Sunday, March 11, 2012

20 Questions: OSR Dating Service

Not that I'm looking to date any Old School Gamers -- both seeing as how I'm taken and 99% of them are guys even older than me -- but this looked intriguing when I saw it here. My answers have varied dramatically over time, so I'll just answer according to my last D&D campaign, the Garham to Greyhawk Campaign I've posted about here earlier.

Ability scores generation method? 3d6 in order, re-rolls possible if no scores are above 12
How are death and dying handled? unconscious at 0 hp, dead at -1 or lower
What about raising the dead? could be acquired from temples in the cities, but always necessitated a quest more dangerous than the level of the party
How are replacement PCs handled? player input was encouraged, with most replacements chosen to be relatives
Initiative: individual, group, or something else? group, or groups if the PCs were not all on the same side
Are there critical hits and fumbles? How do they work? I eliminated those two campaigns ago and don't miss them
Do I get any benefits for wearing a helmet? usually no, but in my last campaign I tried a house rule where wearing a helmet meant you were not dead until -2 hp -- it was very well-received
Can I hurt my friends if I fire into melee or do something similarly silly? 3E/Pathfinder players don't seem to get this, but yes -- shooting a missile weapon into a melee can and probably will hit one of your friends in the back
Will we need to run from some encounters, or will we be able to kill everything? they're always supposed to run, but they so often don't...
Level-draining monsters: yes or no? yes, though I allow a save vs. death magic to avoid the energy drain
Are there going to be cases where a failed save results in PC death? yes and, if I'm the player, the answer is almost every dang time
How strictly are encumbrance & resources tracked? resources yes, but I have never been a stickler on encumbrance
What's required when my PC gains a level? Training? Do I get new spells automatically? Can it happen in the middle of an adventure, or do I have to wait for down time? I always required training and RP'ed spell acquisition, but this last time I allowed it all to be automatic and didn't regret it
What do I get experience for? monsters defeated, gp value of treasure, role-playing, being funny, and attendance
How are traps located? Description, dice rolling, or some combination? dice rolls; we used thieves
Are retainers encouraged and how does morale work? encouraged and surprisingly embraced this last time; morale was handled by 1st ed. AD&D rules
How do I identify magic items? have a high-level m-u take a quick look at them or a low-level m-u spend a week looking at them
Can I buy magic items? Oh, come on: how about just potions? everything was for sale in Greyhawk City, but almost no availability elsewhere
Can I create magic items? When and how? m-u's could make scrolls at any time (but didn't) and potion-making would have been made available to mid-level m-u's
What about splitting the party? I never encouraged it, but they would choose to all the time

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