous casting is the way most people play clerics, and I see no reason not to allow the same for elves/Mu's. Otherwise you are just adding additional periods of un-fun retreat and rest.
5. Arms and Armor:
a. Flail: Flails ignore AC from Shields.
b. Great Helm: Clerics and Fighters may wear Great Helms for -1 AC. Cost: 10 gp Weight: 4 lbs.
c. Heavy: Axes, Maces, and Hammers are heavy weapons and are +1 to Hit medium or heavy armor.
d. Lance: When mounted, lances deal double damage on a Charge.
e. Long: Lances, Pole Arms, Quarter Staffs, and Spears are long and have 10' reach. These weapons may also be Set v. Charge.
f. Quarterstaff: Quarterstaffs grant -1 AC.
g. Quick Draw: Daggers, Swords, and Short Swords may be drawn as a free action.
h. Shield: Shields improve AC by 2 points, rather than 1.
i. Spear: When wielded in two hands, spears deal 1d8 damage (rather than 1d6).
j. Torch: The first strike with a torch deals fire damage, rather than blunt damage.
Now Arms and Armour changes. The goal with weapons was to clarify or add certain benefits to each weapon. This helps differentiate why some characters might not always use the longsword (unfortunately, the incentives must not have been that good as all three characters took longsword as their weapon.) Flails have always been one of my favorite weapons, and I was surprised that they are not present in basic. Heavy weapons is an attempt to add the historical supremacy of blunts verse armored opponents. The thought while nice, didn't play out well at all. The players were already managing too many bonuses and penalties and the heavy weapon rule was consistently forgotten. Because so many of the other weapon rules worked, I'm going to leave it in for now, though this is obviously not the solution I thought it was. Lance and Long are rules clarifications, and need no explanation. Quarterstaff is a big change, and is mostly there to up the AC of MU's by a point. Quick draw surprisingly did play a part in combats, but then again all three characters are armed with swords. Spears were carried all around as the backup weapon of choice, probably due to the price point and the ability to hurl them. I did not see one used two-handed but I like the damage tweak and it will be sticking around. Overall, weapon tweaks seem to have been a hit with the exception of heavy weapons.
Armour was unchanged save for the addition of two AC boosting changes. These changes were designed to up survivability, and boy did they ever. More than one of the three characters was able to begin play at 0 or negative AC. So in retrospect these items/changes are unnecessary and I'd probably drop em.
6. Caller: The character with the highest Charisma will be the party “caller” or leader.
My ad&d group thought that this rule was extremely archaic and unnecessary, but I like it. It gives charisma a certain appeal and it gave my a player who could keep things moving if needed. Nuff said.
7. Combat Sequence:
a. Initiative (1d10 + Dex + WS, highest wins)
i. Actions are simultaneous
ii. Players win ties
b. Morale (2d6, if needed)
i. Only 2 checks needed
c. Movement Phase
i. Combat movement is 1/3 Rate
ii. Diagonal movement cost 1.5
iii. May move full-rate and attack
iv. Switching or using equipment is equal to a move action
d. Missile Phase
i. Touch AC = 9 + Dex
e. Magic Phase
i. No movement (beyond 5' step)
ii. Includes:
(1) Spells
(2) Scrolls
(3) Magic Items
(4) Spell-like Abilities
iii. If damaged prior, spell is disrupted
f. Melee Phase
i. Flanked character are +1 to Hit
ii. Rear attacks are +2 to Hit
The description of combat is mostly by the book, though a few things are probably different (flanking, rear bonuses). I actively forgot morale on several occasions, and keeping precise track of movement and range will need to be improved. These are my failings, and not the rules however. Again the overly complex individual initiative is at play - I plan on ditching this unless my players cry foul.
So that's it. I was pleasantly surprised by the result of most of the tweaks, but more than a few fell short as well. I will update this post and my house rules as play continues. Chao!
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