Category: Encounters

Oops I’m Encumbered

Last updated: 190811..240121

“as the main purpose of adventuring is to bring back treasure, provision for carrying out a considerable amount of material must also be made.”

I’ve talked about encumbrance before, as its very complexity begs simplicity. But it’s time for a deeper dive. Encumbrance is, generally, the weight and bulkiness of a particular adventurer’s possessions (armor, weapons, equipment, etc.). Yet for all the importance, multiple contradictions, gaps, and invalid examples exist in the AD&D encumbrance system. How much can a pack carry? What effects does armor have on encumbrance? Even the very terms and ranges of encumbrance are inconsistent.

The following are defined as exceptions to encumbrance: one set of clothing, thieves picks & tools (or any small object as the only thing carried), normal spell material components, and a helmet (for a character not wearing armor).

Weight

Encumbrance is defined as a combination of the weight AND the bulkiness. Let’s look at the backpack: capable of holding 40 pounds (400 gp), and 400 encumbrance (full or empty). On the surface, that sounds great. Simple. But encumbrance is weight and bulkiness. And nothing is has more weight, and less bulk, than gold.

The standard for encumbrance is 10 gp = 1 pound = 10 encumbrance.  “Weight” is often used as if it is interchangeable with “encumbrance”, yet encumbrance is specifically defined as  the combined weight and relative bulkiness. Items more bulky than gold (isn’t everything?) are defined as two to five times more encumbering, depending on their bulk. In other words, each item needs to have two values: weight in gp, and encumbrance in gp.

As a rule of thumb, any non-bulky item can be assigned an encumbrance value equal to, or only slightly greater than, its weight in gold pieces; a bulky object should be given an encumbrance value of at least two or three times its weight; and a very bulky object should have an encumbrance value of at least five times its weight.

 

From the Players Handbook (p. 101):

Encumbrance Definition Movement
normal gear  about 35# and no great bulk 12″ – subject can run quickly
heavy gear armor and/or equipment of about 70# or fairly bulky 9″ – subject can make a lumbering run
very heavy gear armor and/or equipment of 105# and bulky (such as plate armor) 6″- subject can trot for short distances
encumbered armor and/or equipment over 105#  weight and/or (very) bulky 3″ to 4″- no trotting possible

The PHB doesn’t explicitly define the full weight ranges for encumbrance. With 150# (1500 encumbrance) defined as the maximum a character can carry, and given that “Encumbered” is “over 105#”, the ranges are: 1051-1500 (encumbered), 701-1050 (very heavy), 351-700 (heavy), and 350 or less (normal).

The labels are fuzzy—isn’t someone who is not encumbered, unencumbered?  DSG uses the same labels for encumbrance, but adds “Unencumbered /  No Gear”, and often (but not always) uses the label of “fully encumbered” for the upper range. WSG redefines the labels and defines the ranges: 90-350 (Light), 351-700 (Moderate), 701-1050 (Heavy), and 1051-1500 (Severe), and defines “not encumbered” as less than the lower figure given for light encumbrance.  OA simplifies that as a human carrying up to the listed weight can move 12″ per round, with each additional 350 coins (35 lbs.) slowing the character by 25% (3″ per round for a human).

Just to make sure things remain complicated, when defining the thief-acrobat, UA adds the term “body-associated weight/encumbrance” to refer specifically to the clothing, accessories, armor, and weapons of the character, but specifically not to include a backpack. Should a backpack be included, the character adds “Additional (carried) weight/encumbrance”.

That gives us a revised table of:

Encumbrance Armor & Equipment Bulk Movement
not/unencumbered (no gear) 0-89 none 12″ – run quickly
normal (light gear) 90-350 no significant bulk 12″ – run quickly
moderate (gear) 351-700 fairly bulky 9″ – a lumbering run
heavy (heavy gear) 701-1050 bulky 6″- trot for short distances
severe (fully encumbered) 1051-1500 very bulky 3″ to 4″- no trotting possible

Strength specifically states that only those with exceptional strength increase the weight a character can carry without penalty for encumbrance, but later defines the weight allowance of non-exceptional strength as not incurring a movement penalty.

Continuing the AD&D usage of examples that actually aren’t examples, the Strength example in the PHB uses 500 (50#) as the baseline for Strength 8-11 characters without encumbrance. That’s overruled by every other source.

Bulk, and Armor

One of the worst culprits for encumbrance confusion is armor:

  • PHB, p. 36: “Magic armor negates weight, so that movement does not consider any encumbrance from magic armor.”
  • DMG, p. 27: “The encumbrance factor for armor does not consider weight alone; it also takes into account the distribution of the weight of the armor and the relative mobility of the individual wearing the protective material.”
  • DMG, p. 28: “When magic armor is worn, assume that its properties allow movement at the next higher base rate and that weight is cut by 50%. Magic shields are no less weighty than their non-magical counterparts, but they are non-bulky with respect to encumbrance.”
  • DMG, p. 164: “For game purposes all magical armor should be considered as being virtually weightless—equal to normal clothing, let us assume. This gives characters so clad a base movement speed equal to an unarmored man. Magic shields, however, weigh the same as a normal shield of the same size.”
  • DMG, p. 27: Scale mail is fairly bulky (normally move 9″), yet a base movement of 6″.
  • DMG, p. 27: Banded mail is bulky, yet permits a base movement of 9″.
  • Dragon Magazine #136 states, “Chain mail is fairly bulky even when magical, and thus negates the barbarian’s full bonus.”
  • R-4 (Doc’s Island): “Non-magical metal armor certainly causes a character to sink immediately, and even magical armor causes encumbrance.“

What a mess of contradictions. In the PHB magic armor weight hinders movement (not bulk), despite that bulk of armor affects movement in the PHB Encumbrance section. The DMG on p. 164 equates magic armor weight to movement. The DMG explicitly defines magic armor as weightless for purposes of movement, and also as a weight of 50%!

Scale mail is only fairly bulky, yet has a base movement of 6″? This contradiction can be only be resolved by considering weight being an additional factor. 40# moves scale mail up to the next weight class of encumbrance (of > 35#), normally reducing movement. The movement for “fairly” bulky would also normally be 9″. In this case the movement rate for scale mail is decreased twice—once for the bulk, and once for the weight. One could assume magic scale mail (only 20# at half weight) would then be a movement of 12″.

UA adds field and full plate, both also fairly bulky, and also with a base move of 6″. Another case where the bulk of the armor doesn’t explain the movement until you consider that the weight is > 35#.

Then there’s banded mail. Banded mail is bulky (normally a move of 6″), yet has a move of 9″. Why?

There is no way to resolve these contradictions—each DM will have to choose their own path. Encumbrance is defined as the weight and bulkiness of an adventurer’s armor, but most adventurers will, early on, have magical armor. Much depends on whether the DM wants to completely remove the impact of armor on movement and Surprise.

I prefer the definition on DMG, p.28: assume that magic armor allows movement at the next higher base rate and that weight is cut by 50%, but leave the actual bulk unchanged for other effects. That’s more consistent with the defined impact on swimming, where any character wearing magic armor will be encumbered and the only stroke possible will be the dog paddle. Also characters encumbered with more than about 20 pounds of gear will be forced to walk on the floor of the ocean, lake, river, or whatever. It also means encumbrance remains a factor once a party has magic armor.

Armor Alternate

Armor makes everything more confusing by having a bulk rating, and a weight (where encumbrance is supposed to be the combination of bulk and weight!), but no actual encumbrance number. There’s a reason for that—armor is treated as more encumbering than its weight! Take plate mail as an example. Plate mail is bulky, restricting movement as if it had an encumbrance of 701+. The obvious reason for this is so the character can carry more, but not have their Strength score override encumbrance providing even characters in plate mail with a movement of 12″.

If having a separate limiter on armor grates on your sense of propriety, there’s another way to look at armor and encumbrance. Create an encumbrance value for all the armor types, taking into account the weight and bulkiness to reflect the limit on movement:

Armor Type Bulk Weight Encumbrance
BANDED bulky 35#+ 700
CHAIN fairly 30#+ 350
CHAIN, ELFIN non- 15# 150
LEATHER non- 15# 150
PADDED fairly 10# 350
PLATE (MAIL) bulky 45# 700
RING fairly 25# 350
SCALE fairly 40# 350
SHIELD, LARGE bulky 10# 700
SHIELD, SMALL non- 5# 50
SHIELD, SMALL, WOOD non- 3# 30
SPLINT bulky 40# 700
STUDDED (LEATHER) fairly 20# 350

 

The plus is you no longer have to apply a separate limiter to movement for armor. The change removes the limiter for armor, but the PC will be able to carry less, but move faster if they have the Strength to carry the armor. You can then simply halve the encumbrance value for magic armor.

Movement

Movement emphasizes that there are two facets to encumbrance: weight, and bulk. If either (or both) exceed their limit, movement is reduced.

Strength can modify that effect, although exactly how is conflicted. The description for strength says that for characters with exceptional strength (18/xx), the strength bonus increases the weight the character is able to carry without penalty for encumbrance (implying that for those without an exceptional strength bonus, the bonus will not increase the weight a character can carry without impacting their movement). Yet in the actual definition of weight allowance, clearly the weight allowance affects movement for all Strength scores:

If a character could normally carry 500 gold pieces without encumbrance, but the character had strength of 17 instead of the normal 8-11 range, 1,000 gold pieces could be carried without incurring movement penalty.

Even that example is screwed up—a character can’t carry 500 gp without affecting their encumbrance. In the normal 8-11 range a character can only carry up to 350 gp before affecting their encumbrance, so a Strength of 17 would only increase their limit to 850 gp before incurring a movement penalty.

Other Effects

Translating for the vagaries of vocabulary, besides movement rate, the degree of encumbrance has the following other effects:

  • Fully encumbered creatures gain no DEXTERITY AC bonus (or are 1 AC worse, if they have no bonus to lose).
  • Fully encumbered creatures are +2 AC.
  • Fully encumbered creates cannot search for secret doors, try to pick a lock, or other such activities.
  • Fully encumbered creatures are not allowed to charge.
  • Fully encumbered creatures underwater are performing strenuous exercise. The number of rounds they can hold their breath are cut in half.
  • Moderately encumbered gain no Dex Reaction bonus to Surprise.
  • Heavily encumbered characters are one segment slower when Surprised.
  • Fully encumbered characters are two segments slower when Surprised.
  • A lightly encumbered character can climb any slope (but not a cliff face) at their full normal climbing rate.
  • Only not encumbered characters can climb a cliff face (a thief or character with mountaineering).
  • Heavily or moderately encumbered creatures cannot climb anything other than a gentle or moderate slope that is either non-slippery or slightly slippery, and do so at one-half of his normal climbing rate (WSG).
  • Fully encumbered creatures cannot climb anything other than a gentle slope that is either non-slippery or slightly slippery, and does so at one-half of his normal climbing rate (WSG).

If a character has a chance to take a large breath of air, and does not perform strenuous exercise while holding his breath, he can hold his breath for a number of rounds equal to his Constitution Score, rounded up.  Nonstrenuous exercise includes such activities as normal movement, searching for secret doors, trying to pick a lock, or other such activities. A character cannot be fully encumbered while performing any of these functions. Continuous climbing, swimming against a strong current, and moving while severely encumbered are examples of strenuous activity.

To avoid the risk of fatigue, a character must rest for two consecutive turns after four turns of strenuous activity. If the character chooses not to rest, he must make a Constitution Check after exerting himself for six consecutive turns. Failure on this check indicates that he is fatigued; success indicates that he can remain active for at least five more turns. At the end of those five turns, the character must make another successful Constitution Check to keep going. Every time a check is successful, the time until the next required check is reduced by one turn (to a minimum of one turn). A character with an extremely high constitution may be able to keep performing a strenuous activity for several hours, but the odds will eventually catch up with him.

Clothing

Very cold clothing has en encumbrance value equivalent to that of plate mail (bulky, 450 gp), and an outfit of such clothing will cost about 15 gp.

Cold clothing has an encumbrance value equivalent to that of ring mail (fairly bulky, 250 gp), and an outfit of such clothing will cost about 7 SP.

Moderate clothing may have no encumbrance value at all (if the Dungeon Master considers it to be the same as a character’s normal attire), or may be considered equivalent to leather armor (non-bulky, 150 gp) if the clothing is relatively heavy.

Free Action: The wearer of this ring can move and otherwise operate as if he was not encumbered, unless he is actually severely encumbered, in which case he can operate as if moderately encumbered. Wearing this ring does not enable a character to carry more encumbrance than he can normally; if such an attempt is made, the power of the ring is negated until the wearer rids himself of the excess baggage. The ring does not change the character’s actual encumbrance value, so that if he is astride a mount, his presence has its normal effect on the animal’s ability to carry encumbrance.

Bulk

As an illustration of this point, consider a prominent example from the game rules: A pack of standard rations, designed to feed one human for one week, has an encumbrance value of 200 gp. Assume that the actual weight of the package is 14 pounds (140 gp), and the other 60 gp of its encumbrance value accounts for its bulkiness.

Thus, the minimum daily requirement of standard rations is two pounds. Compare this with a pack of iron rations, having an encumbrance value of 75 gp. Of this amount, perhaps as little as 5 gp accounts for the bulk of the package (since the food is more concentrated and occupies much less space). The other 70 gp, or 7 pounds, is the actual weight of the package, and therefore the minimum daily requirement of iron rations is one pound.

Water has an encumbrance value of 50 gp per gallon, plus an extra 50 gp for every three gallons being transported in a single container.

Solutions

So what do we take away from that survey?

Gold has 10-20 times the density of everything else (water, stone). Yet that’s assuming a solid bar of gold. Stacked coins have a lower density, and loose coins a lower density still.  For simplicity, consider that loose coins are the baseline. Gold bars are 20:1, gold coins are 10:1

  • things that will float (solid = 150 encumbrance/ pound (solid) )= two-thirds x
  • water (solid) = 8 gallons in 1 cubic foot = 100 encumbrance/ pound (solid)= 1x
  • stone (solid)= 3x = = 67 encumbrance / pound

Loose coins of slightly different diameters don’t vary much by encumbrance. Assume everything is leaving space by 2x for being loose?

Per pound:

  • 2/3x = 150 encumbrance solid, 300 encumbrance (loose @ 2x), 225 encumbrance (loose@1.5x)
  • 1x (water) = 100 encumbrance solid, 200 encumbrance (loose @2x), 150 encumbrance (loose @ 1.5x)
  • 3x = 67 encumbrance (solid), 135 encumbrance (loose @2x), 100 encumbrance (loose @ 1.5x)
  • 5x = 20 encumbrance (solid), 40 encumbrance (loose @2x)
  • 10x = 10 encumbrance
  • 10x = 10 (loose) gp = 1 pound = 10 encumbrance = 10x
  • 20x = 20 (bars) gp = 2 pounds          = 5 encumbrance = 20x
  • 15 (stacked) gp = 1.5 pounds      = 7.5 encumbrance
  • Every item needs both a weight, and an encumbrance value. Every container (backpack, pouch) needs both an encumbrance capacity, and a weight capacity.
  • 350 encumbrance is not encumbering.

It’s clear there are slight exceptions based on the specifics of the encumbrance value of an item. The weight of a standard book of median size is 150 gold pieces (adjusted upward or downward for varying sizes). The encumbrance value of such a book is equal to three times its weight (450 gp or thereabouts), although it is correct to assume that a volume will fit within an otherwise empty backpack or large sack. Traveling Spell book: The weight of such a book is approximately 30 gold pieces, and encumbrance roughly 60 gp.

The backpack has a listed capacity of 400 gp, which is typically considered both weight and encumbrance. Yet, there’s a lot more room in a pack for items that are less dense than gold!

Bibliography

TSR 2010, Players Handbook, 1978.
TSR 2011, Dungeon Masters Guide [1e], 1979.
Dragon Magazine #50, The Ups and Downs of Flying High, 1981.
TSR 2018, Oriental Adventures, 1985.
TSR 2019, Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide, 1986.
TSR 2020, Wilderness Survival Guide, 1986.
Dragon Magazine #136, Sage Advice, p. 50, August, 1988.
R-4, Doc’s Island, p. 14, 1983. [magical armor encumbrance]

Oops They’re Regenerating!

Last updated: 190623…221006

The question arose of exactly how one kills a troll:

“To kill a troll, the monster must be burned or immersed in acid, any separate pieces being treated in the same fashion or they create a whole again in 3-18 melee rounds.”

How exactly does that work? Does the troll only need to be burned after it reaches 0 hit points? Must all damage dealt be from fire? Will fire damage not regenerate? Does other damage therefore regenerate?  As with most things AD&D, the rules don’t dig into the implementation.

A review of regeneration leads only to more questions!  All regeneration ability is not the same. Regeneration can include the recovery of [n] hit points, restoring life from death, the regrowth of lost limbs, and the animation of severed limbs, although few creatures (or items) combine all of these powers. Given that specific facets of regeneration are specified for individual creatures, the assumption is that regeneration abilities not included in a description are not in effect.

The recovery of hit points via regeneration is represented by number of hit points recovered per round (or turn). In rare cases regeneration prevents death (or at least restores the creature to life), but for the vast majority of cases, regeneration begins (or is triggered) when the creature is wounded, and ends upon the creature’s death (0 hit points). The regrowth of appendages typically takes days, and is generally independent of hit points. In some cases regeneration includes the animation of lost limbs, which can either slither back to their host or, in some cases, attack independently!

Regeneration can also include specific limits. Some creatures don’t regenerate for [n] rounds after being wounded. Others can’t regenerate damage from a specific source (fire, acid, etc.), or require specific circumstances to regenerate (e.g., immersed in water, or in lava). Other things that can affect regeneration (creature-dependent) include: if immersed in water, fire, lightning; acid; silver; holy water; holy weapons.

Rates of regeneration:

  • Regenerate 7 hit points per round: Solar
  • Regenerate 4 hit points per round: Planetar
  • Regenerate 3 hit points per round: Vampire, Ixitxachitl (vampiric), Troll*, Revenant*, Slaad (Red)
  • Regenerate 2 hit points per round: Jubilex, Pit fiends, Son of Kyuss*, Ice Troll*, Mephit*, Giant/Ice Troll*
  • Regenerate 1 hit point per round: Ice devils, Lemures, Imp, Quasit, Pazuzu, Bael,Titivilus, Ogre Magi*, Tarrasque*, Abishai*, Nupperibo*, Giant Two-headed Troll*
  • Regenerate d12 hit points per turn: Amon
  • Regenerate 3 hit points per turn: Mycadaemon
  • Regenerate 2 hit points per turn: Glasya
  • Regenerate 1 hit point per turn: Shade, Willow, Black
  • Regenerate up to 20 hit points per day: Nabassu

* With conditions

Magic and Regeneration

Ioun Stone (pearly white): Regenerates 1 hp of damage/turn. Does not restore from death, nor regrow limbs.

Flame Tongue: +2 vs. Regenerating Creatures: +2 versus a creature with any facet of regeneration. Given the explicit flame on the blade, creatures with the ability to regenerate but affected by fire would be affected by this blade.

Regenerate (spell):
“body members (fingers, toes, hands, feet, arms, legs, tails, or even the heads of multi-headed creatures), bones, or organs will grow back. The process of regeneration requires but 1 round if the member(s) severed is (are) present and touching the creature, 2-8 turns otherwise.”
Does not include the regeneration of hit points, limbs reattaching, or restoring life after death.

Regenerate (Major Artifact Benign Power): “2 hp/turn (but not if killed)”.
Does not include the regeneration of limbs, or restoring hit points after death.

Mighty Servant of Leuk-O:  ‘regenerates (self-repairs) 2 points of damage per round to itself.” If the device is destroyed, regeneration will stop.

Ring of Regeneration:
“The standard regeneration ring restores 1 hit point of damage (and will replace lost limbs or organs eventually also) per turn. It will bring its wearer back from death (but if poison is the cause, the saving throw must be made or else the wearer dies again from the poison still in his or her system). Only total destruction of all living tissue by fire or acid or similar means will prevent regeneration.’

If a character wears a Ring of Regeneration, are they killed but restored to life, or never actually killed? It’s a subtle but important distinction. Clerics changing alignment are killed by their deity. When a character is drained of all energy levels, he or she might become an undead monster of the same sort which killed him or her. The Censer of Summoning Hostile Elementals could burn until the summoner is killed. Will the Ring restore them to life? The DMG states: “Any character killed and subsequently restored to life by means of a spell or device, other than a ring of regeneration…” implying that a killed character can be restored to life by the Ring of Regeneration. The PHB, on the other hand, states: “Certain magical means will prevent actual death, particularly a ring of regeneration”, so a Ring of Regeneration’s effect is to prevent death.

After all that study, still no closer to determining the specifics of how to kill a troll!

Looking sideways at BEMCI, the regenerating hydra cannot regenerate damage done by fire, and trolls cannot regenerate damage from fire or acid, implying they regenerate all other damage. In 2e, fire and acid damage cannot be regenerated, because that damage is more extensive than normal wounds. Also in 2e, only total destruction of all living tissue by fire or acid or similar means will prevent regeneration for the Ring of Regeneration.

Returning to 1e, the giant troll—which does not regenerate as well as a normal troll—must receive at least 10 hit points of damage by fire; if this condition is not met and the giant troll is reduced to a single hit point, any further damage on it has no effect save to negate regeneration.

Conclusions

Regeneration heals damage. Regeneration won’t restore life unless the associated features of that specific regeneration include that ability. Trolls have that ability. Even total dismemberment will not slay a troll, for its parts will slither and

scuttle together, rejoin, and the troll will arise whole and ready to continue—a troll will not cease to attack even reduced to 1 hit point. For the giant troll, even if reduced to a single hit point, any further damage on it has no effect save to negate regeneration.

Given that giant trolls require at least 10 hp of the total damage to be fire to be killed, and their regeneration is weaker than the standard troll, the standard troll requires all hit point damage to be by fire or acid before it is killed (fire/acid damage won’t regenerate; non-fire damage will regenerate). While hit points are an abstraction, for regeneration, only damage caused by fire and acid (or other sources depending on the monster) causes actual, permanent, damage unless specified otherwise. The rest can be regenerated.

What happens when the players later want to heal a troll is a question for later …

Appendix A: Monsters and their Regeneration

  • Aleax: regenerates after being first wounded; the round after the wound is taken, it regenerates 1 hit point, the next round 2 hit points, then 4 hit points, then 8 hit points and so on until it is killed (reduced to zero hit points or below) or all hits are restored. If it is then hit again, the progression starts again at 1 hit point;
  • Creatures from the Lower Planes: Regeneration base is 1 hit point per turn, with exceptional creatures having a maximum of 1 per round.
  • Abishai: regenerate at the rate of 1 point per round, unless struck by silver, holy water, or holy magic weapons.
  • Achaierai: An injured leg will regenerate fully in about two days but the birds do not possess other regenerative powers and a leg which has been completely lost will not be re-grown.
  • Beholder: lost eyestalks will eventually grow back (1 week per lost member).
  • Froghemoth: Injured members heal or regenerate in 2-5 weeks.
  • Grell: Any hit on a tentacle will render it inoperative (though if the creature survives, the tentacle will regenerate in 1-2 days) but the damage is not subtracted from the creature’s hit points—only by hitting the body can the grell be damaged in the usual way.
  • Hydra (Lernean): Each time a head is cut off (or killed), it grows two new ones in d4 melee rounds unless fire is applied.
  • Mephit: Regenerate 2 hit points per round (if in contact with the lava).
  • Nonafel: Regenerate 9 hit points each round (one for each of 9 offspring).
  • Nupperibos regenerate at 1 hit point per round. If a holy object (water, weapon) is used against them, regeneration is not possible.
  • Ogre magi: 1 hit point per melee round (lost members must be reattached to regenerate).
  • Portuguese man-o-war: Tentacles will regenerate in several days.
  • Revenant: Limbs function independently. Limbs will slither back together. Regenerate 3 hit points per round after death, except by burning. Immune to acid and gas.
  • Slaad (Red): Regenerate while still alive at the rate of 3 hit points per melee round.
  • Ssendem (Slaad Lord): 3 hit point per melee round while alive.
  • Son of Kyuss: 2 hit points per round; its limbs will regenerate if severed, like those of a troll. Even after ‘death’ this process will continue,, so the only way of destroying these creatures is by fire, lightning, acid or the application of holy water to their wounds.
  • Spectator: Eyes regenerate in 1 day.
  • Tiamat: Head(s) replaced the following day.
  • Tarrasque: 1 hit point per round. Even the slightest piece will regenerate and be restored completely.
  • Thessalhydrae: Fringe heads regenerate in 12 days.
  • Troll: 3 melee rounds after being damaged, repairs damage at 3 hit points per round; this regeneration includes the rebonding of severed members. The loathsome members of a troll have the ability to fight on even if severed from the body; a hand can claw or strangle, the head bite, etc. Total dismemberment will not slay a troll, for its parts will slither and scuttle together, rejoin, and the troll will arise whole and ready to continue combat. To kill a troll, the monster must be burned or immersed in acid, any separate pieces being treated in the same fashion or they create a whole again in 3-18 melee rounds.
  • Troll (Giant): Before a giant troll can be killed, at least 10 hit points of damage must be inflicted on it by fire. If this condition is not met and the giant troll is reduced to a single hit point, any further damage on it has no effect save to negate regeneration.
  • Troll (Giant Two-headed): They regenerate as do trolls but at the rate of 1 hit point every melee round, though they cannot re-bond severed limbs.
  • Troll (Ice): regenerative powers of a normal troll but at a rate of 2 hit points per melee round, so long as the regenerating members can immerse themselves in water. A severed limb can move a distance of 30′ in search of water and will always move towards water if there is some in range.
  • Troll (Spirit): It regenerates as a troll, and at the same rate (3 hit points per round).
  • Troll (Freshwater/Saltwater or Scrag): Regenerate as trolls but only when immersed in water.
  • Wolf-in-Sheep’s-Clothing: can regenerate appendages in 1-4 weeks.

Initiative Reworked

Last updated: 181201, 200704

1st Edition initiative is … complicated. Even with the excellent fan-created 20-page A.D.D.I.C.T document delving into 1e intricacies, discussions about the details of how 1e initiative works never end. And in a 10-segment round, rolling a d6?

While I consider the game I play 1st Edition AD&D, I use 2nd Edition initiative: roll d10 and add modifiers such as weapon speed. While initiative—at its very core—simply determines who goes first, I prefer a bit more granularity in a round to determine who is where, and when. If nothing else, it clarifies where the fighters are when the fireball goes off.

I ran across an article from Imagine Magazine #28 proposing an action-based initiative system years prior to 2e. The article reworked initiative to more directly use weapon speed, using the die appropriate to the weapon speed (dagger d4, long sword d8, etc.) for individual initiative, and defaulting to d10. The article proposes a number of other modifications (modifying initiative by class, changing missile-weapon initiative, explicit segment-by-segment actions) which don’t interest me. But the idea of using weapon speeds more directly intrigued me. Could I integrate that method into my modified 2e initiative?

I already use individual initiative. Using only the die appropriate to the weapon—instead of a d10 + weapon speed—means that (unlike adding weapon speed to the initiative roll) every weapon has the chance to go first (or tie) regardless of the other person’s roll. That chance varies more directly with the weapon speed. And less math with every roll!

Using the weapon speed to determine the die to roll for initiative requires tweaking weapon speeds that don’t match a die, adding +1 to odd-numbered weapon speeds. My default speeds for unarmed combat (e.g., claw, bite, etc.) for Small/Medium/Large are+3/+5/+7. As those also don’t align with a die, they also increase by 1 to +4/+6/+8. All that’s missing then is weapon speeds for missile weapons, which don’t exist in 1e. 2e gets me there quickly, with: Bow 6, Crossbow 6/10, Dart 2, Sling 6. After those adjustments, the core attacks—Bow, Long Sword, and Medium creature—use d6 (the default 1e die); other rolls vary from that baseline. A non-proficient character would roll the next higher die. Non-melee actions such as digging in a backpack continue to use d10, more directly representing the likelihood of being hit before accomplishing some other task.

The next consideration is spell casting—weapons just sped up compared to d10 + weapon speed. AD&D ostensibly has spell casting begin prior to melee, but in practice spell casting generally completes after melee attacks. As the baseline melee attacks occur on d6, a d6 for spell casting seems appropriate, modified by casting time. While each spell has a casting duration, for simplicity I usually use 1 segment / spell level.  1st level spells then default to slightly slower than the baseline, which feels about right.

Switching from d10 + weapon speed to d[weapon speed] also lends itself to, as suggested by Imagine, a more open, continuous initiative, where the round never ends; instead, you just add your next die roll to whenever you last acted. But in that way lies madness.

Bibliography

Imagine Adventure Games Magazine, Issue 28. July, 1985.

 

Simplified Encumbrance

Last Updated:  181101,200704

Most groups find using Encumbrance … encumbering. Tracking encumbrance adds a lot of details to calculate and keep track of. While some players love that level of detail, other players find encumbrance a lot of fiddly tracking. Yet encumbrance becomes particularly relevant when there’s a large quantity of loot to haul off!

Encumbrance integrates with a lot of other rules. The Dexterity Reaction/Attacking bonus negates segments of surprise. Any physical restriction or heavy encumbrance prevents casting Somatic spells (10% failure if only bulky clothing). Thief-Acrobats can’t function when encumbered. Encumbrance limits movement.

Yet for something so integrated, it’s defined poorly. Carrying capacities aren’t well defined. The encumbrance tables don’t include many standard items. Encumbrance isn’t helped by the DMG and the PHB using different and confusing Gygaxian vocabulary: “not encumbered” vs. “not Encumbered” vs. “unencumbered” vs . “Encumbered”.

What I wanted was an easy-to-use, adaptable, streamlined solution—one that suits both types of player. Below is a generic encumbrance system, permitting a rapid assessment of encumbrance for everyone. The generic system ends up slightly heavier than standard encumbrance calculations, so the players who wish to go the extra mile gain a minor benefit.

First, let’s define the various encumbered states (modified by STRENGTH bonus):

Swimming <=20 lbs, and/or leather armor.
≤ 8# (+STR modifier) Unencumbered.
>= 9#-35# (+STR modifier) Normal/Light Encumbrance: As gear weight with no great bulk. Leather. No limit on movement.
≥ 35-70#  (+STR modifier) Moderate Encumbrance: As gear weight and/or fairly bulky. Other armors. 9” max movement.
≥ 70-105# (+STR modifier) Heavy Encumbrance:  As gear weight and/or bulky. Scale, splint, plate mail. 6” max movement.
>105-150# (+STR modifier) Severe / Encumbered: As gear weight  and/or very bulky, or swimming in magic armor (dog paddle only). 3” max movement. No DEX bonus and +2 AC. Cannot charge.

 

Both gear weight and the bulk— whichever is more limiting—defines encumbrance, e.g.  regardless of the Strength of a PC wearing non-magical plate mail, they are heavily encumbered, and have their movement restricted.

At a simple level, the capacity for various storage devices: Pouch (5 lbs), Backpack (40 lbs), Small Sack (20 lbs), Large Sack(60 lbs). Individual weights thus aren’t necessary, simply decide what could fit in a pouch, backpack, or sack, using the encumbrance values as guidelines.

Generic encumbrance values:

  • 0#: clothes, normal spell components, thieves picks and tools, helmet (considered part of armor)
  • 5#: full pouch, weapon (2 daggers=1 weapon, bow + arrows=2 weapons, grapnel=1 weapon, 2-handed=2 weapons)
  • 5#: Shield: Small or normal(non-)
  • 10#: large (bulky) shield (magical has no bulk but is not lighter)
  • 15/30/45# : Leather/chain mail/plate (weight halved if magical, and one better on bulk)
  • 35#: Backpack with spell book or “standard” adventuring gear (includes dagger, ¾ full)

PCs by DMG definition are capable of carrying 150 lbs, adjusted by Strength.   Example stats for the character sheet of a PC with 16 STR (+35 lbs), carrying 45 lbs:

U<=35/L<70/M<105/H<140/E<185: 45 lbs.

providing a handy reference when the data is needed. A quick review of the few weapons and the default weight of each of the storage capacities carried by a character defines current encumbrance.

I’m Surprised

Last updated: 180901, … 260502
surprise@corwyn.net
https://dnd.sinister.net

I had abandoned using Surprise as written years ago—so long ago I don’t recall why. I suspect because I tried to make the rules make sense, and as written they don’t (and can’t, there are errors in the early printings of the PHB and DMG!). The rules are also surprisingly (hah!) unclear on who rolls for what effect. Am I rolling for whether I’m surprising or surprised? What if the result is modified?

 I’ve recently been inspired to dig into some of the more fiddly AD&D rules, and have been impressed at how well those rules work once I understand them, so I tried Surprise again. That said, I’ve modified the below just a bit to be consistent with the rest of my house rules (see Initiative). I personally limit surprise to a single attack per segment, without stacking, to a maximum of 2 attacks. That’s intentional, otherwise 7th level Elven Ranger catching someone completely flat-footed could gain 10 melee attacks during Surprise (and more extreme examples exist!)

A surprised party is one caught unawares or unprepared by another party (DMG, p. 61, 62). In such circumstances the non-surprised (or less surprised) party has an advantage of “free and unanswered activity to move, attack, flee, etc.,” reflected by free segments of actions against the surprised party prior to rolling initiative. It is possible for both parties to be surprised equally—with Surprise thus having no effect.  Parties are unaware of how surprised the other side is.

Prior detection negates the possibility of being surprised. Light can spoil the possibility of surprise for one party. Noise can negate surprise considerations, whether the sound is the normal progress of the party or a fruitless attempt to open a door. A party hearing something at a door (Hear Noise) negates their possibility of surprise. Magical devices can possibly negate surprise by detection of thoughts or intentions. In all such cases, only parties subject to surprise roll to determine surprise (DMG, p. 62). If one party is making considerable noise which is discernible by the other party, the latter will also have the options of fleeing or concealment regardless of Surprise; the former negating the encounter, the latter allowing distance to be 1″ to 4″ before discovery by the noisy party (DMG, p. 62).

For each side, if the chance of surprise exists, a single d6 is rolled to determine whether their entire side is surprised. By default, on a 1 or 2 their side is surprised, for the number of segments equal to the number rolled on the die, otherwise (on 3-6) they are not surprised. If a creature surprises on 4 in 6, it can surprise for up to 4 segments (when their opponent rolls 1-4 on a d6) (PHB, p. 51,103; DMG, p. 62).

If both parties roll results in their range for Surprise, Surprise duration is calculated for one party based on the net of the two Surprise results: “Assume A [surprised on 5 in 6] rolls a 4, so A is surprised for 4 segments unless B rolls a 1, in which case A’s inactive period will be only 3 segments, or if B rolls a 2, in which case A’s surprise will last for only 2 segments (4–1 = 3, 4–2 = 2).” (DMG, p. 62). Only one side will have lost segments (DMG, p. 61, PHB, p. 103). Subtract the segments of surprise from each other, not the dice rolls. Only the non-surprised party can act.

“Complete Surprise” is defined as 2 (or more) segments of surprise [c.f. , MM-Catoblepas; DMG-Crossbow of Speed; PHB-Phantasmal Killer; UA-garrote; MM2-Dracolisk; G1-3, p.12 & 23; S3, p. 13 & 14; and the potential 4 segments of complete surprise for the Aerial Servant (PHB/MM). See Eldrich Wizardry, p.10 for origins of Complete Surprise. The Boalisk prompts “Complete Surprise” on a 1-2; whether the Boalisk rolls a 1 or 2, it will surprise for 2 segments. [I choose to interpret that any surprise ≥ 2 segments is “Complete Surprise” of 2 segments.]

Only once Surprise is completely resolved do both parties roll Initiative.

 

Encounter Distance

If either or both parties are surprised, the normal underground encounter distance of d6+4″ will typically be only 1″ to 3″, as surprise is normally a factor only in close encounter/underground situations. When outdoors, each segment of surprise reduces the normal encounter distance (6d4″) by 1″ (DMG, p. 49) in addition to free segments of activity. Terrain type will also modify encounter distance:

Scrub  -1 per distance die on all 3’s and 4’s.
Forest  -1 per distance die on all numbers (00’s are possible).
Marsh  -1 per distance die on all 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s.

Illumination or visual capability of the concerned parties also affects encounter distance. A light source reliance limits the encounter distance to twice the normal vision radius of the source (2× radius of the light source). lnfravision and/or ultravision operate only to the stated limit of their range and limit encounter distance accordingly (DMG, p. 62).

Interpretation: What if, due to prior detection, Party A is surprised but the Party B is not? Determine the normal encounter distance for Party B. Should Party B not react, encounter distance can be determined as normal for Surprise (d3″), otherwise Party B has the number of Surprise segments to react from the normal encounter distance. This contradicts the DMG (p. 62): “If either or both parties are surprised, the distance must be either 1″ to 3″ or it must be less as determined under the actual area modifier.” but takes into account the exception of prior detection (light, noise).

Modifiers to the Chance of Being Surprised (Your Die)

Audial or visual superiority will tend to negate surprise (DMG, p. 194). A party (or group of monsters) is surprised only as easily as its most perceptive member if that awareness can be communicated; in other words, in a party with a ranger (surprised only on 1 in 6), the entire party is only surprised on a 1 in d6 (DMG, p. 61). If awareness is limited (such as a human ranger in the dark), special class or race benefits do not apply (WSG, p. 13, DSG, p. 60).

In the case where the party is surprised on 1 in d6, the overall chance to be surprised is reduced by 1. In this case if the other side would normally surprise 5 in d6, the net result is the party will be surprised only on 4 in d6 (DMG, p. 62)—not Surprised on 5 in d6, and then the duration reduced by 1 segment.

Alertness/Senses can make a party or individual less susceptible to surprise:

  • Alertness makes the ettin difficult to surprise (decreasing the Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness (MM, p. 20).
  • All cloud giants have a keen sense of smell, thus they are surprised only a 1 in d6 (decreasing the Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness (MM, p. 44).
  • Hell hounds have keen hearing, and they are surprised on a die roll of 1 in d6) (decreasing the Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness) (MM, p. 51).
  • Satyrs have keen senses, so are surprised only on a 1 (decreasing the Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness (MM, p. 85).
  • The keen hearing and eyesight of giant apes makes them only surprised on a 1 (decreasing the Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness (MM, p. 7).
  • The unusual peripheral vision of the kna, kopru, and shark decreases their Surprise range by 1 to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6 (PC3, p. 3).
  • Rangers (& Duelists) are surprised only on 1 in d6 (decreasing the surprise range by 1, normally to 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their alertness (Polyhedron #12, p. 10). [The Ranger ability originally derived from their tracking.4]
  • Barbarians are surprised only on 1 in d10 (effectively decreasing the normal range by 4 from 2 in d6 to 1 in d10 (see Calculating Cumulative Surprise below) due to their alertness. This further decreases the normal range by an additional 2 (to 1 in 20) if in familiar terrain. [I find this overpowering at a party level, and instead consider the Barbarian ability as identical to the Ranger ability. That also removes a recurring Surprise d10 complication.]
  • With a proficiency check, characters with Alertness decrease the range by 1, now 1 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6. Assuming an ability to communicate to others in the party, their chance of being surprised is also reduced by that amount. Otherwise treat the number of segments they are surprised as reduced by 1. Interpretation: This does not stack with the class abilities that reduce the chance of being surprised—those classes effectively have this proficiency without the requirement for a proficiency slot or proficiency check.

Interpretation: A few creatures with exceptional senses are defined as unable to be Surprised (Brownies with “exceptional senses”, barbed devils “alert at all times”, eagles “eyesight”, leprechaun’s “keen ears”. Exceptional senses could be calculated as an additional -1 from Surprise for extreme sensory capacity (considered as surprised 0 in 6 prior to other adjustments). Keen senses can be interpreted as being twice as good (seeing or hearing twice as far).

Modifiers to the Chance of Surprising Others (Their Die)

Surprise capability relates to special movement ability and possibly other factors (DMG, p. 194). A party with an increased chance to surprise their opponents increases their opponents’ range from 1-2 in d6 to 1-3 or more (also increasing the potential number of segments that their opponent(s) can be surprised), but only if that increased chance of surprise is true for the entire party (e.g., all rangers, a group of only halflings and elves 90’ in advance not wearing armor, all huge spiders, etc.).

Rolls that adjust the Surprise roll (such as Hide in Shadows, Move Silently, or Boots of Elvenkind) must be checked prior to a Surprise roll, as success can indicate an improved chance to surprise an opponent (PHB, p. 102, 103).

  • Noise can negate surprise considerations, whether the sound is the normal progress of the party or a failed attempt to open a door. Characters in metal armor can be heard for 90′, hard boots can be heard at 60′, and relatively quiet movement can be heard at 30′ (DMG, p. 68).
  • Being hidden (invisibility, camouflage, hiding in shadows) increases the opponents’ chance of being surprised by 1 (increasing the opponents’ range by 1, i.e., surprised on 1-3 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) (PHB, p. 103; Drmg #133; FF, p. 17, Bullywug). One cannot Hide in Shadows and Move (Silently) (DMG, p. 19, PHB, p. 28).
  • Move Silently/Silence increases the opponents’ chance of being surprised by 1 (increasing the opponents’ range by 1, i.e., surprised on 1-3 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to stealth (PHB, p. 103, Drmg#133). One cannot Hide in Shadows and Move (Silently) (DMG, p. 19, PHB, p. 28). Bugbears and undead are explicitly silent (DMG, p. 60), also increasing the opponents’ chance of being surprised by 1. Hell hounds “move with great stealth”, granting them the ability to surprise on 1-4 in d6 (MM, p. 51).
  • Psionic invisibility is a mind control ability (“The Shadow Knows!”) which is more similar to the druidic Invisibility to Animals, for the affected creature(s) does not notice sounds or odors from the psionic (DMG, p. 60), increasing the opponents’ range by 2 (1-4 in d6) due to being hidden and silent.
  • Elves and Halflings surprise opponents 1-4 in d6 when not in metal armor and 90’ in advance (increasing their opponents’ range by 2, i.e., surprised on 1-4 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6), due to both their stealth and ability to be hidden. If they open a portal, that chance for surprise returns to 1-2 in d6. See also Solonor (UA, p. 113).
  • Metal armor is not a factor for rangers, clarifying that the ranger Surprise benefit isn’t due to silence. Rangers surprise opponents 50% of the time (increasing their opponent’s chance of being surprised by 1, i.e., surprised on 1-3 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6 (Polyhedron #12, p. 10) due to their ability to hide. This ability doesn’t explicitly include conditions, but rangers can’t surprise opponents aware of their companions and thus require the same distance as elves and halflings—rangers must be at least 90’ in advance.
  • Metal armor is not a factor for barbarians when calculating Surprise, clarifying that the barbarian Surprise benefit isn’t due to silence. Barbarians increase their opponents’ chance of being surprised by 1 (increasing their opponents range by 1, i.e., surprised on 1-3 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6) due to their ability to hide, with an additional 1-point increase if also in familiar terrain (i.e., surprised on 1-4 in d6 instead of 1-2 in d6), due to the barbarian’s ability to hide in known terrain. The barbarian’s ability doesn’t include conditions, but barbarians can’t surprise opponents aware of their companions and thus require the same distance as elves, halflings, and rangers—they must be at least 90’ in advance.
  • The bullywug, when camouflaged, can further increase the chance of surprise by 2 by hopping 3″ to the attack.

Modifiers are cumulative when dissimilar. Example: A lone invisible elf not wearing metal armor comes upon an orc. The standard chance of being surprised is 1-2 in d6. For the orc, its range is increased due to the elf (+2 from being hidden and silent), but not further increased due to the elf’s invisibility (+1) as the elf is already hidden—the orc will be surprised if it rolls 1-4 in d6.

If both parties determine results in their range for Surprise, Surprise segments are calculated based on the difference of the resulting segments of Surprise. After rolling Surprise, the elf is surprised for 2 segments, and the orc is surprised for 4 segments—The end result is the orc is surprised for 2 segments (4 segments of surprise –2 segments of surprise) before moving on to Initiative (DMG, p. 61).

Modifiers to the Duration of Individual Surprise

Individual adjustments for Dexterity and Encumbrance never create (or negate) Surprise itself; instead they subtract (or add) segments for individuals once the party is surprised.  The Dexterity Reaction/Attacking Bonus affects that many segments of surprise for that individual only, e.g. on a range of 1-2, with the group rolling a 2, a lightly-encumbered character with a 16 Dexterity (+1 Reaction/Attacking) would be affected for one less segment. If an opponent then attempts to attack them, the attack defers to the standard initiative round (DMG, pp. 62, 71).

  • Encumbered (> 105# or very bulky equipment) characters are slowed greatly (PHB, p. 102); when the party is surprised, an encumbered character will be affected for an additional two segments.
  • “Very Heavy” encumbrance (#105 or bulky armor/equipment) causes a character’s reactions to be “slowed” (in a situation of surprise) (PHB, p.102). If the party is surprised, the individual is affected for an additional segment.
  • “Heavy” encumbrance (70# or fairly bulky armor/equipment) defines “no bonuses” to Surprise. Dexterity Reaction adjustment to segments of Surprise? Gone! (The ranger’s actual abilities are unaffected however, since the Reaction bonus only affects mitigating surprise (DMG, p. 62)]
  • Only lightly or unencumbered characters [reaction normal or better], (PHB p. 101) gain the Dexterity Reaction/Attacking Bonus:
    • If the Dexterity Reaction modifier reduces the Surprise segments for an individual, that individual still can’t act during Surprise even if Dexterity reduces the individual’s Surprise segments to 0 (or below). If they are attacked individually, they are up and on their guard (DMG, p. 71), so opponents will not get an attack until Initiative.
    • All armors except leather and elfin chain are fairly bulky or bulky, making the character more than lightly encumbered for purposes of Surprise.
    • Magic armor has the same encumbrance as non-magic armor. The properties of magic armor allow movement at the next higher base rate (DMG, p. 28), not with less encumbrance.
    • Large shields are bulky (see “Very Heavy”). Magical shields however are non-bulky with respect to encumbrance (DMG, p. 28).

Interpretation: I choose to limit surprise attacks to a single attack per segment for 2 segments.

Actions During Surprise

While the attacker’s opponent(s) is/are surprised, each surprise segment the attacker may perform the following as if it were an entire round:

  • Do nothing.
  • Attempt to parlay.
  • Evasion is automatic if outdoors (DMG, p. 69).
  • Move 1″ (and potentially close for melee).
  • Prepare (e.g., drawing or setting a weapon).
  • *Charge 2” (if close enough) and attack.
  • *Fire missile weapons.3 If “nocked and ready” on the first segment of Surprise, add an extra missile.
  • *Use a breath weapon (if normally possible!).
  • Attempt to activate a magical device. The device could activate during Surprise. If not enough surprise segments exist to complete activation, subtract each surprise segment from the future initiative roll (2 under my 20-segment combat round).
  • Hide in Shadows (if thief, assassin, or monk).
  • *Melee or grapple (if prepared and within 1″).
  • *Back stab (if thief or assassin and within 1″). Surprise is required to gain the damage multiplier and +4 to hit instead of the standard +2 for a rear attack.2,6 If at the rear, strike at +4 to hit for each surprise segment. Striking from the rear also negates any shield or Dexterity bonus. The back stab damage multiplier applies for only the first segment of surprise attack (DMG, p. 74, PHB, p. 27, Polyhedron #31, p. 29).

After surprise ends, if a thief removes themself from melee such that their opponents are no longer aware of the thief’s presence, the thief could reenter combat, attempt to Move Silently behind their opponent, and back stab again. However, they can’t gain surprise as long as their opponent is aware of their location, so have only the standard rear attack bonus of +2 with no damage multiplier.

  • *Roll on the Assassination Table (if an assassin and within 1″). See notes under back stab.
  • Spells that require but a single segment can be cast in a surprise segment. Longer-casting-time spells can only be begun during the first segment of surprise (DMG, p. 61), and if not completed by the end of Surprise subtract 1 segment (2 under my 20 segment initiative system) for each surprise segment from the future initiative round.

“[M]agic spells require the proper number of segments of casting time” (PHB., p. 103). However, surprise permits only “telling blows [and missile discharge] each segment,” not spell casting. With three segments of Surprise, a spell caster can:  cast a 3-segment spell; move one segment and cast a two-segment spell; or cast three segments of a four-segment (or more) spell. The caster does not know how long their opponent will be surprised when declaring actions.

  • *Turn undead (also action 4.D), limited by failure preventing future attempts.

*If an attacker with Surprise individually directs an attack at an opponent who for whatever reason is not surprised (e.g., a Dexterity bonus), the attack is ineffective.

Number of Melee Attacks During Surprise

The Player’s Handbook states (p. 103):

Physical attacks during surprise situations are also possible on a 1-per-segment basis, whether the form is by weapon, projectile, or method intrinsic to the creature (claws, fangs, etc.).

and the DMG reads (p. 62):

the surprising party will be able to attempt telling blows during each segment of surprise as if the segment were an entire round! That is, a fighter able to attack twice during a normal round of combat will be able to do so twice during each surprise segment, so dice are rolled for hit determination accordingly. Even if distance prevents striking with weapons, the discharge of arrows, bolts or hand-hurled weapons is permissible at three times the normal rate providing the weapon/missiles are ready, otherwise at normal rates for rounds. Once surprise segments are over, melee proceeds normally on around-by-round basis.

which clarifies that the PHB “attack” is an full round’s attack sequence, not just a single attack.

Number of Missile Attacks During Surprise

The PHB permits 1 arrow / segment of Surprise (“Physical attacks during surprise situations are also possible on a 1 per segment basis, whether the form is by weapon, projectile, or method intrinsic to the creature“). The DMG changed that to: “Even if distance prevents striking with weapons, the discharge of arrows, bolts or hand-hurled weapons is permissible at three times the normal rate providing the weapon/missiles are ready, otherwise at normal rates for rounds.”

The normal rate of missile fire is twice per round—2 arrows every 10 segments. Triple that would be 6 arrows every round—1 arrow per segment. That timing is consistent with the Crossbow of Speed:
In surprise situations it is of no help, but in complete surprise situations the held crossbow will enable its user to fire in the 2nd segment portion.

Gygax himself did not intend that to read as 6 arrows / segment.5

Additional Notes

  • A thief Moving Silently can prompt a Surprise roll even when expected.
  • A thief failing to Move Silently triggers a Surprise roll for both sides (as the thief doesn’t know they failed their Move Silently).
  • An attack when using Dust of Disappearance is always by surprise (assumed for the entire party if silent). Roll normal surprise, with a minimum of 1 segment of surprise for the opponent party.
  • A character wearing the Robe of Eyes can easily detect hidden things; surprise of a character wearing a Robe of Eyes due to things being hidden is impossible.
  • The Crossbow of Speed can fire during Surprise on the 2nd segment of surprise (“complete surprise”) (DMG, p. 168). Loading and firing a normal crossbow therefore can’t be accomplished during 2 segments of Surprise.
  • Sandstorms and frostbite both increase the chance to be surprised by 1 (increasing the party’s potential surprise range by 1) (WSG p. 28, 29).
  • A garrote attack will only succeed with Complete Surprise from behind (UA, pl. 27).
  • While a weapon might be poisoned before the Surprise round, the poison will only affect the first strike: “Blades can likewise be coated with a toxic resin … cause a poison saving throw to be made by the first creature initially struck by such a weapon (PHB, p. 107)”.
  • Assassins can don disguise to create the opportunity for surprise (see PHB, p.29).
  • Improved Invisibility has the effect of moving considerations for detection of such invisibility downwards by two places compared to other forms of invisibility on the Detection of Invisibility Table, not Surprise, so still increases the range of Surprise by 1 (1-3 in d6) (DMG, p. 47).
  • The Rod of Alertness (UA, p. 94) “bestows +1 to the possessor’s die rolls for being surprised”. While it might appear this creates additional segments of surprise, it does not. A normal PC is surprised on 1-2 in d6: a 1 in 6 chance of being surprised 1 segment (if a 1 is rolled), and a 1 in 6 chance of being surprised for 2 segments (if a 2 is rolled). After adding a +1 to the die, the chance of being surprised 2 segments is the same (1 in 6, if a 1 + 1 is rolled), but it’s no longer possible to be surprised 1 segment.

Interpretations

  • Outdoors, if not surprised themselves, a party with Surprise can withdraw (where possible) unnoticed (DMG, p. 49, 69, 183). Complete Surprise is required (more than 1 segment of surprise) underground.
  • Encounter distances are defined for a normal party. But what about the thief (or elves, etc.) moving silently? The “relatively quiet movement” of the lightly-armored thief can only be heard at 30′ (DMG, p. 68). At 30′, roll Surprise (potentially modified by Move Silently), and resolve Surprise encounter distance as normal (d3″) (DMG, p. 62).
  • While performing a back stab from Surprise after a successful Move Silently, the thief could be considered to also be invisible (as their opponent can’t see them), surprising on 1-4 in 6 (receiving both the Hidden and Silent modifiers to Surprise).
  • The monk’s chance of being surprised drops 2% per level. However, the duration of surprise isn’t necessarily reduced. Reformulating the monk ability, monks are surprised: 2 in d8 at Level 5, 2 in d10 at Level 8, 2 in d12 at Level 10, 2 in d20 at Level 13, and 1 in d20 at Level 16. Invisibility and Stealth modify as normal (e.g., a hidden, silent thief will surprise a Level 5 monk 1-4 in 8).
  • If, at the beginning of a round, a new 3rd party has suddenly entered combat, treat this as the beginning of a new encounter. Each engaged party makes a new surprise roll. Surprise is resolved, and then Initiative continues as normal. This is the same explanation as why Surprise for back stab in melee, effectively starting a new encounter (as an encounter is defined as “An unexpected confrontation with a monster, another party, etc.”) (DMG, p. 228). It’s also consistent with when Initiative starts, “when an encounter occurs” (DMG, p. 62). The 3rd party initiates a new encounter, restarting the entire encounter sequence.
  • Attacking a (normally) sleeping creature triggers a Surprise check (with a minimum of 1) as if the attacker is Invisible (1-3 in 6).
  • Priests of Nerull use the mechanic of “surprised 2 in 12” to represent the ability to be surprised on only 1 in d6, but still be surprised for two segments.1 Perfect for the Ranger 1 in d6.
  • The piercer surprises 95% of the time. Given the piercer’s movement / segment (1′) and inability to attack without falling, the number of segments of surprise aren’t relevant. They either get a free attack, or the party isn’t surprised, and attack order is by Initiative.

Edge Case: Spell casting and Surprise

Two parties roll Surprise. The PCs are surprised for 2 segments. The enemy spell caster begins casting a 3-segment spell. Normally, after two segments both groups would roll Initiative, with the spell caster having 1 segment remaining. But what of the case of a single PC whose Surprise has been modified by encumbrance or a low Dexterity to 3? Of the two possible interpretations:
–The spell caster completes their spell, at a penalty to the party.
OR
–everyone rolls Initiative, and the more-Surprised PC’s additional segment just gets ignored, or integrated in the initiative round.

The latter appears more practical, for this extreme edge case.

Group Surprise Rolls

A ranger is surprised only 1 in d6. If they can convey that to the party, then the party is surprised 1 in d6.

But what if they can’t convey that information? You now have the monsters surprised 2 in d6, the party surprised 2 in d6, and the ranger surprised 1 in d6. In that case the ranger subtracts 1 from their own individual surprise.

Alertness works similarly, but requiring a proficiency roll:
“Roll Surprise”.
“Wait, I have Alertness. *roll*. Our Surprise value (range and duration) are decreased by 1.”

The case of three parties in Surprise is the combat example of two parties fighting when a 3rd party comes on the scene. Pause at the beginning of the round, reroll and process Surprise for all 3 groups, and then resume Initiative.

Ambush

The question that often arises is the PCs attempting an ambush. While it’s possible that the PCs can’t be surprised (due to awareness of their opponents), it’s not possible to guarantee surprise for the PCs. Their chance of surprise is 2 in 6. If they’re moderately silent (say more than 90′ away while wearing metal armor), then the GM might grant them “silent”, increasing their chance to 3 in 6. Getting to 4 in 6 would require “hidden”, only possible if the party is thieves, rangers, etc. Magic-users don’t hide so well.

Outdoor encounter range (the point at which the PCs become aware of their opponents) defaults to 6d4″, modified by terrain. Normally, surprise outdoors modifies the encounter range, in addition to the number of segments of free and unanswered activity, subtracting the number of segments of surprise from the encounter range as well.

However, in the case of an ambush, the number of surprise segments should increase the distance between the PCs and their opponents, as surprise provides the PCs more time to prepare, not less.

Example: The PCs, hidden in a grove of trees in a forest, plan to ambush a group of orcs they know will come down the trail, firing at the orcs when the orcs are 12″ away. As the PCs are aware the orcs are coming and can’t be surprised, they don’t roll surprise. The GM rolls surprise for the orcs and rolls a 2 (surprised for 2 segments, and 2 segments further away). The forest will subtract 6″ (1 / die) from the encounter range. The surprise will add 2″.  If the encounter distance (6d4 – 6 + 2)  is now ≥12″, the PCs plans will come to fruition, waiting to fire until the orcs reach 12″. However, if the encounter range is < 12″, the PCs will fire at the encounter range. They’ll get 2 segments to attack, and then both sides will roll for initiative.

It’s important to note that just because the PCs believe the orcs will come down the trail does not guarantee the PCs cannot be surprised, as the orcs could arrive early, have outlying scouts, etc. Rolling surprise for the PCs can still be appropriate.

Wise players won’t argue for the ability to automatically ambush lest the same thing occur to them!

Calculating Cumulative Surprise (Optional)

Any time the range of surprise for a group would be reduced to 0 (i.e., a 0 in d6 chance), the die size is incremented instead (next 1 in d8, then 1 in d10, etc.). Blackmoor uses this for the monk (“At 3rd level monks are surprised only on a roll of 1 in 6, at 5th level only 1 in 8, and at 7th level and above only 1 in 10.”). The same applies to a Surprise chance of 1-6 in d6, instead converting to 1-7 in d8, etc.

Any time the range of surprise would be increased (say a halfing at 4 in 6 encountering a drow at 1 in 8), increase the drow by the difference from 2 in 6. So the halfing is 2 better than 2 in 6, so the drow’s surprise roll would be 1-3 on d8.

For a by-the-book example of a similar methodology, consider the greenhag, which surprises 1-5 in d6. If invisible (which normally would be 1-6 in d6), the greenhag instead surprises 19 in 20.

There are rare instances where surprise could be converted into d100. If the opponent uses a different die than d6 to calculate surprise (d8, d10, even d20), then modifications to their range of being surprised could be calculated on d100 (such as adding 16.67% from the ranger ability to the 5% chance of the creature surprised only 1 in 20). But instead, modify by the same number (applying the “1” from the 1 in 6 chance to the 1 in 20, making the range 2 in 20), because that’s faster, easier, and reflects the increased difficulty to surprise that creature.

Appendix A:  Surprise: An Operational Guide

  1. Roll Move Silently (where applicable) and other effects that determine Hidden or Silent (such as Boots or Cloak of Elvenkind) if and only if they apply to the entire party.
    1. Move Silently (and other effects) provide a Base Surprise modifier you need for the next step
  2. Determine the potential Base Surprise for each involved Party
    1. Normally 2 in 6, this can be modified by Class, Race/Monster, Stealth/Silence, and Alertness
    2. See https://dnd.sinister.net/im-surprised/ for extended details
  3. Roll Base Surprise for each party (normally 1-2 in d6)
  4. Determine Encounter Distance
    1. If any party was surprised: d3″ (indoors); 6d4″ modified by terrain – Base Surprise” (outdoors)
    2. If neither party was surprised: d6 +4″ (indoors); 6d4″ (outdoors). Move on to Initiative
    3. Adjust (if necessary) by line-of-sight/ size of room
  5. Determine party Surprise duration (in segments)
    1. Surprise duration is the same number that determines if the party was surprised (e.g., a party that rolled a 5 when surprised 1-5 in d6 is surprised for 5 segments)
    2. If neither party is surprised, move on to Initiative
    3. If both parties are equally surprised, move on to Initiative
    4. If only one party is surprised, Surprise duration for that party is the Base Surprise.
    5. If one party is more surprised, Surprise duration (in segments) for the most surprised party is: (most surprised party’s Base Surprise) – (least surprised party’s Base Surprise). Only one party will lose segments and be surprised.
  6. Determine individual Surprise duration
    1. Adjust the number of segments each individual in a Surprised party can be affected according to their Dexterity, encumbrance, individual alertness, or other modifiers.
    2. An individual with ≤ 0 Surprise segments remaining will no longer be affected by individual attacks (melee or ranged), but cannot respond in any other way.
  7. Process each Base Surprise segment as a full round in but a single segment (actions 4.A-H).
    1. Movement is 1/10th normal (a single segment)
    2. Casting time is by segment. Any spell not completed in a Surprise segment carries over to the next segment of Surprise, and then carries over into Initiative if still not complete.
    3. Ranged weapons fire at three times the normal rate if ready (in other words, if prior to the first surprise segment: “I’ll nock an arrow”, “Ready weapons and missiles”), otherwise at normal rates (I read this as one arrow the first segment if nocked and ready, and one arrow for each later Surprise segments).
    4. Any individual attack (melee or ranged) against a surprised opponent with no remaining individual surprise segments is deferred to Initiative.
  8. Process extended Surprise
    1. Any individual with remaining Surprise segments can be individually attacked (melee or ranged) for any remaining individual surprise segment. No other actions by attacker(s) are possible.
  9. Roll Initiative
    1. Adjust any spell casting time by whatever arcane method you use for casting time in 1e Initiative.
  10. If at any point a new party enters the fray during Initiative rounds, repeat the Surprise process (above).

References

4Strategic Review, Vol. 1, No. 2, “Rangers: An Exciting New Dungeons & Dragons Class,” Summer 1975.
Dungeons & Dragons Additional Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures, Supplement 1: Greyhawk. Gary Gygax and Rob Kuntz, 1976.
Dungeons & Dragons Additional Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures, Supplement 2: Blackmoor. Dave Arneson, 1975.
Dungeons & Dragons Additional Rules for Fantastic Medieval Wargames Campaigns Playable with Paper and Pencil and Miniature Figures, Supplement 3: Eldritch Wizardry. Gygax & Blume, 1976.
TSR 2010, Players Handbook, 1978.
TSR 2011, Dungeon Masters Guide, 1979.
Polyhedron #12, “Dispel Confusion”, 1983, p. 10.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 42, “Sage Advice”, October 1980, p. 23.
1Dragon Magazine, Issue 71, “Deities & Demigods of Greyhawk”, March 1983.
Polyhedron #24, “Dispel Confusion”, 1985, p. 36.
TSR 2017, Unearthed Arcana, 1985.
TSR 2020, Wilderness Survival Guide, 1986.
2Polyhedron #31, “Dispel Confusion”, 1987, p. 29.
6Dragon Magazine, Issue 117, “Sage Advice”, January 1986, p. 54.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 133, “Surprise: Determining who gets the drop on whom”, May 1988.
3Zagyg’s Wisdom, https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=10004&start=180
https://playingattheworld.blogspot.com/2012/08/gygaxs-thief-addition-1974.html [original thief]
http://murphysvictim.blogspot.com/2013/03/1st-edition-ad-surprise-not-so-difficult.html
https://nagorascorner.blogspot.com/2018/05/surprised-and-confused.html [history]
Great Plains Games Players Newsletter #9.
4Dragonsfoot.org, March 15, 2005. https://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=10004&p=166208  “As far as my intent went, there was no difference between a blow and a missile attack in regards to surprise. So if there are three segments of surprise, the weapon has a RoF of two per segment, then six attacks could indeed be made thus.”

Revisiting Poison

Last updated: 171230… 250317

With perhaps the exception of level drain, little is feared more than poison, with a character’s destiny hanging on a single saving throw. Yet the odds of avoiding poison are low. 10% of all monsters in the MM are poisonous; in particular, many of the early monsters (spiders, snakes, centipedes). Appendix A (Table V.H > V.I) suggests that 14% of all treasure is guarded by poison. While Appendix G suggests that only 7% of the traps include poison, that frequency in modules is much higher; there’s likely not a module written without the ubiquitous poison needle trap. Roughly 15% of all summoned monsters are poisonous.

Indeed, the DMG suggests limiting players’ use of poison, as character use is undesirable. Non-evil clerics and paladins can’t use poison at all (paladins won’t even adventure with a group that uses poison). Assassins can’t create poison until 9th level, and then only after months of study at a cost of ~60,000 gp (even then a single dose of poison takes a week to construct for another 200-1,200 gp).

Despite extensive notes on assassins’ use of poison, the DMG encourages sanctions for character use of poison (if not disallowed for characters entirely!). Thieves can set poison traps, but can’t wear any protective hand gear so failure setting the trap means poisoning themselves. Envenoming a weapon is “difficult” per the DMG, and the PHB tells you it’s not generally possible to envenom a weapon. Another recommendation is checking if the PCs nick themselves when handling poisoned weapons. Even then, poison on a blade wears off after only two blows. Character types other than assassin automatically grant a further +2 save to poison when striking with a poisoned weapon due to their inability to apply it effectively (and even assassins grant +1). Assassins using a poisoned weapon further risk their poison being noticed—a cumulative 10% per round. If any onlooker spots the poison, they will attack, call the Watch, or both! The DMG further recommends that characters discovered with poison be killed and their ashes scattered (causing permanent death, removing any hope of being raised from the dead)!

In this universe of limiting poison for players, monsters get relatively free reign. While real-world neurotoxins take 5-10 minutes, most monster poisons in AD&D are instantaneous all-or-nothing; the character either makes the saving throw or dies immediately (“within a minute or so”). In a combat scenario, that increases the odds that other characters will be attacked and poisoned in turn, as the poisonous attacks turn elsewhere.

A number of creatures can even shrug off the effects of poison. All swine, wereboars included, will be in this protected class. Similarly, very large creatures poisoned by very small ones are not likely to be affected. Even the poison of the deadly coral snake would not be likely to harm an apatosaurus. Giants would simply smash giant centipedes without fear of their poison—which would cause a swelling and rash, perhaps, at worst.

 

Once poisoned, a character has limited recourse. While holy water will “slow the onset of poison” (DMG Appendix), the specifics aren’t defined. The DSG Healing proficiency declares efficacy only when used “immediately” after poison, even though poisoned characters die “immediately.” WSG defines the efficacy of the Healing proficiency as “beginning in the same round that the poisoning occurs,” almost impossible within the constraints of the initiative system which doesn’t permit “within a round.” It’s improbable that the intent of those proficiencies was working only when the party is surprised, loses Initiative, or has declared they’re going to treat someone for poison who hasn’t been poisoned yet!

Character Classes

Monks aren’t immune to poison until 11th level. Barbarians have only a 10% chance of effecting a cure (50% + CON Score if the poison is known). The druid Slow Poison includes only a 5% chance / level to know a herbal antidote (and then only if the poison is made from a plant).

Even with a cleric, there’s not much a party can do. Normal healing doesn’t cure poison. Purify Food/Water will remove the poison from a substance, but not after the poison has affected a character. Slow Poison will take effect only if cast within 1 turn/cleric’s level after the character is poisoned, so the spell can be cast only once (twice if timing things to eke out every moment) before time runs out for the unfortunate character. The recipient of Slow Poison loses 1 hit point per turn (to a minimum of 1 hit point) for the duration of the spell (6 turns/level of the caster). However, unless the party is within a few hours of a 7th level cleric with Neutralize Poison (at the cost of 1,000 gp), Slow Poison won’t make any difference; Slow Poison will wear off and the PC will die.

Neutralize Poison is, as written, almost worthless. Neutralize Poison takes 7 segments to cast—hard to complete part way through a round. Characters will already have failed their saving throw and be dead. If a party cleric needs to pray for Neutralize Poison, it will take almost seven hours, far longer than any hope from Slow Poison. The cleric can always choose to attack the poisonous creature in melee and attempt to neutralize its poison in advance!

Magic Items

Magic items are more likely to poison than to cure. 3% of potions are poison. The Staff of the Serpent has a poisonous strike, and the Dagger of Venom will permit use of poison without observation. The Cloak of Poisonousness just kills characters. There are few magic items to aid a poisoned character. If applied in advance, Sweet Water will negate a Potion of Poison, but destroys other potions as well, negating any prophylactic use. The Periapt of Proof Against Poison only decreases the chances of being poisoned. The only magical cure available to PCs is Keoghtom’s Ointment, encountered .02% of the time.

Holy Water

The Appendix of the DMG indicates that holy water can slow the effects of poisons, with no further detail. The only defined effects of holy water are slowing the onset of lycanthropy or becoming undead for 1-4 turns. One extrapolation therefore would be that holy water delays the onset of poison by a similar duration. Dragon #081 suggests that holy water acts as Slow Poison with the duration as cast by a 1st-level cleric (6 turns/1 hour), where the first dose of holy water must be administered within 1 turn minus 2-5 segments of the time of poisoning to have the desired effect. Effects of multiple applications of holy water are cumulative with respect to duration; a double dose extends the effect for 2 consecutive hours (as long as the second dose is administered before the first one wears off).

Cleaning up the Timing

Death from poison takes effect immediately (defined as “a minute or so”) but clearly the precise timing matters. Time to use proficiencies, cast Neutralize Poison, drink holy water, or apply other remedies, and the party could be engaged in combat. Exactly how long does it take to die of poison?

Slow Poison, an only 2nd level spell, causes a supposedly dead character to have life restored if cast within a number of turns equal to the level of the cleric. The implication on “supposedly” is that poisoned characters aren’t actually dead, just close enough that the difference can’t be discerned. If the character is indeed not truly dead, Neutralize Poison should likely work within the same window (1 turn / caster level), although the two spells are not the same (Slow Poison is necromantic but Neutralize Poison is Alteration). Extending that logic further, spells affecting poison should take effect if used within 1 turn/caster level (magic items are defined as cast by a 12th level caster). Since holy water works within a turn, it follows that the proficiencies be defined in a similar manner. That timing is then consistent with the timing of zero hit points when poisoned, and death one turn later at -10. In the Expert Set, Neutralize Poison revives a victim if cast within 10 rounds of the poisoning, also aligning with poison taking the PC to 0 hp, followed by 10 rounds of -1 hp / round.

Yet the ability to cure poison with no negative effects is in and of itself inconsistent. Slow Poison slows the damage to 1 hit point / turn, but there’s no baseline of damage from “instant” poisons. Yet most purchased poisons do damage if survived.

Death Isn’t Instant?

Poisons are divided into monster poisons and those purchased (or concocted). Monster poisons are an all-or-nothing immediate affair. Yet the DMG lists purchased poisons with a variety of onset times, and damage and/or death depending on the save. Most of them cause damage instead of immediate death. Why do some poison potions do damage that can be healed, yet normal healing doesn’t help a character affected by an immediate poison? Poison causes physiological damage (the cause of death). When a character is poisoned why don’t hit points factor in? While healing can’t remove the poison, healing should be able to repair the damage caused.

Slow Poison’s effect implies that even immediate poison does physical damage that occurs over time, given that Slow Poison reduces that rate to 1 hit point/turn. Inferences from Slow Poison are that actual death from poison takes a while. What if we try to tease that apart? What if we consider the damage effects of poison?

If the 2nd level Slow Poison brings character back to life it would be disproportionately powerful. It’s clearly 2nd level not for balance, but because the spell is necessary with “immediate” poison. If death is defined as “in a round or so,” what happens during that time? Poison effects aren’t specified in the time just before death.

One way to address the conundrums of hit points and immediacy is to modify the poison mechanic to incorporate hit points. If the character fails their save, treat all poisons as ongoing damage, losing hit points until death. For those poisons that do a fixed amount of damage, that damage will accrue over time. For those poisons that cause immediate death, the PC will arrive there when they run out of hit points, collapsing at 0 hit points and dying at –10. Using hit points also resolves a separate question of what happens when a PC is poisoned twice—the rate doubles. Higher level characters appropriately survive longer when poisoned.

With the incorporation of hit points, death is delayed, yet the unaided result will be similar. An unaided PC will survive long enough for the party to react, yet still perish before the party can typically reach external aid. If Slow Poison is cast within a round or two, the PC’s hit point loss will only vary by a point or two. If the party has Neutralize Poison available (in whatever form) they’ll neutralize the poison, but as an alteration spell Neutralize Poison won’t heal the damage done. Neutralizing the poison prevents further damage, but doesn’t heal the damage. Healing doesn’t remove poison, but can heal the damage. 1 hit point / round is fast enough to carry real risk, but slow enough for the party to respond. This model also incorporates hit points, which provides another way to extend the PCs life while seeking recourse—healing.

The virulence of monster poisons varies, as suggested by bonuses (or penalties) to the saving throw. That can be represented by varying the amount of damage per round caused by poison. If the base amount of damage / round was 1, a saving throw bonus of +4 could reduce that to only 6 hit point/ turn, where a save penalty of -2 could increase damage to 12 hit points of damage / turn.

Normally PCs affected by poison are immediately incapacitated, yet using hit points to determine time of death doesn’t represent that effect. A solution would be using character Constitution: when the PC takes more poison damage than their Constitution, they’re incapacitated. Those so incapacitated would be disabled/unconscious for d3 turns.

So where does that leave us?

Revised Poison
Upon failing a save when poisoned, the PC loses 1 hit point/round (modified by save bonus) for each instance of poisoning. Slow Poison (or holy water) reduces that loss to 1 hit point/turn (when applied within 1 turn/level of the caster or 1 turn respectively). While the damage inflicted by poison can be healed, the effects of the poison continue until the poison is neutralized or the character dies. A character is incapacitated when they take more damage from poison than their Constitution (or, of course, reach 0 hit points). Non-magical neutralization of poison (character abilities, proficiencies, holy water) must occur within a turn of being poisoned. Magical poison reduction/neutralization can occur as long as the PC is alive, but will not heal damage received from poison.

 

The real failing of this revision is the ongoing nature, now having to track ongoing damage per round (or per turn). The potential to heal the damage likely drains the party’s ability to heal in a likely doomed attempt to keep the PC alive. To address this, have healing not work until the poison is neutralized.

References

TSR 2010, Players Handbook [1e], 1978.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 18 [1e], “Effective Use of Poison”, December, 1978.
TSR 2011, Dungeon Masters Guide [1e], 1979.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 59 [1e], “Poison The Toxins of Cerilon”, March, 1982.
Dungeons & Dragons. Expert Rulebook. 1983.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 81 [1e]. “Taking the Sting out of Poison”, January, 1984.
Dragon Magazine, Issue 32 [1e], “Poisons From AA to XX”, December, 1989.

Appendix – MM Poisons

Note that many things require a Save versus poison. The below are those that appear to be actual poisons, roughly 10%(not by rarity)

MM, Giant ant: 0, d4/death
MM, Centipede: +4. non/death
MM, Couatl: 0, non/death
MM, Orcus: -4, non/death
MM, Baalzebu: 0, non/death
MM, Erinyes non/faint d6 rounds
MM, Geryon -4, non/death
MM, Green dragon: 0, non/death
MM, Eel, weed: 0, non/death
MM, Frog, poisonous: +4, non/death
MM, Golem, iron: 0, non/death
MM, Imp: 0, non/death
MM, Manticore: 0, non/death
MM, Medusa: 0, non/death
MM, Naga: 0, non/death
MM, Pseudodragon: 0, non/catalepsy
MM, Purple worm: 0, non/die
MM, Ray, pungi: 0, non/death
MM, Ray, sting: 0, non/paralyzed
MM, Scorpion: 0, non/death
MM, Snake: non or 3d6/death
MM, Spider: +2 to -2, non/death
MM, toad: 0, non/death
MM, Wasp: 0, non/paralysis and death
MM, Wyvern: 0, non/death

A Different System for Hit Points

I alluded earlier to using a different system for hit points, which I used for almost 20 years before abandoning it. But I still like it.

The DMG says,

“It is quite unreasonable to assume that as a character gains levels of ability in his or her class that a corresponding gain in actual ability to sustain physical damage takes place. It is preposterous to state such an assumption, for if we are to assume that a man is killed by a sword thrust which does 4 hit points of damage, we must similarly assume that a hero could, on the average, withstand five such thrusts before being slain! Why then the increase in hit points? Because these reflect both the actual physical ability of the character to withstand damage – as indicated by constitution bonuses- and a commensurate increase in such areas as skill in combat and similar life-or-death situations, the “sixth sense” which warns the individual of some otherwise unforeseen events, sheer luck, and the fantastic provisions of magical protections and/or divine protection. Therefore, constitution affects both actual ability to withstand physical punishment hit points (physique) and the immeasurable areas which involve the sixth sense and luck (fitness).”

Towards that end, I built a revised hit point system to attempt to separate out the difference between that physical (body) ability, and the areas which involve sixth sense and luck (skill), supplementing but not replacing the entirety of the AD&D hit point system.

I. HIT POINTS (HP)
HPs are divided into physical BODY POINTS (BP), and skill/luck SKILL POINTS (SP). Hit Points <= CON + ½ LEVEL (rounded up) are considered BP, the remainder (if any) SP.

Damage is normally to SP first. However, hits by 5 or more than needed (or saving throw failure of 5 or more) are “Exceptional,” and inflict 50% of the damage directly to BP. If BP are reduced to <= 0, the PC falls unconscious, with an additional BP lost / round, although SP will be lost (at the rate of 1, 2, 4, 8, etc.) before decreasing the remaining BP.

In other words, a PC’s hit points remain the same, but are divided into two categories, Body (BP) and Skill (SP). Normal damage will do SP damage until all SP are gone, and then do BP damage until all BP are gone, and then the PC will fall unconscious. The end result is 100% identical to normal AD&D hit points unless hit by an “Exceptional” blow (a die roll 5 or more greater than required), in which case the damage goes directly to BP.

Let’s look at a few examples:

  • A 1st level fighter with 8 hit points and a Constitution of 16, has 8 BP, and no SP. However he gets hit, he will lose 8 hit points (all BP), drop to 0 BP, and be unconscious.
  • A 5th level MU with 21 hit points and a Constitution of 16, has 21 BP, and 0 SP. As he has no SP, however he gets hit he will lose BP until he drops to 0 BP and goes unconscious.
  • A 9th level fighter, with 62 hit points and a Constitution of 16, has 21 BP (Con + 1/2 level), and 41 SP. If hit by a normal blow (not by more than 5 needed to hit) for 11 points, he will lose 11 SP, and now have 21 BP/ 30 SP. The next normal blow for 15 damage would drop him to 21 BP / 15 SP. The next normal blow for 16 would remove 15 SP, and the remaining 1 damage would come off of Body, leaving him with 20 BP/ 0 SP. Damage would continue until he ran out of BP, and fell unconscious.
  • The same 9th level fighter, with 62 hit points, and a Constitution of 16, has 21 BP, and 41 SP. When damaged 24 points by an Exceptional blow (5 or more than required to hit), he would lose half from SP, and half from BP, and then have 9 BP / 29 SP. The next Exceptional blow for 24 points of damage would reduce the character to -3 BP/ 17 SP. In the following rounds he would lose 1 SP (-3 BP/ 16 SP), 2 SP (-3 BP/ 14 SP), 4 SP (-3 BP/ 10 SP), 8 SP (-3 BP/ 2 SP), 16 SP (-3 BP/ 0 SP), and then continue to bleed out 1 BP / round until reaching -10 and dying.

Under this system characters with low hit points are mostly unaffected. Characters with high hit points become vulnerable to attacks from a high roll that could reduce their BP to 0 before they run out of SP. Creatures with high hit dice need a lower roll to hit, and therefore are more likely to roll 5 or more needed to hit.

II. HEALING
BP will not heal naturally until the day after all SP heal. SP heal Character Level/day; BP heal (CON bonus+1)/day, max 3. Non-magical healing goes towards SP first. Magical healing always heals BP <=0 first.

Characters wounded only in Skill healed faster. The advantage to this is it accelerated the healing time for characters with a lot of hit points. Characters wounded in Body could health their Skill points rapidly and be back to adventuring with most of their hit points, but still be vulnerable to Exceptional blows.

C. Mage Spell Casting
Mages can overcast spells if they have used up all available spell slots, or are reading from a book. Overcasting causes 2 * (level of spell * d4) damage, subtracted half each from BP and SP.

We permit mages to “overcast,” trying to simulate that “moment of desperate need” where the mage casts the all-powerful spell, but only at great risk and peril to themselves. This damage started at 100% damage to body, but over time we adjusted that to half from BP and SP.

Extended Example: Fritz, a 6th level mage with 24 HPs, CON 8 (14 BP, 8 SP), and 8 BP of damage already, wants to cast Fireball (a 3rd level spell) desperately, but has used up his memorized Fireball. *WHOOSH* Enemies go up in smoke; Fritz takes 2 * 3d4 damage (for a total of 12), taking him to 2 SP, 0 BP. Fritz goes unconscious. The shock of going unconscious doesn’t kill him outright, and 2 rounds (and 2 SP) later, his BP start to drop at the rate of 1/round.

In the end, this system failed to be usable. One reason is that it didn’t come into play often enough. BP were initially defined as just Constitution, which ended up being excessively lethal. We changed it to Constitution + Level (which made it not lethal enough) before landing at Constitution + 1/2 level. Over time we correspondingly watered down the damage from Overcasting as well. The combination of those two changes removed any significant effect from the entire system. Because Exceptional damage went half to BP and half to SP, unless a character had more SP than BP (rare in every case but fighters at mid-level and higher), the system effect was primarily healing times.

Where I really saw the negative impact in play was in healing. Every time the party was recovering from a major fight, they struggled with applying healing appropriately. I’m not sure why (Heal SP first, then BP), but I eventually abandoned this system as a lost cause.

House Rules

I have yet to encounter (or even hear of) a group that plays with zero house rules. House rules can be many things: attempts to clarify existing rules, attempts to create rules to fill in gaps, or changes to rules that just don’t work. As with every group, our house rules attempt to address all three. Of the most importance is consistency; I started a House Rules document to ensure that the universe the players functioned in resulted in the same answers every time. Whenever we answer a complex question, we make sure to write it down. That saves looking it all back up again at a later date!

Hit points are a combination of the ability to take physical damage, and the more ephemeral ability to avoid damage. For years we used a slightly more complex system dividing hit points up into those two components, defined as “Body” and “Skill”. The character had the same number of hit points, just divided between the two categories. Body was the character’s Constitution. Skill was, well, everything else. By default all damage started at Skill; once all Skill points were gone damage went to Body. Blows that hit by greater than 5 went directly to Body.

I really liked this system. It provided the ability to damage a character with many hit points by applying damage directly to the Body. Characters could heal Skill points much faster than Body, so daily healing could be much faster if characters were only wounded into Skill. Yet every time the party rested, there was always some level of confused player discussion, and I eventually (with regret) retired it as unworkable.

A number of our house rules are just inclusions of obscure rules, or clarifications of gaps in the rules. When trying to find answers to those questions, I default back to earlier editions and Dragon Magazine before resorting to answers in later editions.

I come from a background of twenty years of full-contact armored combat (the SCA), so I tend to view combat very tactically. As players are wont to move about in combat, we eventually adopted a hybrid of the 2e initiative system. Each player rolls a d10, and then adds whatever bonuses (or penalties) to their initiative. Characters act in order of their initiative. The secret sauce to that is that actions take place in sequence. If a fighter rolls an 8, then wants to move half their movement (+4), then all movement occurs at 13. If a spellcaster is casting a spell through the area the fighter is moving through, we know that the fighter is in that area between 9 and 13. If the spell goes off in that interval, the fighter could be affected. If the spell goes off before 9, then the fighter will be unaffected. [Edit: We eventually shifted to a more “all-or-none” approach for AoE spells as faster-see Initiative Modifiers].

All of the spell-casting classes are provided the ability to flex their spell casting to make the spell-casters more adaptable. Magic users can swap two “memorized” spells (or a spell one level higher) for a single, different spell. Clerics can swap any spell for a necromantic (healing) spell. Druids can memorize twice as many spells as normal, but only cast the same number they could usually cast. Clerics memorize more interesting spells than healing, but have healing available if necessary (more often than not!). Magic users get usage out of those obscure spells that previously no one ever memorized on the off-chance it might be necessary, normally preferring “standard” spells of more utility.

There is no edition of Dungeons & Dragons that has a good non-weapon/hand-to-hand combat system. We attempted for years to come up with a system that dealt appropriately with combatant level, armor class, and number of opponents, before finally settling into the system we use now. It’s an opposed system, where each combatant rolls dice and compared the results for success. The system uses THAC0, primarily defining success based on character class and level. We now use this opposed system for all sorts of things, like breaking through an enemy line, or disarming.

We don’t normally pay a lot of attention to encumbrance, trying to just use common sense. We have some players that are very detail-oriented, tracking the weight of every spike, and other players who just want to play. After a long session determining just how much treasure the party could haul out of a particularly lucrative lair, we needed something in the middle. I created a generic encumbrance system for the less-detail-oriented players. Those players who go to the effort of tracking everything get a slight advantage, because the generic system assumes a bit more weight than normal, but a small enough difference to leave everyone happy.

House Rules (revised)