dungeon doll

Among classed characters, only fighters can attempt maneuvers. They can only be used on humanlike targets. A maneuver is attempted in the place of an attack. To attempt a maneuver, roll 2d6 and contest the result against the table below. The target number will always be the highest which is applicable. If you roll equal to or greater then the target number, the maneuver succeeds, otherwise it fails. Example: attempting to stun a target with a helmet requires a score of 11+, regardless of other equipment they are or aren't carrying. Combat Maneuvers vs Armour (2d6) Maneuvers No Armour/Leather Chain/Plate Helmet Shield Disarm 7 8 7 10 Topple 7 10 8 8 Stun 6 ...

As often happens with this blog, I intended to post this in late September, then had to put it off because of school. I'm really pleased with this two-line combat matrix . I had a couple other ideas for how I might use it with od&d. Mages Mortals and Monsters vocabulary can also be adapted to spells, as follows: Charm Person only applies to Mortals. Charm Monster  effects both Mortals and Monsters. Same logic applies to  Hold Person  and  Hold Monster . Protection from Evil  provides its defensive bonuses against Monsters but not Mortals. Hold Portal  prevents the passage of Mortals, but not Monsters.  Wizard Lock  blocks both. Sleep  ignores hit dice and effects 2d8 (or 2d6, whatever your preference) Mortals or 1 Monster. Monsters can cross a Wall of Fire (taking damage), but Mortals can't. Heroes One could add a Heroes tier between Mortals and ...

I've had this on the back burner for a while, but reading this  post about Fighters from Evie Willems of Spider Queen finally gave me the energy to finish it! Presented here is one possible way to make fighters a bit more exciting. Inspired very heavily from a Strong ability in WhiteHack 2e. I love how this ability enables a type of diegetic advancement for fighters. The flavor I've applied to it is inspired by boss souls in Dark Souls and eating monsters in Nethack. This also doubles as my take on eating monsters. *** (For fighters) When you slay a monster and consume its flesh (or its soul), you may take on an aspect of its power. Gain bonus Hit Points equal to the monster's total number of Hit Dice, and a property associated with that monster, negotiated between you and your referee. All bonuses last until you do this again. Example:  A fighter kills an ogre and consumes its soul. She gains 4 bonus Hit Points and +2 to her attack damage (the thing ogres do). She later do...

If you play an elf at my table, you're actually playing a Cribswap.  They get all the same traits of Elves in od&d. Edit 2025/12/14: added Lunar and Solar aspects, based on how I've been running cribswaps in Palace of the Vampire Queen .   *** 1,000 years ago, faeries ruled the earth, draped in leaves of gold. They crossed the skies in wild hunts, slaying beasts and men with blade of glass and helm of bronze. The faeries were driven from the surface with fire and iron. The Queen of Faeries now holds her court beneath the hills, within the Underworld. It is said that faeries cannot create life, and so must reshape it. A child was snatched from its home, taken to be made an elf, and you were left in its place. You were made to die. But you didn't. Rejected by your family, cast out by your community. Under unknowable stars you quested for meaning. You lived. You learned. You wondered. Bled and cried and scratched and screamed. What could be more human then that? Aspects...

In esoteric circles, it is well-documented that the title of Arch-Druid must be earned in blood. Witches have their own practices. In order to attain the title of Crone, a witch must acquire the wisdom of ages. This must be taken from one who is already a Crone. Once a Crone is found, a reaction roll must be be made, a positive reaction dictating that they will part with their wisdom freely. On a neutral roll, you must prove your worth by completing a momentous task. On a negative reaction, you must kill them and take it. In any case, to gain a Crone's wisdom, you must drink it. The old Crone is killed, and you will ascend to Cronehood. This process is extremely painful, requiring the drinker to live the lives of all previous Crones in their line. The new Crone's flesh will age rapidly, turning wrinkled and sinewy. She will carry herself with newfound strength. Ascension increases wisdom to 18, as well as the usual increases from advancing a level. Regardless of how this power...

Speak: "I am the thief of fate the stoat that drinks gold from the hen's empty nest no lock will go un-broken no hoard will go un-plundered I am trespasser and transgressor I will take everything from you."

[i originally wrote this as an intro to the Saints post, but ended up cutting it. i decided to put it up as its own post because i got a couple questions about it on blogger and discord] *** At the beginning of time, the Voice of Fire spoke over a black universe. The dragons were the first to inherit the flame. They ruled a sea of cold planets, as the sole source of fire. Either by force of will or a deliberate usurpation, fire came into the possession of the gods. They began to slay the dragons, in attempt to keep the fire for themselves alone. In a Promethean act, the goddess Learia granted a spark of divine fire to the beasts who would become humanity. In doing so, she was cast out from the home of the gods, which mortals call Jupiter. She is now worshiped as God by the Church of Law. *** The Voice of Fire is known only to a select few: monks and sages. Angels, the machines of creation, work in the service of the Voice. Only a small number of mortals, called Vocists, would se...

Since I've now been running Hagfish Hall for a few sessions, I wanted to have an answer when players ask who their clerics follow. Stats are for od&d, with some Saint spells being brought in from B/X. Declaring Alignment Clerics are learned folk. Often they have spent considerable time sequestered away in abbeys, in pursuit of truths. This can lead to indecisiveness. Clerics need not declare for a particular alignment until they reach 7th level, however doing so earlier has its benefits. When a Cleric declares for an alignment, they must choose a Saint to follow. Each Saint grants access to a particular spell or ability. You don't need to be able to cast a Saint's spell yet to declare for them. Once you have declared for a particular Saint, you are bound to them. Switching to a different Saint is time consuming, switching across alignment is dangerous. Clerics of Chaos are able to reverse their spells, in order to cause harm. A Good Monk by Wilhelm Von Kaulback, re-clou...

A little project I've been working on between exams and such. od&d character rules for playing Bloodborne-style hunters. Use with your favorite set of resolution tools.

2024/11/19: Added a ruling on HP and character death. I read it in a blog post a long time ago, but can't for the life of me remember what the post was. If anyone knows, plz lemme know! 2024/12/05: Found it! It’s this post from Paper & Pencils! I've been flirting with the idea of starting an FMC campaign with some friends, and I wanted to compile some house rules into one place to make that a little easier, in case that does end up happening. As follows:

[ Edit: A witch who reaches name level can become a Crone ] Primary inspired by this article on thief knacks from Rise Up Comus. I'm also a huge fan of this little spellbook by Substitute Adventurer on Itch.io. I've always liked witches. Lately I've been rocking with Berserk's take on them specifically. I love the way they seem to understand what's actually going on with the world, at least more then others do. This witch is a little more chaotic though. The powers that be are fickle. This is maybe a little high complexity for od&d, but I've still chosen to go with it, since od&d is usually my preferred system. 

In the interest of procrastinating my upcoming assignments, I wanted to elaborate on something I posited on another website: replacing Intelligence and Wisdom with Arcane and Faith.