LL/5e Mashup: Arcane Trickster and Arcane Champion

I just came across some notes related to the ideas I had for a 5e-inspired Arcane Champion (Warrior) class and Arcane Trickster (Rogue) class.

It's just simple lists of spells, but I thought I might as well type them up, for completeness, rather than entirely discard them. So here we go.

Arcane Trickster
1st Level Spells

1. Auditory illusion
2. Dancing lights
3. Darkness globe
4. Doppelganger
5. Charm person
6. Feather fall
7. Comprehend languages
8. Jump
9. Read languages
10. Spider climb
11. Unseen servant
12. Ventriloquism

2nd Level Spells

1. Invisibility
2. Phantasmal force
3. ESP
4. Knock
5. Levitate
6. Locate object
7. Detect invisible
8. False gold

3rd Level Spells

1. Blink
2. Haste
3. Hold person
4. Nondetection
5. Suggestion
6. Infravision

4th Level Spells

1. Arcane eye
2. Charm monster
3. Dimension door
4. Polymorph self

Arcane Champion
1st Level Spells

1. Light
2. Magic missile
3. Burning hands
4. Protection from evil
5. Shield
6. Shocking grasp

2nd Level Spells

1.  Detect evil
2. Scare
3. Strength
4. Pyrotechnics
5. Mirror image
6. Ray of enfeeblement

3rd Level Spells

1. Dispel magic
2. Fireball
3. Lightning bolt
4. Haste
5. Hold person
6. Protection from normal missiles

4th Level Spells

1. Enchant arms
2. Fire shield
3. Ice storm
4. Wall of fire

LL/5e Mashup: Bard Songs

In my previous post about the Rogue class and its various sub-classes, I didn't go into any detail as to what spells exactly are usable by the magic-using sub-classes, the bard and the arcane trickster.

Here's the list of songs available to bards. I'm keeping things limited to the spells that are available in the LL Advanced Edition Companion, initially.

Bard Magic
Bard songs take one turn to have magical effect. Bards do not need to memorise songs -- they can play any magical song they know at any time, subject to the limited number of songs per level per day.

Bard songs which produce an effect with a duration need not be physically played or sung for longer than the one turn casting time. Once the spell takes effect, the bard may stop playing. The song instead lingers in the bard's mind until its duration expires. During this time, if the bard plays any other magical song, the maintained spell is cancelled. Songs with permanent duration do not have this requirement.

Songs which have the effect of enchanting another person must be audible to the target in order for the magic to take hold.

Bard Spell List

First level
Allure
Charm person
Doppelganger
Identify
Light
Mending
Protection from evil
Remove fear

Second Level
Arcane lock
Bless
Continual light
Cure light wounds
Invisibility
Knock
Phantasmal force
Snake charm

Third Level
Augury
Fly
Haste
Protection from evil, 10' radius
Purify food and drink
Tiny hut

Fourth Level
Arcane eye
Charm monster
Create food and water
Cure serious wounds
Enchant arms
Implant emotion

LL/5e Mashup: The Warrior Class

Following on from the write-up of my rough ideas for a 5e-inspired Rogue class for Labyrinth Lord, here are my thoughts on a Warrior class. (I'm following the 2e class groups here, a concept which I always found appealing -- so the classes will be: Warrior, Rogue, Priest, Wizard.)

Warrior
Proficiencies: all armour, shields, simple weapons, martial weapons, 2 of: Acrobatics, Awareness, Climbing, Survival, Swimming.

1st level:
Fighting Style: Choose one of the following fighting styles:

• Archery: +1 to attacks with missile weapons.
• Defence: +1 AC bonus when wearing armour.
• Duelling: +1 to attacks and damage rolls when wielding only a one-handed melee weapon.
• Heavy Weapon Fighting: When wielding a heavy, two-handed weapon, re-roll damage dice which come up 1. (You may only re-roll once per attack and must keep the second roll.)
• Protection: When wielding a shield, you can grant a +2 AC bonus to a single character within 5' of you.
• Two-Weapon Fighting: (The exact effect of this fighting style depends on the rules for two-weapon fighting, which I've not decided on yet.)

2nd level:
Warrior Archetype: Choose an archetype.

6th level:
Extra Attack: You can make two attack rolls on your turn.

11th level:
Extra Attack: You can make three attack rolls on your turn.

20th level:
Extra Attack: You can make four attack rolls on your turn.

Warrior Archetypes

Fighter
2nd level:
Improved Critical: An attack roll of 19 or 20 is a critical hit.

4th level:
Indomitable: Once per day, you can re-roll a failed saving throw.

10th level:
Fighting Style: Choose a second fighting style.

Arcane Champion
2nd level:
Spell-Casting: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited.

4th level:
Weapon Bond: With a one hour ritual, you can bond up to two weapons to yourself. A bonded weapon can be summoned instantly to your hand from anywhere on the same plane of existence.

10th level:
War Magic: You can make a single attack and cast a spell in the same round.

Slayer
2nd level:
Favoured Enemy: Choose a monster type (dragons, goblinoids, giants, animals, etc) or a profession (cultists, witches, outlaws, etc). You gain a +1 bonus to Search checks to track or Lore checks to recall knowledge about your chosen enemy.

4th level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with Awareness and Stealth.

10th level:
Second Favoured Enemy: Choose another type of favoured enemy.
Expert Slayer: Gain +1 to hit and damage against your favoured enemies. Gain a +2 bonus to saving throws and AC against their attacks.

Beast Master
2nd level:
Animal Companion: A normal animal becomes your faithful companion. You may purchase the animal or find it in the wild. In combat, you can give the animal verbal commands. If your companion dies, you may find another beast to replace it after a week.

4th level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with Awareness and Nature.

10th level:
Bestial Fury: Your animal companion may make one extra attack each round.

Berserker
I'm planning a berserker warrior sub-class, but haven't come up with any mechanics that I like yet. I'm not that keen on the 5e barbarian berserker, with the "resource management rage" mechanic. I don't see berserk fury as something that has to be scrupulously managed.

If anyone has any ideas for a berserker sub-class that'd fit with the system above, please suggest!

Wot No Paladins?
Yeah... I don't believe in paladins. I've never really understood how they're different from clerics.

LL/5e Mashup: The Rogue Class

Now that we have a skill system, I'll present the rough outline for a class: the rogue. Yes, I'm calling it "rogue" not "thief". There's a good reason for that: one of the things I love about the 5e rules is the way that each class has several different "archetypes" -- essentially sub-classes -- which players can choose between. In the case of the rogue class, one of those archetypes is the thief.

Here's what I have so far. (Note that I won't discuss things like Hit Dice, XP progression, attack rolls, saving throws. That's, for now, assumed to be the same as in LL.)

First, a quick note on the types of proficiency...

Proficiencies

• Skills (see here).
• Weapons: non-proficient attacks incur a -4 penalty to hit.
• Armour: wearing armour with which the character is not proficient incurs some penalty that I've not fully considered yet. You definitely can't cast spells, at least.
• Tools: work like skills. 1 in 6 base chance of success, modified by ability score and proficiency bonus. I like the D&D 5 list of tools, so would go with that.

Ok, now the rogue...

Rogue
Proficiencies: light armour, simple weapons, hand crossbow, longsword, rapier, shortsword, thieves' tools, 4 of: Acrobatics, Arcana, Awareness, Climbing, Lore, Performance, Search, Sleight of hand, Stealth.

1st level:
Expertise: Gain a +1 bonus using 2 skills (or your proficiency with thieves' tools) of your choice.
Sneak Attack: +4 bonus to hit and double damage against a target who is not aware of your presence. (Finesse or missile weapons only.)
Thieves' Cant: Speak the secret code language of thieves.

2nd level:
Rogue Archetype: Choose an archetype.

6th level:
Expertise: Choose 2 more skills to gain a +1 bonus.

Rogue Archetypes

Thief
2nd level:
Fast Hands: Make two checks with your thieves' tools in one turn. (Note: I'm talking LL turns here = 10 minutes.)

4th level:
Read Languages: Make a Lore check to understand the broad gist of any text.

10th level:
Use scrolls: Make an Arcana check to use magic-user scrolls.

(Note: I think the thief could probably be beefed up a little bit, compared to the other archetypes.)

Assassin
2nd level:
Extra Proficiencies: Gain proficiency with disguise and poisoner's kits.

4th level:
Assassinate: (Exact effect to-be-determined... Probably simply an increasing sneak attack multiplier.)

10th level:
Infiltration: Pretty much as described in the 5e rules. The ability to create a false identity and to mimic someone's behaviour and voice.

Arcane Trickster
2nd level:
Spell-Casting: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited. Initially: unseen servant and one other.

4th level:
Legerdemain: Use thieves' tools or Sleight of hand via unseen servant.
Use scrolls: Make an Arcana check to use magic-user scrolls.

10th level:
Magical Ambush: Targets who are unaware of your presence suffer a -4 penalty on saves against your spells.

Bard
2nd level:
Magical Songs: Limited spell list. Slow progression, up to 4th level spells. Number of spells known is strictly limited. Spells require a Performance check and one turn.

4th level:
Read Languages: Make a Lore check to understand the broad gist of any text.

10th level:
Counter-Charm: (Exact effect to-be-determined)

Acrobat
2nd level:
Dodge: You can dodge out of reach of enemies, making a fighting retreat at full speed.
Tumbling Attack: Make an Acrobatics check to move towards an enemy, make a melee attack, then leap out of reach (effectively a fighting retreat) all in one round.

4th level:
Evasion: For effects which allow a save for half damage, a save indicates that you take no damage. You suffer half damage on a failed save.
Slow Fall: Subtract your level from falling damage.

10th level:
Uncanny Dodge: When damaged by an attacker that you can see, make an Acrobatics check to reduce the damage by half.

LL/5e Mashup: Skills

As I mentioned on Google+, I've been thinking about how it might look to take some of the bits I like about D&D 5 into a simpler rules system like Labyrinth Lord. One of my favourite bits of the new edition is the simple skills / proficiency system. This forms a foundation for some other stuff, so I'll lay that out first.

Skill Checks
1d6 based, like LotFP. All characters have a base 1 in 6 chance of success.

Modifiers:

• Relevant ability score above 14: +1 in 6 chance of success.
• Relevant ability score below 7: -1 in 6 chance of success.
• Proficient: +1 at 1st level, +2 at 5th level, +3 at 10th level, +4 at 15th level.
• Difficulty: easy tasks may increase, difficult tasks reduce the chance of success (as the referee wishes).

Notes:

I've never been a fan of the d20 system, so in considering a skill system suitable for bolting onto Labyrinth Lord, I knew immediately that I'd be looking for something else. I went for a d6 based skill system for several reasons: its precedent in the basic rules in the form of rolls to hear noises or find secret doors, surprise, etc; its use in LotFP, which I'm familiar with and have always admired. You could bolt on another system easily enough; you just need to make sure the proficiency bonus progression and any bonuses granted by other abilities match it.

List of Skills
Acrobatics
Arcana (detect magic -- 1 turn)
Awareness (surprise / notice hidden)
Climbing
Engineering (stone stuff, dwarves are proficient)
Lore (legends, history)
Medicine
Nature (knowledge, connection with animals)
Performance

Religion (detect divine or infernal influence -- 1 turn)
Search (find secret doors / hidden things)
Sleight of hand
Stealth
Survival
Swimming

Notes:

• I chose to split athletics into climbing and swimming as a nod to the traditional thief, who's great at climbing but whom I don't see as great at other athletic activities.
• The uses of arcana and religion to detect magic or cosmic influence are house rules I've used for years in LL. They seemed to fit these skills perfectly.
• I've chosen a list without any "social" skills. You could add them back in, if you like. The exact list doesn't really matter that much.

D&D Mine: Players' Rules Draft

Over the last month I've been posting some extracts from the custom D&D rules, based on Swords & Wizardry, which I've been tinkering around with, planned for use in a future campaign.

I've now got the document to a point where it feels more or less finished. It's still very much a draft -- I've not given much attention yet to layout, and certain sections are open to modification or expansion (for example, I want to add more alchemical and herbal items in the equipment list). The basic structure of the rules is there though.

It's intended to be printed as an A5 booklet, the second in a set of six or so short booklets describing the rules and campaign setting. The complete set is envisaged as follows:

1. Players' setting guide: a broad map of the campaign area, and some basic information about different regions, the people and creatures which inhabit them, and some cultural / historical information.
2. Players' rules book.
3. Saints & Shrines: for use by players of Zealot characters. Describes a pantheon of saints, and the miraculous blessings which are purported to them. The location of the shrines of some of these saints is described; others must be discovered through play.
4. Theorems & Thaumaturgy: details a set of magical tomes, arcane libraries and arch-mages, which provide the initial spell selection of Magus characters.
5. Referee's setting guide: a proper hex map and descriptions of the hex contents.
6. Monsters.

I've uploaded the rules booklet as a google doc.

Any feedback would be most appreciated!

D&D Mine: The Adventurer

Following the Magus, Fighter and Slayer (Zealot / Defender / Champion ... still undecided), last up in the roster of classes for my future D&D campaign is the Adventurer.

As the Adventurer class is so tied to the simple skills system of the game, I've also pasted in the section which explains how skills work. This is, of course, heavily inspired by James Raggi's Weird Fantasy RPG. As in that game, a character of any class with at least a 1 in 6 chance of success with a skill can attempt to use is. Adventurers are, however, the only characters who can actually improve their skills. Note the addition of some bardy, rangery and assassiny skills.

Also note, again, that the class gains a unique (i.e. unavailable to other classes) bonus based on its prime requisite, Dexterity in this case.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

ps. Sorry the formatting below is a bit odd. I just pasted it in from the rules document, and it's not survived the transition that well.

The Adventurer

You are a wanderer and a rogue, following wherever the road leads and the next adventure is found. Whether a dashing duellist or highwayman, a professional thief, or a wilderness ranger, you live by your sword, your wits and your manifold talents. While Fighters may exceed your ability in combat, and other characters wield power over supernatural forces, your forte is in the mastery of the skills essential to a life of adventure.

Table 3: Adventurer Advancement

Level	XP	d6 HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1	+0	14
2	1,250	2	+0	13
3	2,500	3	+1	12
4	5,000	4	+1	11
5	10,000	5	+2	10
6	20,000	6	+2	9
7	40,000	7	+3	8
8	80,000	8	+3	7
9	160,000	9	+4	6
10	320,000	10	+4	5

Adventurer Class Abilities

XP Modified by Dexterity: The Dexterity Modifier applies to XP gained by this class.

Saving Throw: Adventurers get +1 on saving throws vs. traps.

Weapon/Armour Restrictions: Adventurers are able to use any type of armour and weapons. However, they favour light weapons which allow a quick and agile fighting style. Adventurers suffer a -1 penalty to hit when using two-handed melee weapons, heavy crossbows, longbows and muskets.

Agile Fighting: Adventurers tend to favour light weapons and armour, preferring to rely on swiftness of foot and blade to avoid harm in combat. When wearing leather armour or brigandine, they gain an AC bonus based on their Dexterity score.

Dexterity	AC Bonus
13 - 15	+1
16 - 17	+2
18	+3

Adventuring Skills: As specialists in subterfuge, audacity and derringo-do, Adventurers are able to excel at a wide range of abilities which can aid them in their trade. An Adventurer gains four points at 1st level to add to skills of his choice, improving his chance of success. Each point spent adds a 1 in 6 chance to the skill succeeding. Adventurers receive two additional points with every level gained thereafter.

Adventuring Skills

The following skills are areas of expertise which are commonly useful in adventures.

All skills are handled with a simple d6 roll, with lower values indicating success. Some skills can be attempted by any character, and have a base 1 in 6 chance of success. Other skills require training and have a base 0 in 6 chance of success. Many skills are also modified by an ability score. In this case, a -1 penalty (a score of 8 or lower) reduces the chance of success by 1 in 6, and a +1 bonus (a score of 13 or higher) increases its chance by 1 in 6. In order to use a skill, the character must have at least a 1 in 6 chance of success.

Adventurer characters gain points at each level to improve their skills. No skill can be advanced to greater than 5 in 6.

A character's chance of success with all skills should be noted on the character sheet.

Skill	Base Chance	Modifying Attribute
Climbing	1 in 6	Strength
Danger Sense	1 in 6	Wisdom
Disguise	1 in 6	Charisma
Folklore	1 in 6	Intelligence
Hunting	1 in 6	Wisdom
Languages	0 in 6	Intelligence
Mechanisms	0 in 6	None
Poisons	0 in 6	None
Searching	1 in 6	None
Sleight of Hand	1 in 6	Dexterity
Stealth	1 in 6	Dexterity
Surprise Attack	0 in 6	None

Descriptions of how these skills can be used are given in the chapter on game rules.

D&D Mine: The Slayer

Following the Magus and Fighter, next up in the class roster (and, yes, I am just sticking to the "classic four") is my take on the Cleric.

Regular readers and/or players in my games may be surprised to hear that I would even want to include a Cleric style class, as I am usually a notorious fun-spoiler where the class is concerned. However, I've always said that if I were to run a campaign in a setting which would suit some kind of holy warrior class, then I'd allow them.

As I noted originally, these rules for D&D Mine are specifically tailored to a campaign setting which I'm working on. The setting is very much historically inspired, and, while it has fantasy elements like wizards, demons and undead, a Catholic style Church is an important element. Thus: what better excuse for an inquisitor / witch-hunter type Cleric class!

I've had some trouble coming up with a good name for the class, and am as yet unsure about the name "Slayer". "Cleric" and "Paladin" are right out, as they bring too many expectations from traditional D&D, and imply an ordained clergyman or a knight in shining armour, neither of which describe this class very well. Other names I've considered include "Hunter" (thought that sounds like a woodsman), "Seeker" (but of what?), "Warden" (again, a bit too game-keepery), "Arbiter"... If anyone has any suggestions, please go ahead!

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

The Slayer

You are a warrior zealot, serving the Church in order to battle the evil forces of the world. Slayers often specialise in the rooting out and eradication of one particular kind of foe, taking on roles such as vampire slayers, witch-hunters, demon exorcists, inquisitors, etc. Slayers are typically not ordained priests, but can often receive aid and advice from the clergy.

As warriors imbued with a holy purpose, Slayers are very capable combatants, being able to stand shoulder to shoulder with Fighters. Their faith also grants them access to a variety of miraculous abilities to help fight against evil.

Table 3: Slayer Advancement

Level	XP	d6 HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1	+0	14
2	1,500	2	+0	13
3	3,000	3	+1	12
4	6,000	4	+1	11
5	12,000	5	+2	10
6	24,000	6	+2	9
7	48,000	7	+3	8
8	96,000	8	+3	7
9	192,000	9	+4	6
10	384,000	10	+4	5

Slayer Class Abilities

XP Modified by Wisdom: The Wisdom Modifier applies to XP gained by this class.

Saving Throw: Slayers get +1 on saving throws vs. death and poison.

Weapon/Armour Restrictions: Slayers have no armour or weapon restrictions.

Divine Blessings: Slayers gain a number of divine blessings based on their Wisdom attribute.

Wisdom	Divine Blessings
13 - 15	1
16 - 17	2
18	3

Blessings are chosen at 1st level and can never be changed. They are usable at will, without any limitation of a specific number of uses per day.

Immunity to Disease: The Slayer is guarded by the divine, and is immune to all normal diseases. He or she also gains a +4 bonus to saving throws vs. magical diseases.

Protection from Evil: The character gains a +2 bonus to saves against the powers of evil supernatural creatures, and has an effective armour class one point better than normal against their attacks.

Reveal Charm: Possession or magicks of charm or mind control can be detected within 30'. One round's concentration is required.

Sense Evil: The presence and magnitude of evil supernatural creatures can be detected within 30'. This takes one round of concentration.

Smite Evil: The Slayer gains a +1 bonus on to-hit and damage rolls against a chosen type of foe.

Succour: When resting, characters in the Slayer's presence regain one additional hit point, up to the maximum allowed per Hit Die (see Hit Points in the game rules chapter).

Banishing Evil: Slayers can “turn” evil supernatural creatures such as demons and the undead, making them flee from the Slayer's holiness. See the chapter on Game Rules.

Holy Benedictions: As a devoted servant of the Church, a Slayer of 2nd level or higher is able to receive benedictions by praying at shrines dedicated to the saints. Each shrine is dedicated to a certain saint, and each saint is able to grant a different benediction upon the faithful. See the chapter on Game Rules for further details.

Many shrines and the benedictions of their patron saints are detailed in the Saints and Shrines booklet.

D&D Mine: The Fighter

Following on from Wednesday's post about the Magus, here's may take on the Fighter class.

One point which might be noted here is how I'm giving each class some kind of benefit based on the prime requisite. These class-specific extras use the B/X style modifiers (+1 for 13-15, +2 for 16-17, +3 for 18), whereas the standard ability modifiers are of the Swords & Wizardry style (+1 for 13-18). So, for example, any character with Strength above 12 gets a +1 to-hit bonus, but only Fighters also get a bonus to damage from a high Strength attribute.

Also note that the Fighter starts with a +1 base hit bonus.

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

The Fighter

You are a warrior, trained in battle and in the use of armour and weapons. Perhaps you are a ferocious raider, a roaming mercenary, or a noble knight. Whatever type of Fighter you choose to play, you will probably end up on the front lines of your adventuring party, going toe-to-toe with the enemy, hacking your way through them and taking the brunt of their attacks.

The Fighter character class is best equipped of all the character classes to dish out and absorb damage.

You’re going to serve as the party’s sword and shield, protecting the weaker party members and taking down the enemies before you. Perhaps one day they will tell legends of your battle prowess, and followers will flock to your castle stronghold – where you revel in your fame, riches, and newly earned nobility. Fail, of course, and you will die – just another forgotten warrior in a dangerous world.

Table 5: Fighter Advancement

Level	XP	d8 HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1	+1	16
2	2,000	2	+2	15
3	4,000	3	+3	14
4	8,000	4	+4	13
5	16,000	5	+5	12
6	32,000	6	+6	11
7	64,000	7	+7	10
8	128,000	8	+8	9
9	256,000	9	+9	8
10	512,000	10	+10	7

Fighter Class Abilities

XP Modified by Strength: The Strength Modifier applies to XP gained by this class.

Saving Throw: Fighters get +1 on saving throws vs. death and poisons.

Weapon/Armour Restrictions: Fighters are trained in warfare and as such have no armour or weapon restrictions.

Combat Might: Fighters are trained to use their strength to inflict extra damage in melee combat.

Strength	Melee Damage Bonus
13 - 15	+1
16 - 17	+2
18	+3

Combat Specialisations: Fighters gain special bonuses in combat, due to their intensive training. Some possible areas of specialisation are listed below. At 1st level a Fighter can choose one of these specialisations. A further specialisation is gained at 3rd, 6th and 9th levels.

Heavy Armour Specialist: The Fighter is so accustomed to wearing armour that he is less encumbered by it. He can reduce the encumbrance category of his armour by one (thus, heavy armour counts as medium, and medium armour counts as light). See Movement in the game rules chapter.

Parry: The character fights with a defensive stance – his armour class in melee improves by 1, and he gains an additional +2 bonus when purely defensive in combat (see Parrying in the game rules chapter). These advantages are only gained when the Fighter is armed with a melee weapon.

Resilience: The character has been through so much hardship that his body has toughened up. He gains an additional wound point.

Shield Expert: When using a large shield (see equipment) the Fighter's armour class improves by an additional point.

Specialist Weapon: +1 to hit and damage with chosen type of weapon.

Surprise Attack: When making a melee attack by surprise, the character inflicts an additional die of damage.

Two Weapon Fighting: Training in this fighting technique allows the Fighter to choose to gain an armour class bonus of 1 instead of the usual +1 to-hit bonus for wielding two weapons (see Two-Weapon Fighting in the game rules chapter). This option may be chosen on a round by round basis.

D&D Mine: The Magus

Here's a small sample from the work-in-progress with my early Modern inspired D&D Mine. The Magus class is fairly close kin to the standard magic-user, but has altered, non-Vancian, mechanics for spell casting, and a simple system of spell acquisition. 

The rest of this post is designated Open Gaming Content according to the Open Gaming License.

The Magus

The Magus is a mysterious figure, a student of arcane powers and spell casting. Usually cloaked in robes woven with mystical symbols, Magi can be devastating opponents. However, they are usually physically weaker than other adventuring classes, and are untrained in the use of armour and weapons.

As Magi progress in level, they generally become the most powerful of the character classes, but at lower levels they are quite vulnerable and must be protected by the other party members. Perhaps one day, though, you will rise to such heights of power that you can build a mystically protected tower for your researches, create fabulous magic items, and scribe new formulae for hitherto unknown spells. Such arch-mages can sway the politics of kingdoms, and command respect and fear across the realms.

Table 6: Magus Advancement

Level	XP	d4 HD	BHB	ST
1	0	1	+0	15
2	2,500	2	+0	14
3	5,000	3	+0	13
4	10,000	4	+0	12
5	20,000	5	+0	11
6	40,000	6	+0	10
7	80,000	7	+0	9
8	160,000	8	+0	8
9	320,000	9	+0	7
10	640,000	10	+0	6

Table 7: Magus Known Spells

	Spell Level
Level	1	2	3	4	5
1	2	–	–	–	–
2	4	–	–	–	–
3	6	2	–	–	–
4	8	4	–	–	–
5	8	4	2	–	–
6	8	4	4	–	–
7	8	6	4	2	–
8	8	6	6	4	–
9	8	6	6	4	2
10	8	8	6	4	4

Magus Class Abilities

XP Modified by Intelligence: The Intelligence Modifier applies to XP gained by this class.

Saving Throw: Magi get +2 on saving throws vs. magic.

Weapon/Armor Restrictions: Magi tend to spend their waking hours in study of arcane tomes and scrolls, and as such tend to not have much training in combat. They may use any weapons, but suffer a -2 penalty to hit with all weapons except daggers or staves. Likewise, while Magi may wear whatever armour they choose, their lack of training means that they gain no benefit from it – the protective benefits being negated by the unaccustomed bulk.

Spell Casting: A Magus has mastered the formulae for a number of spells depending on his level. These spells may be cast freely, but each time a spell is cast it fatigues the Magus, draining his hit points (see Game Rules).

Starting Spells: A starting Magus has learned his initial spells either from an Arch-mage or from studying a spell book or arcane library. The player should choose one of the spell books, libraries and Arch-mages which are described in the magic booklet. The Magus' initial spells are then determined randomly by rolling on the list of spells available from the chosen source.

Learning New Spells: Upon gaining a level a Magus is able to learn new spells, according to the known spells table, from any available sources. If a Magus has no available sources he will have to wait to learn new spells.

Specialist Knowledge: Magi spend much of their lives absorbed in the study of obscure and esoteric areas of knowledge. From his education, a Magus character can choose a number of specialist areas of knowledge, based on his or her Intelligence attribute. These are fields of study which the character has researched during his or her education, and represent learning far beyond what is common knowledge. Instead of an area of specialist knowledge, an additional 1st level spell can be chosen, if the player wishes.

Intelligence	Areas of Specialist Knowledge
13 - 15	1
16 - 17	2
18	3

Some example areas of specialist knowledge are given below, but players and Referees should feel free to invent others. The use of these areas of expertise is left open to interpretation and improvisation.

Alchemy: The study of the physical substances of the world, and how their admixture and transformation can give insight into the world of spirit.

Ancient History: Detailed knowledge of the history and legends of one or more ancient cultures.

Ancient Languages: A Magus with this specialism would not be penalised when making Language skill rolls to understand ancient or dead languages.

Arcane Languages: Various esoteric languages, which fall outside of the scope of the Languages skill, are possible areas of study for a Magus. Examples would include Faerie or angelic tongues, or the languages of birds or burrowing animals.

Astrology / Astronomy: An intimate knowledge of the stars, planets and constellations. The Magus may be able to perform minor divinations by studying the night sky.

Demonology: Study of the various types and ranks of demons, and their powers and vulnerabilities.

Herbalism: Knowledge of wild and cultivated plants, and their effects on the human body.

Medicine and Anatomy: The study of the human body, its organs and their functions.

Undead: Study of the various types of undead creatures, and their powers and vulnerabilities.

D&D Mine -- It begins!

After musing on this idea back in April, I've now begun to work properly on a complete D&D rule book for a future campaign.

I've taken the Swords & Wizardry core rules document as a starting point, and started hacking away... What fun!

What I'm thinking is that making a pretty decent set of rules booklets based on the S&W rules is so simple that each campaign can easily have its own. I usually find that each idea I have for a campaign comes with a set of house rules, alternative or disallowed classes & races, new spells, etc etc, so being able to relatively quickly write them all up into a proper rules document seems like the perfect way to go.

So this is not so much "D&D Mine" as "D&Ds Mine".

The current D&D Mine is a rules set for an early modern inspired, low fantasy setting which I tested out a bit with my recent running of the Grinding Gear.

I'll post progress reports as significant things happen :)

D&D Mine

A couple of people around the place have been talking about the idea of "D&D Mine" (or was it just JB?), and it's got me thinking. Now, I'm not interested in re-inventing the rules of the game in some fit of "fantasy heart-breaker"ism. Not at all. I'm very happy with the basic Labyrinth Lord rules which we've been using in my campaign for the last year and a bit.

I'm also not (particularly) interested in producing my own retro-clone / D&D book with house rules "baked in". It'd be a fun project, for sure, but I don't feel inspired to go down that route.

What I am interested in, however, is re-inventing the implied setting of the game. (This is for no big reason, by the way, just for fun.) As far as I see it, the flavour of the D&D world is communicated by several things:

1. The classes and races available to PCs.
2. The magic spells which exist.
3. The monsters populating the world.
4. The magic items which can be discovered.

(The so-called "Gygaxian building blocks".)

The classes I'm perfectly happy with. At least fighters and magic-users are generic enough to fit in pretty much anywhere. Thieves and clerics would simply exist (as adventurers) or not depending on the desired flavour, I guess. If I were to come up with something really original which merited work on new classes, then I might consider doing a Monte (q.v. Arcana Unearthed) and re-inventing all the classes as well, but I don't imagine it coming to that, and I wouldn't intend to do that just for the sake of everything being "new".

PC races are a bit of a bigger deal. One could either go for full fantasy and say that no humans exist in the world, or a human-centric (or perhaps even human-exclusive) world. I'd be inclined to do the latter, but if desired it's not hard to come up with a playable race or two. It would be very important for these to be unique, not just reskinned elves & dwarves, in order to avoid the standard D&D  tropes, as well as the inherited Tolkien tropes!

Spells are a big thing. Some of the PCs' most potent abilities are defined by the list of magic-user and/or cleric spells. Even something simple like removing the sleep spell, or raise dead, has a big impact on the game. Me being me, I'd completely re-write the entire spell list. Not a single "canonical" spell would exist in this hypothetical re-imagining of D&D. (I think it was my recent musings on an Unearthed Arcana only campaign which also partly inspired this idea.) I'd probably go with a simple spell list of maybe ten spells per level, maxing out at 5th level or so. I'd probably also want to do something to encourage spell research, as it's such a fascinating and under-used element of the game.

Monsters are also a huge deal in defining the flavour of the D&D world. Again, I think these would merit a complete re-write. That's a pretty big project, but I think even a list of 15 or 20 flavoursome creatures, plus the idea that humans (& kin) can provide a huge amount of monstrous / villainous entertainment, would go a long way. Personally I think I'd focus on dimension-hopping fey and demonic beings.

Magic items have, in my opinion, a slightly lesser impact than spells (perhaps because, in many campaigns, they're rarer), but they still do a lot to define the extents of what's possible for PCs. Personally I think I'd be inclined to strip them way back, probably polarising them into very low power items and extremely powerful artefacts. Any kind of "+1" (etc.) weapons / armour would be right out.

Now I'm not sure if I'll actually get around to working on any of this... like many such thoughts, it's a bit pie-in-the-sky. But I thought I'd put the idea out there, who knows -- it might gradually blossom.