Holmes D&D

Read more about the article Dweomercraeft

Dweomercraeft

Dweomercraeft

by Phenster

I love magic! The study and use of magic is called dweomercraeft. (I say dwOHmercrAft, but Cypher says it's supposed to be dwImercrAYft.) I started playing D&D one Christmas when I got a strange game that came in a box with a dragon on the top with 5 crazy dice. There was a guy in a pointy hat on the box too, and he was using a magic wand against the dragon. I wanted to be that guy!

I showed the game to Hazard and Beowulf. Beowulf said it looked real complicated, but Hazard had seen his cousins playing a game that looked a lot like it. We all read the rules together, and I have to admit it, it was complicated. It was a game for adults, and Beowulf and I were only in the 6th grade. (Hazard is two years ahead of us.) But when we got to the part about magic spells, the question was settled for me. We were going to play this game, and I was going to be a magic-user. Hazard volunteered to be the DM. Beowulf wanted to fight the monsters.

That was over four years ago, and I've been playing D&D ever since. Mostly magic-users. We've made a few changes about the workings of dweomercraeft. We'd probably change more stuff, but Hazard tries to keep us from making magic-users too powerful.

Magic-users

Human M-Us can write spell scrolls from the spells they have in their spell books, and they can copy scroll spells into their spell books. Or from where ever they find them: other spell books, ancient tomes, etc. Phenster Prime once copied a spell carved on a wall in the 6th level of the dungeon.

Elves

Elven magic-users are different. Elves are inherently magical. They don't use spell books. They just know the spells they know, and they can cast them once per day. They know one spell at 1st level, and they gain spells as they go up in level just like on the magic-user table. (Hazard rolls randomly for the spells known, but I let players choose in Avendyr.) Elves don't have to roll for the chance to know spells.

For a while we played it where all elves (even fighters and thieves) can cast READ MAGIC, DETECT MAGIC and PROTECTION FROM MAGIC without taking up a known spell. But it was too powerful. (Tombs still plays it like that, but he's the only DM in our group that allows it, least as far as I know.) Now elves only get READ MAGIC extra, so they can still use scrolls. But they have to cast it in the place of another 1st-level spell.

Chance to Know Spells

Hazard didn't like having to keep track of which spells Phenster Prime could learn or not, so when I find a scroll, I just roll for the chance to know it on the table, like you're supposed to. But if I fail the roll, it just means I can't learn it this time. If I find the same spell somewhere else later on, I get to roll again. Hazard says it takes liberty with the rules, but we don't have to remember which spells I can't know.

Counter-Spelling

Any magic-user can try to counter the spell of another magic-user. You have to have the initiative on the other magic-user and at least one spell left. You say you want to counter-spell if the other magic-user throws a spell before he does it, and you have to wait for it. Then you have to use up the power of a spell you have left. If the spell you use is at least as powerful as the other magic-user's spell being cast, then the counter-spell works. Of course, you can also interrupt the spell-casting with a successful attack. For that purpose, I use a Wand of Magic Missiles. I named it "Counterspell."

Lost Lore

Dweomercraeft in the Heptarchy reached a pinnacle a long, long time ago, before the Old Empire, even before the Age of Myth. Now only spells from the rulebook are commonly known among Esoterics in the Heptarchy. (Esoterics are magic-users and sages and such like.) Other spells (from AD&D and spell levels over 3rd) we have to find on our adventures. Or we can do research to make a new spell.

Holy Water

Clerics can create holy water with a BLESS spell in a ritual. It takes one turn and you need an expensive font (500 g.p. min.), but there's no other cost.

Crafting Magic Items

Sometimes you want a magic item that you haven't found in the dungeon. It takes time and money, but a spell-caster can make magic items. Like the time we heard about the Demon Slayer. It's a magical two-handed sword that we could use against the demons in Pandemonium. The trouble was that it was hidden deep in the Heart-of-Dragon Mountain. The Heart-of-Dragon is weeks away, and it's full of dragons! So I thought it would be easier for Phenster Prime to make a Demon Slayer. Beowulf said, if it was a two-handed sword, he would pay for it.

Making magic items depends a lot on how the DM wants to do it. The way we do it, basically, is that magic-users and clerics can craft magic items if they can cast the spells required. Some items require special components that usually require an adventure. Everything has a cost in time and g.p., which is multiplied by the spell level. Then, when the item (except scrolls) is complete, there's a chance it doesn't work.

Initial Research

In order to make a magic item, you have to do some initial research into how to do it. By "how to do it" I mean what kind of tools or components you need and if you'll need any help. All that's up to the DM, who decides what all you need based on the magic item description in the rulebook, if there is one.

For example, there's no Demon Slayer in the rulebook, so Hazard had to make it up. For the sword, Phenster Prime learned that we needed ichor of demon. Beowulf and I talked it over with the group. Hazard said we'd have to either summon a demon or go down the Pit to Hell and find one. Tombs thought it would be risky to go after a demon without a demon slaying sword. I thought that's probably why there's no Demon Slayer in the rulebook. Jinx said maybe Beowulf would settle for a Kobold Slayer. Beowulf wouldn't go for that, but I talked him into a Giant Slayer instead. All we needed was some giant's blood. In the excitement about making a sword, we forgot that what we really needed in Pandemonium was a Demon Slayer.

Assistants and Special Components

Before you can put magic into an item, first you have to make it or have it made by somebody else. Wands and staffs are usually made out of metal or wood, rings from precious metal, weapons and armor from a strong metal, like steel, and sometimes mithral or adamantine. You'll need a master woodcarver, metalsmith or weaponsmith for that. The DM decides how much a component costs in time and money.

You can usually get it cheaper if you take more time. But sometimes it isn't worth the time. Friar Tombs carved his own Staff of Healing from the trunk of a young spruce tree. Took him a whole winter, then he had to take a month out of the campaign season for the dweomercraefting. (While we're out of the campaign, we just play another character. Tombs played his thief, Arnaquer Tombs). Carving the staff saved him 500 g.p., and he's real proud of it. But we got more than that out of the dungeon in the first week, and he could have saved Jinx another character with that staff.

Once you have the component, you can put the dweomer on it. That costs some gold and a week or month of time out per spell level.

Scrolls: Cost 100 g.p. and take one week per spell level. You can put up to 7 spells on one scroll. Writing a scroll has no chance for failure. You need parchment/vellum, a quill and ink, which don't cost much.

Potions: Potions cost 300 g.p. and one week per spell level. Not every spell can be put in a potion, and some potions need more than one spell and maybe other special ingredients, which also cost money. You need a laboratory too. Phenster Prime made friends with Jaeger, our local alchemist. We have a deal: I bring him "souvenirs" from our fights with rare monsters, and he lets me use his laboratory from time to time.

Wands and Staffs: 500 g.p. per spell level per charge plus 1 week per spell level and 1 extra day per charge. You can put 100 charges maximum. You can recharge an empty wand or staff (without paying for the component). Items that don't have charges cost 10,000 g.p. and 1 month per spell level. Tombs's Staff of Healing cost 10,000 g.p. and took one month to dweomer. I recharged "Counterspell" with 20 magic missiles for 10,000 g.p. in a week plus 20 days.

Miscellaneous Magic: These are the most difficult, because a lot of them do things there's no spell for. The best way is to decide on what level a spell might be that does that thing. Just like items that don't have charges, miscellaneous magic costs 10,000 g.p. plus 1 month per spell level.

Weapons and Armor: No matter if it's a weapon bonus or armor bonus, the cost is 10,000 g.p. and 6 months per +1. Ammunition costs 500 g.p. and 1 day per +1. When I found out Beowulf's Giant Slayer was going to take me a year and a half to dwoemer, I had the idea that we could ask Angharad Called the Fane[1] to make one. Hazard said it would take just as long and cost twice as much gold to have somebody else make it. Beowulf couldn't afford 60,000 g.p. Then we remembered that what we really needed was a Demon Slayer anyway. Without demon ichor, we had to go to the Heart-of-Dragon. No time to make a Dragon Slayer either.

Rings: Rings are "on" all the time, so they cost more: 20,000 g.p. and 2 months per spell level. They are always made of precious metals and finely crafted, which means expensive! A Ring of Wishes is NOT a charged item. You have to take the time (per spell level) to put every WISH into the ring.

Spell Research

Researching a new spell (one you invent or one from the rulebook you can't find in the dungeon) costs 1,000 g.p. plus 1 week per spell level. You just need a good library where you can study.

Chance of Failure

After spending all the time and money, your magic item or new spell is ready to be tested. Roll a d12. A 1 means failure. Testing charged items uses a charge. You can test in safety or take a chance and wait till you need the item to roll the d12. Good luck!

—L’avant garde #61 (March 1984)

1 Angharad Called the Fane is mentioned in Paradigm Lost #2 (November 1980). Early in their adventures, the PCs hear a rumor about this mysterious, swamp-dwelling hermit who can answer questions about infernal beings. In an encounter, they discover she is from a native tribe and a powerful magic-user and cleric.

A Curious Assortment of Rules

This is the 32nd in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

Phenster’s “Dungeoneering” article (L’avant garde #74, August 1985) begins with typical subterranean obstacles before diverging into magic items, other equipment, and monsters, in addition to “the Boomtown Rule.” The ring of plate mail, salt’s effect on zombies, and the (non-intelligent) enormous spider come from the first edition (1st through 3rd printings) of Basic D&D (1977), as does the dwarven war hammer.1 This diverse collection of rules is all over the book. I arrange them in Bluebook order.

I find no improvements to make in Phenster’s text describing the monsters. I, therefore, leave the descriptions of the cargolith and the enormous spider as is. I add only a category to each: Cargolith [C] and Enormous Spider [E].

Seeing in the Dark

Phenster doesn’t go into details about Dark Sight [E]. I add that light interferes, as in Holmes, and that a dark-sighted character cannot read in the dark.

Holmes doesn’t specify the later. If we wanted to allow it, we could justify reading in the dark by a different physical process or some innate magic. The advantages of an all dwarf/elf party who could read and see clues in frescoes and wall markings without light, however, might be too tempting and, so, upset any balance of character choices.

With that in mind, many intelligent dungeon dwellers, though they can see in the dark, may still have want of light.

Dark Sight [E]

Monsters, including dwarves and elves but not humans or halflings, can see up to 60 feet in the dark. Any light source interferes with this dark sight. Dark-sighted creatures cannot read without light.

Finding Traps

Regarding traps, Holmes only states that a character springs a trap on a d6 roll of 1 or 2 (10), and a table gives a thief’s chance to remove it beforehand (12). Phenster describes how the Pandemonium Society finds traps without tripping over them.

Find Traps [E]

Players may find a trap by describing how and where the character searches. No dice roll is required. Concealed traps may be discovered only by thieves, who have the same chance to find a trap as they have to remove it.

Force Doors [E]

With a roll of 1 or 2 on a d6, a character may force a stuck or locked door on the first attempt. Strength modifiers are subtracted from the dice roll. A 6 result indicates the door remains intact. Only a character with a higher strength score can open it on a successful roll. On any other result, the door still blocks sight but may be opened without any further dice roll.

Using this rule, we avoid the tedious series of dice rolls and get more impact out of a single throw. Keeping the 6-result failure in combination with the strength modifier allows for more serious consequences for characters of average strength and below.

Normal Weapons

War Hammer [E]

A war hammer does d6 damage (as an ordinary weapon in the Damage Dice by Weapon Class Table) and may be thrown up to 30 feet (as a hand-hurled axe [Holmes, 20]).

Hand-and-a-Half Battle Axe [E]

A battle axe may be wielded in one or two hands. With one hand, it deals d6+1 damage and is treated as a normal weapon with regards to initiative order.2 Two-handed, a battle axe deals d6+2 damage and is treated as a two-handed weapon, that is, it goes last in the round.3 (See the Attack Priority by Weapon Quality Table in “Weapon Damage and Attack Priority.”)

Caltrops [E]

A creature moving through strewn caltrops must slow to half speed to avoid stepping on one. Moving at normal speed, a creature has a 50% chance of taking 1 point of damage. A creature who steps on a caltrop moves at half speed until the damage is healed. One bag of caltrops, costing 1 gp, covers a 100-square-foot area, e.g. 10' × 10'.

Salt [P]

A handful of salt does d8 damage to zombies. To hit, treat the missile weapon as an oil flask (Holmes, 19) with a maximum range of 10 feet. One bag of salt containing 12 handfuls costs 1 gp.

Magic Items

Magic Swords

“Weapons with a plus after them are magical and the user adds the plus to his die roll for a hit… Magical weapons other than swords always add their bonus to both hit probability and to the points of damage scored” (emphasis mine, Holmes, 37).

Holmes carries the magic sword rule forward from OD&D, which states:

“The swords all receive bonuses as far as the probability of hitting an opponent is concerned, but some also gain a damage bonus when they do hit. These swords are those with a +2 or +3 against specific creatures, but not those with a general bonus of +2 or +3” (Monsters & Treasure, 30).

The Pandemonium Society, like most of us at the time, gives swords the same bonus to damage as to hit. The society also uses the glowing sword rule, possibly borrowed from AD&D, wherein “Most swords (and all daggers) of magical nature shed light when drawn from their scabbard” (DMG, 165; see also PHB, 102). Wondering why only 20% of swords would have this property, I add that these swords are made in a certain era or perhaps in a certain land. Thus the [C] Campaign designation.

Magic Sword Bonus Damage [E]

A magic sword gives its magic bonus to the damage roll as well as the attack roll.

Glowing Magic Swords [C]

One out of five magic swords sheds light in a 10-foot diameter when drawn. With rare exceptions, glowing swords were enchanted during the time of the Old Empire.

Dwarven War Hammer [E]

For any character, this is a +3 magic weapon. A dwarf can throw it up to double normal range (60 feet) without a range penalty. If it misses its target, the hammer comes back into the dwarf’s hand. A hit scores an additional d6 damage or 2d6+3. If the target is a giant, the damage is 3d6+3.

Rings of Armor [E]

These magic rings of plate mail, chain mail, and leather armor confer the respective armor’s AC to the wearer with an additional bonus equal to the ring’s magic bonus, +1, +2, or +3. The magic bonus is also applied to saving throws. A character wearing equal or better armor gets only the bonus to saves.

The Boomtown Rule [P]

As adventuring parties haul wealth out of the dungeon and into base town, the local economy suffers from inflation. To model the situation in a simple way, double prices for all goods and services when the player party reaches 4th level of experience. Double all prices again at 8th and 12th levels, and so forth.

This rule should only be used—if at all—in a campaign where most of the found treasure comes into a single town.

1 Zenopus Archives provides an exhaustive list of changes between Holmes’ first and third editions. Note that we have, within the “Holmes edition” of D&D, three editions of the blue booklet, each edition having a number of printings.

2 I take the idea for a one-handed battle axe from Paul Siegel, who suggests fixing a broken concept in B/X by removing the asterisk (which designates a two-handed weapon) from the battle axe. Siegel credits another for the idea in an episode of Wandering DMs. I regret that I can’t find the episode with the mention.

3 Retaining the two-handed battle axe and increasing the damage is my own idea.

Dungeoneering

In his “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk” in L’avant garde #74 (August 1985), editor Dave writes: “From the Pandemonium Society, we get some new twists on old rules and an armored personnel carrier for your fantasy wargame campaigns!”

Dungeoneering

by Phenster

These are some rules we've been using for a long time, but we haven't bothered to write them down yet. Plus a couple monsters from Tombs' campaign.

Seeing in the Dungeon

Hazard doesn't go in for infravision. He says dwarves and elves and most underground dwellers can just see 60 feet in the dark. I like the logic of heat-seeing vision and so does Tombs. I think it's just too complicated though. Tombs uses it in his campaign, but he usually isn't real strict about it.

Forcing Doors Open

We used to play it where, if you didn't force a door open on the first try, you had to roll again and again to get it open or just give up. That was boring and pointless. Now we play it where, if you fail with less than a 6, it means the door is still between you and whatever is in the room. You can get it open pretty easily (without having to roll again), but you can't see what's on the other side, and anything there, in fact anything within earshot, knows someone's at the door and trying to get through. If you get a 6 (after adjustment for high strength), then the door doesn't budge. It's still stuck and you just can't open it, but somebody stronger than you can try. Or you could use an axe.

Finding Traps

Anyone can search for signs of a trap. We have to be specific about where we're looking. But if there's a trap that isn't concealed somehow, we find it without rolling for it. We have to be careful not to set off the trap while we're looking for it. Some traps, like a poison needle in a lock, we just can't see. A thief can detect traps like that with the same chance as he can remove it.

Magic Items

Magic swords get a bonus to the ATTACK roll AND they do bonus magic DAMAGE, same as the attack bonus, just like other magic weapons. Some (20%) magic swords give off light in a 10-foot radius.

War hammers do d6 damage. You can throw one up to 30' (same ranges as a hand-hurled axe). A Dwarven War Hammer is a +3 magic weapon. Dwarves can throw one twice as far with no penalty for long range, and it will boomerang back to the dwarf if it misses. If it hits, it does an extra dice of damage. If a dwarf hits a giant with a thrown Dwarven War Hammer, it gets two extra dice, 3d6+3 damage.

You can use a battle axe with only one hand and do d6+1 damage. If you use both hands, you get d6+2.

Rings of Armor: These rings (of plate mail, chain mail, and leather) give the wearer an armor class equal to their armor type with a magic bonus. So a ring of plate mail +1 gives AC 2, chain mail +2 gives AC 3. The magic bonus is also added to saving throws. If you're already wearing better armor, your AC isn't improved, but you still get the bonus to saves.

Equipment

Caltrops: You can throw caltrops on the floor of the dungeon to make monsters think twice about following you. One bag of caltrops will cover a 10-foot-square area. When a monster (or anyone really) walks through the caltrops, they have to slow down to half their exploring move rate or half combat speed (in combat). Any faster than that they might step on a caltrop (50% chance): take 1 point of damage and stop running immediately, moving at half speed until the damage is healed. You can toss caltrops up to 10', but the chance of stepping on one goes down to 30%. A bag of caltrops costs 1 g.p.

Salt: Throwing salt on zombies makes them dry up and wither. When we hit with a handful of salt, it does 1-8 damage. One bag of salt with a dozen handfuls costs 1 g.p.

Dungeon Boomtowns

We usually come out of the dungeon with some treasure. Sometimes we don't find anything, and sometimes we get a LOT of treasure! There are other adventurers bringing up treasure too, and all that money goes into the local economy and causes inflation, which means the price of stuff goes up.

The Boomtown rule says that the price of stuff goes up when a lot of treasure comes out of the dungeon and into the town. It's like a gold rush, but this is all kinds of treasure--not just gold--and it pours into base town like a river.

It sounds complicated, but Hazard makes it easy by tying inflation to the level of our PCs, because most of our XP comes from treasure. The price of everything doubles when the highest level PC gets to 4th level. It doubles again at 8th, 12th, etc. Everything means everything: from ale at the tavern to guild fees and hireling rates.

Monsters from KING OF WANDS

Cargolith: Move 60 feet/turn, Hit Dice 8-16, Armor Class 2, Treasure Type A (10%), Alignment Neutral, Attacks 1, Damage 3-36 (stomp). When resting, this creature looks like a small rocky hill, sometimes with a low natural wall surrounding the top. It can rest a long time, so grass or small trees might grow out of cracks. If disturbed, by walking on it, say, or taking a break inside the walls, the cargolith will stand on eight feet and start going in a random direction. There is a 50% chance that a ceiling of porous rock will form over the walls to close in whatever (and whoever) is within the walls.

Cargoliths have animal intelligence and can be trained to carry personnel, equipment and treasure. They can carry 1 man or 2,000 coins weight per HD. Enough air comes through the ceiling rock for breathing creatures.

Cargoliths consume small rocks and prefer river pebbles, so they are difficult to control within 100 yards of a river. They come from the elemental plane of earth. They are too big to go into most dungeons.

Enormous Spider: Move 90 feet/turn, Hit Dice 6+6, Armor Class 2, Treasure Type E, Alignment Lawful Evil, Attacks 1, Damage 4-16 (bite with strong poison, -1 to save vs. poison). These spiders are not web users, but they use sticky spider silk to build elaborate nests that look like fortresses from anything they can carry. Enormous spiders are intelligent. We know of at least one that can cast spells!

Movement, Encumbrance, Carrying Capacities, and Resting

Another curiosity in Holmes is the player character move rates. The Movement Table (9) shows that an “unencumbered, unarmored man” explores the dungeon at 240 feet per ten-minute turn, a fully armored man at 120. This corresponds to OD&D, wherein “Two moves constitute a [ten-minute] turn” and, so, a fully armored character moves 120 feet in a turn (The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures, 8).

A discrepancy arises, though, when we consider monster move rates. Man-sized creatures move from 60 feet to 120 feet per turn. An orc, for example, has an armor class of 7 (leather armor) and moves at 90 feet per turn. Inserting a line between unarmored and fully armored characters for “half armor” on Holmes’s table (as does Phenster), a leather-armored character would move at 180 feet per turn or twice as fast as the orc.

As written, the rules leave no room for ambiguity. Each monster entry is explicit: “Move: 90 feet/turn,” to use the orc example.

Another Charming Solution

In “Weapon Damage and Attack Priority,” concerning the dagger problem, I note:

By far the simplest solution is to ignore Holmes’s varying number of attacks per round by weapon. Thus, every weapon strikes once per round and does d6 damage. Weapon choice then becomes purely aesthetic.

Here again is an opportunity to modify the rules with a light hand. Though it veers away from later editions, by doubling Holmes’s monster move rates, we align Bluebook Basic with OD&D.

In “Movement and Encumbrance” (L’avant garde #63), Phenster gives weight-allowance ranges then admits to estimating encumbrance. I give Movement Rates [H] to align character move rates with those of monsters, which includes estimated encumbrance, and Encumbrance [E] as the more detailed option. Further, I separate extra and super heavy loads into another rule in the [P] Pandemonium category. Phenster adds carrying capacities for haversacks and pouches, which I put in the [E] Extra category.

On resting, Holmes stipulates that “one turn every hour should be spent motionless” (9), as does OD&D (The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures, 8), without exacting any penalties should the players ignore the requirement, which we often did. Phenster adds consequences. Resting [E] is informed by Chainmail (11).

Movement Rates [H]

A character’s movement rate is limited by armor worn and treasure carried according to the table below. The movement type depends on the situation, explained after the table. Units are feet per turn unless otherwise shown in the header. The max weight column is given for use with Encumbrance [E].

Note: “Normal” rate refers to the normal move speed in the dungeon (see table).

DungeonOutdoors
CategoryArmorMax Weight (cn)Combat (round)ExploringNormalTown* (yards)Wilderness* (yards)Journey (miles/day)
UnencumberedNone3002012024040024024
Half armorLeather600159018030018018
Full armorChain, plate900106012020012012
Heavy load**180053060100606
* Assumes good lighting; halve the rate in poor lighting.
** Cannot run.

    Dungeon

    Normal: Moving in cramped, dim spaces is hazardous even without the threat of monster attack or unseen pitfalls. Characters may move at normal rate over familiar terrain. Still, they are surprised on a 1 to 3 and may not notice any changes since their last passage. Other move rates are derived from the normal speed.

    Exploring: Wary of lurking monsters and on the lookout for hidden treasure, a character moves at half normal rate while exploring.

    Combat: In a 10-second combat round, a creature can move and normally defend itself while moving 1⁄6 the distance it can explore in one turn.

    Faster Movement

    Phenster shows a running rate of twice normal speed for dungeon environments and adds the option to run during combat outside melee. I add running outdoors up to three times the move rate. I also add forced march for long-distance overland travel.

    At any movement rate, except exploring and journey, creatures can double or treble their speed within limits defined below. In the dungeon, running is twice or thrice normal move rate (not the exploring rate). Moving faster than the given rate, a creature is surprised on a roll of 1 to 4.

    Double time: An unencumbered character can double-time for 3 turns. A half-armored character for 2 turns. Fully-armored 1 turn. A character burdened with a heavy load cannot run.

    Sprint: Sprinting is three times the current rate. Flank attacks on a sprinting character are made as if to the rear (see Flank and Rear Attacks [E]), gaining a +2 bonus on the attack roll. After sprinting one round, fully-armored characters cannot run (sprint or double-time) the next round.

    Forced march: Traveling overland, characters may move half again their journey rate for one day. They must rest the next day or be fatigued (see Resting [E], below).

    Notes on Running

    1. According to my reading, Phenster inflicts no penalty to a double-timing character in combat. Assuming one hustles in such a dire situation, we are aligned with combat move rates in B/X.
    2. A charge is executed at sprint speed (see Charge [E]). Therefore, a charging character is likewise more vulnerable to flank attacks.

    Outdoors

    Wilderness and journey rates are considered the base move, which is further modified by terrain type. We’ll get to that later.

    Town: Characters can move through non-threatening, well-lit, open spaces ten times faster than in dungeons, assuming they are not making a map either. In poor lighting conditions, the rate is halved.

    Wilderness: Exploring a dangerous but open environment, characters move at three times the normal dungeon rate. The wilderness rate is expressed in yards per turn. Again, halve the rate in poor lighting conditions.

    Journey: Overland travel is 11 times faster than the normal move rate in the dungeon. The journey rate can be derived from the normal dungeon move rate divided by 10 in miles per day.

    Heavy Loads [P]

    Phenster’s table breaks heavy loads into three weight ranges. Characters so encumbered cannot run, and those with extra and super heavy loads take penalties in combat and cannot travel long distances. All that adds a certain realism but is over complex for the Holmes spirit, so I separate this rule from Movement Rates [H].

    DungeonOutdoors
    CategoryArmorMax Weight (cn)Combat (round)ExploringNormalTown* (yards)Wilderness* (yards)Journey (miles/day)
    UnencumberedNone3002012024040024024
    Half armorLeather600159018030018018
    Full armorChain, plate900106012020012012
    Heavy load**120053060100606
    Extra-heavy**†1500320406040—
    Super-heavy**‡1800110203020—
    * Assumes good lighting; halve the rate in poor lighting.
    ** Cannot run.
    † −2 penalty on attack rolls, +2 penalty to AC.
    ‡ −4 attack rolls, +4 AC.

    Encumbrance [E]

    Encumbrance is measured by an item’s category according to the following table. Only armor, weapons, and treasure are considered. All other items are counted in the standard allowance, which is 100 coins. Weapons by weight are given in the Damage Dice by Weapon Class Table in “Weapon Damage and Attack Priority.”

    EquipmentEncumbrance
    (in coins)
    Leather armor300
    Chain, plate armor600
    Shield100
    Light weapons20
    Normal weapons50
    Heavy weapons100
    Extra-heavy weapons150
    Coin, gem, scroll, ring1
    Jewelry, potion, scroll w/case10
    Wand, staff, rod30
    Standard allowance100

    Strength adjustment: A character can carry 200 additional coins for every +1 bonus for strength or 100 fewer coins for every −1. (See “Ability Score Modifiers in the Great Halls of Pandemonium.”)

    Carrying Capacities [E]

    These are the carrying capacities of common containers.

    ContainerCapacity (in coins)
    Large sack600
    Backpack300
    Small sack300
    Haversack200
    Pouch100/50/25*
    * Large/medium/small

    Resting [E]

    Characters must rest for one turn after exploring for five turns, running, or combat. The number of turns a character can run without resting depends on their encumbrance (above).

    Characters who do not rest suffer a −1 penalty on attack and damage rolls and move at the next slower category. Hirelings check morale at −1 on the dice (see Morale [E]). For every five more turns exploring or any running or combat, the penalties increase by 1 and the move rate goes down another step. Unencumbered characters moving slower than their move rate don’t need to rest.

    This is the 30th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

    For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    “Bluebook” D&D.
    The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.

    Movement and Encumbrance

    The following article appeared in L’avant garde #63 (May 1984).

    Movement and Encumbrance

    by Phenster

    It's true that our first adventures weren't very sophisticated. It was just Hazard and me and Beowulf back then. Jinx joined us early on. I remember that we carried a ton of equipment and fought a slew of monsters. I don't remember how many times we died. Whenever we all got killed, we erased the treasure we found before that and kept going. There didn't seem to be any point to rolling up a new character.

    We didn't pay much attention to how much gold we had to start either. We just picked stuff from the equipment list. I think I had about everything in my backpack: rations, water skins, 100s of feet of rope, torches, oil, iron spikes, a silver mirror. . . . I even took a holy symbol and wooden stakes w/mallet, garlic, and a few holy waters. Somehow I was sure we would run into a vampire, even if we were only second level. All that went in the backpack, and I strapped a bandoleer of daggers across my chest. With the lantern and a 10' pole in my hands and a scroll with three spells up my sleeve, I was ready for adventure!

    Beowulf wore plate mail armor, a shield, and the whole armory of weapons. We didn't even know what half of them were, but Beowulf wanted one of each. Jinx stuck 10 daggers and a bunch of other equipment on a bandoleer. He could draw a flint-and-steel and a torch as quick as a throwing dagger and still have time to light the torch and throw it at a monster while I threw oil on it. But then we read the rules and figured out there's no way in Pandemonium we could have afforded all that stuff, much less carry it all around with us.

    Encumbrance

    Hazard made up this simple list of the encumbrance for armor, weapons, and treasure. A helmet counts as part of whatever armor you're wearing. For all the other equipment, like rope and spikes and stuff, he gives us the standard allowance, as long as we don't go overboard.


    Equipment    		Encumbrance
    (in coins)
    --------------------
    Leather armor300
    Chain, plate armor600
    Helmet---
    Shield100
    Light weapons20
    Normal weapons50
    Heavy weapons100
    Extra-heavy weapons150
    Coin, gem, scroll, ring1
    Jewelry, potion, scroll w/case10
    Wand, staff, rod30
    Standard allowance100

    Move Rates

    You find your move rate by the kind of armor you're wearing. You can wear armor and carry up to 300 coins without going over into the next slower category, but every 300 coins after that slows you down more and more.

    Exploring speed is half your normal rate. Going at normal rate in the dungeon, you're more likely to walk into a monster nest or not notice a trap or some important clue. Running (double time) is twice the normal rate. Combat speed is 1/12th normal rate, but it's per round. (You can also run while combat is going on but not while fighting in melee.) Outdoors, with good light and no mapping (mostly in towns), you move 5 times faster than normal rate. Half that in bad light. For long-distance travel, we use journey rates. You move at normal speed divided by 10 in mi./day.

    You can't run with a heavy load. Full armor can only run for 1 turn. Half armor can run 2 turns, and unencumbered can run 3 turns. Extra heavy and super heavy loads can't run or move long distances, and you can hardly take a step. Fighting isn't a good idea either, because you take a -2 on attacks and a +2 AC with an extra heavy load, and super heavy takes double the penalties.


    Category    		Armor
    type    		Max
    coins
    Comb.
    Expl.
    Norm.
    Run
    Jour.
    -----------------------------------------
    UnencumberedNONE3002012024048024
    Half armorLeather600159018036018
    Full armorChain,
    plate
    900
    10
    60
    120
    240
    12
    Heavy load12005306006
    Extra heavy15003204000
    Super heavy18001102000

    Every +1 bonus for strength gives you 200 extra coins you can carry without going over to the next category. (-1 for strength gives you 100 less coins.)

    It's kind of hard to keep track of it all, and we usually forget to add up all the treasure we're carrying after a while. Even Cypher says it's too tedious. But basically, your weapons and equipment usually turn out to be within the 300 additional coins you can carry at the start of the adventure. So, just go with your armor category. Then, when you get a good treasure haul, you'll probably go down to the next slower category, unless you've got a high strength.

    Coin Carrying Capacities

    Large sack600
    Backpack300
    Small sack300
    Haversack200
    Pouch100/50/25*
    * Large/medium/small

    A haversack is like a small sack with a strap so you can carry it over a shoulder. It's called a haversack because it's just big enough to put everything in it. I like to say "I either HAVE it ER I don't!" And I can get stuff out of it easy. Even during combat, it only takes one round. I can't be under attack, of course, but when the melee is going on all around me, I can still reach in and grab a potion or a bag of caltrops. If it's in a backpack, you have to take it off and rummage. Rummaging during melee is a good way to get yourself a new character.

    Resting

    Exploring the dungeon is exhausting. We have to rest for 1 turn after 5 turns exploring or after running or after combat. Combat happens so fast that we say we just rest for the rest of that turn. If we don't (or can't) rest, then we take a -1 penalty on attack and damage rolls, and we move at the next slower category. Plus, hirelings take a -1 penalty on their morale rolls. If we still don't rest after 5 more turns (or running or another combat), the penalty is -2 and we go down another move category. It goes on like that until we can't move at all. When we rest for 1 turn, we're good as new after. If you're unencumbered and moving at a slower rate, you don't need to rest at all.

    Nowadays I like to travel unencumbered. I carry a haversack with all my gear in it, including scrolls and potions. I wear a girdle around my waist to hold a pouch with 20 g.p. and a dagger to protect my skin. Beowulf wears plate mail, a helmet, and carries his two-handed sword. He has a backpack for gear and a short sword for fighting in tight spots. Because he's so strong, he can still carry a sack full of gold without slowing down. Jinx wears leather armor with a skullcap, a backpack, a sword, only 5 daggers on a bandoleer, and he carries the lantern and the 10' pole.

    We did eventually encounter a vampire. We were 3rd level. We had just found a good haul of treasure and decided to do one more room before we quit for the day. We thought it was just a giant bat at first, so I threw a web spell on it. It turned into a cloud of gas, and my web fell on the ground. Then it became a vampire! I presented the symbol with verve and threw holy water at it, while Beowulf and Jinx fought it. But we all died anyway.

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    Read more about the article The Giant Kingdom: Another Holmes Uniquity
    FOREWORD FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITION (Basic D&D, 1977).

    The Giant Kingdom: Another Holmes Uniquity

    From the map of the “land” of the “Great Kingdom” and environs — the territory of the C & C Society — Dave located a nice bog wherein to nest the weird enclave of “Blackmoor”, a spot between the “Giant Kingdom” and the fearsome “Egg of Coot”.

    —Gary Gygax, from the FOREWORD FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITION, Basic D&D, 1977.

    The Giant Kingdom

    The words conjure a rugged land. Humans traverse with difficulty. Its inhabitants live in clan groups, each giant kind—stone, frost, storm, etc.—in its proper niche. Clans are led by chieftains. Several clans are ruled by jarls, whose power may reach far along mountain ranges. From floating castles high above, cloud and storm giants vie for the Giant Crown.

    Another Holmes Uniquity

    Compare the original “Forward” to D&D in Men & Magic (below) to the FOREWORD FROM THE ORIGINAL EDITION in Holmes Basic D&D (above). In the original, the Great Kingdom serves as the territory of the C&C Society as well as a border of Blackmoor, opposite the Egg of Coot. In Holmes, it is the Giant Kingdom that borders Blackmoor.

    Photo of page of text titled Forward.
    The “Forward” to DUNGEONS & DRAGONS by E. Gary Gygax (Men & Magic, 1974).

    Models for Languages in Make-Believe Worlds

    Languages reveal culture. Their use in an RPG campaign adds verisimilitude. Riffing off Phenster’s examples, we can introduce languages to a simple D&D campaign without much effort. Or we can use the examples as a starting point and, with some effort, develop the ideas further.

    Like hirelings and henchmen, the use of languages in the campaign is more a model or template than a strict rule, so I categorize the following rules, derived from “MYSTERIORUM LIBRI,” in [C] Campaign.

    Learning Extra Languages [C]

    A character can learn languages in addition to languages known at character creation (see “Ability Score Modifiers in the Great Halls of Pandemonium”). A teacher must be found, and the fee negotiated. The suggested minimum is 100 g.p. per month.

    The time required to learn a language is 6 + d6 months. Complex languages take 6 + 3d6 months. Reduce the number of months by one month per language already known, not counting Common and the alignment language. Dialects of known languages require half the number of months.

    Learning may be interrupted for up to one month without consequence. An interruption of more than a month adds an additional month to the learning time, i.e. after a month or more without learning, one month of previous study is lost.

    Reducing Monster Languages

    “All other creatures and monsters which can speak have their own language” (Men & Magic, 12).

    In OD&D, the monster list doubles for the language list. Holmes reproduces the text (9), adding that all languages are selected at character creation. Moldvay suggests human dialects and 19 languages spoken by monsters from the Basic (1981) rulebook. Cook and Marsh give no further guidance concerning which Expert monsters might speak their own language. The AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide (1979) lists more than 50 languages (102), including one for each color and metal of dragon plus six giant types.

    If language selection is to be meaningful, the player should have a certain assurance to encounter speakers or script written in the language. Choosing the language of bronze dragons would be a rare gamble. Of course, when a player selects the language, the clever DM finds a way to include the speech of a bronze dragon in the game. Clever DMs aside, a language not chosen by players is of little use in the campaign.

    Instead of a language for every monster, Hazard groups monsters by themes, loosely cultural. For example, gnomes and kobolds speak dialects of dwarvish.1 All fairy creatures speak the same language, as do goblinoids and wargs.

    Hazard also groups mythical creatures, who speak one of an undefined number of unnamed ancient human, or “Mythic,” languages. As a good many monsters from contemporary sources (OD&D, Holmes, AD&D Monster Manual, B/X) are drawn from mythology, this greatly reduces the language list. Furthermore, because the Mythics are from ancient (presumably human) cultures, they are doubly useful.

    Monster Languages by Culture [C]

    These are monster languages according to Hazard’s system. The DM is free to modify and invent. Alternative names are in parentheses. See Phenster’s description of each monster language.

    Monster Languages
    Dwarvish/Gnomish/Kobold+
    Elvish (Fairy)*
    Goblinish
    Orcish+
    Gnoll*
    Ogrish++
    Draconic (Wyrm Utterances, Wyrmspeak)*
    Entish**
    Doppleganger*
    + Dialects of the same language.
    ++ Dialect of Common.
    * Complex language.
    ** Complex language, requires years, not months, to learn.

    Surrogate Languages

    “[Hazard] uses other real languages (usually old ones) for other old languages in the Heptarchy.”

    —from “MYSTERIORUM LIBRI”

    The first I encountered the idea was in Ray Winninger’s Dungeoncraft, where the author applies foreign languages to character names (Dragon #259, 18-20). Hazard goes further. He uses real-world languages as stand-ins for any representation of imaginary languages in the campaign. In “MYSTERIORUM LIBRI,” Phenster notes Hazard’s choice of surrogate language for each human language in parentheses at the end of the description.

    Human Language Categories [C]

    Like the “Common” language, used throughout D&D editions and ubiquitous in D&D campaigns for going on five decades, Hazard’s “Old Common” is not otherwise named. Phenster’s DM doesn’t go out of his way to name the language used throughout the dominant culture of the ancient world, either, calling it “O.E.,” which must stand for Old Empire.

    Though perhaps obvious, I outline these categories and subcategories as a simple way for the DM to consider languages in the campaign setting.

    The Common Languages

    In addition to the Common language currently in use throughout the campaign setting, a number of other languages once served a similar purpose. These, if not still spoken, have extant written samples. Phenster’s examples are old and ancient common and numerous mythic languages.

    Old: This was the common language hundreds of years before the contemporary Common, which may or may not be an offshoot of the older. If English is our real-world Common, Old English or French are examples of Old Common.

    Ancient: At least one step removed from Common, this language was in widespread use a thousand years or more before the present. In the real-world example, the Romans spread Latin throughout the known world.

    Mythic: The many and diverse mythic languages were first used in times long past and places near and far. Greek, Old Norse, Egyptian, Ugarit, and Mayan are a few examples from our world.

    Uncommon Languages

    Phenster mentions Caerlon, an indigenous language. I add the local and foreign categories.

    Indigenous: Spoken by people native to the area, indigenous languages are spoken and may be written, depending on the culture’s technological level.

    Local: In some areas, usually outside the setting’s cultural center, the Common language may be foreign. The locals speak Common as a second language. Player characters from the region would speak the local language as well as Common.

    Foreign: Merchants, immigrants, and invaders bring their languages to the campaign area.

    Linguae Francae

    Phenster tells us O.E. is “the lingua franca of the Church,” as is Ecclesiastical Latin in our world. The historical Lingua Franca is a mix of a few languages, including French, once used in trading ports around the Mediterranean. In D&D worlds, Common is usually considered the mercantile language, but a setting might use another (or others). Other possibilities for linguae francae are a court language, a language used between sages (possibly secret) or a multi-cultural military group, druidic, and the cant of thieves.

    The Rare Languages

    The example is Runic, which is lost, magical, and secret. The Forty-Eight Keys are another possible example, but Phenster doesn’t make it clear whether the language is lost or magical or both. Though I break down the constituent categories, combining at least two of these makes the player’s choice less rare. In any case, player characters usually cannot learn a rare language at the beginning of their careers.

    Lost: A lost language is unknown or heard of only in legends at campaign start. A lost language usually falls into another category or categories, e.g., a lost mythic language.

    Magic: Assuming the usual D&D campaign setting where magic-users must cast a spell to read magic, any additional magical language should be, at least, difficult to use or limited, perhaps by rarity. It may also allow the use of a different kind of magic.

    Secret: A secret language is used by a small group, widely dispersed. A missive may be intercepted, but its contents are indecipherable to outsiders without the proper magic.

    Alignment Languages

    A system of only two opposing alignment languages places a greater emphasis on the opposition between them. It suits a campaign that, like Hazard’s Great Halls of Pandemonium, embraces Law and Chaos as opposing sides, wherein scenarios focus on the ongoing battle between them. Alignment Languages: Law and Chaos [C] can be used whether using three, five, or nine alignments. These house rules assume five.

    Alignment Languages: Law and Chaos [C]

    Whether good or evil, lawful and chaotic characters know their respective alignment language, either Law or Chaos. Neutral characters know neither.

    Written Alignment Languages [C]

    Alignment languages are usually spoken. Individual words or short phrases (up to three words suggested) may be inscribed on a durable medium, e.g. stone, precious metals.

    Four or Five Alignment Languages

    Another idea is to break the alignment languages into four or five: Law, Chaos, Good, Evil, and maybe Neutral. Creatures speak two, one, or, if only four languages, none, depending on their alignment. Chaotic good characters speaking with like-aligned would use a mix of Chaos and Good, depending on the topic. Lawful good and chaotic good would use Good. Although such a system would create a certain ambiance, it might get a little nuts. I don’t propose it as a house rule.

    1 In Holmes, “Gnomes are similar to dwarves,” and kobolds are “dwarf-like,” though they “behave much like goblins” (28, 29).

    This is the 28th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

    For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    “Bluebook” D&D.
    The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
    Read more about the article MYSTERIORUM LIBRI: Languages in the Great Halls

    MYSTERIORUM LIBRI: Languages in the Great Halls

    In the September 1984 “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk,” Dave introduces Phenster’s contribution:

    “Phenster tells us a story wrapped around ways the Pandemonium Society uses languages, and he throws us a few more crumbs about Hazard’s Heptarchy campaign setting” (L’avant garde #67).

    MYSTERIORUM LIBRI

    by Phenster

    Hexalogy

    We found a book in the dungeon. None of us could read it. It was written in "a strange script with an evil air about it." That's how Hazard described it. We found it in a green dragon's hoard with a lot of treasure from the Old Empire, vases, jewelry and scrolls and stuff.

    Phenster Prime knows O.E., which is what we call the ancient common language of the Old Empire (he also knows Orcish, Elvish, Mythic and the Wyrm Utterances, q.v.), so we decided to go to the Lundgre Towers, a big city ruled by magic-users. There's a huge library there, where we could do some research and find out what the language was and decipher some of the script. I say "we" but it was mostly me and Cypher doing the research. Friar Tombs went off on a quest for the church with the rest of the party except Jinx and Beowulf. Highway Jinx made contact with the city Thieves' Guild, but he hasn't told us what mission he did yet, and Beowulf the Bully got into a brawl at the Pen Alembic on the first night and spent a whole month hanging by a chain from Tower Gaol.

    It took us a while to find anything in the library. It's so big it has its own dungeon! It was an adventure, but eventually, we found the "MYSTERIORUM LIBRI QUINQUE" (The Five Books of Mystery). It's really just one big book, all written in O.E. Hazard uses Latin words for O.E. to make it sound different from English, which is the Common language of course. He uses other real languages (usually old ones) for other old languages in the Heptarchy.

    The Five Books of Mystery tell all about how a special kind of magic works. The first book is a primer on a language called the Forty-Eight Keys. That's the language the book we found is written in. The Keys (for short) are used to communicate with creatures from other planes of existence. We translated the title of the book we found. It's called The Sixth and Sacred Book of Mystery. We still have to translate the whole book, but it's supposed to tell us how we can get to a place called the MYSTICAL HEPTARCHY. We think it's a parallel plane of existence, but we don't know why we'd want to go there.

    We can learn extra languages during the campaign in addition to the ones we know at 1st level from our intelligence. That's how I learned the local Mythic. We have to find a teacher and work out the teaching fee (depends on the teacher but at least 100 g.p. per month), and it takes 6 plus 1d6 months to learn a normal language or 6+3d6 for complex languages, like the Utterances or Doppleganger. Subtract one month per extra language you already know (not counting Common or Alignment). You can usually study a language during off-time and still go on adventures. I wanted to learn the Forty-Eight Keys, but the only teacher I found in Lundgre was this weird, old guy that smelled like sulphur. His name was Enoch the Tower Hermit. He said I'd have to stay in his tower the whole time without ever going out. I didn't want to keep Phenster Prime out of the campaign for so long. I'd rather be adventuring. And that guy was just too weird.

    Here's how Hazard worked out languages in the GREAT HALLS campaign. I use a similar system in games I run, and some other DMs in the Pandemonium Society use it too. Complex languages (q.v.) have an asterisk (*).

    Monster Languages

    Dwarvish/Gnomish/Kobold: Gnomish and Kobold are dialects of Dwarvish. If you know Dwarvish, you can learn Gnomish or Kobold in half the normal time.
    *Elvish/Fairy is the common language in Elfland. Most fairy creatures speak it.
    Goblinish: All the goblin types speak Goblinish: goblins, hobgoblins, bugbears, and wargs.
    Orcish: There are so many different dialects of Orcish that whenever you talk in Orcish, there's always a chance to misunderstand or be misunderstood. If that happens, there's usually a fight. It's better to speak Common with orcs if they speak Common or not talk at all and evade if possible.
    *Gnoll is difficult to learn and speak because the sounds aren't like what people usually can make.
    Ogrish: Ogres speak a dialect of Common. We can usually communicate with an ogre, if it wants to talk.
    *Wyrm Utterances or Wyrmspeak is a primordial language. The dragons call it "Mother's Tongue" because Tiamat taught it to the first dragons. She learned it by licking the stones on the Shores of Time, which split her tongue. That's why dragons and lizards have split tongues.
    *Entish uses words and chemical signals passed between treekfolk by their roots. It takes years (instead of months) to learn Entish, and even then you talk in a dialect because you don't have roots or the right chemicals.
    *Doppleganger is an alien language. It sounds different than all the other languages because it doesn't really have words like we think about them.

    Other Languages Spoken by Humans

    Old Common: Not many books are written in Old Common, but a lot of graffiti in the Great Halls is written in it. It's an earlier form of Common that's still used by folks in remote areas of the Heptarchy. Some monsters out there speak it, too, instead of Common. (Old English)
    O.E.: Lots of books are written in the language of the Old Empire. A lot of books from earlier times were translated to O.E. too, so sages usually know it. It's also the linga franca of the Church. Cleric scrolls are written in O.E. or Common. All clerics have to know O.E. by 3rd level or they have trouble advancing in the Church hierarchy. (Latin)
    Caerlon: Several native tribes inhabit wilderness areas in the Heptarchy. They are called the "First Peoples," and they speak Caerlon, which has a musical sing-song cadence. Caerlon has many dialects, but they're all similar, so different tribes mostly understand each other. They also write on scrolls and pottery and carve on stones and cave walls. (Celtic)
    The Mythics*: There were lots of other empires and civilizations way before the Old Empire. The Mythic languages were common tongues back then. Some of them are still spoken by people in the Faraway Lands (which is everywhere outside the Heptarchy) and mythical creatures, like medusas, minotaurs, centaurs, cyclopes and giants and such. That was before they had books, and any scrolls written in the Mythics turned to dust long ago, but some copies have been made, and there might be clay tablets. Or so Hazard says, we haven't found any yet. (Norse [for our local Mythic], Greek [far to the south], Egyptian)
    Runic is a lost magical language. It used symbols (or runes) to convey meaning and store magic power. We find the runes sometimes on small, flat stones and dungeon walls. Some powerful wizards and a few sages know the names of the runes. We can pay a sage to tell us a rune's name, but they won't teach Runic to anybody. (Futhark)

    Alignment Languages

    Alignment languages are a whole other thing. They aren't like normal languages, but they aren't magic either. Hazard says they are "integral" to the world, like if you change alignments you just don't know the old alignment language anymore and you do know the new one, just like that.

    The Basic rulebook has 5 alignments. AD&D has 9 and every one has its own alignment language. I agree with Hazard when he says that's way too many. In the GREAT HALLS campaign, we have the 5 alignments, but there are only 2 alignment languages: the Words of Law and the Dark Speech of Chaos. They are spoken languages with gestures, usually not written. But sometimes we find words or short phrases engraved in stone or jewelry. They are often magicked in some way.

    Lawful characters can speak Law Words. It's impossible to tell a lie with Words of Law. Chaotics know the Dark Speech. There are a million ways to tell lies and half truths in Dark Speech. Chaotic good characters usually don't use the Dark Speech, even though they can understand it. Lawful evil characters use Words of Law for their malevolent designs. Neutrals don't know either one of these languages.

    More Mysteriorum

    Tombs & co. were successful in their quest. They retrieved a religious relic, the Stormgod's Chalice, from an evil temple. That gives Tombs some clout with the Lundgre Matriarch. He wants to get his own bishopric.

    While we were staying at the Pen Alembic, some shady characters started hanging around. They always sat at the table next to us, wearing hooded cloaks, and they seemed to be listening to what we said. Beowulf wanted to fight them, but we talked him out of it. We didn't want to wait around while he spent another month hanging from Tower Gaol. Jinx's contacts in the Thieves' Guild informed him that someone was asking around about us, where we were from and what we were doing in the city. When we finally left the Lundgre Towers, somebody was following us. We asked Jinx if all that could have something to do with his mission. He didn't give us a straight answer.

    This is the 27th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

    For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    “Bluebook” D&D.
    The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.

    1984: The Year of L’avant garde

    “On behalf of all Association members, I thank Steve Ruskin for his dedicated service to this publication over the last three years. During his tenure, Steve collected our articles into a record 25 high-quality issues with a friendly and professional attitude that encouraged many of our readers to become contributors, including yours truly” (“Letter from the Editor,” L’avant garde #58).

    In November 1983, a new editor took the post at the East Middleton Wargamers Association’s newsletter. He keeps his first Letter from the Editor brief, thanking his predecessor, referring readers to the table of contents, and signing “Dave” with a flourish over the typed initials “C. D. R.”

    That would be the last generically titled “Letter from the Editor” in L’avant garde. In the next issue, January 1984, the heading is “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk.” The subheading is “The Year of L’avant garde.” Therein, Dave writes:

    “For as long as I can remember, we have talked about putting out an issue every month as if it were a chimera or the Holy Grail. The two usual problems are (1) the editor’s lack of time and (2) having enough articles to put into an issue while keeping to the 20-page minimum (that makes it worth the overhead). For the first problem, I am determined to put in the time required. For the second one, over the last month I have talked to almost all the more-or-less regular contributors and asked a few more of you for articles in 1984. The response has been very enthusiastic. With a little work, I believe we will have enough articles to make this a 12-issue year” (L’avant garde #59).

    With a penchant for parenthetical asides, Dave goes on to preview articles in the January issue and alludes to upcoming contributions. Among them is our favorite contributor:

    “We all (except the most grognard among us) enjoy hearing what the young D&Ders in the Pandemonium Society are up to, and Phenster promises more this year. He starts this month with a good argument for reconsidering ability score adjustments (for those of you who remember when we used to do that). Later, we’ll see an article about languages (which I already have), an enigmatic piece Phenster calls ‘Dweomercraeft’ (which I am anxious to get), and more fun things the Neighborhood D&D Players are up to.”

    Dave battled the chimera and won the Grail: one issue per month, all above the 20-page minimum. The September issue, at 56 pages, is the largest issue of L’avant garde in the Postlethwaite Collection.

    By the end of the year, Phenster contributes articles to nine issues. Two of these we’ve seen already. Those I link in the following list of articles by number and month. Where the title is ambiguous, I include a descriptive phrase in brackets.

    Phenster’s 1984 Contributions to L’avant garde:

    • #59 January “Another Way to Adjust Ability Scores for XP”
    • #60 February “The Panaggelon, Castle and Dungeon” [building castles and dungeons]
    • #61 March “Dweomercraeft”
    • #62 April “Monsters in the Deep Dungeons”
    • #63 May “Movement and Encumbrance”
    • #65 July “Regular Entourage” [hirelings and henchmen]
    • #67 September “MYSTERIORUM LIBRI” [languages]
    • #69 November “Wherefore Deep Dark Dangerous Dungeon Delves” [adventure hooks and treasure]
    • #70 December “Magic Items from the Great Halls”

    This series covers topics in the order as they appear in the Holmes Basic D&D rulebook (TSR 1977). In addition to these, I foresee only a few more topics to complete Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules.

    Grail obtained, a 12-issue year was not again attempted. Dave would go on to edit six issues the next year and only two the year after. In the March 1986 “Dispatch from the Campaign Desk” (#77) Dave informs readers that he has been accepted to the University of Pennsylvania and calls for a successor, as he will step down in the coming summer. In his last “Dispatch,” Dave repeats the call. Issue #78 is the final number of L’avant garde in the Postlethwaite Collection. Steve Ruskin’s 25-issue record remains.

    This is the 26th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

    For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    “Bluebook” D&D.
    The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
    Read more about the article Hirelings and Henchmen, Morale and Loyalty

    Hirelings and Henchmen, Morale and Loyalty

    This is the 25th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].

    For rules category descriptions and more about the newsletters, see “About the Reedition of Phenster’s.” For an index of articles, see Coming Up in “Pandemonium Society House Rules.”

    Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.

    The following rules are taken from Phenster’s article “Regular Entourage” (L’avant garde #65, July 1984) and my addendum “Available Hires, Number and Level.” I present the rules as examples of how DMs might handle hirelings and henchmen in their own games. As they are more a model than an extension to Holmes, I put the ensemble in the [C] Campaign category.

    The Pandemonium Society differentiates hirelings and henchmen in a way that, while not unusual, may require definition for the uninitiated:

    • A hireling is an NPC of any adventuring class or a 0-level human employed to accompany an adventurer on an expedition. The employer pays an upfront fee, provides all weapons, armor, and equipment, and pays room and board. A hireling receives a half share of treasure and earns half XP.
    • A henchman is a loyal follower, often a former hireling. A henchman pays his or her own expenses and receives a full share of treasure. Like hirelings, henchmen earn half XP.

    Hirelings

    In this section, we determine the number of NPCs seeking employment, their class and level, and a standard fee structure. We also outline the negotiation process. For more explanation on number and level of hirelings, see “Available Hires, Number and Level.”

    Hireling Frequency by Class [C]

    The DM determines the frequency (common, uncommon, or rare) of each class of hireling. In a basic example, fighters are common; clerics, magic-users, thieves, and all halflings are uncommon; dwarves and elves rare; men-at-arms are twice as common as fighters. Frequency may be adjusted according to current conditions in the campaign that impact local demographics, such as a war, monstrous incursion, or recent large hauls of treasure coming out of the dungeon.

    Number of Hirelings Available [C]

    Divide the result of a d12 by 2 for common types, 4 for uncommon, and 11 for rare, dropping the fraction. Roll twice for men-at-arms as common. You may use other divisors as desired, consulting the d12 table of results in “Available Hires, Number and Level.”

    Number of Hirelings Available by Class Frequency
    d12Common (÷ 2)Uncommon (÷ 4)Rare (÷ 11)
    1000
    2100
    3100
    4210
    5210
    6310
    7310
    8420
    9420
    10520
    11521
    12631
    Common: fighters, men-at-arms (roll twice)
    Uncommon: clerics, magic-users, thieves, halflings
    Rare: dwarves, elves
    A Basic Example of Numbers of Hirelings Available by Class Frequency.
    The DM chooses the frequency of each class and the divisor of each frequency.

    Hireling Level [C]

    Adventurers may employ hirelings of their own level or lower. We assume 2nd- and higher-level NPCs seeking employment are less frequent. Roll a dice in size equal to or greater than the employer’s level and divide by the results of a d3. Round up. If the final result is above the PC’s level, re-roll the first dice only.

    Example: Hirelings by Class, Number, and Level

    On a typical evening at the Nine of Pentacles, one or more 7th-level PCs desire to employ NPCs for an upcoming adventure. If the PCs are looking for a particular class, the DM need only roll for that class. Otherwise, roll a d12 for each class and divide by the number corresponding to the class’s frequency, dropping fractions. Tonight, the following numbers of hirelings by class are present:

    Classd12 ResultFrequency DivisorNumber Present
    Fighters723
    Clerics240
    Magic-Users1142
    Thieves441
    Halflings641
    Dwarves3110
    Elves9110

    To determine the experience levels of classed NPCs, the DM rolls a d8 (7th-level PCs) for each NPC and divides the result by a d3, rounding up.

    NumberClassd8 Resultsd3 ResutsNPC Level
    3Fighters2, 8* 4, 63, 1, 31, 8* 4, 2
    2Magic-Users5, 23, 22, 1
    1Theif623
    1Halfling824
    * The 8th-level result is invalid; the d8 re-rolled is 4. The d3 result is retained.

    Whether an observer is able to discern the experience level of adventurer types is up to the DM to decide for the campaign setting. A couple instances in the Postlethwaite Collection indicate that player characters in the Great Halls campaign had this capability. Hazard was not secretive about a monster’s hit dice, either.

    Standard Hireling Fees [C]

    The standard fee for a 0-level man-at-arms is 50 g.p. For 1st-level humans and halflings of all classes, the standard fee is 100 g.p., dwarves and elves 200 g.p.

    The standard fee to retain human and halfling classes of 2nd and higher levels is equal to 10% of the experience points necessary for the hireling’s level in g.p. Double the fee for dwarves and elves. (For XP requirements, see “Level Advancement.”)

    The hireling fee is paid upon employment. In addition, the employer pays for all weapons, armor, and adventuring equipment, plus food and lodging. In addition, hirelings receive a half-share of treasure.

    Nomenclature of Fees by Armor Type [C]

    Phenster describes the following terms to identify hireling fees by armor types (“Regular Entourage”). These are, in Pandemonium Society games, used by players as well as characters in-game, an example of the game group’s culture seeping into the setting culture.

    Chain: standard fee (for example, as given in Standard Hireling Fees [C]).
    Plate: double standard fee, +1 bonus to negotiation rolls.
    Double plate: four times standard fee, +2 bonus to negotiation rolls.
    Leather: half standard fee, −1 penalty to negotiation rolls.
    Jack: less than half standard fee, −2 penalty to negotiation rolls.
    Shield: a 20% (or more) bonus in addition to the offered fee, garners an additional bonus on the first negotiation roll or prompts further negotiation rolls.
    Wooden shield: any bonus less than 20% of offered fee.
    Straw shield: any future remuneration offered, −1 penalty to negotiation rolls.

    Negotiation [C]

    Once an offer is made, the DM rolls 2d6 on the following table, adding bonuses or penalties for exceptional offers and the employer’s Charisma and reputation.

    Negotiation Table
    2Offended (−1 further checks)
    3-5Refuses
    6-8Haggles
    9-11Accepts
    12Pleased (+1 loyalty)

    On a haggle result (6-8), the recruiting PC can end the negotiation, excusing the candidate, or increase the offer, thereby earning another roll on the table. The negotiation continues until the candidate accepts or refuses the offer or the employer abandons the negotiation. If the candidate is offended (a 2 result), the PC suffers a −1 penalty on negotiation rolls in the town for one month. If the candidate is pleased (12), add a +1 bonus to the hireling’s initial loyalty score.

    Morale

    “Hazard mostly just decides for the monsters and NPCs when their going gets tough. But when he isn’t sure, he uses the Hostile/Friendly table from the rulebook to see if the monsters will cut their losses and run.”—Phenster, “Advanced Combat,” L’avant garde #51 (December 1982)

    Morale is an NPCs confidence in leadership and team mates and his or her enthusiasm for the endeavor. Morale is measured on a 2 (stalwart) to 12 (coward) scale and checked by a 2d6 roll: equal to or greater than the morale score succeeds.

    In “Advanced Combat,” Phenster specifies hireling morale as 7. (See Morale [E].) The Pandemonium Society seems not to have made any adjustments to a hireling’s morale score. When to check morale is left to the DM’s discretion. The only guidance Phenster gives on the topic is, concerning monsters, “whenever the monsters could have a second thought about going on with the fight,” (“Advanced Combat”) and for hirelings, “when things are looking grim” (“Regular Entourage”). I see no need, in the Holmes context, for a more specific rule.

    Loyalty

    While morale concerns the hireling’s relation to the party and its goals, loyalty measures one’s devotion to the employer. A loyalty check succeeds on a d20 roll equal to or less than the loyalty score.

    Initial Loyalty Score [C]

    Initial hireling loyalty is determined by a 3d6 roll, adding any bonuses from the employer’s Charisma score and the results of the negotiation. Hireling loyalty scores are not shared with players.

    Loyalty Check [C]

    Check hireling loyalty after each adventure and whenever the hireling faces extraordinary danger or a moral dilemma concerning the employer. To succeed, roll the hireling’s loyalty score or less on a d20, applying the following bonuses and penalties.

    ConditionAdjustment
    No treasure gained+1
    Good treatment−1
    Bad treatment+1
    Same alignment−1
    Opposite alignment+1

    Phenster neglects the case in which a henchman faces an extraordinary situation (see below). I add that a roll of 20 on the loyalty check always fails; a 1 always succeeds.

    Also note, Phenster seems to apply modifiers to the hireling’s loyalty score. I turn the modifiers around (pluses become minuses and vice-versa) and apply them to the dice roll.

    On a failed check, the hireling’s loyalty score decreases by 1 point. A successful check means the loyalty score increases by 1.

    Broken Loyalty [C]

    When the score drops below 11, the hireling’s loyalty is “broken” and the hireling quits the PC.

    As Phenster notes, it is possible, in the case of a low initial loyalty, for a hireling to quit service after a single adventure.

    Henchmen

    “A henchman is a trusted lieutenant to the PC. His loyalty is no longer in question, and he doesn’t have to check morale anymore.”—Phenster, “Regular Entourage”

    Henchmen [C]

    When loyalty reaches 20, the hireling becomes a henchman. Henchmen do not check loyalty, unless the PC makes an extreme demand, nor do henchmen have to check morale. The player controls a henchman like a second PC. Henchmen get a full share of treasure, and they pay their own expenses. Henchmen, however, receive only half XP.

    Experience Point Distribution

    Lossless Half Experience [C]

    Hirelings and henchmen earn half experience points. Divide the total XP by two times the number of PCs plus one for each hireling and henchman. PCs each receive two parts; hirelings and henchmen one.