AD&D 1E Races Converted to Runequest 2E

 This was part of a personal project I started after finding an old AD&D/RQ conversion webpage.
It got away from me really quickly as I tried to juggle classes and races and all of AD&D's special exceptions together so I ended up switching to Stormbringer, the simpler version of BRP.
But I managed to get this out, my proof of concept, which might have been someone's scribbles in a notebook back in the 1980s. But is my work and it covers all AD&D 1E that I could find in various PDFs. I'm not sure Aquatic Elves ever got a write-up for AD&D 1E but I think this is enough.

Attributes

These attributes are for Oerth, the planet of Greyhawk, but for Abeir-Toril, the planet with Faerûn, Elves have a SIZ of 3d6 excluding Drow who have the SIZ after the /. Those marked with DL represent races from AD&D 1E Dragonlance.

Characters under SIZ 7 cannot employ the longbow or any two-handed weapon and no one-handed weapon over 72”/2.0m.

If a race rolls a natural 18, is a warrior and is allowed to have exceptional strength, roll d100, on a 01-50, add d2 to the STR score. Modifiers listed with the “/” cannot increase or decrease the score above or below the minimum/maximum. Whole numbers after the “/” represent that they treat the ability score as the maximum when dealing with humans and the true maximum among their own race.

Gygax later said the Halfling Ability Minimum/Maximum for CON and DEX were flipped, if preferring the RAW way, swap the two rolls except for the /+ additional bonuses.

Race	STR	CON	SIZ	DEX	INT	POW	CHA
Human	3d6	3d6	3d6	3d6	3d6	3d6	3d6
Dwarf, Hill/Gold	2d6+6	1d8+11	3d4	2d8+1	3d6	3d6	3d6/16
Dwarf, Hill (DL)	2d6+6/+1	1d6+13	3d4	2d8+1	3d6	3d6	3d6/12
Dwarf, Mt./Shield	3d6	1d8+11	2d6+1	2d8+1	3d6	3d6	3d6/16
Dwarf, Mt. (DL)	2d6+6	1d8+11	2d6+1	2d8+1	3d6	3d6	3d6/16
Dwarf, Gully (DL)	4d4+2	3d4	1d4+1d3+1	4d4+2	2d4+1	2d4+1	2d4+1
Dwarf, Gray/Duergar	3d6	1d8+11	3d4	2d8+1	3d6	3d6	3d6/16
Gnome	4d4+2	2d6+6	2d3+1	3d6	4d4+2/+1	3d6	3d6
Gnome, Deep/Svirfneblin	4d4+2	2d6+6	2d3+1	3d6	4d4+2/+1	3d6	3d6
Gnomes, Tinker (DL)	4d4+2	2d6+6	2d3+1	2d6+6	2d6+6	3d4	3d6
Elf, Dimernesti (DL)	3d6/-1	3d6	3d4	3d4+7	2d6+6	2d6+6	2d6+6
Elf, High	3d6	4d4+2/-1	3d4	4d4+3	2d6+6	3d6	2d6+6
Elf, Grey	3d6	4d4+2/-1	3d4	4d4+3	2d6+7	3d6	2d6+6
Elf, Kagonesti (DL)	2d6+6	2d6+6	3d4	1d12+7	3d4	2d6+6	2d6+6
Elf, Qualinesti (DL)	1d6+2d4+4	1d6+2d4+4/-1	3d4	4d4+3	2d6+6	4d4+2	2d6+6
Elf, Silvanesti (DL)	3d6	4d4+2/-1	3d4	4d4+3	1d6+1d4+8	4d4+2	2d4+10
Elf, Valley	3d6	4d4+2/-1	3d6	4d4+3	2d6+7	3d6	2d6+6
Elf, Wood	3d6/+1	4d4+2/-1	3d4	4d4+3	2d6+5	3d6	2d6+6
Elf, Wild/Grugach	3d6/+2	4d4+2/-1	3d4	5d4+2	2d6+6	3d6	2d6+6
Elf, Dark/Drow Female	1d6+8	4d4	3d4/3d6	2d4+12	1d12+6	1d8+10	1d8+10
Elf, Dark/Drow Male	1d6+6	4d4	2d4+1/3d4	2d4+12	1d8+10	1d8+4	1d8+8
Half-Elf	3d6	4d4+2	2d6+1d3	4d4+2	3d4+1d6	3d6	3d6
Half-Orc	4d4+2	2d4+11	2d6+1d4	2d8+1	2d8+1	2d4+1d6	3d6/12
Halfling, Hairfoot	1d12+7/-2	1d6+1d4+6	2d3+1	3d4+7/+1	4d4+2	2d8+1	3d6
Halfling, Tallfellow	1d12+7/-2	1d6+1d4+6	3d3	3d4+7	4d4+2	2d8+1	3d6
Halfling, Stout/Mixed Blood	1d12+7/-2	1d6+1d4+6/+1	2d3+1	3d4+7	4d4+2	2d8+1	3d6
Hengeyokai, See note for type	2d4+10	2d4+10	3d6	3d4+6	2d4+10	2d4+10	2d4+10/-1
Irda (DL)	3d3+9	2d3+10	2d6+6	1d10+1d4+6	5d4	1d6+1d4+8	1d6+14
Kender (DL)	2d6+4	2d5+8 10/18	2d3+1	1d12+7	4d4+2	1d12+1d3+1	4d4+2
Korobokuru	1d12+7	1d6+1d4+8	3d3	4d4+2	1d10+1d4+1	1d12+1d4+1	1d12+1d3+1
Minotaur, Krynn	1d4+1d6+10	1d4+1d6+10	4d4+8	2d6+6	1d8+1d6+3	1d8+2d4	1d8+2d4
Spirit Folk, see notes for type	4d4+2	4d3+2	3d6	2d4+10	2d4+10	3d4+6	2d3+12

 

Notes

Dwarf - Dwarves add a bonus to Resist Rolls for MP, POW and CON rolls against poisons. This bonus is as follows: CON/Bonus% 4/+5%, 7/+10%, 11/+15%, 14/+20% and 18/+25%. Dwarves have Infravision up to 60 feet away. The limit of CHA does not apply when dealing with other Dwarves.

Dwarves start with a Masonry skill of 60% and if searching for mining operations with 10 feet, can detect depth, stonework-derived traps (example: falling blocks and pits), grades, slopes, new construction, sliding or shifting wall and rooms with a successfully roll. Due to a cultural history of animosity, Dwarves add +5% to hit goblinoids (including orcs and half-orcs) and have due to their combat training have a +10% to Defence when fight foes of SIZ 25+.

Dwarves in the Flanaess on Oerth and Faerûn on Abeir-Toril speak the following languages, in Ansalon on Krynn, delete any that are not existent: dwarven, gnome, goblin, kobold, and orcish, common and alignment. They cannot learn more than two additional ones. NPC dwarves have a 75% chance to know common.

Gully Dwarves - Receives no benefits

Grey Dwarves – They are additionally completely immune to Illusions, non-natural poisons or paralysing attacks. They have Infravision out to 120 feet. They do not count orcish foes for their attack bonus. They have twice the chance to be psionic if their world knows of those abilities. They have +20% Move Silently skill and a +20% Listen skill.

However, in bright light or daylight, grey dwarves lose their surprise skill increases, treat their DEX at -2 and have -10% to their attacks and to their resistance rolls. If in shadows attacking into light, they have a -5% to attack and resistance rolls.

They speak dwarfish, undercommon and alignment rathe then the normal list.

Gnome – Gnomes add a bonus to Resist Rolls for MP, POW and CON rolls against poisons. This bonus is as follows: CON/Bonus% 4/+5%, 7/+10%, 11/+15%, 14/+20% and 18/+25%. Gnomes have infravision up to 60 feet away.

Gnomes start with a Masonry skill of 65% and if searching for mining operations within 10 feet can detect distance underground, depth, unsafe walls, ceilings or floors, grades, and slopes in passages with a successful roll. Due to a cultural history of animosity, Gnomes add +5% to hit goblins and kobolds and have due to their combat training have a +10% to Defence when fight foes of SIZ 19+.

Gnomes of the Flanaess and Faerûn (Ansalon will differ) speak gnomish as well as: dwarvish, halfling, goblin, kobold, common, alignment and they can also communicate with any burrowing mammal (such as moles, badgers, ground squirrels, etc.). They cannot learn more than two additional ones.

Deep Gnomes – They have a +20% to Hide in Cover rolls when against natural rock deep underground. Deep gnomes do not have the standard resistance roll bonuses of gnomes but do have +10% against poisons and +15% to other resistance rolls due to their hardy upbringing in the depths of the earth. They are additionally completely immune to Illusions and “phantasms”. They cannot be psionic.

Deep gnomes have infravisions to 120 feet but ultravision to 30 feet and all vision is reduced to 30 feet in bright light. They also have a -5% to hit in bright light.

Deep gnomes add +5% to hit drow and kuo-toa due to their history of animosity and have due to their combat training have a +10% to Defence when fight foes of SIZ 25+. They have +60% Move Silently skill modifier and a +25% Listen skill.

Deep gnomes speak their own language, which can be understood at ½ skill by gnomes and likewise. They are not restricted in what languages they know but they tend to be underearth languages.

Deep gnomes who do not forsake their Elemental pacts with the Lords of the Earth by trafficking in magic can have a Summon Elemental 1/2/3 Runespell that can be sacrificed for at any time for 3 X Point POW.

Deep Gnomes can also sacrifice POW at the start of the game for the following spells: blindness (2), blur (2), change self (1), and non-detection (2 due to a 1 POW discount since it effects the gnome alone) with level being set at POW/3.

Tinker Gnomes – These gnomes of Krynn have mental characteristics stemming from an ancestral curse, they solely follow a Tinker profession (TBD). Otherwise, they are identical to normal gnomes. Every year a Tinker gnome has a 1 in 10,000 chance (a roll of 00 followed by another roll of 00) of going mad and becoming “sane” by other world’s standards and more effective at tinkering (+5%). Likewise, a non-Krynn gnome has a 1% chance of developing technological skills but not the mentality of Tinker gnomes per 6 months on Krynn.

Elf – Elven characters have a 90% resistance to sleep and charm spells, if 91-00 is rolled, then normal POW: POW resistance rolls are made. Elves add +5% to hit with any bow other than a crossbow, short or long swords. Elves have infravision to 60 feet away.

They start with a Spot Hidden Item skill of 40% and if within 10’ of a Concealed door, they make a skill roll automatically. If alone and not in metal armor or 90 feet or more in advance of a party which does not consist entirely of elves and/or halflings) an elven character moves so silently that he or she +60% Move Silently skill unless some portal must be opened in order to confront the monster, where it drops to +30%.

All elven characters can speak the following languages in addition to that of their chosen alignment: elvish, gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish, gnoll, and the “common tongue” of mankind. Elven characters of above 15 intelligence are able to learn one additional language for every point of intelligence over 15.

Dark Elf/Drow – Dark Elves normal have a +50% bonus to MP and POW rolls on the resistance table against magic directed at them including spells like Fireball. But this is not possessed by player characters, who have abandoned their homeland; it is likely that this power is the result of extended dabbling in the dark arts as well as the effects of their environment. Once having made the decision to embark upon an adventuring career, a drow player character can never regain this magic resistance short of the use of wish spells or similar. Outcast dark elves receive a bonus of +10% to all POW resistance rolls to spells effecting their person like Polymorph but not Fireball.

Dark elves do not gain the combat bonuses regarding swords and bow, but may fight with two weapons without penalty, provided each weapon may be easily wielded in one hand. They cannot use a shield when performing this type of combat but may use a spiked buckler as one of their two weapons. Dark elves have infravision out to a 12˝ range.

The base movement rate of female drow is Move 9, while that of male drow is Move 8. Drow can detect new construction, stonework traps, sliding walls, and depth underground with their Spot Hidden Items skill.

Dark elves have a +40% Listen skill to detecting ambushing foes.

All dark elves have the innate ability to use the following magic spells once per day by sacrificing POW equal to spell level at character creation, or POW x 3 to use at will; dancing lights, faerie fire, darkness, 5´ radius. Upon attaining a POW of 18, dark elves gain the ability to sacrifice POW for: detect magic, know alignment, and levitate, also once per day. Females of a POW of 18 or higher also can sacrifice for: clairvoyance, detect lie (or its reverse), suggestion, and dispel magic, each once per day.

In bright light or daylight, dark elves lose their surprise skill increases, treat their DEX at -2 and have -10% to their attacks and to their resistance rolls. If in shadows attacking into light, they have a -5% to attack and resistance rolls. They will prefer to travel either at night or in gloomy, overcast conditions when they venture out into the surface world.

Drow can speak the common tongue, the language of “undercommon” (a trade language of those who dwell beneath the earth), plus the elvish and gnomish languages, as well as other languages up to the limit prescribed by intelligence score. In addition, all dark elves “speak” the silent tongue of subterranean dwellers, a language of complex hand signals and gestures, combined with facial expressions and body language. The range of communication in this silent tongue is only 30´, but it is as informative as any other language within that range. Only the drow may fully master this tongue, though other races may be taught its basic signs and symbols.

Dargonesti or Krynn Sea Elves – They may shapeshift into Dolphins and possess webbed hands and feet with a Swim skill of 90%. The transformation takes place at SR + 5, can be done 3 times per day and is statistically a dolphin even if they can distinguish them from another. They cannot cast spells when shapeshifted.

Demernesti or Krynn Shoal Elves – They may shapeshift into Sea Otters and possess webbed hands and feet with a Swim skill of 90%. The transformation takes place at SR + 5, can be done 3 times per day and is statistically a dolphin even if they can distinguish them from another. They cannot cast spells when shapeshifted.

Half-Elf - Half-Elves have a 30% immunity to sleep and charm spells, if 31-00 is rolled they have a normal resist roll as well. Half-elves have infravision to 60 feet. They can detect secret or concealed doors as normal for elves.

All half-elven characters can speak the “common tongue” of men, their alignment language, and the following: elvish, gnome, halfling, goblin, hobgoblin, orcish, and gnoll. Half-elven characters of above 16 intelligence are able to learn one additional language for every point of intelligence above 16.

Wood Elf - They speak elvish, common, treant, and the tongue of woodland mammals (much as gnomes may communicate with burrowing mammals), but no other languages to start with.

Wild Elf/grugach - Wild elves deal with other woodland creatures as if they are friendly to it and can be trained to do simple tricks. Grugach have a +45% bonus to the Set Trap skill. As they shun others and civilisation, they cannot have credit for training in skills from the Armourer Guild, Sages or Thieves Guild.

Most of them speak the elvish language exclusively, though a player character grugach may know some of the common tongue as well.

Valley Elf - Valley elves can speak the gnomish language as well as their other languages. They live in the Valley of the Mage on Oerth and are shunned by other elves as not being true elves.

Halfling - All halfling add a bonus to Resist Rolls for MP, POW and CON rolls against poisons. This bonus is as follows: CON/Bonus% 4/+5%, 7/+10%, 11/+15%, 14/+20%, and 18/+25%. Halflings have a Masonry skill of 60% to note if a passage is an up or down grade or determine direction only when concentrating and doing nothing for a round. Halflings cannot start with any skill in swimming.

If alone and not in metal armor or 90 feet or more in advance of a party which does not consist entirely of elves and/or halflings) a halfling character moves so silently that he or she has +60% Move Silently skill unless some portal must be opened in order to confront the monster, where it drops to +30%.

All halfling characters can speak the following languages in addition to mankind’s “common tongue” and the alignment language: dwarven, elven, gnome, goblin, halfling, and orcish. Halflings with intelligence above 16 can learn one additional language for every point of intelligence they possess above the 16 minimum.

Harfoot and Mixed Halflings – Possesses infravision up to 30 feet.

Stout Halfling - Possesses infravision up to 60 feet. Speaks Dwarfish as well. May learn Swimming.

Tallfellow – Possesses infravision up to 30 feet. Speaks elvish as well.

Half-Orcs – Representing the “one-tenth of orc-human mongrels [that] are sufficiently non-orcish to pass for human.” Playable half-orcs look human to observers. They have infravision to 60 feet. The limit of CHA does not apply when dealing with other Half-Orcs and Orcs.

Half-orc characters can speak the “common tongue” of humanity, their alignment language, and orcish as well. These characters can learn a maximum of two additional languages.

Hengeyokai – These are intelligent shape-changing animals. The ability to change is natural and not lycanthropy but hengeyokai do not normally hold political power in human lands. They do sometimes take a role of a family or village protector and live on offerings. The Characteristics modifications occur after characteristics are rolled and cannot raise them above the maximums.

The hengeyokai can transform between human, animal and a bipedal hybrid form a number of times per day equal to POW/3. Transformation takes 1 round and does not change the equipment. Skills and characteristics other than SIZ do not change, HP is recalculated though based on the new SIZ.

Besides the common trade language, hengeyokai can speak their own language in all 3 forms.

Animal forms means the hengeyokai is indistinguishable from a normal version of the animal and is not an illusion. They do not transform on death. They gain infravision to 120 feet and can speak with normal animals. However, they cannot speak languages other than native animal and hengeyokai, nor can they use normal equipment or cast spells. But they can understand languages they already understand.

Bipedal forms retain the human SIZ and possess hands to use equipment and cast spells. They gain infravision to 120 feet and can speak with normal animals and normal languages. They cannot use special movements like flying and swim using normal rules, they move as humans.

Human form means they retain some distinctive feature that hints at their nature like a streak of hair or prominent nose. They can still understand animal speech even if they cannot speak it.

This table outlines the differences between the creatures.

Creature	SIZ	Damage	+Defence	Move	Fly	Swim	Characteristics
Carp	1	-	7%	-	-	8	+1 POW -1 STR
Cat	1d2	D3	2%	8	-	-	+1 DEX -1 POW
Crab	1	D3	5%	2	-	4	+2 STR -2 CHA
Crane	1d2+1	D2	2%	4	8	-	+1 POW -1 DEX
Dog	1d2+1	D6	2%	8	-	-	+1 CON -1 INT
Drake	1d2+1	-	7%	4	8	6	+1 CHA -1 DEX
Fox	1d2	D3	10%	10	-	-	+1 INT -1 POW
Hare	1	-	12%	12	-	-	+POW -1 STR
Monkey	1d2+1	-	10%	8	-	-	+2 DEX -2 POW
Racoon Dog	1d2+1	D6	2%	6	-	-	+2 STR -2 POW
Rat	1	D3	12%	6	-	-	+2 CON -CHA
Sparrow	1	-	7%	2	10	-	+2 CHA -2 CON

 

Irda – An ogre race which has not degenerated from their beautiful original forms, which on Krynn was due to a curse. They can after many years of practice, which is assumed for player characters, be able to alter their height by 2 feet/60 cm and their features to any humanoid.

Kender – Kender are the result of a magical disaster and are thought as such by other people. As the result of this origin, they cannot learn spells and make pacts. They cannot join the Assassin career due to high natural empathy nor can they be monks due to their lack of attention spans. They have infravision to 30 feet. They have +25% to the Climb skill and +5% to other Thieves Guild trained skills.

Kender’s Pockets follow the table on Dragonlance Adventures pp.53-54,  Divide DEX by 3 and multiple that by 2% and add +1d6 to SR when used in combat.

Kender can taunt foes who speaks the same language with a CHA: INT roll, this makes the foe solely attack the Kender for 1d10 rounds at -10% to hit and -5% to Defence due to their irrationality.

Kender are immune to fear magically generated by monsters or magic.

Korobokuru – They add a bonus to Resist Rolls for MP, POW and CON rolls against poisons. This bonus is as follows: CON/Bonus% 5/+5%, 9/+10%, 14/+15%, 18/+20%. They have infravision to 120 feet.  They also have extensive knowledge of normal plants and animals, with a base 66% skill in Plant Lore/Identify Plant, and the chance to identify normal animals using the same skill.  They are +5% to hit against bakemono, goblins, goblin rats, and hobgoblins, Due to size they have a +10% to Defence when fight foes of SIZ 25+.  Most favour spears, bows, blowguns, and short swords.

They speak the trade language and the language of their own tribe, spirit folk, and hengeyokai.  They are unable to learn additional languages, including their alignment language, except as mandated by their career/learned during play.

 “They are seldom perceived as equals to the other races.”

Minotaur of Krynn – On Krynn they are mutant ogres and so have humanoid feet and their faces, although reminiscent of bulls, are still humanoid.  The horns of females may reach 12", and those of males are twice that long. Elsewhere they may be different. Minotaur on Krynn cannot get training from th Thieves Guild or Sages.

They may butt foes of SIZ 8 or higher for 2d4 with their horns or bite those SIZ 7 or smaller for 1d4.

They speak their own language and Common.

Spirit Folk – Descendants of nature spirits who co-mingled with humanity. All have 120 feet of infravision. They are bound to obey powerful beings of the natural world which must take priority over anything else. This is represented by them starting with them automatically being lay members in the cult of their lord. They may also start gaining Elan immediately by serving their lord.

Bamboo Spirit Folk – These spirit folk are related to the Lord of the Wood, and as such live near forests or jungles.  They have a base 75% skill in Identify Plant, and a 50% chance to identify normal animals using the same skill.  In woodlands, forests, or grasslands they can pass without leaving a trail, and the presence of a spirit folk in any group reduces the tracking percentage of anyone following them by -20%.  They may hide in shadows in woods or forests, with a +70% to their Hide in Cover skill in those environments.

  Bamboo spirit folk have +5% to resistance rolls against all magic related to earth or wood.

  The life force of a bamboo spirit folk is tied to a grove of bamboo deep in the forest; if it damaged will cause the character to suffer an identical amount of damage, and if it is destroyed the character will die.  If the character enters the grove, he is immediately cured of all injury and disease.  The grove may not be moved, and shoots from it have no special value or use.

They know the trade language and learn the languages of forest animals, one animal per INT/3.

River Spirit Folk – River spirit folk typically live near the particular river or stream with which they are associated.  They can breathe freely in any fresh water, and can swim as quickly as they can walk, given their encumbrance.  While they are in the water, nothing they wear or carry will get wet or suffer water damage of any type, including exposed tinder, even if they are submerged.

  These spirit folk also have the power, once per day, to lower water of any type by 10', allowing others to cross; this depth reduction may be maintained for five rounds.  They also gain a +5% to resistance rolls against all water-related magic.  However, they suffer -5% to resistance rolls for fire-based attacks.  They speak the trade language, the court language, and the language of fish.

  The life force of river spirit folk is connected to their river (chosen during the creation of the character).  Bathing in the river will cure the river spirit folk of all diseases and injuries.  This only refers to the river itself, and not the water of the river if it's drawn or diverted from it.  On the other hand, changes in the river will affect the character.  Droughts will reduce hit points and ability scores; damming and engineering will weaken the character and could kill him; flooding will make him wild and uncontrollable.

Sea Spirit Folk – Sea spirit folk are the most numerous.  They can breathe normally in any salt water, and swim at their normal walking rate (reduced for encumbrance) in any water; and as with river spirit folk, that which they carry will not get wet.  They have a 75% chance once per day of predicting the weather for the next 24 hours.  They speak the trade language, the court language, and the language of the sea lords.  These have a +5% resistance against fire-based attacks.

  The sea spirit folk do not gain healing benefits from the sea; however, neither are they affected by changes in it.  They may receive one favour from the sea each year, such as good winds, rain, a storm, even the return of an item lost at sea.  The favour must be specifically requested, and if it is opposed by the request of another sea spirit folk neither favour is granted, and both lose their requests for the year.

  The Lord of the Sea is more interested in his children than the other spirit lords and has the most authority.  Any sea spirit folk whose reaches Rune Level will receive a gift, such as a valuable treasure from a sunken ship, or a special service, or a sea-related magic item such as the pearl of rising tide.  This gift does not require repayment and has no conditions.

Some quick OSR filler

 I'm not keeping to my scheduleso I will have another post tomorrow and another two in the next fortnight and I will be back on my posting schedule.

This post is about some quick OSR monsters I whipped up for the OSR Discord becuase someone bemoaned the fact their players have fought all that there was.
I took these from the Runequest Gateway Beastiery, a collection of monster by Sandy Petersen for RQ 2E. Since I assumed these were for OD&D I kept them super simple and succient in mechanics. Fortunetly Sandy did the imagining for me.

FACHANS

"Fachans have one eye in their forehead, one arm coming out of their chest, one leg supporting their body, and a coating of feathers. Fachans love magical weaponry, and often possess magical weapons. They often possess blade venom, and are not uncommonly found with an iron weapon of some sort. They love to fight and slay, and are of incredible strength. They have a prodigious leaping ability.

Occasionally cults have beguiled fachans to serve them, usually by offering such treasures as Seal Wound matrices and the like.

Beginning fachans are of course less skilled in fighting, but beginning fachans are rarely encountered."

HD 3 AC 5

Armed with flail or bare fist, doing double damage due to strength 1d6+3

If treasure roll indicates a magic weapon they are wielding it, rolled magic swords carry a poison on the blade.

Move: Can leap 10 times their HD in yards outdoors or in feet in a dungeon. 3 times vertically, otherwise 90 feet a turn.

This ended up following a bit of a set conversion formula, which stuck most RQ monsters in the HD 2-3 band.

Whole HD is 6, so 19/6 = 3.2 = HD 3

The highest AP is from their skin which is 4, so the AC is 9-AC=4, so AC is 5

Damage and HD in OD&D is just in d6s, but if Supplement 1: Greyhawk is being used the damage is 1d6 (Flail) + 1 per d6 or fraction. So 1d6+3

Since most monsters in RQ use weapons with a higher number of dice than in D&D, I decided to deduct a dice from damages and hope the static bonus from SIZ + STR makes up for it.

Morale is usually 7 because everyone forgets about it

WATER-LEAPERS

"This monster inhabits small ponds and lakes. It preys on fishermen, stray animals, and occasional travelers. It resembles an immense limbless toad. In place of legs it possesses great batlike wings and it has a long, mobile tail."

HD 2 AC 6

Attacks 2: Can simultaneously Bite and Strike with the Tail

If it bites, it will try to drag the victim into the pond to drown him. Save vs Paralysis to resist. If the water leaper fails to drag it will let go and try again. 1d10+1

If it hits with tail, the tail continues to do damage each round until released or killed. OR 1d6 and contriction

Move: Flight 135 feet per turn

It surprises on a roll of 1-5 of a d6.

NIGHTGAUNTS

"These creatures usually serve a god of darkness. They are somewhat humanoid, with bat-like wings and a barbed tail. Instead of a face, there is a blank expanse of skin. Nightgaunts are absolutely silent, but can understand certain tongues. Two nightgaunts are capable of carrying a being of SIZ 21 or less. Each extra nightgaunt enables a being of 6 more SIZ points to be carried.

The usual mode for a nightgaunt attack is for a group of them to ambush and disarm their foe, then lift him up and deposit him in the most dismal, dangerous spot possible. Nightgaunts rarely kill a victim on their own. If a victim is particularly obnoxious, the nightgaunts may drop him from a height. Nightgaunts are typically used as guardians over temples and mountains. They will not come out in the daylight."

HD 2 AC 7

Attack 1: If it hits the target is seized, and the Nightgaunt begins to tickle if the victim continues to struggle.

The victim must pass a save vs paralysis (use that a lot for CON, STR or FOR stuff) or be immobilized for 1d6 rounds.

Can carry up to 1 human with gear on it's own, and 2 more needed per additional human's worth of weight

Move: 90 feet per turn, flight 180 feet per turn

Surprises on a 1-5 on a d6.

BANDERSNATCHES

"This well-known animal is also from Lewis Carroll, and is mentioned in the book Through the Looking Glass. Unfortunately, very little information is given about it, except to say that it is ‘frumious’ and is the source of the expression ‘as quick as a bandersnatch.’ I have taken some liberties with the creature."

HD 3 AC 7

Attacks 2: Can simultaneously attack with claws 1d6 + 2

Move: 180 feet per turn

Ignores Morale rolls if wounded

Every round of melee after the first, the Bandersnatch emits clouds of vapor that improve AC by 1 per round with no maximum. This cloud extends 15 feet

Surprises on a 1-3 on a d6.

HEADHANGERS

These resemble a huge pallid spined and clawed insect or reptile. Sprouting from the flaccid body are numerous stalks, often bearing living humanoid head. Headhangers only prey on intelligent creatures, and the heads stay alive for months while the energies of the victims are gradually consumed by the creature.

The heads will aid the headhanger in fighting by shouting, spitting, and otherwise distracting opponents in combat. This gives the headhanger a +05% defense per each head on its body.

If the headhanger can sever a victim’s head, it is stored internally and will grow on a stalk in 24 hours. Victims of a headhanger are not free to have their spirits go to a proper heaven or hell until their heads are completely absorbed. Usually has 1D10 heads.

HD 3 AC 5

Attack 2: Both attacks occur simultaneously 1d8+2

If maximum damage is rolled or the victim killed, the head is considered severed and swallowed by the headhanger

Move: 120 feet per turn.

Each heads gives -1 to attacks against the headhanger.

SHARK-MEN

These beings are strictly oceanic and islandic in nature. They are the sons of a shark god and were-sharks. They are always in Mindspeech with nearby sharks and are capable of commanding them about. In human form, the shark-men always wear a cape or other back covering. This is because they can be recognized by a shark’s gaping maw visible on their backs. Even in human form they are exceptionally strong. Shark-men think of humans as extremely unimportant, and will not usually make deals or treat humans even as slaves. They lose no intelligence in shark form.

HD 2 in human form/ HD 3 in shark form AC 4 even in human form

Attacks 1: A Shark-Man can bite or attack two opponents with a Fin Slash

Bite has double damage in shark form 1d10+1 in human form 1d10+2 in shark form

Fin Slash 1d8

Surprises on a roll of 1-3 on a d6

Move: 120 feet per turn as human, swim 240 feet per turn as a shark

PERIPATI

This immense worm has multiple legs and three rasping mouthsaws. They are only found in forests and jungles and ruins after or during heavy rain. Their eyes are on the tips of long tentacles. A favored trick is to hide the body and leave just the eyes, looking like the stalks of some dead plant, poking out. These animals fear fire and have a 1 in 20 cumulative chance per round of becoming demoralized if fire is used against them. This must be fire in some effective form—a lantern or candle will not frighten the peripatus.

HD 3 AC 8

Attacks 4: Every round the peripatus can Bite and Trample the same or different targets and shoot it's glue from it's fore-tubes twice

Bite 2d4

Trample does double damage 3d6

Glue: The peripatus has two fore tubes through which it can squirt a gluey fluid up to 60 feet distant. If the attack hits, the victim is glued to the ground unless a successful Save vs Paralysis or Bend Bars roll is made.

The victums cannot move or attack but can parry, but cannot do so on the round they are trying to escape.

JUBJUB BIRDS

This is another, and the last, of the monsters from Lewis Carroll’s famed poem Jabberwocky. It somewhat resembles a monstrous crow with a hooked beak. A favorite pastime of the jubjub bird is to swoop suddenly down and carry off a person in each claw while knocking down the rest of the group with the blast of air from its wings. Jubjub birds generally inhabit deserted woods.

HD 3 AC 5

Attacks 5: Claws 1d6+2

Beak 1d8+2

Wing Buffet 1d6

If either claw hits a victim, the victim is grasped and the bird may attempt to carry him off next round. Victim may roll for a successful save vs paralysis or Bend Bars roll to escape the claw.

UPDATE - Let's add the classic RQ monster the Jack O'Bear, whose depiction changes with the level of seriousness Chaosium wants us to take Glorantha as a setting.

JACK O’BEARS

Humanoid in shape, this strange creature has what seems to be a pumpkin for a head and an exotic talent not to be sneered at.

The Jack O’Bear can ensnare another’s mind. These victims whose saves are overcome are frozen in place and helpless unless the Jack O’Bear dies or a form of Dispel Magic is used against the Harmonize. Jack O’Bears are basically Chaotic, and the Harmonize is the Chaotic Feature they have as a result.

HD 3 AC 6

Attacks 2: Simultaneous 1d6+1

Once per round per victim, the Jack O’Bear can hypnotize victims up to a total of twice its HD, who must save vs spells or be frozen in place and helpless.

Move 150 feet per turn

Surprises on a roll of 1-3 on a d6. 

Scale and Borderlands for Cyberpunk

 So it's been a while.

What was surposed to be a short break for work and to reset my erratic schedualing managed to become 2 months. My only consultation is that Throne of Salt, the blog which inspired me to restart this blog after leaving it for 5 years hasn't updated since September, but Dan writes more than me and more frequently.

So if you don't know Borderlands, it was a video game series by Gearbox Software which pioneered the Looter-Shooter genre. Where you shoot through a class-based FPS and constantly find and exchange gear (mostly guns) for better versions.

Apart from the nice cell-shaded graphic, the main draw was the desolate wastes of the planet Pandora and the dark humour that cam with it being populated by an ecology of horrible monsters, Mad Max bandits and hard-scrabbled settlers.

But there is a fun intersection here with Cyberpunk. In a set of audio logs, the governor of one of the few refugee settlements to survive lays out the background details of how the planet came to be like it is. This background and the whole setting's background changed every game so it's only relevant for the first game where the lore was established.

• "With thirty thousand prisoners on Pandora, you may wonder what Dahl's security plan was. The answer is just as cheap and short-sighted as the plan to have thirty thousand criminals do your work for you. Dahl's security plan consisted of 600 armed men, and over forty six hundred unmanned sentry turrets. Predictably, when the prisoners took over the mines and prisons, they took over the sentry turrets as well."

This puts the game in a new perspective. Thity thousand prisoners got released 2 years prior and manage to route 600 armed men (who were mostly left there by Dahl), plus an unknown, isolated by well-armed civilian/administrative population. There couldn't have been more than 100,000 people on the entire planet in it's heyday and probably a lot lower. Yes the Crimson Lance was there as well making things worse but this looks less like a Mad Max planet and more like a single region left as an open-air prison.

Which brigns up to the topic at hand.

Death Valley Free Prison is descibed as 4000 square miles of hell-on-earth.

Within its borders dwell half a million depraved Gangmembers, battlescarred mercenaries, renegade netheads, demented road warriors, psychopathic felons, and other assorted social rejects. It's easy to get in, but just try to escape.

This does everything Borderlands wants (bar the monsters) and leaves the video game as simply a failure to conceive scale. Every plot and character you want out of the Borderlands 1, 2 and the prequel can fit inside Death Valley or any other part of the ruined USA you want in a way for your players to visit without having to justify why the bandits haven't overrun Night City.

Now DVFP was made for Cyberspace, a derivitive of Spacemaster/Rolemaster and not for any of the Cyberpunk editions. But in a fortunate coincidence, I was in Florence, Italy, in a little games shop off the Cathedral called Stratagemma. I found a Cyberpunk 2020 adaption of it. It looks like the European distrabutor had a habit of releasing various 2020 books that were alt-universes like Gravity Falls as far-future sourcebooks and repackage other games lik Cyberspace as 2020 books presumebly becuase they sold better. So I ended up with a compatible game but in Italian.

With a few conversion equations from Challenge Magazine, you can even you wing the process. Now we got not a lot of material on SoCal in Cyberpunk's timeline, so there is plenty of game space to insert DVFP either exactly as it appears or as a wholesale reference to Borderlands.
If you want an excuse for why no on cares, you could set it in Texas where there is a lack of setting material and empathy as well. You could even set it in the nebulous south-west if the rock formations are essential.

You can always blame Biotechnica for the monsters.

Mixing TMNT&OS And AD&D

 So, preempting my already late post was an annoucnement about the future Kickerstarter for the reprint of Palldium Game's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness.

TMNT & OS is a fun game, I having eventually tracked it down and owned it. But it suffers from Palldium's unholy fusion of AD&D, Runequest and the worse excesses of 80s roleplaying. The most fun element of character creation (the mutations) is almost completely divorced from the rest of the game, the combat rules move like molasses depending on how many attacks you get in vs the large number of SDC characters have as a legacy from Heroes Unlimited and the gun rules are held up by a desperate attempt for realism in a game about mutant animals. And finally some things like Boxing, which gave you an extra attack was a mandatory pick regardless of the character.

But it's still fun to roll up a bunch of random mutnats armed to the teeth with ninja weapons and machine guns.

Animal people being a staple of D&D and Palladium running on almost the same syystem as AD&D. It would be a shame to not take the opportunity to mix the two together. Either for a Dr. Moreau style Magic-User or just another random race to popluate a setting/dungeon. This does require you to know the TMNT & OS system already but it's not likely you would be using this if you didn't already have an idea of both systemms.

Palladium TMNT/After the Bomb to AD&D and Other Games

1)      Roll attributes as usual and roll to see what mutant animal you are if you don’t choose.

 

2)      Understand that the Attributes are the same and convert them, dividing each bonus by half.

Strength = Physical Strength, Dexterity = Physical Prowess, Constitution = Physical Endurance, Intelligence = Intelligence Quotient, Wisdom = Mental Endurance, Charisma = Mental Affinity, Comeliness = Physical Beauty. Base Movement = Speed.

Example) Cat – Domestic has MA+2 and PP+3, which converts to Cha + 1 and Dex +2.

3)      Convert Growth Steps bonuses using the same process, Anything under GS 6 is Small and over GS 14 is Large. Halve the bonuses and penalties received for this GS as in 2).

Example) The player doesn’t wish his cat to be Small, so he spends 15 BIO-E to reach GS 6

4)      Spend BIO-E on and convert the Human Features, None means exactly that, cannot use that features as a human would. Partial hands give -2 penalty to tools spell-casting and non-natural weapon usage. Partial Upright Stance means the character can attack but moves at half speed unless on all fours, cannot perform jumps, leaps or similar. Partial Speech means reaction rolls are at a -1 due to extremely difficult and growly speech. Human Looks – None imposes a -2 to Reaction Rolls, Partial Human Features impose a -1 and Full Human Features give no penalty.

 

5)      Spend BIO-E on Natural Weapons and Powers, Any AR gained is converted to a natural AC via the equation AC = 15 - AR

6)      SDC, gained from GS and natural armor is converted into starting HD by deducting 30 from the mutant animal's SDC and then divide by 20 to get the HP bonus.

How Domains work in AD&D 1E

 The DMG rules about Domains are frequently unclear.

    This is not surprising since Gygax loved his prose but is a major deficit for enabling the D&D endgoal. Indeed, since D&D started as an add-on to Chainmail and mass combat you can say Domains are the ultimete point. But losing that endgame to incomprehensibility was the first step towards the 3.0 Fighter and beyond where they are just people who hit things well and the Wizard, Clerics and friends were much more versatile and so popular to play.

So many years ago I asked several people over at an internet forum and this is what they determined from a close reading of the rules on DMG pp.93-94. The rules are replicated to the right on the image with a helpful set of images to make sense of them.

1) The player chooses a location in the wilderness to build their Domain. The player nominates what conditions they are looking for and the DM usually says yes. Very surprising the players words that determine the start unless its "totally foreign to the area".

The DM gives them a map of the local area. Here it's a little unclear what the scale is, but the player should be given a unique map. The central 1-mile hex which will contain the stronghold and the surround 6 others. But mapped out to 200 yards a hex, so 7 hexes each comprised of 9 sub-hexes (Top Map).

The DM can make random terrain rolls for each 200 yard hex, but clearly there shouldn't be any prexisting fortresses. Since it's Unihabited terrain, the 1d20 check can only produce fortress. But with 61 hexes per mile, you get three castles in each of them on average, 21 in total and that barely qualify as a wilderness at all. But there is nothing explicitly stopping the DM from doing so and having role-playing encounters about paying tax or independence.

The players will nee to give you a map of the proposed stonghold as well and that's mostly a fiddly look at wall types, buildings, furnishings and traps.

2) The DM makes random monster encounter rolls once for each 200 yard hex to flesh out what is already there prior to the player arriving and what needs to be dealt with. This could also lead to little clusters of independent and inteligence monsters which make for good roleplaying games. What table this check is amde on is not stated but later rolls involve the Unihabited/Wilderness table in Appendix C so we can consider that table to be used here as well.

3) Once the 61 x 7 = 427 hexes have been cleared of threats, construction can start, the players somehow having to organise the movement of men and material without any followers except what they pay for with their dungeon loot to guard. Every week a random monster check is made to see if a monster has wandered into one of the 7 central hexes but no word on whether they are seeking to reoccupy the area as with the larger 1 mile hexes (See Bottom Map for Scale). You can roll the hex or place to your whims.

While this is going on, the players should be going out and exploring the surrounding hexes, which they do on a 1 mile hex basis and are exactly the same as normal. It's not clear if these are allowed to roll for settlements but it's a little easier to imagine bandit strongholds 10 miles from each other away rather than 2000 yards apart. It would be very Wisconsin-scaling of Gygax to imagine a land where there's an inhabited settlement only every 30 miles. In this case, a random monster check is made daily to see what wanders into the hexes that border the yet unclaimed/uncleared hexes and settle down. Potentally reverting it back to wilderness.

This can be detered by "posting and placement of skulls, carcasses etc" to signal to intelligent monsters they aren't welcome. Regular strong patrols "who leave evidence of their passing" and agressivly destroy intruding monsters. And later organised communties with miltia. All very American frontier stuff where the hostile tribes are kept at pay and mixed with Ye Olde English pirates and highwayman strung up in gibbets.

4) Once the Stronghold is made and the 7 hexes cleared part-way through step 3, followers can be rolled and peasants of the player's area and alignment will start to move in. The players still need weekly patrols (or daily visits to different areas) to keep wandering monster rolls to 1 per week from the Uninhabited table. However, another weekly check is made on the Inhabibted table or 3 per week if there is a road going through the Domain. This is how the Domain grows, not by some formula but by ghetting luck on the random monster table becuase lucky rolls are here to settle. It's not clear how they want to settle or how many per hex, but they start from the castle and go out. This means tax and the Stonghold no longer becoems a drain on the party dungeon fund.

This also means the minimum size for a Domain is 3 mile across and you can fit a lot of petty 7 mile lords in a 30 mile campaign hex.

5) Once a Domain has expanded/patrolled to at least 30 miles in radius (See Middle Map), then you only make Inhabited Monster Table rolls and you ignore "all unfavourable ones" except 1 per month. This is a huge amount of territory, 30 mile radius is 2338.3 square miles or 3,407 hexes to clear indivdually not counting the 7 you would have to do on a 200 yard basis. Wizards can't even achieve this, being limited to 20 mile radius. Fighters can go out to a 50 mile radius which puts them in the big leagues with the Dukes of the Holy Roman Empire for territory. All very American frontier.

Hopefully this helps explain some of the tricker wording.

Equipment Restrictions in Cyberpunk 2020

Been a while so I guss that means two posts this week.

So Cyberpunk 2020 is a grand old game, easier and faster to play than Shadowrun and cleaves more to the spirit of the genre. If leaning more on the hardware side than the Gibson techno-mysticism and altered perception style.

But something Shadowrun does have over Cyberpunk is a neat little criminality rating for gear. This determines if the authorities stop you for possessing the gear and what penalities you get if they catch you with it.

Cyberpunk 2020 doesn't have that, in fact that is a big problem. Since Cyberpunk rates body armour and gun calibur as the most important objects to keep a player alive, it encourages players to go everywhere dressed to fight and adventure.

Cyberpunk does try and tell the Referee to restrain them from doing so, but that is the sort of thing that can get lost in the shuffle, someone neglects to mention their Armourjacket is is on all the way into the boardroom meeting. The legality of gear is handled with vague mentions inside Protect & Serve, the Cop sourcebook. That's good, that creates tension whenever the Law shows up as the players aren't sure what the crooked cops can try and catch them out on.

But the Street is a dangerous place and many things are ignored. But my system is designed to inform the players and Referee when not to ignore them. It's build from the quick NPC Threat Codes used in the Night City sourcebook. Page 40 onwards of Night City lists Threat Codes for quickly building goons and what common security looks like for a building. These range from E to AA for skills, E to A for weapons and armour and for buildings it's 0 to 4. This we turn into the Response Threshold.

If we take the Weapon and the Armor Codes and say that's the Response Threshold. Anything beyond is when the people with enforcement powers rock up to ask questions about your business.

For example, the Combat Zone has a RT of 1A, anything goes.

Get into the guarded burbs and it becomes 4C or 4D depending on the wealth of the neighborhood. Small pistols and melee weapons are permitted for self-defenses reasons but some areas will or won't baulk at Armour Jackets.

Corporate District is 4E, but inside the buildings it's 5E for visitors. You are not getting a weapon inside a corp office, through the front door.

You could even tie it to the Security Level of a Building. Take the 0 to 4 Security Level number and count upwards from the bottom to get the RT/what different places won't let you walk in with, or count from the generally security of the area if it's not supposed to be a secure site.