Basic • Expert • Companion • Master • Immortals

COLLECTED HOUSE RULES

Version 9.6

by John D. Higgins

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 Table of Contents
1. Introduction......................................... 1
1-1. Purpose ........................................... 1
1-2. Ruleset ............................................ 1
1-3. Campaign Assumptions.................. 2
1-4. Role-Playing.................................... 2
2. Character Creation ............................ 3
2-1. Rolling Ability Scores ..................... 3
2-2. Modifiers and Prime Requisites ..... 4
2-3. Languages and Secondary Skills.... 5
2-4. Alignment and Multiple PCs .......... 6
2-5. Class and Species ........................... 7
2-6. Leveling Up .................................... 8
3. Adventure and Battle ......................... 9
3-1. Encumbrance .................................. 9
3-2. Natural Healing.............................. 9
3-3. Accumulating Downtime ................ 9
3-4. Maneuvers and Stunts ................... 9
3-5. Attack Rolls and Saving
Throws ....................................... 10
3-6. Map and Encounter Scales ........... 10
3-7. Mass Combat ................................ 11
List of Tables
Table 1: Ability Score Modifiers ................ 4
Table 2: Level-Up Training ....................... 8
Table 3: Fighting Capability ................... 11
Table 4: Adventuring Gear...................... 15
Table 5: Armor......................................... 15
Table 6: Mêlée Weapons .......................... 16
Table 7: Missile Weapons ........................ 16
Table 8: Heritage Roll Results ................ 19
Table 9: Character Classes...................... 19
Table 10: Fighter Experience Levels ...... 20
Table 11: Fighter Multiple Attacks ......... 21
Table 12: Fighter Power Smash .............. 22
Table 13: Fighter Clerical Abilities ......... 23
Spell Lists
Magical Spells ......................................... 26
Clerical Spells.......................................... 30
4. Magic and Psionics........................... 12
4-1. Magical and Clerical Spells.......... 12
4-2. Cantrips and Orisons ................... 12
4-3. Psionic Powers.............................. 12
4-4. Recovery of Spells or Psi .............. 13
4-5. Magical Items ............................... 13
4-6. Magical Research ......................... 13
5. Money and Equipment .................... 14
5-1. Coinage ......................................... 14
5-2. Equipment Tables ........................ 14
6. Monsters and Demihumans ............ 17
6-1. Monsters ....................................... 17
6-2. Demihumans ................................ 17
7. Character Classes ............................. 20
7-1. The Fighter................................... 20
7-2. The Mage ...................................... 24
7-3. The Cleric ..................................... 27
7-4. The Thief ...................................... 31
7-5. The Ascetic ................................... 34
7-6. The Ranger ................................... 38
7-7. The Immortal ............................... 42
Table 14: Mage Experience Levels .......... 25
Table 15: Cleric Experience Levels ......... 27
Table 16: Turning Undead ...................... 28
Table 17: Thief Dexterity Adjustments .. 31
Table 18: Thief Experience Levels .......... 32
Table 19: Thief Magical Abilities ............ 33
Table 20: Ascetic Experience Levels ....... 35
Table 21: Ascetic Martial Arts and
Acrobatics....................................... 36
Table 22: Ranger Experience Levels ....... 38
Table 22: Ranger Special Abilities .......... 39
Table 24: Immortal Ability Scores........... 42
Table 25: Immortal Saving Throws ......... 42
Psionic Powers ......................................... 37
Ranger (Magical) Spells........................... 41
 INTRODUCTION

“Remember: you are not playing the more complex AD&D game with these rules. You are
playing the original DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game!”

—Player’s Manual, page 63, D&D Set 1:

Basic Rules by Frank Mentzer (1983)

1. Introduction
1-1. Purpose

A tradition as old as the tabletop gaming hobby itself, the purpose of this document is to
collect my current house rules for OD&D campaigns. Here, I use the term “OD&D” in its
older sense1, less fashionable today, to mean all of the Dungeons & Dragons editions
published by TSR between 1974 and 1996, excluding both editions of Advanced D&D. More
specifically, this includes the 1974 white box edition, the 1977 blue-cover Basic Set, the 1981
Otus-cover edition, the 1983 red box edition, and the various sets released later on that
started in 1991 with the black box and the Rules Cyclopedia.

1-2. Ruleset

This document presumes that TSR’s Dungeons & Dragons is a single game comprising two
mostly-compatible game systems, OD&D and AD&D, each of which had an earlier stage
(original white box/blue box OD&D and AD&D 1st Edition) and a later stage (classic red
box/black box OD&D and AD&D 2nd Edition).

For the sake of these rules, the classic D&D game—red box/black box OD&D—is taken to be
the default ruleset, with the first four boxed sets published between 1983 and 1985—the
Basic, Expert, Companion, and Master Sets—treated as definitive2 over the Rules
Cyclopedia, the 1991 black box, and the 1994/1996 Classic box. The 1992 Wrath of the
Immortals box takes precedence over the 1986 gold box Immortals Set, however.

Should any subject go unaddressed by classic OD&D, rules from other versions can be
considered in force, in the following order of precedence: early OD&D (white box/blue box
and supplements) first, then AD&D 1st Edition, AD&D 2nd Edition, and at the uttermost end
of need—a terribly unlikely state of affairs to be sure—later D&D editions. Retro-clones
(e.g., OSRIC, Basic Fantasy, Labyrinth Lord, Swords & Wizardry, Dark Dungeons, etc.)
should be regarded as functionally equivalent to the editions that they emulate.

1 There are those who might balk at the use of “OD&D” to refer to anything but the original 1974 “LBB”
edition of the game, taking the word “Original” in the phrase “Original D&D” to be more literal or
perhaps more sacred than it actually is. To these objectors, I can only say that in my youth, when these
games were still in print—and I grew up in the Great Lakes region, so it was most definitely “old-school
war-gamer country”—quite literally everybody I knew who played D&D used “OD&D” to mean simply
“D&D, but not Advanced D&D”; and this usage was validated in the text itself, as demonstrated by the
quotation at the top of the page. As far as gamers at the time were concerned, there was only one original
Dungeons & Dragons game; the various Basic Sets, the Expert Sets, the other boxed sets, the Rules
Cyclopedia, and so forth were all merely cleaned-up restatements of this original ruleset.
2 When I referee a game, I typically keep a Rules Cyclopedia on hand as a reference; but the changes

made to the rules between the boxed sets and the Cyclopedia are rarely improvements, and as often as
not they appear to be erroneous or even contradictory. Thus, whenever the Cyclopedia and the boxed sets
come into conflict, the boxed sets win.

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INTRODUCTION

1-3. Campaign Assumptions

These rules are explicitly aimed at (for lack of better terminology) old-school play, which
is to say, that mode of tabletop role-playing that preceded trad (i.e., traditional) play. “Old-
school” in this context does not merely mean “old”; rather, it means tabletop adventure
games conducted in the context of a fantasy wargaming club; games where the Referee has
created a persistent, dynamic, “hard landscape” milieu which is both an open world and a
sandbox for one or more adventuring parties to explore.

Parties are typically formed at the beginning of a game session for the purpose of one
adventure only, and they are not expected to persist beyond that timeframe. The overworld
is explored by hex-crawling; the campaign typically features at least one inexhaustibly deep
dungeon, likewise explored in procedural fashion (the “dungeon-crawl”). Player characters
chiefly advance in level by winning treasure.

It is generally expected that each player will eventually control several PCs of varying levels
(though never more than one at a time during a single adventure). Rolling up new PCs will
be occasioned not just by the death or permanent retirement of existing PCs, but also by
routine time-constraints imposed on existing PCs that might prevent them from normal
adventuring—such as healing, training, studying, magical research, etc. Time is expected to
pass in-game between played game sessions (ideally at a 1:1 pace, although this isn’t always
possible or practical).

Campaign settings tend to be human-centric, casting demihumans as alien and peripheral.

This is enforced by gating nonhuman PCs behind a random roll to determine which species
(if other than human) are permitted, and it is further encouraged by limiting non-human
PC level advancement. Additionally, depending on the design of each campaign, some
ordinarily playable species may not be available at all, or they may not be playable until
they have been met and befriended by existing PCs. A typical campaign, for example, may
begin with only humans or only humans and halflings playable, with elves, dwarves, orcs,
etc. being “unlocked” for use as future PCs only through play.

1-4. Role-Playing

If one asks the question, “What is role-playing?” in the context of TTRPGs, there is near-
universal agreement these days that by “role-playing,” we mean something akin to
improvisational play-acting: making decisions from the perspective of the character rather
than the player (i.e., avoiding metagaming) and improvising in-character dialogue in
tandem with the Referee or the other players. The more sophisticated RPG theorists may
point out that one does not need to “do a voice” or even speak in character at all to
legitimately role-play: the simple act of making in-character decisions is sufficient. It is
proof enough that the player is paying their dues to performative thespianism—paying
sufficient homage to amateur method-acting—by at least trying to subsume themselves into
a fictional persona.

But in the culture of old-school role-playing, even this definition is too untenably narrow.
Here, we are in the business of exploring dungeons, not characters. The purpose of our play
is to feel like we are experiencing a thrilling adventure; not to more perfectly simulate the
personality and behavior of some boorish dwarf. Here, metagaming is never a mortal sin,
and sneering at a fellow player for “merely roll-playing” is to be deplored as gatekeeping of
the foulest order.

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 INTRODUCTION

To counter this, “role-playing” can be properly defined in either of two ways, one simple and
direct, another as technical as any sophisticated RPG theorist could ever come up with. The
simple definition of role-playing is whatever it is that we do when we play a role-playing
game—the dungeon-crawling, the careful mapping, the purchasing of imaginary equipment
with imaginary gold, the rolling of funny dice, the tabletop combat, and (if you like to do it)
the performative improv. But more important than any of that is the problem-solving: the
use of lateral thinking to overcome challenges that the game-world presents. It does not
matter whether you are immersing yourself in a persona or “merely” self-inserting and
treating your player character as a pawn on the tabletop: to assess a problem in the game
and attempt to overcome it with whatever resources are available is role-playing by any
reasonable measure.

In more technical terms, we can say that role-playing is the act of making a decision that
can alter the game-state in any game that has both fictional positioning (i.e., the fictional
world and mechanical gameplay matter to each other such that they are inextricable) and
tactical infinity (i.e., you can always try anything that makes sense given the fictional
positioning, even in spite of the mechanics). This definition is as broad as we shall ever
require, for it is inclusive of all modes of role-playing—not just the actor stance so often set
upon a pedestal by partisans of the trad style, but also the author and director stances
routinely used by story-gamers and the pawn stance which I submit is critical to old-school
play—while at the same time it handily excludes all board games and very nearly all war-
games other than a Braunstein free Kriegsspiel (which might as well be a role-playing game
for our purposes here).

So let us once and for all put to rest the tired lie that grognards are the primary source of
exclusion in this hobby. It seems to me that the thespians are the ones who long ago
succeeded in gatekeeping role-playing.

2. Character Creation
2-1. Rolling Ability Scores

There are two methods for generating

player character ability scores.

In a typical campaign game, abilities for

newly-created 1st level player characters
are rolled on 3d6, always strictly in the
following order: Str, Int, Cha, Dex, Wis,
Con. It is the Referee (not the player) who
typically carries out this operation. After
rolling, there is no further alteration of
the ability scores; but the whole set may optionally be discarded and re-rolled at the player’s
discretion if there is no single score above 13 and three or more scores below 8 (i.e., no
bonuses in combination with three or more penalties).

In one-shots or mini-campaigns that start at a higher experience level, it may be more

appropriate for the player to roll abilities on 4d6, dropping the lowest die and summing the
higher three. The Referee may still require that the scores be rolled in order, or the player
may be permitted to arrange them in any order, as suits the specific campaign.

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CHARACTER CREATION

2-2. Modifiers and Prime Requisites

Player characters have six ability scores: Strength, Intelligence, Charisma, Dexterity,
Wisdom, and Constitution. The ability scores should be regarded above all else as purely
game-mechanical constructs representing a character’s natural aptitudes for each of the
game’s six character classes—and not as quantified measurements of a PC’s every last trait.

Take Strength as an example. While it must have some loose connection to a character’s
diegetic physical prowess, since it impacts a character’s ability to force open a stuck door or
to perform some other, similar feat of raw muscle, it nevertheless does not simply represent
how physically powerful the character is. Rather, the purpose of the Strength ability score is
to quantify a character’s inclination to belong to and advance in the fighting class—an
inclination that a player is always free to ignore when creating a character!

Table 1 summarizes the effects of ability scores on PCs.

Table 1: Ability Score Ratings and Modifiers

Ability Score Descriptive Rating Ability Modifier
3–7 Low (3–5) or Below Average (6–7) −1
8–13 Average ±0
14–18 Above Average (14–15) or High (16–18) +1

Prime Adjustment to Earned Experience Points

Requisite3 (human—all classes) (demihuman or other nonhuman)
3–5 −20% −30%
6–7 −10% −20%
8–13 ±0% −10%
14–15 +5% −5%
16–18 +10% ±0%

Strength (Str, S) is the prime requisite of the fighter class. It also adjusts a character’s
base chance to force open a stuck door or to perform a similarly difficult feat of physical
prowess (base 2-in-6 chance of success).

Intelligence (Int, I) is the prime requisite of the mage class. It represents a character’s
education and knack for learning new things. A character’s Intelligence modifier applies to
the number of spendable days of downtime that they accrue between adventures: while idle
and not otherwise indisposed, most characters accrue 5 days of downtime for each game-
week that passes; characters with high or low Intelligence add 6 or 4 days of spendable
downtime instead.

Charisma (Cha, X) is the prime requisite of the cleric class. It adjusts the Morale of a
character’s followers (normally 7 for mercenaries, 8 for retainers). (Note that a character’s
maximum number of special retainers—meaning monsters other than common humanoid
soldier-types, and NPCs with a class and a level who serve a character loyally—depends

3 For the sake of XP calculations only, a character’s prime requisite ability score is treated as 1 point
greater than it actually is for every 4 points above a score of 8 that they have in each non-prime (viz., +1
for each score of 12–15 and +2 for each score of 16–18). Thieves are a special exception: they derive
additional benefit from Wisdom and Constitution, treating their Dexterity as 1 point higher for every 2
points of Wis or Con that they have above 8 (i.e., +1 for each 10 or 11, +2 for each 12 or 13, etc.).

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 CHARACTER CREATION

only on experience level in these rules, not Charisma. The limit is 1 retainer for a 2nd–3rd
level character, increasing to 2 at 4th level, 3 at 8th level; doubling up to 6 for a name-level
character with a stronghold; and then gradually up to 7, 8, and 9 at the 12th, 15th, and 18th
levels for a character who has a stronghold and rules a dominion.)

Dexterity (Dex, D) is the prime requisite of the thief class. It also adjusts a character’s
saving throws vs. technology (including mechanical traps and chemical explosives) and
monsters’ breath attacks.

Wisdom (Wis, W) represents a character’s perceptiveness, insight, and spiritual intuition.

It is one of the two prime requisites of the ascetic class. Wisdom also adjusts a character’s
saving throws vs. magic, psionics, and monsters’ gaze attacks.

Constitution (Con, C) is the other prime requisite for the ascetic class. Because ascetics
have two prime requisites, they use either their Wisdom or their Constitution, whichever is
lower, to determine their adjustment to earned XP. Constitution also adjusts a character’s
saving throws vs. poison, disease, radiation, and monsters’ touch attacks.

The game’s sixth class, the ranger, has no prime requisite—or, more accurately, the ranger
treats all six abilities as prime requisites. Because the ranger is such a well-rounded and
powerful class—an omnicompetent factotum that combines fighting and magic with some
minor clerical and thieving capabilities on the side—ranger characters must use the lowest
from among all six of their ability scores, unadjusted and unmodified, to determine their
prime requisite adjustment to earned XP.

Note that relative to humans, all demihuman PCs suffer an additional −10% penalty to
earned XP. This penalty extends to any other nonhuman types that might be playable in a
campaign, including monstrous humanoids, intelligent monsters, sentient constructs or
automata, extraterrestrial or interdimensional aliens, etc.

2-3. Languages and Secondary Skills

Human PCs, regardless of ability scores or other circumstances, always begin the game
fluent and literate in at least two languages4: their local native dialect and a more wide-
spread lingua franca or trade language that serves as the regional Common Tongue.

Characters also begin the game with one secondary skill representing the character’s
background from before they became an adventurer. Each character’s secondary skill may
be chosen by the player, or it may be rolled randomly (using the “City Encounters” table
found on pg. 89 of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia), as the player prefers. The table should not be
considered exhaustive: if a player wishes to select a skill that does not appear on the table,

4As PCs do not typically begin the game with an alignment in these rules, they do not normally know an
alignment language at character creation. Alignment languages are radically incomplete systems of
communication that consist of various code-phrases, hand-signals, and just enough vocabulary to allow
members of the same faction to recognize each other and convey the simplest of ideas. Holding an actual
conversation in an alignment language is difficult to the point of frustration. These tongues are
mysteriously acquired by characters or creatures who come to belong to an alignment and just as
mysteriously forgotten by those who forsake that alignment: one can either ascribe to alignment tongues
a supernatural character, or, if that offends, one can think of these languages as frequently-updated
collections of passwords, memes, and slang which very quickly become foreign to anyone who has been
“kicked out of the club,” so to speak.

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CHARACTER CREATION

this is allowed, provided the skill is both similar in scope to those professions found on the
table, and it is appropriate to the campaign setting.

It’s important to remember that secondary skills are always just that: secondary. They
represent unfinished apprenticeships or mere dabbling on the side of the character’s main
profession (their character class). A player character fighter or mage who also knows a little
something about blacksmithing will never be a world-class blacksmith, and they may very
well still need the services of a dedicated professional to do ordinary work that they cannot.

Additional languages and skills require 250 days of downtime to acquire, plus 2 cn (coins of
the standard denomination for the campaign, usually either silver or gold) per day of study
for a new language or 6 cn per day of practice for a new skill. Note that PCs with above-
average Int accrue +20% extra spendable downtime (i.e., they gain 6 “days” of downtime for
every 5 days that actually pass), while characters of below-average Int suffer a similar −20%
penalty (they accumulate only 4 days of downtime for every 5 that pass).

2-4. Alignment and Multiple Characters

Alignments are mundane, worldly factions (albeit with distant, cosmic forces underpinning
them) that tend to form around player character parties as they compete with one another
for treasure within the same campaign milieu. In practical terms, alignments are really
more analogous to sports teams than to moral philosophies or religions. Early on in a
campaign, player characters are unaligned, but as the game progresses, and sides form
among the PCs, the Referee should move to assign factional names to the opposing poles.
Traditionally, either Law and Chaos or Good and Evil are used, but the Referee can
assign practically any two diametrically opposed ideals to the factions. Members of a given
faction may strive to uphold their factional ideals, or they may not; simple loyalty to the
faction is all that is required to be aligned, not any specific belief or behavior.

In a very long-running campaign with many different adventuring parties, it may become
necessary to subdivide existing alignments. For example, if early in the campaign two sides
formed around Law and Chaos, and then those sides became riven with internal strife,
another alignment axis could be used to divide the campaign factions into Lawful Good,
Chaotic Good, Lawful Evil, and Chaotic Evil. (Neutral PCs are simply those PCs who never
pick a consistent side and might join any party regardless of its alignment.) Note that
adding just a second alignment axis actually results in eight distinct factions (LG, CG, NG,
LN, CN, LE, NE, and CE) plus True Neutrality; a hypothetical third alignment axis should
never be necessary!

Multiple Characters: Once aligned, a character who willfully forsakes one alignment for
another suffers a severe penalty—the permanent loss of one experience level. (Characters
who have their alignment changed involuntarily by magic lose a level only temporarily; it is
restored if the character’s alignment should likewise be restored.) Moreover, the character
quickly forgets their former alignment language and does not acquire the new one until they
have regained the lost level.

This penalty might seem excessively harsh, but it exists for good reason—and for much the
same reason that multiple characters belonging to a single player are always absolutely
forbidden from sharing treasure, magical items, known spells, etc. It helps to enforce a strict
separation between player and character that prevents a player from accruing any undue
advantages purely because of their controlling multiple characters.

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 CHARACTER CREATION

If, for example, there is a player who

enjoys playing Chaotic PCs and is solidly
on “team Chaos” in the campaign’s
metagame, it would simply not do for this
player to be able to freely create ostensibly
Neutral or Lawful PCs who could join
“team Law” but then work to subvert the
Lawful party as a “mole” or “plant.” Such a
character would necessarily have to be
Chaotic from the start (and therefore at
risk of alignment detection via magic in-
game). For the character’s in-game
alignment to be Law or Neutrality, only to
have them “defect” to Chaos later (when
this was in fact the player’s true intention
all along), must be thoroughly discouraged
by solidly defined mechanical penalties,
purely in the interest of fair play.

2-5. Class and Species

Playable character classes include the fighter, mage, cleric, thief, ascetic, and ranger.
All human player characters can theoretically advance as high as the 36th experience level
(or beyond, if they should ever become immortal). Nonhuman PCs—which comprise the
four demihuman archetypes of deep folk, fair folk, small folk, and wild folk—can
advance normally only up to the 12th level of experience, which is a kind of “soft limit” for
nonhumans. Any demihuman character who reaches 12th level has attained the highest
possible honor among demihumankind, the equivalent of a self-made high king or emperor.

Surpassing 12th level goes against a demihuman’s metaphysical nature and comes at a dear
cost. Demihumans can only do this by forsaking their people’s ways, living among humans,
training and studying with them, and likely being shunned by their own. Levels above 12th
require double XP for a demihuman to attain (viz. 240,000 XP per level for a fighter or thief;
300,000 XP for a mage; 200,000 XP for a cleric; 280,000 XP for an ascetic; or 350,000 XP for
a ranger). For example, a demihuman fighter who chooses to follow the path of humanlike
ambition over honorable retirement will reach the 13th experience level at a cumulative total
of 840,000 XP (the same as a 14th level human fighter); 14th level at 1,080,000 XP; 15th level
at 1,320,000 XP; and so on.

Even then, no demihuman character can ever hope to surpass their ultimate “hard limit” of
20th level, at least not without becoming truly human via reincarnation or wish. That said,
any demihuman character who does manage to reach 20th level will be accounted eligible to
begin questing for Immortality, the same as any 30th level human character.

Species Permitted: When a character is first created, in addition to rolling for ability scores
and money, the Referee must make a heritage roll on 3d6 for the newly-created character.
On a result of 13 or less, the character can only be human, but on a roll of 14+, the character
may be either human or nonhuman (player’s choice). The higher the heritage roll result, the
more species the player may choose from (see Subsection 6-2 for specifics).

Classes Permitted: Human characters may belong to any class. Demihuman characters can
normally only belong to the one class that represents the heroic ideal for that species. For

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CHARACTER CREATION

example, elf PCs are always rangers, while dwarf PCs are always fighters. This does not
mean that, e.g., elf ascetics and dwarf mages do not or cannot exist; rather, it means that
adventuring elf ascetics and dwarf mages are so uncommon that they cannot be considered
a default playable option at character creation. They may still be encountered as NPCs, but
for a player to play as one requires special permission from the Referee.

Note that there is no multi-classing or dual-classing in these rules: each character may only
ever belong to one class at a time.

2-6. Leveling Up

Once a character has accumulated enough XP5 to go up a level, they must train under a
higher-level member of their class to actually reach the next level. The time required to
train and the cost of training per week is summarized on Table 2:

Table 2: Level-Up Training Times and Costs

Time Required
Level Gained With Teacher Without Teacher Cost per Week
2nd 1 week 2 weeks 200 cn
3rd 1 week 3 weeks 220 cn
4th 2 weeks 4 weeks 250 cn
5th 2 weeks 5 weeks 600 cn
6th 3 weeks 6 weeks 850 cn
7th 3 weeks 7 weeks 1,700 cn
8th 4 weeks 8 weeks 2,500 cn
9th and up 4 weeks 5,000 cn

Cost per week is given in cn (coins), which may be silver, gold, or some other denomination,
depending on the specifics of the campaign.

Until a character reaches name (9th) level, all training times are doubled if the character
cannot secure the tutelage of a higher-level teacher belonging to their same character class.
Once a character has reached name level, a teacher is no longer required: the character is
able to self-train from that point forward at no penalty.

Demihumans who wish to surpass the 12th level of experience are an exception. To reach the
13th through 20th experience levels at all, a demihuman character requires a higher-level
human teacher. The time required to complete this training is 6 weeks at each new level
attained (still at a cost of 5,000 cn spent per week over the course of the training-period).

Living Expenses: Money spent training to level is in addition to normal upkeep, which is 100
cn per level per month (halved or doubled if the character is unusually frugal or profligate).

5 Between prime requisite XP adjustments and demihuman XP penalties, many PCs will have some
adjustment to earned XP. Instead of figuring the adjusted awards for each PC at the end of each game
session, it is usually more convenient to pre-adjust the amount of XP a character needs to go up a level.
This is easily done by converting the adjustment to a decimal, in which case the actual, adjusted amount
of XP a character requires x is equal to the original value y divided by (1 + the adjustment a). For
example, a fighter with a +5% XP bonus needs 1,905 XP to go from 1st to 2nd level (x = y ÷ [1 + a] = 2,000 ÷
[1 + 0.05] = 1,904.7). A cleric with a −10% XP penalty needs 1,667 XP (1,500 ÷ [1 – 0.1] = 1,666.6) to go
from 1st to 2nd level.

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 ADVENTURE AND BATTLE

3. Adventure and Battle

3-1. Encumbrance

The unit of encumbrance is the slot (sl.), defined as approximately equal to 1 kg or exactly
equal to 2⅓ lbs. (i.e., exactly ⅙ stone); except that since slots are measuring encumbrance,
they are abstracting a combination of weight, bulk, and awkwardness. A character can carry
up to 48 slots full of gear, with every 12 slots (i.e., 2 st.) reducing6 the character’s movement
speed from its initial 120′ (40′) by a factor of 30′ (10′).

3-2. Natural Healing

Natural healing restores a fixed number of hit points for each full day and night of complete
rest in a safe and civilized location. Characters recover 1 hp/day initially, then 2 hp/day
during the second consecutive week of convalescence, 3 hp/day during the third week, etc.
Any interruption or exertion resets the healing process back at 1 hp/day.

Healing naturally while on a wilderness expedition is possible but difficult. This requires
spending at least one day erecting a defensible and well-patrolled camp. Thereafter, any
characters who need to heal must rest completely, not aiding in the defense of the camp or
participating in any watches, foraging for provisions, or the like. During the first week of
rest (and it is absolutely vital that all provisions, most especially food and water, be always
in adequate supply), no hit points are recovered; thereafter, healing proceeds normally, at a
rate of 1 hp/day on the second week, 2 hp/day on the third, etc. Again, any interruption
resets the healing process back at zero for a week.

Recovery of spells or psi requires that a character first be healed up to full hp; only a fully-
rested, hale character is mentally prepared to begin memorizing fresh spells or recovering
spent psi points. (See Subsection 4-4 for specifics.)

3-3. Accumulating Downtime

When characters aren’t adventuring or resting, they accumulate downtime which may be
spent on other activities (such as language learning, secondary skill training, spell research,
or item creation). For every non-adventuring game-week that passes, all inactive characters
accrue 5 days of downtime. This is the base value which is then adjusted up to 6 or down
to 4 for characters with above-average or below-average Intelligence.

3-4. Maneuvers and Stunts

While the fighter and ranger classes enjoy access to several special combat maneuvers,
there are some maneuvers which are available to characters of all classes. One of the basic
maneuvers that anyone can attempt is fighting with two weapons.

When a character fights with a weapon in either hand, this grants the character extra
fractional attacks (i.e., extra attacks which may be made on some rounds but not others)
with the off-hand weapon. Fighters, ascetics, and rangers all gain an extra attack every

6If more granularity is desired, every 6 slots—that is, every 1 stone—of encumbrance carried can reduce
a character’s speed by 15′ (5′).

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ADVENTURE AND BATTLE

second round; clerics and thieves, every third round; and mages, every fourth round. For
fighters, ascetics, and rangers, this is in addition to any multiple attacks they may already
be capable of making.

Grappling, shoving, and overbearing are handled as described in The Strategic Review
volume 1, issue 2. Simply put, these maneuvers are treated as contests resolved by making
an opposed roll for each involved creature’s total hit dice (including pips added above name
level). For example, if three orcs are trying to seize a 5th level mage, the orcs roll 3d8 vs. the
mage’s roll of 5d4; the high roll wins (either the orcs capture the mage, or the mage evades
their grasp). If a 7th level fighter of above-average (14–18) Strength were to attempt to
wrestle a troll, the fighter would roll 7d8+1
vs. the troll’s 6d8+3—which would be a close
match, but the fighter has the advantage!

Any combat stunts which are not covered

by the rules above or by any special combat
maneuvers accorded to fighter-types may be
resolved in the following fashion: the attacker
decides on the effect of the maneuver, rolls to
hit normally, and on a hit rolls damage
normally; the defender then decides whether
to take hp damage or to allow the effect of the
special maneuver to take hold. (Note how this
stunt mechanic is quite different from a
codified fighter maneuver, such as the
Dashing Disarm: in the case of the maneuver,
the defender has no choice in the matter, as
the outcome of the Disarm attempt is decided by a saving throw.) Despite being wildly open-
ended, this mechanic “self-regulates” in two ways: first, because fighters are more likely to
hit and tend to inflict greater damage than other characters, they will also naturally be
more successful at pulling off combat stunts; and second, the more dire the intended
outcome of an attacker’s stunt, the more likely a defender will opt to simply take damage
instead, thereby encouraging attackers to limit the kinds of stunts attempted.

3-5. Attack Rolls and Saving Throws

The base attack roll (or THAC0) and saving throw numbers presented on the class
tables that follow in Section 7 are ascending values that represent a player’s chance-in-20 to
make an attack roll or a saving throw. For example, most 1st level characters begin the
game with THAC0 2 and saving throw 7. This means that the character will make a saving
throw on a roll of 1–7 on 1d20, and they’ll successfully hit an enemy in (mêlée or close-range
missile) combat if they roll equal to or less than 2 + the target Armor Class on 1d20.

3-6. Map and Encounter Scales

In a normal encounter, a 1" square or hex on the tabletop practically always represents 5' of
distance, both in a dungeon and in the wilderness. The Referee may call for 10' or 15' to the
square under certain very unusual conditions (e.g., a very large, level, wide-open area that
needs to be “squeezed” onto the available tabletop space), in which case all movement rates
and missile and spell ranges (but not spell areas of effect) are doubled or tripled; but this
replaces the blanket rule that outdoor encounters always use yards instead of feet.

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 ADVENTURE AND BATTLE

3-7. Mass Combat

Mass combat may be resolved by any means that the Referee and players determine to be
suitable, enjoyable, and convenient. They can be calculated with the War Machine rules,
played out with a tabletop wargame (such as Chainmail or Dragon Rampant), or—and this
is the best of all possible options if any player characters are going to be directly involved in
the fighting—resolved with the Original Edition Delta: Book of War rules (by Daniel R.
“Delta” Collins) and the Fellowship Supplement (by Michael “ChicagoWiz” Shorten).

This document adds one wrinkle to Book of War battles: when fielding a Hero or Fellowship
unit, instead of simply tallying up the characters’ hit dice or experience levels and allowing
any unit with a total of 10 or more onto the field, it is best to first calculate each character’s
approximate Chainmail Fighting Capability (given on Table 3, below) and treat this as
equivalent to hit dice. A Hero or Fellowship unit can only be fielded if its total FC adds up to
10 or more (since a normal figure represents 10 soldiers at scale).

Table 3: Fighting Capability in Mass Combat

Character Class Total Fighting Capability by Level
Fighter 1 point per level up to 9th, +1 point per 3 levels above 9th
Cleric, Thief, Ascetic, or Ranger ¾ point per level up to 8th, +1 point per 4 levels above 8th
Mage ½ point per level up to 10th, +1 point per 5 levels above 10th

Round all fractions normally when calculating Fighting Capability for non-fighters.

In the rare event that Chainmail’s Fantasy Combat system should ever be used, characters
with FC 4 fight as Heroes, FC 8 as Superheroes, and mages with FC 5 fight as Wizards;
high-level rangers can fight as either Superheroes or as Wizards.

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MAGIC AND PSIONICS

4. Magic and Psionics

4-1. Magical and Clerical Spells

Magic works largely as described in the D&D boxed

sets (1983–5) and Rules Cyclopedia. Spellcasters of
all types can memorize lower-level spells in higher-
level spell slots. All magic can be sorted into two
kinds: magical spells used by mages, rangers, and
high-level thieves; and clerical spells used by
clerics and high-level fighters.

Clerical casters (clerics and fighters) do not need to

decide which form of a reversible spell to memorize
ahead of time; they can reverse their memorized spells spontaneously. Magical casters
(mages, rangers, and thieves) must always memorize the version of the spell they wish to
cast.

Note that clerical casters are generally expected to stick to one form of each reversible spell
(the form favored by their deity or sect) except in dire emergencies. This is particularly true
of clerics who become aligned: Lawful clerics are expected to use their magic to heal and
defend, while Chaotic clerics prefer to use their spells to attack and inflict harm. Neutral
clerics may find themselves with an eclectic mix of beneficial and baleful spells available to
them, but even they are expected to stick with one preferred form of each single spell and to
refrain from reversing their spells too often, on pain of divine displeasure.

Changes to specific spells are noted in Subsections 7-2 (The Mage) and 7-3 (The Cleric).

4-2. Cantrips and Orisons

Cantrips and orisons are 0-level spells useable by all spellcasters. Mages and 9th level
thieves in possession of a grimoire of cantrips (1 encumbrance slot, typically 50 cn to
purchase) can access any of the thirteen magical cantrips found therein. Clerics and 9th level
fighters can similarly memorize any of the twelve clerical orisons by simply praying for
them. Rangers automatically begin the game with a cantrip grimoire of their own, but it
only contains six out of nineteen possible ranger cantrips; rangers can only learn the
remaining cantrips available to their class through adventuring and happenstance.

Cantrips and orisons are so quick and easy to cast that they can be declared after initiative
has been rolled, and movement is allowed in the same round as casting. The list of 0-level
spells is drawn from the supplement to Basic Fantasy RPG entitled “0-Level Spells.” More
specific details can be found in Subsections 7-2 (for cantrips) and 7-3 (for orisons).

4-3. Psionic Powers

Psionic powers are found in PX1: The Basic Psionics Handbook by Richard J. LeBlanc, Jr.
and New Big Dragon Games Unlimited. The ascetic class is the only class that uses psionics:
it combines features from both the psionicist and monk classes into a single class with
psionic and martial arts abilities partway between the two. Refer to Subsection 7-5 (The
Ascetic) for more specific details.

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 MAGIC AND PSIONICS

4-4. Recovery of Spells or Psi

Before a spellcaster or psionicist can memorize fresh spells or regenerate spent psi points,
they must first be healed up to full hp. (This can be difficult to achieve while camping in the
wilds.) Once rested, a spellcaster must then spend 1 to 4 days preparing mentally for the
taxing process of spell memorization: the number of days required depends on whether the
highest level of spells being memorized is 2nd, 5th, 8th, or 9th. On the morning after resting,
the caster must then spend one hour in prayer or study for each separate spell-level of spells
being prepared, regardless of the specific number of spells.

Ascetics must also be at full hp to begin recovering psi. Thereafter, for each full day and
night of rest which is followed by an hour of convalescent meditation the next morning, an
ascetic regains a number of spent psi points equal to one roll of his martial arts die plus his
experience level (e.g., 1d4+1 at 1st level, 1d8+5 at 5th level, etc.) until fully refreshed.

4-5. Magical Items

A few changes have been made to the game’s magical items.

Missile Weapons: Magical missile weapons add their bonus to hit only, whereas magical
ammunition adds its bonus to damage only and determines what kinds of monsters may be
damaged by the attack. For example, a normal arrow loosed from a magical bow will not
harm a wraith or a vampire; but a magical arrow shot from a normal bow will.

Enhanced Arms: Magical arms and armor with bonuses are properly referred to in-game as
bewitched (+1), enspelled (+2), enchanted (+3), ensorcelled (+4), and dwimmered (+5). Cursed
arms are similarly termed bedeviled (−1), jinxed (−2), hexed (−3), doomed (−4), and
bedamned (−5).

Enhanced Abilities: Magical items that set an ability score at 18 have no effect on earned
experience, only on other modifiers. Items in this category include the gauntlets of power,
the gloves of dexterity, the periapt of wisdom, the amulet of health, the headband of intellect,
and the circlet of charisma (which replaces the standard cloak of charisma so that use of the
headband and the circlet are mutually exclusive, just as the gauntlets and gloves or the
periapt and amulet are). Each of these magical items come in a common (+1) version and
two rarer, more powerful versions that double (+2) or triple (+3) the bonus.

Each of these items imparts its bonus to other qualities beyond just the baseline forcing
doors (Str), downtime (Int), retainer morale (Cha), or saving throws (Dex, Wis, Con). The
gauntlets of power also grant their bonus on mêlée attack rolls (and damage rolls if a girdle
of giant strength is also worn); the gloves of dexterity adjust missile attack rolls (and AC if
combined with boots of speed); an amulet of health adjusts hit points per 6 base hp; a head-
band of intellect grants bonus languages; a periapt of wisdom, bonus secondary skills; and
the crown of charisma adjusts reaction rolls (and also grants bonus retainers if one also
holds a rod of dominion). The Referee may determine additional effects on an ad hoc basis.

4-6. Magical Research

A brief note to conclude this section: the rules for magic item creation found in the D&D
Rules Cyclopedia (pp 250–255) are far more robust and balanced than the simple rules
sketched out in the D&D Expert Set. Ergo, the Cyclopedia rules are given precedence.

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MONEY AND EQUIPMENT

5. Money and Equipment

5-1. Coinage

Depending on the specifics of the campaign, the Referee may decide to base equipment prices
and XP awards on a gold standard (high fantasy), a silver standard (grounded medievalism),
or even a copper standard (gritty, hardscrabble picaresque). Regardless, all coins encumber
as 50 coins = 1 sl. (or 300 coins = 1 st.) and convert based on the following relative values:

Standard coins include the gold, silver, copper, and base metal pieces (g.p., s.p., c.p., and
b.m.p.). 1 gold piece = 10 silver pieces = 100 copper pieces = 1,000 base metal pieces.

1 platinum piece (p.p.) is worth 2 gold pieces. 1 electrum piece (e.p.) is worth ½ a gold piece
or 5 silver pieces.

1 billon piece (b.p.; billon being an alloy of silver and copper) is worth ½ a silver piece or 5
copper pieces.

Base (i.e., non-precious) metals used for coins include brass, bronze, iron, manganese,
nickel, steel, tin, and zinc. Regardless of its specific composition, 1 b.m.p. is always valued
at one-tenth of a copper piece.

The rarest of all coins are silversteel, orichalcon, and adamantite (also known by their
Elvish names: mythril, tilkal, and galvorn), each of which is worth a small fortune: a single
coin of silversteel (s.s.p.) is worth 100 g.p.; a coin of orichalc (o.p.) is worth 500 g.p.; and a
coin of adamant (a.p.) is worth 1,000 g.p.

5-2. Equipment Tables

Changes to equipment are mostly self-

explanatory and summarized by the
equipment tables found on the pages
that follow. Suggested prices for items
on these tables are given in generic
“cn” (coins), as the coinage type of
standard value might be gold, silver,
or something else entirely, as decided
by the Referee for the specific
campaign or campaign setting.

One item added to the equipment list

does require some added detail:
medicinal herbs. One dose of these
healing poultices will restore 1 lost hit
point to one character, but only if the
herbs are applied by a skilled healer
(someone with a suitable secondary
skill—a physician, a surgeon, or an
apothecary) over the course of a turn.

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 MONEY AND EQUIPMENT

Table 4: Adventuring Gear

Item Cost Enc. Item Cost Enc.
Backpack 5 cn 1 sl. Medicinal herbs (10 doses) 25 cn 1 sl.
Belt 0.2 cn ¼ sl. Mirror, small 5 cn ¼ sl.
Boots, plain 1 cn 1 sl. Oil (flask) 2 cn ½ sl.
Boots, riding 5 cn 1 sl. Pole, 10-foot 1 cn 3 sl.
Cloak, short 0.5 cn ½ sl. Pouch, belt 0.5 cn 1⁄50 sl.
Cloak, long 1 cn 1 sl. Quiver 1 cn ¼ sl.
Clothes, plain 0.5 cn 1 sl. Rations, soft (per day) 1 cn ½ sl.
Clothes, middle-class 5 cn 1 sl. Rations, trail (per day) 2 cn ½ sl.
Clothes, fine 20 cn 1 sl. Rope, 50-foot hemp 1 cn 4 sl.
Clothes, extravagant 50 cn 1 sl. Rope, 50-foot silk 10 cn 2 sl.
Garlic 5 cn 1⁄30 sl. Sack, small 1 cn 1⁄30 sl.
Grappling hook 25 cn 1 sl. Sack, large 2 cn ⅙ sl.
Hammer or mallet 2 cn 1 sl. Shoes 0.5 cn ½ sl.
Hat or cap 0.2 cn ¼ sl. Stakes (3) 3 cn 1 sl.
Holy symbol 25 cn ⅒ sl. Thieves’ tools 25 cn 1 sl.
Holy water (flask) 25 cn ½ sl. Tinder box 3 cn ½ sl.
Iron spike (1) 0.1 cn ⅙ sl. Torch (1) 0.2 cn ½ sl.
Iron spikes (12) 1 cn 2 sl. Torches (6) 1 cn 3 sl.
Lantern 10 cn 1 sl. Waterskin, full 1 cn 1 sl.
Medicinal herbs (1 dose) 3 cn ⅒ sl. Wolfsbane 10 cn 1⁄30 sl.

Table 5: Armor
Armor Type Armor Class1 Cost Encumbrance2 Skill3
Cloth gambeson 7 20 cn 4 slots −0
Mail hauberk 5 40 cn 6 slots −2
Plate cuirass 3 60 cn 8 slots −4
Full harness 0 250 cn 12 slots −8

Shield Type AC Bonus4 Cost Encumbrance

Buckler/Targe −1 (−0) 5 cn 2 slots
Heater/Round −2 (−1) 10 cn 4 slots
Kite/Oval −3 (−2) 20 cn 6 slots
Scutum/Pavise5 −4 (−3) 50 cn 10 slots

1. Armor is assumed to include headgear. Doffing the cap, coif, or helm reduces the armor’s
overall effectiveness by 1 point of AC and its encumbrance value by 25%.
2. Encumbrance listed is for worn armor; this value doubles for carried armor, since worn
armor is evenly distributed and carried armor is bulky and cumbersome.
3. This is the penalty applied to d12 rolls for characters attempting to perform feats of
stealth or athleticism while wearing armor heavier than cloth.
4. Shields are less effective in combination with full harness, thanks to redundancy and
diminishing returns. The parenthetical value (one less point of AC bonus) is used if a shield
is carried while wearing a full suit of armor.
5. Tower shields such as the scutum and pavise can only be used on foot, not on horseback.

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MONEY AND EQUIPMENT

Table 6: Mêlée Weapons

Weapon1 Size Damage Range Cost Encumbrance
Knife T 1d3 10′ 2 cn ¼ slot
Knuckle T 1d3 — 3 cn ¼ slot
Blackjack VS 1d3 — 2 cn ½ slot
Dagger2 VS 1d4 10′ 3 cn ½ slot
Whip S 1d3 15′ reach 5 cn 1 slot
Truncheon3 S 1d4 — 3 cn 1 slot
Short sword4 S 1d5 — 5 cn 1 slot
War club5,9 M 1d5 (1d3) — 4 cn 2 slots
Arming sword6,9 M 1d6 (1d4) — 6 cn 2 slots
Spear7,9 M 1d6 (1d4) 20′ 5 cn 2 slots
Bastard sword8,10 L 1d7 (1d5) — 7 cn 3 slots
Short staff10 L 1d6 (1d4) — 3 cn 3 slots
Scythe VL 1d6 — 5 cn 4 slots
Long staff VL 1d6 10′ reach 4 cn 4 slots
War sword11 VL 1d8 — 10 cn 4 slots
Lance12 VL 1d8 10′ reach 12 cn 4 slots
Pike staff13 G 1d8 (1d4) 15′ reach 6 cn 5 slots
Pole arm13 G 1d10 (1d6) 15′ reach 15 cn 5 slots
Great sword13 G 1d10 (1d6) 10′ reach 20 cn 5 slots

Table 7: Missile Weapons and Grenadelike Weapons

Weapon Damage Range1 Cost Enc. Ready or Reload
Atlatl 1d6 40′ 10 cn 1 sl. ⅓ MV or ½ AT
– Atlatl dart (4) — — 2 cn 1 sl. —
Bow, hunting 1d6 30′ 25 cn 1 sl. 0
Bow, war 1d6 40′ 40 cn 2 sl. 0
– Arrow (20) — — 5 cn 1 sl. —
– Arrow, silver (20) — — 100 cn 1 sl. —
Crossbow, light 1d6 30′ 30 cn 3 sl. ⅓ MV or ½ AT
Crossbow, heavy 1d8 40′ 50 cn 4 sl. 1 AT
– Quarrel (30) — — 10 cn 1 sl. —
– Quarrel, silver (30) — — 150 cn 1 sl. —
Handgonne 1d8 20′ 250 cn 5 sl. 2 or 3 AT2
– Ball (20) — — 5 cn 1 sl. —
– Ball, silver (20) — — 100 cn 1 sl. —
Sling 1d5 30′ 2 cn ½ sl. ⅓ MV or ½ AT
Staff-Sling 1d5 40′ 12 cn 3 sl. ⅓ MV or ½ AT
– Bullet (30) — — 1 cn 1 sl. —
– Bullet, silver (30) — — 150 cn 1 sl. —
Dart, war- (2) 1d4 30′ 1 cn 1 sl. 0
Javelin (1) 1d6 30′ 1 cn 1 sl. ⅓ MV or ½ AT
Kunai (4) 1d3 20′ 2 cn 1 sl. 0
Shuriken (8) 1d2 20′ 3 cn 1 sl. 0
Acid (1 flask) 1d8 10′ 50 cn ½ sl. 0
Grenade (1) 2d6 (10′ radius) 10′ 25 cn 1 sl. 1 AT
Holy water (1 flask) 1d8 to undead 10′ 25 cn ½ sl. 0
Oil, burning (1 flask) 1d8 × 2 rounds 10′ 2 cn ½ sl. 1 AT
Power flask (20 oz.) 1d6 (5′ radius) 10′ 25 cn 1 sl. 1 AT
Powder keg (80 oz.) 4d6 (10′ radius) 5′ 100 cn 3 sl. 2 AT

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 MONSTERS AND DEMIHUMANS

Table 6 Notes: 9. (Damage for halfling-size wielder in one hand.)

1. Unarmed attackers inflict 1d2 damage per hit.
2. Also hatchet, tomahawk, throwing club/hammer.
3. Also baton, tonfa, kama, or nunchaku.
4. Also longknife, machete, seax, sickle, hand axe,
or horseman’s mace, pick, hammer, or flail.
5. Also cudgel, jo.
6. Also rapier, scimitar, falchion, messer, langseax,
wakizashi, dao, jian, war axe, or footman’s mace,
pick, hammer, or flail.
7. Also trident.
8. Also katana.
10. (Damage for human-size wielder in one hand.)
11. Also Dane axe, maul, two-handed flail.
12. Also bardiche, halberd, long spear.
13. (Damage in close quarters or confined spaces.)
Table 7 Note:
1. Missile-fire range increments are Point-Blank
(−1 to hit), Close (±0), Medium (−1), and outdoors
only, Long (−2) and Extreme (−5).
2. Reload time for a handgonne or fire lance is 3 AT
for a lone gunner or 2 AT with an assistant.

6. Monsters and Demihumans

6-1. Monsters

Monster Hit Points: All monsters have

fixed hit points, 4 hp per hit die.

Monster XP Values: The XP values for

slain monsters are figured by formula
instead of a lookup table: a monster’s XP
value is simply the square of its hit dice ×
10 XP (up to 10 HD = 1,000 XP), or 100 XP
per hit die (10 HD and up), with the final
value halved in either case for monsters
that lack any significant special abilities.

Poison: Monster poison causes 1d8

damage (save for half) for 1 round (fast-
acting poisons) or 1 turn (slow-acting
poisons) per monster hit die. Any poison
not inflicted by a monster’s attack uses
the dungeon level instead of hit dice.

The Undead: Skeletons have ½ HD (2 hit points) and zombies have 1 HD (4 hit points).
Level-draining undead heal 1d6 hp for every level they drain, but they only drain levels
when damaged. At full hp, a wight’s touch causes 1d4 damage and sleep (no save for non-
elves below 5th level), a wraith causes disease, and a spectre’s touch is deadly poisonous.
Vampires suck blood (latching on and draining hp automatically each round after the first
bite attack that hits) and can act with haste for 1 round per hit point consumed.

6-2. Demihumans

Most player characters are assumed to be human in this system, but there is no rule
absolutely requiring it. In principle, a PC could be practically any manner of creature,
provided they begin the game relatively weak and then work their way up in power and
ability by accumulating experience.

All nonhuman PCs (including demihumans; see below) must abide by the following five
restrictions: (1) To play a PC of any given nonhuman species, the Referee must first roll that

17
MONSTERS AND DEMIHUMANS

species’ rarity or higher on the PC’s heritage roll (see Table 8, below). (2) Nonhuman PCs
have an additional −10% penalty to all earned XP. (3) Nonhuman PCs may belong only to
one specific class. (4) Nonhuman PCs have a soft limit at 12th level (8th for hobbits), beyond
which double XP and training with humans is required to advance. (5) Nonhuman PCs have
an absolute hard limit at 20th level (17th for hobbits).

Demihumans are humanoid beings of mixed human and fae ancestry. Presented here are
the four commonest demihuman archetypes, which may be regarded as the standard choices
available in most campaigns that allow nonhuman PCs.

Small Folk: This archetype includes gnomes,

hobbits, and kobolds. In a standard campaign,
gnomes are adventurous and outgoing enough
to count as common demihumans; hobbits and
kobolds are treated as uncommon. Small folk
ordinarily operate as rangers. (The exception is
a campaign where only humans and hobbits
are playable, in which case hobbits count as
common and come in three subspecies: gentle
harfoots, who serve as clerics; earthy stoors,
who act as fighters; and curious fallohides, the
typical small folk who act as rangers.)
• Small folk cannot use any G sized mêlée
weapons or heavy missile weapons (war bows,
heavy crossbows, staff-slings, gonnes). They
can wield L or VL size weapons in two hands,
and M size weapons count as “hand-and-a-half”
weapons for them. Their armor and shields
must be specially made for small wearers.
• Small folk are +2 on all saving throws and
missile attack rolls. Large (4 HD or more) monsters are −2 to hit them in mêlée.
• A group consisting only of small folk rolls initiative at +1. In a mixed group, there is no
bonus on the roll, but whenever the initiative would normally be simultaneous, all ties are
instead broken in favor of a side with small folk present.
• The small folk can “freeze” in place and become difficult to spot, rendering them 90%
hidden when outdoors or 33% indoors, to remain hidden for as long as they do not move.
• Small folk speak Hobbish, Gnomish, Koboldish, and Elvish as bonus languages.

Deep Folk: This archetype includes the dwarf and goblin species. Dwarves are common and
act as fighters; goblin adventurers are uncommon and advance as thieves.
• Deep folk cannot use G sized mêlée weapons or longbows.
• Deep folk have a 2-in-6 chance to find large room traps, notice unusual stonework, or
identify natural hazards in caves and tunnels; a 3-in-6 chance to notice subtle slopes; and a
4-in-6 chance to intuit depth or direction underground.
• Deep folk can see approximately twice as far and make out approximately twice as much
fine detail as a human in dim or low-light conditions.
• Deep folk begin the game with a bonus secondary skill (mining, smithing, metalworking,
gemcutting, or similar).
• Deep folk are +2 to all saving throws. Large sized monsters (anything with 4 HD or
more) are −1 to hit them in mêlée.
• Deep folk speak Dwarvish, Goblish, Gnomish, and Koboldish as bonus languages.

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 MONSTERS AND DEMIHUMANS

Fair Folk: This archetype includes elves, fauns, fairies, and nymphs. Elves are common and
act as rangers; fairies are uncommon and act as mages. Fauns and nymphs (which likewise
advance as rangers and as mages respectively) are downright rare.
• Being long-lived, all fair folk begin with a bonus secondary skill of the player’s choice.
• While actively searching, fair folk have a 2-in-6 chance to detect secret doors and a 4-in-
6 chance to detect doors that are merely concealed. Merely passing within 5 feet of such a
door grants a 1-in-6 chance to detect it if secret, or a 2-in-6 chance to detect it if concealed.
• Fair folk can see approximately twice as far and make out twice as much fine detail as
humans in dim lighting or twilight conditions.
• Fair folk get an extra saving throw to negate the effects of any sleep, charm, or hold
effect (including ghoul paralysis). They are +1 on all saving throws and missile attack rolls.
• Fair folk speak Elvish, Orcish, Gnollish, and Hobgoblish as bonus languages.

Wild Folk: This category includes orcs, uruks/hobgoblins, gnolls, bugbears, and also half-
giants (half-ogres, troll-kin, etc.). Orcs are common wild folk and advance as fighters. Most
other wild types are fighters as well, albeit uncommon as adventurers. Half-giants of all
sorts are rare; they adventure as ascetics thanks to a degree of natural psionic talent.
• Wild folk can detect the subtlest of scents within 60 feet and can identify unusual smells
(or even known individuals) with near-perfect accuracy. Wild folk have a 3-in-6 chance to
track a target by scent (2-in-6 in inclement weather, 4-in-6 underground).
• Wild folk can eat putrid meat and stale bread and can drink rancid water without risk of
disease. They are +1 on all saving throws, with an extra +1 on saves vs. poison and disease.
• Wild folk can wield L size weapons (e.g., bastard swords and long staffs) in one hand
with no reduction in damage.
• Wild folk can see three times as far as a human in twilight or low-light conditions.
• Wild folk speak Orcish, Goblish, Hobgoblish, and Gnollish as bonus languages.

The Heritage Roll: Whenever a new PC is created, the referee rolls 3d6 for the character; on
a roll of 13 or less, the PC must be human, but on a roll of 14+, the player may instead opt
for a species of the indicated rarity or less. The rarity of a given species will always depend
on the specific setting, but for a standard campaign, Table 8 gives the default rarities.

Table 8: Standard Heritage Roll Results

Roll (3d6) Species Rarity (and examples)
14 Common (elf, dwarf, gnome, orc)
15 Uncommon (fairy, goblin, hobbit, uruk)
16 Rare (centaur, faun, planetouched, dragonewt)
17 Exotic (vampire, dragon, ent, golem, robot)
18 Unique (space alien, Frankenstein monster, Earth human)

Table 9: Summary of Character Classes

Class Prime Requisite(s) Hit Die (hp increment) Spell Ability
Fighter Strength d8 (+2 above 9th Level) Clerical (from 9th Level)
Mage Intelligence d4 (+1 above 9th Level) Magical
Cleric Charisma d6 (+1 above 9th Level) Clerical
Thief Dexterity d4 (+2 above 9th Level) Magical (from 9th Level)
Ascetic Wisdom and Constitution d4 (+1½ above 9th Level) Psionic
Ranger (n/a) d6 (+1½ above 9th Level) Magical

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE FIGHTER

7. Character Classes
7-1. The Fighter

Prime Requisite: Strength.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Fighters roll 8-sided dice when engaged in grappling or other
“contest”-type combat situations. A fighter has 8 hit points at 1st level and adds 4 hit points
at every level from the 2nd through the 9th, then +2 hit points at every level thereafter.

Notes and Restrictions: Fighters are permitted to use all weapons, armors, and shields.

Table 10: Fighter Experience Levels

Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save Special Maneuvers #AT
1st 0 Veteran 8 2 7 Set Spear 1
2nd 2,000 Warrior 12 2 7 Lance Charge 1
3rd 4,000 Swordsman 16 3 8 Perfect Parry 1
4th 8,000 Hero 20 4 9 Heroic Fray 5/4
5th 16,000 Swashbuckler 24 4 9 Dashing Disarm 5/4
6th 32,000 Gladiator 28 5 10 Power Smash 5/4
7th 64,000 Champion 32 6 11 Blind Fighting 3/2
8th 120,000 Superhero 36 6 11 Combat Dominance 3/2
9th 240,000 Lord 40 7 12 Lordly Presence 3/2
10th 360,000 Lord 42 8 13 — 7/4
11th 480,000 Lord 44 8 13 — 7/4
12th 600,000 Lord 46 9 13 — 7/4
13th 720,000 Lord 48 10 14 — 2
14th 840,000 Lord 50 10 14 — 2
15th 960,000 Lord 52 11 14 — 2
16th 1,080,000 Lord 54 12 15 — 9/4
17th 1,200,000 Lord 56 12 15 — 9/4
18th 1,320,000 Overlord 58 13 15 — 9/4
19th 1,440,000 Overlord 60 14 15 — 5/2
20th 1,560,000 Overlord 62 14 15 — 5/2
21st 1,680,000 Overlord 64 15 15 — 5/2
22nd 1,800,000 Overlord 66 16 16 — 11/4
23rd 1,920,000 Overlord 68 16 16 — 11/4
24th 2,040,000 Overlord 70 17 16 — 11/4
25th 2,160,000 Overlord 72 18 17 — 3
26th 2,280,000 Overlord 74 18 17 — 3
27th 2,400,000 Overlord 76 19 17 — 3
28th 2,520,000 Overlord 78 20 17 — 13/4
29th 2,640,000 Overlord 80 20 17 — 13/4
30th 2,760,000 Overlord 82 21 17 — 13/4
31st 2,880,000 Overlord 84 22 18 — 7/2
32nd 3,000,000 Overlord 86 22 18 — 7/2
33rd 3,120,000 Overlord 88 23 18 — 7/2
34th 3,240,000 Overlord 90 24 19 — 15/4
35th 3,360,000 Overlord 92 24 19 — 15/4
36th 3,480,000 Overlord 94 24 19 — 4

Special Fighter Maneuvers: Fighters have access to the following special combat options:

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE FIGHTER

• 1st Level: Set Spear. Use of this maneuver must be declared before rolling initiative, just
like defensive movement or spellcasting. With a spear or polearm “set” against a charge, the
fighter gets to attack a charging enemy first at +2 and inflicts double damage on a hit. A
slain foe gets no attack, even if initiative was simultaneous.
• 2nd Level: Lance Charge. A mounted fighter of 2nd level or greater can attack at +2 to hit
with a couched lance for double damage dice if moving at least 60′ straight at the target
before attacking. This maneuver may be combined with Multiple Attacks, but all attacks
must be directed at separate foes along a single, straight line of movement.
• 3rd Level: Perfect Parry. Use of this maneuver must be declared before rolling initiative.
Anyone can give up attacking to defend themselves instead, gaining a +2 bonus to AC vs.
mêlée attacks for the rest of the round. Fighters of 3rd level and up get a larger bonus when
spending a full round parrying, adding an extra +2 to AC per attack the fighter is giving up
for that round (including any extra attack that may be granted by carrying a second weapon
in the off-hand). This means, for example, that on a round when a fighter could ordinarily
make three attacks, if he devotes the round solely to parrying, he gets a +8 bonus to AC
against all incoming mêlée attacks that round.
• 4th Level: Multiple Attacks. Starting at 4th level, the fighter gains the ability to attack
more than once per round with a single weapon. Multiple attacks always occur one right
after the other on the same phase of the combat round (missile or mêlée) and are not
staggered between initiative counts. (In missile combat, a fighter can spend extra attacks on
readying or reloading a missile weapon that suffers from a slow rate of fire.) When the
number of attacks per round is fractional, the extra attack or attacks occur on some rounds
and not others, starting on the first round of melee. The extra attacks are best treated as an
“action surge” that the fighter can spend at will but must then wait a number of “cooldown”
rounds to use again (e.g., a fighter with 5 attacks per 4 rounds can attack twice on the first
round but then may only attack once on the three rounds that follow). Fighting in mêlée
with two weapons operates in much the same way; in combination with a fighter’s multiple
attacks, dual-wielding simply increases the fighter’s rate of attacks by 1 per 2 rounds, with
the extra attack made using the second weapon.

Table 11: Fighter Multiple Attacks

Normal Attack Routine Heroic Fray Attack Routine
Level One Weapon Two Weapons One Weapon Two Weapons
1st–3rd 1 (1–1–1–1…) 1½ (2–1–2–1…) — —
4th–6th 1¼ (2–1–1–1…) 1¾ (2–2–2–1…) 3½ 4½
7th–9th 1½ (2–1–2–1…) 2 (2–2–2–2…) 4 5
10th–12th 1¾ (2–2–2–1…) 2¼ (3–2–2–2…) 4½ 5½
13th–15th 2 (2–2–2–2…) 2½ (3–2–3–2…) 5 6
16th–18th 2¼ (3–2–2–2…) 2¾ (3–3–3–2…) 5½ 6½
19th–21st 2½ (3–2–3–2…) 3 (3–3–3–3…) 6 7
22nd–24th 2¾ (3–3–3–2…) 3¼ (4–3–3–3…) 6½ 7½
25th–27th 3 (3–3–3–3…) 3½ (4–3–4–3…) 7 8
28th–30th 3¼ (4–3–3–3…) 3¾ (4–4–4–3…) 7½ 8½
31st–33rd 3½ (4–3–4–3…) 4 (4–4–4–4…) 8 9
34th–35th 3¾ (4–4–4–3…) 4¼ (5–4–4–4…) 8½ 9½
36th 4 (4–4–4–4…) 4½ (5–4–5–4…) 9 10

• 4th Level: Heroic Fray. Also starting at 4th level, whenever a fighter goes into mêlée with
enemies that have no more maximum hit points than the fighter has levels (e.g., a 4th level
fighter in mêlée with 1 HD or weaker enemies, a 5th level fighter in mêlée with 1+1 HD or

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE FIGHTER

weaker enemies, etc.), the fighter can make double his normal number of attacks plus one
against that group of enemies. Which enemies are vulnerable to a Heroic Fray will continue
to scale with the fighter’s level. A maximum (36th) level fighter can enter a Heroic Fray with
enemies that have as many as 36 maximum hit points, i.e., enemies with up to 9 Hit Dice!
• 5th Level: Dashing Disarm. Any time a fighter of 5th level or greater hits an armed foe of
any size, instead of inflicting damage, the fighter can force the foe to save at −2 or drop their
weapon. The save penalty increases by −2 for every five levels of the fighter (−4 at 10 th level,
−6 at 15th level, etc.).
• Power Smash. Starting at 6th level, a fighter can trade accuracy for damage in mêlée.
Whenever a fighter makes a mêlée attack, he can accept a to-hit penalty of up to one-third
his base THAC0; a hit receives a damage bonus which is triple the to-hit penalty. When a
fighter makes multiple attacks in a single round (whether because of dual-wielding, haste
magic, normal Multiple Attacks, or a Heroic Fray or Combat Dominance), he can decide on a
per-attack basis whether or not to Smash (and how hard) with each attack.

Table 12: Fighter Power Smash Maximums

To-Hit Damage To-Hit Damage
Level Penalty Bonus Level Penalty Bonus
6th −1 +3 21st–24th −5 +15
7th–11th −2 +6 25th–29th −6 +18
12th–15th −3 +9 30th–33rd −7 +21
16th–20th −4 +12 34th–36th −8 +24

• 7th Level: Blind Fighting. Fighters of 7th level and greater are automatically aware of
any and all invisible enemies that stand within 40′ of them. The fighter may attack such
enemies in mêlée normally at no penalty to hit and in missile combat at −2 to hit.
• 8th Level: Combat Dominance: Whenever a fighter of 8th level or greater goes into mêlée
with enemies whose maximum hp do not exceed one-half the fighter’s level (e.g., 1 HD or
weaker enemies for an 8th level fighter, 1+1 HD or weaker enemies for a 10th level fighter,
etc.), the fighter may enter into a “Super-
heroic Fray,” mowing down crowds of weak
enemies at a staggering rate of one attack per
experience level (plus, if dual-wielding, one
extra off-hand attack per killing blow struck
with the main hand). The fighter can make 5′
steps between attacks, up to the limit of his
encounter speed for the round, but if he runs
out of enemies within reach of his weapon(s),
any excess attacks not yet made that round
are lost.
• 9th Level: Lordly Presence: Any hostile
creature which is vulnerable to a fighter’s
Combat Dominance (meaning any creature
whose maximum hit points are not greater
than one-half the fighter’s level) must pass a
morale check to willingly approach or remain
within 120′ of a hostile name-level (Lord) or
greater fighter on the battlefield.

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE FIGHTER

Lordship and Clerical Abilities: A fighter who reaches name level may either build a
stronghold and become a landed lord, or he may continue adventuring as a lone knight-
errant; in either case, such high-level fighters are always addressed as Lords (though a
knight-errant will never surpass the honorary rank of Lord-Baronet). Fighters who build a
stronghold and come to rule over a fiefdom, meanwhile, may ascend through the ranks of
nobility and even royalty as their holdings and influence expand.

A name-level fighter with an alignment can also receive training from a church, cult, or
other religious sect and thereby learn to cast clerical spells. Lords who choose to do this may
take an additional title, according to their alignment (e.g., Lord-Paladin if Lawful, Lord-
Avenger if Chaotic, or Lord-Bard if Neutral and a follower of the druidic ways). Lords who
receive this training are able to cast clerical spells as if they were a cleric of (roughly) four
less than half their fighter level. They are likewise able to affect the undead—with their
alignment determining whether they Turn/Destroy the undead (Law), Pacify/ Dispel them
(Neutrality), or Rebuke/Command them (Chaos)—at two levels lower than their effective
clerical casting level.

Table 13: Fighter Clerical Abilities

Fighter Casting Spell Level Turning Undead Type
Level Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 Level Sk. Zo. Gh. Wi. Wr. Mu. Sp. Va. Ph. Ha. An. Sh.
9th 1st 1 0 0 0 0 0 −1 11 — — — — — — — — — — —
10th 1st 2 0 0 0 0 0 −1 11 — — — — — — — — — — —
11th 2nd 3 0 0 0 0 0 0th 9 11 — — — — — — — — — —
12th 2nd 3 1 0 0 0 0 0th 9 11 — — — — — — — — — —
13th 3rd 3 2 0 0 0 0 1st 7 9 11 — — — — — — — — —
14th 3rd 3 3 0 0 0 0 1st 7 9 11 — — — — — — — — —
15th 4th 3 3 1 0 0 0 2nd 5 7 9 11 — — — — — — — —
16th 4th 3 3 2 0 0 0 2nd 5 7 9 11 — — — — — — — —
17th 5th 3 3 3 0 0 0 3rd 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — — — —
18th 5th 4 3 3 0 0 0 3rd 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — — — —
19th 6th 4 3 3 1 0 0 4th T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — — —
20th 6th 4 3 3 2 0 0 4th T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — — —
21st 7th 4 3 3 3 0 0 5th T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — —
22nd 7th 4 4 3 3 1 0 5th T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — — —
23rd 8th 4 4 3 3 2 0 6th D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — —
24th 8th 4 4 3 3 3 0 6th D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — — —
25th 9th 4 4 3 3 3 1 7th D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — —
26th 9th 4 4 4 3 3 2 7th D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — — —
27th 10th 4 4 4 3 3 3 8th D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — —
28th 10th 4 4 4 4 3 3 8th D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 — —
29th 11th 4 4 4 4 4 3 9th D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 —
30th 11th 4 4 4 4 4 4 9th D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 —
31st 12th 5 4 4 4 4 4 9th D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 —
32nd 12th 5 5 4 4 4 4 9th D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11 —
33rd 13th 5 5 5 4 4 4 11th D# D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11
34th 13th 5 5 5 5 4 4 11th D# D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11
35th 14th 5 5 5 5 5 4 11th D# D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11
36th 14th 5 5 5 5 5 5 11th D# D+ D+ D D T T 3 5 7 9 11

An italicized entry on the turning undead table (turning level −1 or 0th) indicates turning
ability even weaker than that of a 1st level cleric: only 2d4 total hit dice of undead are
affected instead of the usual 2d6. A “D+” entry indicates that 2d6+1d4 total hit dice of
undead are affected, while “D#” means that 3d6 total hit dice are affected.

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE MAGE

The power to affect the undead rests within the fighter himself; he does not need to bear a
holy or unholy symbol to use it. His access to clerical spells is similar: he gains knowledge of
them via prayer, meditation, or sheer will and the power to cast them by observing the
proper rituals and chanting the right words. In addition, a Paladin can burn a memorized
spell to spontaneously detect evil for a short time (1 turn + 2 minutes per level of the spell
expended); a Bard can do so to analyze a magic item (chance of success: 30% + 10% per level
of the spell expended); and an Avenger can do so to go berserk (1 round of concentration to
activate the effect; then, for 3 rounds + 1 extra round per level of the spell expended, the
Avenger is +2 on all weapon damage rolls, but cannot concentrate or cast other spells).

Note that the fighter’s ability to cast clerical spells and affect the undead does not entail the
ability to use clerical magic items. A Lord cannot read clerical scrolls, nor may he employ
any other magical items (such as the staff of healing) ordinarily useable only by clerics.

7-2. The Mage

Prime Requisite: Intelligence.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Mages have 4-sided hit dice. A 1st level mage has 4 hit points, adds
2 hit points at each level from the 2nd to the 9th, and then 1 hit point at every higher level.

Notes and Restrictions: Mages are not permitted to wear any armor, and they may only
wield a few weapons, most of which have some sort of ritual or symbolic significance—
knives, daggers, clubs, cudgels, and quarter (short) staffs. (These restrictions are quasi-
voluntary taboos that mages accept as a condition of their ability to cast magical spells; a
mage who violates a taboo will soon find that his esoteric powers dwindle or vanish!)

Mages cast magical spells, which they must record in grimoires (spell-books), keeping a (1
sl.) grimoire for each separate spell-level that they have access to (a book of 0-level spells, a
book of 1st level spells, a book of 2nd level spells, etc.). It takes approximately one day of
careful studying and copying for a mage to learn a new spell, whether from another mage’s
spell-book or from a magical scroll (in which case copying the spell destroys the scroll), but
in either case, success is automatic—provided the copying goes without interruption. The
cost in materials to copy a spell is 100 cn per level of the spell.

A mage automatically begins the game with a grimoire of 1st level spells containing the spell
read magic and three other randomly-chosen 1st level spells. If the mage cares to purchase
one for 50 cn, he can also begin with a grimoire of 0-level spells that contains all thirteen of
the known magical cantrips.

Magical Research: A mage must reach name level (Wizard) before he can invent new spells
or craft even the simplest of magical items (such as scrolls and potions). A mage must be at
least 18th level (Archmage) in order to craft magical constructs (such as golems, magical
flying ships, or enchanted castles). Only a mage of at least 33rd level and with Intelligence of
at least 18 can ever learn and cast the mighty wish spell.

Specialist Mages: A mage who joins a Secret Circle can specialize in one of the Secret Crafts
(Alchemy, Dracology, Elementalism, Illusionism, Diabolism, Cryptomancy, or Witchcraft),
as described in GAZ3, The Principalities of Glantri. Artifice is added as the eighth craft,
with its various abilities drawn from PC2, Top Ballista: 1st circle (Find Normal Components,
Fantasy Physics), 2nd circle (Find Magical Components, Machine Building), 3rd circle (Resist
Gremlin Aura), 4th circle (Jury-Rig Contraption), 5th circle (Gnomish Meddling).

24
 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE MAGE

Table 14: Mage Experience Levels

Magical Spells per Day
Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
1st 0 Medium 4 2 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2nd 2,500 Seer 6 2 7 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
3rd 5,000 Conjurer 8 2 7 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
4th 10,000 Thaumaturge 10 3 8 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
5th 20,000 Enchanter 12 3 8 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
6th 40,000 Warlock 14 4 9 3 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
7th 80,000 Sorcerer 16 4 9 3 3 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
8th 150,000 Necromancer 18 4 9 3 3 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
9th 300,000 Wizard 20 5 10 3 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0
10th 450,000 Wizard 21 5 10 4 3 3 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
11th 600,000 Wizard 22 6 11 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0
12th 750,000 Wizard 23 6 11 4 4 4 4 3 2 1 0 0 0
13th 900,000 Wizard 24 6 11 4 4 4 4 3 2 2 0 0 0
14th 1,050,000 Wizard 25 7 12 5 4 4 4 4 3 2 0 0 0
15th 1,200,000 Wizard 26 7 12 5 5 4 4 4 3 2 1 0 0
16th 1,350,000 Wizard 27 8 13 6 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 0 0
17th 1,500,000 Wizard 28 8 13 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 0 0
18th 1,650,000 Archmage 29 8 13 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 0
19th 1,800,000 Archmage 30 9 14 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 0
20th 1,950,000 Archmage 31 9 14 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 0
21st 2,100,000 Archmage 32 10 15 6 6 5 5 5 4 4 3 2 1
22nd 2,250,000 Archmage 33 10 15 6 6 6 5 5 5 4 3 2 2
23rd 2,400,000 Archmage 34 10 15 7 6 6 6 6 5 4 3 3 2
24th 2,550,000 Archmage 35 11 16 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 3 2
25th 2,700,000 Archmage 36 11 16 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3
26th 2,850,000 Archmage 37 12 17 7 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 3
27th 3,000,000 Archmage 38 12 17 8 7 7 7 6 6 5 5 5 4
28th 3,150,000 Archmage 39 12 17 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 6 5 4
29th 3,300,000 Archmage 40 13 17 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 5 5
30th 3,450,000 Archmage 41 13 17 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 6 5
31st 3,600,000 Archmage 42 14 18 9 8 8 8 7 7 7 7 6 6
32nd 3,750,000 Archmage 43 14 18 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 6
33rd 3,900,000 Archmage 44 14 18 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 7 7 7
34th 4,050,000 Archmage 45 15 18 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 7
35th 4,200,000 Archmage 46 15 18 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8 8
36th 4,350,000 Archmage 47 16 19 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

Changes to Magical Spells: Some magical spells have changed levels. Haste and animate
dead both become 4th level spells. Ice storm moves down to take the place of haste at 3rd
level, while polymorph self or other moves up to take the place of animate dead at 5th.

Magic missile adds one extra missile per three levels of the caster—two missiles at 3rd level,
three missiles at 6th level, four missiles at 9th level, etc., up to thirteen missiles at 36th level.

The 3rd-level elemental attack spells (fire ball, lightning bolt, and ice storm) are all soft-
capped at 12d6 damage; thereafter, these spells add one die of damage only per three caster
levels, so 13d6 at 15th level, 14d6 at 18th level, 15d6 at 21st level, etc., up to 20d6 at 36th
level. Delayed blast fire ball scales damage the same way, but it uses d8s instead of d6s.

The prestidigitation cantrip lets the caster produce small (1'×1'×1') illusions for an hour.

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE MAGE

0-LEVEL MAGICAL CANTRIPS 1ST LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS 2ND LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS
1. Animate Tool 1. Charm Person 1. Combustible Cobwebs
2. Clean* 2. Comprehend Languages 2. Continual Illumination*
3. Flare 3. Detect Magic 3. Detect Evil
4. Flavor* 4. Floating Disc 4. Detect Invisible
5. Inscribe 5. Hold Portal 5. Hear Thoughts*
6. Irritate 6. Illumination* 6. Invisibility
7. Knot* 7. Magic Missile 7. Knock Spell
8. Mage Hand 8. Mystical Shield 8. Levitation
9. Open* 9. Protection Spell 9. Locate Object
10. Perfume* 10. Read Magic 10. Mirror Image
11. Summon Vermin* 11. Veil of Sleep 11. Phantasmal Force
12. Transfigure 12. Ventriloquism 12. Wizard Lock
13. Prestidigitation 13. Analyze 13. Entanglement

3RD LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS 4TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS 5TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS
1. Clairvoyance 1. Animate Dead 1. Cloudkill
2. Dispel Magic 2. Charm Monster 2. Conjure Elemental
3. Fire Ball 3. Confusion 3. Contact Outer Plane
4. Hold Person* 4. Dimension Door 4. Dissolve Rock*
5. Ice Storm 5. Growth of Plants* 5. Feeblemind
6. Infravision 6. Hallucinatory Terrain 6. Hold Monster*
7. Invisibility Circle 7. Haste* 7. Magic Jar
8. Lightning Bolt 8. Mass Morph 8. Passwall
9. Protection Circle 9. Remove Curse* 9. Polymorph*
10. Ward Against Missiles 10. Wall of Fire 10. Telekinesis
11. Water Breathing 11. Wall of Ice 11. Teleport
12. Wizard Flight 12. Wizard Eye 12. Wall of Stone
13. Create Air 13. Form Cloth 13. Form Wood

6TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS 7TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS
1. Anti-Magic Shell
2. Bestow Geas*
3. Death Spell
4. Disintegrate
5. Invisible Stalker
6. Lower or Part Water
7. Move Earth
8. Projected Image
9. Reincarnation
10. Stone to Flesh*
11. Wall of Iron
12. Weather Control
13. Form Stone
8TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS
1. Charm Plant 1. Clone
2. Create Normal Monsters 2. Create Magical Monsters
3. Delayed Blast Fire Ball 3. Explosive Cloud
4. Legend Lore 4. Force Field
5. Magic Door* 5. Irresistible Dance
6. Mass Invisibility* 6. Mass Charm*
7. Power Word Stun 7. Mind Barrier*
8. Reverse Gravity 8. Permanence
9. Statue 9. Polymorph Any Object
10. Spectral Sword 10. Power Word Blind
11. Summon Object 11. Symbol
12. Teleport Any Object 12. Travel
13. Form Iron 13. Form Steel

9TH LEVEL MAGICAL SPELLS

1. Contingency
2. Create Any Monster
3. Gate*
4. Heal*
5. Maze
6. Meteor Swarm
7. Power Word Kill
8. Prismatic Wall
9. Shape Change
10. Spell Immunity
11. Time Stop
12. Wish
13. Survival

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE CLERIC

Table 15: Cleric Experience Levels

Clerical Spells per Day
Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1st 0 Deacon 6 2 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2nd 1,500 Oblate 9 2 7 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
3rd 3,000 Priest 12 3 8 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
4th 6,000 Vicar 15 3 8 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
5th 12,000 Curate 18 4 9 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0
6th 25,000 Canon 21 4 9 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0
7th 50,000 Bishop 24 5 10 3 3 2 2 1 0 0 0
8th 100,000 Cardinal 27 5 10 4 3 3 2 1 1 0 0
9th 200,000 Patriarch 30 6 11 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0
10th 300,000 Patriarch 31 6 11 4 4 4 3 2 2 0 0
11th 400,000 Patriarch 32 7 12 5 5 4 3 3 2 0 0
12th 500,000 Patriarch 33 7 12 5 5 4 4 3 2 1 0
13th 600,000 Patriarch 34 8 13 5 5 5 4 3 2 2 0
14th 700,000 Patriarch 35 8 13 6 5 5 5 3 3 2 0
15th 800,000 Patriarch 36 9 14 6 6 5 5 3 3 3 0
16th 900,000 Patriarch 37 9 14 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 0
17th 1,000,000 Patriarch 38 10 15 6 6 6 5 4 4 3 1
18th 1,100,000 Hierophant 39 10 15 7 6 6 5 4 4 3 2
19th 1,200,000 Hierophant 40 11 15 7 7 6 5 4 4 4 2
20th 1,300,000 Hierophant 41 11 15 7 7 6 5 4 4 4 3
21st 1,400,000 Hierophant 42 12 16 7 7 6 5 5 5 4 3
22nd 1,500,000 Hierophant 43 12 16 7 7 6 5 5 5 4 4
23rd 1,600,000 Hierophant 44 13 16 8 7 7 6 6 5 4 4
24th 1,700,000 Hierophant 45 13 16 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 4
25th 1,800,000 Hierophant 46 14 17 8 8 7 6 6 5 5 5
26th 1,900,000 Hierophant 47 14 17 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5
27th 2,000,000 Hierophant 48 15 17 8 8 8 7 6 6 6 5
28th 2,100,000 Hierophant 49 15 17 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 5
29th 2,200,000 Hierophant 50 16 18 8 8 8 7 7 7 6 6
30th 2,300,000 Hierophant 51 16 18 8 8 8 8 7 7 7 6
31st 2,400,000 Hierophant 52 17 18 9 8 8 8 8 8 7 6
32nd 2,500,000 Hierophant 53 17 18 9 9 8 8 8 8 7 7
33rd 2,600,000 Hierophant 54 18 19 9 9 9 8 8 8 8 7
34th 2,700,000 Hierophant 55 18 19 9 9 9 9 8 8 8 8
35th 2,800,000 Hierophant 56 19 19 9 9 9 9 9 9 8 8
36th 2,900,000 Hierophant 57 20 19 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9

7-3. The Cleric

Prime Requisite: Charisma.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Clerics have 6-sided hit dice. A 1st level cleric has 6 hit points, adds
3 hit points at each level from the 2nd to the 9th, and then 1 hit point at every higher level.

Notes and Restrictions: Clerics can wear all armor types and use all shield types. They can
only wield blunt mêlée weapons and slings. Clerics cast clerical spells. Orisons and 1st and
2nd level spells come from the cleric’s beliefs and ritual practice; 3rd to 5th level spells are
granted by an entity in the service of the cleric’s deity or pantheon (such as a departed
saint, an angel, or a demigod) ; and 6th and 7th level spells are granted to the cleric directly
by the deity or pantheon.

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE CLERIC

Table 16: Turning Undead by Cleric Level

Undead 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th-10th 11th-12th
Skeleton 7 5 3 T T D D +1d4 +1d4 +1d6
Zombie 9 7 5 3 T T D D +1d4 +1d4
Ghoul 11 9 7 5 3 T T D D +1d4
Wight — 11 9 7 5 3 T T D D
Wraith — — 11 9 7 5 3 T T D
Mummy — — — 11 9 7 5 3 T T
Spectre — — — — 11 9 7 5 3 T
Vampire — — — — — 11 9 7 5 3
Phantom — — — — — — 11 9 7 5
Haunt — — — — — — — 11 9 7
Animus — — — — — — — — 11 9
Shade — — — — — — — — — 11
Lich — — — — — — — — — —
Infernal — — — — — — — — — —
Legion — — — — — — — — — —

Undead 13th-14th 15th-16th 17th-20th 21st-24th 25th-28th 29th-32nd 33rd-36th

Skeleton +1d6 +2d4 +2d4 +2d6 +2d6 +2d8 +2d8
Zombie +1d6 +1d6 +2d4 +2d4 +2d6 +2d6 +2d8
Ghoul +1d4 +1d6 +1d6 +2d4 +2d4 +2d6 +2d6
Wight +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d6 +2d4 +2d4 +2d6
Wraith D +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d6 +2d4 +2d4
Mummy D D +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d6 +2d4
Spectre T D D +1d4 +1d4 +1d6 +1d6
Vampire T T D D +1d4 +1d4 +1d6
Phantom 3 T T D D +1d4 +1d4
Haunt 5 3 T T D D +1d4
Animus 7 5 3 T T D D
Shade 9 7 5 3 T T D
Lich 11 9 7 5 3 T T
Infernal — 11 9 7 5 3 T
Legion — — 11 9 7 5 3

Turning Undead: A cleric’s power over the undead derives from either the cleric’s personal
alignment (if he has one) or the alignment of the cleric’s religion. Clerics of Law turn the
undead or destroy them permanently. Clerics of Neutrality pacify the undead (so that they
momentarily refrain from attacking) or banish them temporarily. Clerics of Chaos rebuke
and awe the undead or take command of them for a short while. Turned, pacified, or
rebuked undead remain so affected until attacked in mêlée by any opponent, until the cleric
approaches within 10′ of the undead, or until 1d10 plus the cleric’s level in rounds have
passed. Controlled undead remain under the cleric’s sway for 1d10 turns plus one turn per
level of the cleric. Banished undead become temporarily inert (normal corpses if corporeal;
dispersed into the ether if incorporeal) for 1d10 days plus one day per level of the cleric,
after which time they reconstitute themselves and become active once again. Incorporeal
undead cannot be damaged in any way while dispelled, but corporeal undead (including
vampires, if their primary coffin can be located) may be destroyed with minimal effort.

Changes to Clerical Spells: The clerical healing spells—now simply named cure wounds I, II,
and III—have been changed in several important ways. All healing spells affect the undead
in reverse, as the positive life energies of curative magic damage the undead; likewise, the

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE CLERIC

negative life energies of an inflict wounds or harm

spell will restore lost hit points to a damaged
undead creature.

Cure wounds I still either restores 1d6+1 lost hp or

cures most forms of paralysis or stunning, but it
now has a range of 30′. Inflict wounds I no longer
calls for an attack roll to hit a foe in combat;
instead, any visible creature within 30′ may be
targeted, and the target may save for half damage.
Higher-level versions of the inflict wounds spell
(and all cure wounds spells directed at the undead)
conform to this general description.

Cure wounds II is now a 3rd level spell that can restore 2d8+3 hp to a damaged target, or it
can cure one affliction from among blindness, deafness, or muteness. It has a range of 60′.

Cure wounds III remains a 5th level spell. It can either restore 3d12+5 hp to a target within
90′, or—with a casting time of 1 turn and at a range of touch—it can restore one experience
level lost to a victim of energy drain, provided the level was lost within four days per level of
the caster above 7th (the same time limit as raise the dead). Restoring a lost level with this
spell leaves both the target and the cleric totally bedridden for 2d10 days, during which
time the cleric temporarily loses one level as if he had been struck by a wight. The sub-
sequent application of a panacea spell can obviate the need for the target’s rest, but the
casting cleric’s exhaustion and lost level can only be restored by actual bedrest.

Panacea (6th level) can wipe away all hit point damage, cure any single debilitating status
effect, or restore one level lost to energy drain just like cure wounds III. When used to
restore a lost level, the casting cleric loses a level as if struck by a wight and remains
exhausted until he can get 2d10 days of bedrest; but the healed target is only exhausted for
1d10 days, or until a second panacea spell is used to wipe away this bout of exhaustion.
Panacea can only restore a lost level if the energy drain took place within one month of the
cleric’s level above the 11th. The reversed form of panacea is called trauma; it leaves a victim
touched with but 1 remaining hit point. (Panacea and trauma, as well as the magical forms
of the same, heal and harm, all remain touch-range spells in these rules.)

Any cure spell can save a dying character’s life if cast at touch range within 1 round per
spell level of the target having fallen to 0 hp or less, down to a limit of the spell’s level in
negative hp. Doing this brings the character back up to 1 hp, but it leaves them unable to
adventure until they can get 2 weeks of complete bed-rest (or an extra panacea spell). (NB—
magical versions of healing spells cast at a higher spell level than clerical versions, such as
9th level heal vs. 6th level panacea, are indeed better at saving dying characters.)

Restoration (7th level) has been made much more powerful. It can reverse the effects of a
staff of withering, regenerate a lost limb, or restore to its target all experience levels lost to
energy drain within four months of the casting cleric’s level above the 16 th (the same time
limit as raise the dead fully). Each level restored to the target will temporarily drain a level
from the casting cleric, which can make the reckless use of this spell highly perilous, as any
cleric who drains his own life-force away will be permanently obliterated (and his shade
may potentially rise again as some mighty form of undead). The casting cleric must get 2d10
days of complete bedrest to regain each level lost, but the target of a restoration spell is not
exhausted and may adventure right away (just like raise the dead fully).

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE CLERIC

New Druidic Spell: The spot on the list of 4th level clerical spells vacated by cure serious
wounds is filled by wild shape, the power to assume various animal forms. Wild shape
affects only the casting cleric; once cast, it has a duration of eight hours. During those eight
hours, the cleric may assume up to three animal forms—one mammal, one bird, and one
reptile. Each form chosen may be as small as a bullfrog or a songbird, or as large as a black
bear, but it must be a normal, natural animal. When the cleric shifts to animal form, all of
his clothing and carried items disappear and cannot be used. The cleric cannot cast spells in
animal form, but he retains his own hit point total; all other characteristics (speed, attacks,
and Armor Class) are those of the animal. If desired, the cleric may shift from one animal
form to another (e.g., directly from wolf to lizard to sparrow) without resuming human form
in between, but each time the cleric shifts form—from human to animal, animal to human,
or animal to animal—he also heals 1d10 hit points of damage.

0-LEVEL CLERICAL ORISONS 1ST LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS 2ND LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS
1. Call to Mass 1. Cure Wounds I* 1. Blessing*
2. Embalm 2. Detect Evil 2. Find Traps
3. Flare 3. Detect Magic 3. Heat Metal
4. Guidance* 4. Detect Natural Dangers 4. Hold Person*
5. Meal Blessing 5. Faerie Fire 5. Know Alignment*
6. Mend 6. Illumination* 6. Obscuring Mist
7. Perfume* 7. Locate Animal or Plant 7. Produce Flame
8. Requiem* 8. Predict Weather 8. Resist Fire
9. Soothe Hurt* 9. Protection Spell 9. Silence Circle
10. Virtue 10. Purify Food and Drink 10. Snake Charm
11. Ward* 11. Remove Fear* 11. Speak with Animals
12. Water to Wine* 12. Resist Cold 12. Warp Wood

3RD LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS
1. Call Lightning
2. Continual Illumination*
3. Cure Disease*
4. Cure Wounds II*
5. Growth of Animal
6. Hold Animal
7. Locate Object
8. Remove Curse*
9. Resist Poison
10. Speak with the Dead
11. Striking
12. Water Breathing
4TH LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS 5TH LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS
1. Animate Dead
2. Control Temperature
3. Create Water
4. Dispel Magic
5. Neutralize Poison*
6. Plant Door
7. Protection Circle
8. Resist Lightning
9. Speak with Plants
10. Sticks to Snakes
11. Summon Animals
12. Wild Shape
1. Anti Plant Shell
2. Bestow Quest*
3. Commune
4. Control Winds
5. Create Food
6. Cure Wounds III*
7. Dispel Evil
8. Dissolve Rock*
9. Insect Plague
10. Pass Plant
11. Raise the Dead*
12. True Sight

6TH LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS 7TH LEVEL CLERICAL SPELLS

1. Aerial Servant 1. Creeping Doom
2. Animate Objects 2. Earthquake
3. Anti-Animal Shell 3. Holy Word
4. Barrier* 4. Magecraft
5. Create Normal Animals 5. Metal to Wood
6. Find the Path 6. Raise the Dead Fully*
7. Panacea* 7. Restoration*
8. Speak with Monsters* 8. Summon Elemental
9. Summon Weather 9. Survival
10. Transport through Plants 10. Travel
11. Turn Wood 11. Weather Control
12. Word of Recall 12. Wish

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE THIEF

7-4. The Thief

Prime Requisite: Dexterity.

Secondary Requisites: Wisdom and Constitution. Like other classes, thieves receive a virtual
bonus to their prime requisite for every four points above 8 that they have in non-prime
ability scores; thus, for the purpose of calculating earned XP only, thieves treat their
Dexterity as if it were 1 point higher for every score of 12–15 that they have in Strength,
Intelligence, or Charisma; and 2 points higher for every 16–18 that they have in these
abilities. Unique to this class, thieves treat Wisdom and Constitution as “secondary
requisites,” and they derive a greater benefit from above-average scores in these areas.

(It is no coincidence that these two scores are the prime requisites for the ascetic class:
perhaps thieves benefit from having untapped psychic potential, like a subtle and under-
developed “sixth sense” that warns them of danger.) For every two points above an 8 that a
thief has in Wisdom or Constitution, they treat their Dexterity as if it were 1 point greater,
again for XP-calculating purposes only.

Table 17: Thief Dexterity Adjustments

Bonus to Dex Str, Int, Cha Wis, Con
+0 11 or lower 9 or lower
+1 12–15 10–11
+2 16–18 12–13
+3 — 14–15
+4 — 16–17
+5 — 18

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Thieves roll 4-sided hit

dice. A 1st level thief has 4 hit points and adds 2
hit points at every level thereafter.

Notes and Restrictions: Thieves can wield all types of weapons. They are restricted to only
cloth armor and bucklers until name-level, at which point mail and normal shields are also
permitted. All thieves speak a special pidgin of street-slang and professional jargon known
as the Thieves’ Cant, enabling them to discuss matters of larceny and treasure-hunting
without fear of being understood by more law-abiding eavesdroppers.

Skullduggery (Skl.): This skill represents a thief’s chance-in-12 to perform basic thieving
functions—to move in perfect silence, hide in naught but a shadow, pick a pocket or conceal
a small item with sleight-of-hand, discover traps or other secret enclosures, disarm small
traps such as those on treasure chests, foil locks and magical enclosures, or eavesdrop
through heavy dungeon doors. If any Skullduggery roll fails by 6 or more, the thief may
need to make a saving throw to avoid a nasty outcome (such as triggering a trap, getting
caught picking a pocket, etc.). A natural roll of 1 or 12 on a thief skill does not indicate
automatic success or failure.

Acrobatics (Acr.): This skill represents a thief’s chance-in-12 to climb sheer walls and
perform other feats of nimbleness and gymnastics, e.g., tumbling, pole-vaulting, and
tightrope-walking. If any Acrobatics roll fails by 2 or more—which is only possible due to
circumstantial penalties for a thief of 5th level or greater—the thief has fumbled the attempt
and must save or else fall from the wall, rope, etc. As with Skullduggery, a natural 1 or 12
does not succeed or fail automatically.

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE THIEF

Table 18: Thief Experience Levels

Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save Class Abilities Skl. Acr.
1st 0 Rogue 4 2 7 Backstab +1d4 4 10
2nd 1,200 Footpad 6 2 7 Appraise Valuables 5 10
3rd 2,400 Robber 8 3 8 Backstab +2d4 6 10
4th 4,800 Burglar 10 3 8 Read Languages 7 10
5th 9,600 Cutpurse 12 4 9 Backstab +3d4 7 11
6th 20,000 Sharper 14 4 9 Sixth Sense 8 11
7th 40,000 Pilferer 16 5 10 Backstab +4d4 9 11
8th 80,000 Magsman 18 5 10 Artful Dodger 10 11
9th 160,000 Kingpin 20 6 11 Backstab +5d4 10 12
10th 280,000 Kingpin 22 6 11 Read Magical Scrolls 11 12
11th 400,000 Kingpin 24 7 12 Backstab +6d4 11 12
12th 520,000 Kingpin 26 7 12 Danger Sense 11 12
13th 640,000 Kingpin 28 8 13 Backstab +7d4 12 13
14th 760,000 Kingpin 30 8 13 Read Clerical Scrolls 12 13
15th 880,000 Kingpin 32 9 14 Backstab +8d4 12 13
16th 1,000,000 Kingpin 34 9 14 Masterful Dodger 12 13
17th 1,120,000 Kingpin 36 10 15 Backstab +9d4 13 13
18th 1,240,000 Godfather 38 10 15 Read Scrolls (M0) 13 13
19th 1,360,000 Godfather 40 11 15 Assassinate 13 14
20th 1,480,000 Godfather 42 11 15 Read Scrolls (C0) 13 14
21st 1,600,000 Godfather 44 12 16 Backstab +10d4 13 14
22nd 1,720,000 Godfather 46 12 16 Read Scrolls (M1) 14 14
23rd 1,840,000 Godfather 48 13 16 Assassinate −2 14 14
24th 1,960,000 Godfather 50 13 16 Read Scrolls (C1) 14 14
25th 2,080,000 Godfather 52 14 17 Backstab +11d4 14 15
26th 2,200,000 Godfather 54 14 17 Read Scrolls (M2) 14 15
27th 2,320,000 Godfather 56 15 17 Assassinate −4 14 15
28th 2,440,000 Godfather 58 15 17 Read Scrolls (C2) 15 15
29th 2,560,000 Godfather 60 16 18 Backstab +12d4 15 15
30th 2,680,000 Godfather 62 16 18 Read Scrolls (M3) 15 15
31st 2,800,000 Godfather 64 17 18 Assassinate −6 15 16
32nd 2,920,000 Godfather 66 17 18 Read Scrolls (C3) 15 16
33rd 3,040,000 Godfather 68 18 19 Backstab +13d4 15 16
34th 3,160,000 Godfather 70 18 19 Read Scrolls (M4) 15 16
35th 3,280,000 Godfather 72 19 19 Assassinate −8 16 16
36th 3,400,000 Godfather 74 20 19 Read Scrolls (C4) 16 16

Backstab: A thief striking an unaware opponent from behind is +4 to hit (instead of +2) and
adds one or more four-sided dice to the damage inflicted, as noted above on Table 18. Back-
stabbing with a missile weapon—“sniping”—is normally only possible within 40’, but it may
be done out to any range under ideal circumstances (i.e., a completely unaware target with
his guard down, the thief in a position of total concealment).

Appraise Valuables: Upon reaching 2nd level, the thief has gained enough field experience
that he can estimate the worth of valuables or spot fakes and forgeries (including leaden
coins, glass gems, and forged artworks) on sight with a successful Skullduggery roll.

Read Languages: Starting at 4th level, a thief can decipher treasure maps, codes, and dead,
ancient, foreign, obscure, or even alien languages with a successful Skullduggery check.

Sixth Sense & Danger Sense: From 6th level onward, a thief is only surprised on a surprise
roll of 1. When alone or in a group consisting solely of other stealthy individuals (rangers

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE THIEF

and other thieves of 6th level and greater), the thief’s group surprises enemies on a roll of
1–3. From 12th level onward, the thief can no longer be surprised. A group that consists
entirely of 12th level or greater thieves surprises others on a roll of 1–4.

Artful Dodger & Masterful Dodger: Whenever a thief of 8th level or greater successfully
makes a saving throw for half damage from any kind of area-effect attack, spell, breath
weapon, trap, or explosive device, the thief instead takes no damage. Full damage is still
incurred on a failed save. Starting at 16th level, when the thief successfully makes a saving
throw for half damage, the thief automatically takes half damage even on a failed save.

Table 19: Thief Magical Abilities Guildmastery and Magical Abilities: After reaching
name level, a thief may establish a hideout and
Thief Casting Spell Level start either a new branch of an existing thieves’
Level Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 guild or found an entirely new guild. A name-level
9th 1st 1 0 0 0 0 0 thief enjoys several special benefits:
10th 1st 2 0 0 0 0 0
• A 9th level thief can wear mail armor and
11th 2nd 3 0 0 0 0 0
use a normal shield. A mail-clad thief takes ¼
12th 2nd 3 1 0 0 0 0
13th 3rd 3 2 0 0 0 0
damage or ¾ damage (instead of no damage or ½
14th 3rd 3 3 0 0 0 0 damage) when using the Artful/Masterful Dodge.
15th 4th 3 3 1 0 0 0 • A 9th level thief is a master of disguise,
16th 4th 3 3 2 0 0 0 mimicry, ventriloquism, and poison-making (all
17th 5th 3 3 3 0 0 0 Skullduggery), as well as contortionism, escape-
18th 5th 4 3 3 0 0 0 artistry, spider-climbing underneath overhangs
19th 6th 4 3 3 1 0 0 and ceilings, and slowing a fall when within reach
20th 6th 4 3 3 2 0 0 of a wall or rope (Acrobatics). The Referee
21st 7th 4 3 3 3 0 0 determines the appropriate circumstantial
22nd 7th 4 4 3 3 1 0 penalties to the d12 roll when a thief uses these
23rd 8th 4 4 3 3 2 0 new, advanced skills.
24th 8th 4 4 3 3 3 0 • Also starting at 9th level, a thief can cast
25th 9th 4 4 3 3 3 1 magical spells, at an effective caster level of four
26th 9th 4 4 4 3 3 2
less than one-half the thief’s level. A thief’s spell-
27th 10th 4 4 4 3 3 3
casting is just like that of a mage, requiring a
28th 10th 4 4 4 4 3 3
29th 11th 4 4 4 4 4 3
grimoire, study, and spell memorization. Armor
30th 11th 4 4 4 4 4 4 does not inhibit a thief’s spellcasting ability. The
31st 12th 5 4 4 4 4 4 thief cannot use magical items normally restricted
32nd 12th 5 5 4 4 4 4 to mages (but see Reading Scrolls, below).
33rd 13th 5 5 5 4 4 4
34th 13th 5 5 5 5 4 4 Read Scrolls: Starting at 10th level, a thief can read
35th 14th 5 5 5 5 5 4 magical scrolls, albeit imperfectly, checking success
36th 14th 5 5 5 5 5 5 on 1d12. On a roll of 11, the scroll will fail to take
effect (though it will still be destroyed); on a roll of
12, the magic will backfire due to miscasting. At 14th level, the thief can read clerical scrolls
as well as magical scrolls, with the same chance of failure or backfire. At 18th level, the thief
can read cantrip scrolls safely, with no chance of failure/backfire. This ability to read scrolls
proficiently improves to include orisons at 20th level, 1st level magical scrolls at 22nd level, 1st
level clerical scrolls at 24th level, 2nd level magical scrolls at 26th level, etc.

Assassinate: Starting at 19th level, if a thief can study a target for at least 3 consecutive
rounds and then successfully backstab or snipe that target within 24 hours of having
studied them, the target must save or die (in addition to backstab damage and any poison
save if the weapon is envenomed). Assassination attacks carried out by higher-level thieves
impose a penalty on the victim’s death save, as noted on Table 18.

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE ASCETIC

7-5. The Ascetic

Prime Requisites: Wisdom and Constitution. Whichever of these two ability scores is lower
determines the ascetic’s prime requisite XP adjustment.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Ascetics have four-sided hit dice (but they don’t only roll four-sided
dice when engaging in grappling or other kinds of physical contests; see the body weaponry
power, below). An ascetic has 4 hit points at 1st level, adds 2 hit points at each level up to
the 9th, and then adds +1½ hit points per level thereafter.

Notes and Restrictions: Ascetics may use any weapons, but they wear no armor and do not
use shields. The full gamut of psionic items is open to them, but with respect to magical
items, they may only use those items which are available to fighters and thieves, excluding
magical armor and shields, which are of course forbidden to them. Ascetics perform feats of
Acrobatics as thieves of equal level (including the advanced techniques available to a
Kingpin, which ascetics learn as Masters). Some ascetic cloisters may have additional
taboos specific to their order, such as a prohibition against eating meat or drinking alcohol,
a rule that forbids polluting the body with foreign substances such as drugs or potions, vows
of silence or celibacy or poverty, a requirement to shave one’s head or wear specific tattoos,
various routines of daily exercise and meditation, and so forth; but these kinds of extra
restrictions are merely the kinds of observances that reinforce an ascetic’s discipline and
personal piety—they are not, strictly speaking, always necessary for an ascetic to maintain
his psionic and marital arts abilities.

Ascetics manifest psionic powers

using the rules from PX1: The Basic
Psionics Handbook. They must learn
all psionic disciplines strictly in the
default order—psychometabolic,
clairsentient, psychokinetic, tele-
pathic, psychoportative, and finally
metapsionic. A 1st level ascetic
begins the game having discovered
two specific psychometabolic minor
devotions, body weaponry and
biofeedback. All later powers that
the ascetic discovers are ordinarily
chosen freely by the player, unless
the Referee requires that they be
learned from a teacher or unlocked
at random in that specific campaign.

Psionic Research: An ascetic must be

at least 9th level before he can imbue
items with psionic properties or try
to develop newly-invented powers.

Body Weaponry & Biofeedback: These powers must always be the first two psychometabolic
minor devotions taken by a 1st level ascetic. They are both always active for an ascetic and
cost no psi points (Ψ) to activate or maintain; they remain active even when the ascetic has
0 psi left. Together, these powers enable the ascetic to fight effectively, armed or unarmed,
and unarmored.

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE ASCETIC

Table 20: Ascetic Experience Levels

Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save Ψ Disc. Sci. Dev. A.M. D.M.
1st 0 Lake Disciple 4 2 7 3 1 0 2 0 0
2nd 2,200 Fire Disciple 6 2 7 6 1 1 3 0 0
3rd 4,400 Thunder Disciple 8 3 8 9 2 1 5 0 0
4th 8,800 Earth Disciple 10 3 8 12 2 2 6 1 0
5th 17,000 Mountain Disciple 12 4 9 15 2 2 8 1 1
6th 35,000 Water Disciple 14 4 9 18 3 3 9 1 1
7th 70,000 Wind Disciple 16 5 10 21 3 3 11 2 1
8th 140,000 Sky Disciple 18 5 10 24 3 4 12 2 2
9th 280,000 Master 20 6 11 27 4 4 14 2 2
10th 420,000 Master 21 6 11 30 4 5 15 3 2
11th 560,000 Master 23 7 12 33 4 5 17 3 3
12th 700,000 Master 24 7 12 36 5 6 18 3 3
13th 840,000 Master 26 8 13 39 5 6 20 4 3
14th 980,000 Master 27 8 13 42 5 7 21 4 4
15th 1,120,000 Master 29 9 14 45 6 7 23 4 4
16th 1,260,000 Master 30 9 14 48 6 8 24 5 4
17th 1,400,000 Master 32 10 15 51 6 8 25 5 5
18th 1,540,000 Grandmaster 33 10 15 54 6 9 26 5 5
19th 1,680,000 Grandmaster 35 11 15 57 6 9 27 5 5
20th 1,820,000 Grandmaster 36 11 15 60 6 10 28 5 5
21st 1,960,000 Grandmaster 38 12 16 63 6 10 29 5 5
22nd 2,100,000 Grandmaster 39 12 16 66 6 11 30 5 5
23rd 2,240,000 Grandmaster 41 13 16 69 6 11 31 5 5
24th 2,380,000 Grandmaster 42 13 16 72 6 12 32 5 5
25th 2,520,000 Grandmaster 44 14 17 75 6 12 33 5 5
26th 2,660,000 Grandmaster 45 14 17 78 6 13 34 5 5
27th 2,800,000 Grandmaster 47 15 17 81 6 13 35 5 5
28th 2,940,000 Grandmaster 48 15 17 84 6 14 36 5 5
29th 3,080,000 Grandmaster 50 16 18 87 6 14 37 5 5
30th 3,220,000 Grandmaster 51 16 18 90 6 15 38 5 5
31st 3,360,000 Grandmaster 53 17 18 93 6 15 39 5 5
32nd 3,500,000 Grandmaster 54 17 18 96 6 16 40 5 5
33rd 3,640,000 Grandmaster 56 18 19 97 6 16 41 5 5
34th 3,780,000 Grandmaster 57 18 19 98 6 17 42 5 5
35th 3,920,000 Grandmaster 59 19 19 99 6 17 43 5 5
36th 4,060,000 Grandmaster 60 20 19 100 6 18 44 5 5

• AC: The ascetic’s natural armor class, thanks to his biofeedback, dodging, and passive
precognition. Magical devices that grant a bonus to AC (such as rings of protection) improve
this value in the usual manner, but magical effects that set a character’s AC at a flat value
(such as bracers of armor) merely allow the ascetic to use whichever base AC is better.

• Damage: The damage inflicted by an ascetic’s unarmed strikes. Ascetics also roll their
martial arts damage die in place of their d4 hit die when grappling, shoving, or overbearing.
For example: a 5th level ascetic rolls 5d8 when grappling; a 9th level ascetic rolls 9d10; a 13th
level ascetic rolls 9d12+6; etc. A 36th level ascetic (known as the “Grandmaster of Flowers”)
would roll 9d20+40 when grappling an opponent.

• Number of Attacks: The ascetic’s base number of mêlée attacks per round, both unarmed
and with mêlée weapons. An ascetic wielding a pair of mêlée weapons gets 1 extra attack
per 2 rounds, just like a fighter or ranger. The ascetic cannot combine dual-wielding with

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE ASCETIC

Table 21: Ascetic Martial Arts (Body Weaponry & Biofeedback) and Acrobatics
Level AC Damage #AT Ch’i Acro. Level AC Damage #AT Ch’i Acro.
1st 7 1d4 1 Fe 10 19th −1 1d14 4 +4 14
2nd 7 1d5 1 Fe 10 20th −1 1d14 4 +4 14
3rd 6 1d6 1¼ Ag 10 21st −2 1d16 4 +4 14
4th 6 1d7 1½ Ag 10 22nd −2 1d16 4 +4 14
5th 5 1d8 1½ +1 11 23rd −2 1d16 4¼ +4 14
6th 5 1d8 1¾ +1 11 24th −2 1d16 4¼ +4 14
7th 4 1d9 2 +1 11 25th −3 1d20 4½ +5 15
8th 4 1d9 2 +1 11 26th −3 1d20 4½ +5 15
9th 3 1d10 2¼ +2 12 27th −3 1d20 4½ +5 15
10th 3 1d10 2½ +2 12 28th −3 1d20 4½ +5 15
11th 2 1d10 2½ +2 12 29th −4 1d20 4¾ +5 15
12th 2 1d10 2¾ +2 12 30th −4 1d20 4¾ +5 15
13th 1 1d12 3 +3 13 31st −4 1d20 5 +5 16
14th 1 1d12 3 +3 13 32nd −4 1d20 5 +5 16
15th 0 1d12 3¼ +3 13 33rd −5 1d20 5 +6 16
16th 0 1d12 3½ +3 13 34th −5 1d20 5 +6 16
17th −1 1d14 3½ +4 13 35th −5 1d20 5 +6 16
18th −1 1d14 3¾ +4 13 36th −5 1d20 5 +6 16

unarmed strikes, as the ascetic’s martial arts use his whole body—in effect, an ascetic’s
open-hand attacks always count as a single two-handed weapon.

• Ch’i Power: This column represents the ascetic’s skill at allowing inner energy to flow
freely through the body, enhancing the power of his unarmed strikes and weapon attacks
both. Unarmed strikes are treated as iron, silver, or magical weapons of the listed bonus,
including adding the bonus to both attack and damage rolls. Weapon attacks ignore this
column until the ascetic has reached 5th level, at which point the listed bonus is treated as a
(nonmagical) bonus on all mêlée weapon damage rolls. For example, a 9th level ascetic treats
his unarmed strikes as magical +2 weapons, including a +2 bonus to hit and damage and
the ability to damage creatures only hit by +2 or better weapons. With mêlée weapons, a 9 th
level ascetic adds a +2 bonus to damage on top of the weapon’s damage bonus from magic, if
any (but this does not permit the ascetic to damage lycanthropes or incorporeal undead with
a normal, non-silver or non-magical weapon).

• Stunning Strike: By spending 1 psi, an ascetic may declare his next unarmed attack to
be a stunning strike; a missed attack roll wastes the strike attempt, but on a hit, the target
must save or become stunned for 1d6 rounds, plus a number of rounds equal to the ascetic’s
ch’i power bonus. Stunned targets cannot act or concentrate, move at ⅓ normal speed, and
suffer a −4 penalty on AC and saves for the duration. The ascetic may attempt as many
stunning strikes in a round as his number of open-hand attacks and reserve of unspent psi
will allow. Creatures that lack a functioning nervous system—the undead, automata and
constructs, oozes and plants—are inherently immune to the stunning strike effect. Note that
a cure wounds spell can end stunning just like paralysis, but then it restores no hp.

• Acrobatics: Rolled on 1d12, the same as a thief. A 9th level Master ascetic is capable of the
same additional feats as a 9th level Kingpin thief.

NB—An ascetic’s manifestation level (the psionic equivalent of a caster level) is generally
equal to the ascetic’s level, but the detonate power is limited in the same fashion as fire ball,
etc., to 12d6 damage + 1d6 per 3 levels above 12th. Project force is not limited in this way.

36
 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE ASCETIC

1ST CHAKRA: ROOT (PSYCHOMETABOLISM) 2ND CHAKRA: SACRAL (CLAIRSENTIENCE)

MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES
1. Absorption 1. Animal Affinity 1. 360° Vision 1. Aura Sight
2. Adrenaline Control 2. Complete Healing 2. Clairaudience 2. Catacognition
3. Biofeedback 3. Energy Control 3. Clairvoyance 3. Hypercognition
4. Body Control 4. Etherealness 4. Danger Sense 4. Precognition
5. Body Equilibrium 5. Live Draining 5. Detection of Good/Evil 5. Psionic Divination
6. Body Weaponry 6. Shadow Form 6. Detection of Magic 6. Psionic True Seeing
7. Cell Adjustment 7. Shape Alteration 7. Infravision 7. Sensitivity to
8. Chameleon Ability 8. Know Direction Psychic Impressions
9. Expansion 9. Know Location
10. Mind Over Body 10. Object Reading
11. Reduction 11. Poison Sense
12. Suspend Animation 12. Spirit Sense

3RD CHAKRA: PLEXUS (PSYCHOKINESIS) 4TH CHAKRA: HEART (TELEPATHY)

MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES
1. Animate Object 1. Create Object 1. Animal Telepathy 1. Mass Domination
2. Animate Shadow 2. Detonate 2. Conceal Thoughts 2. Mind Bar
3. Control Body 3. Disintegrate 3. Domination 3. Mind Link
4. Control Flames 4. Molecular 4. Empathy 4. Mind Wipe
5. Control Light Manipulation 5. E.S.P. 5. Probe
6. Control Sound 5. Molecular 6. Hypnosis 6. Speak Any Tongue
7. Control Temperature Rearrangement 7. Identity Penetration 7. Switch Personality
8. Control Wind 6. Project Force 8. Invisibility
9. Disrupt Invisibility 7. Telekinesis 9. Life Detection
10. Inertial Barrier 10. Phobia Amplification
11. Levitation 11. Synaptic Static
12. Molecular Agitation 12. Telempathic Projection

5TH CHAKRA: THROAT (PSYCHOPORTATION) 6TH CHAKRA: THIRD EYE (METAPSIONICS)

MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES MINOR DEVOTIONS MAJOR SCIENCES
1. Astral Projection 1. Banishment 1. Appraise 1. Empower
2. Blink 2. Dimension Door 2. Aura Alteration 2. Psychic Clone
3. Burst 3. Dimension Walk 3. Cannibalize 3. Psychic Surgery
4. Catfall 4. Probability Travel 4. Convergence 4. Retrospection
5. Dimension Slide 5. Summon Planar 5. Enhancement 5. Schism
6. Dimension Swap Creature 6. Magnify 6. Splice
7. Dissipating Touch 6. Teleport Other 7. Martial Trance 7. Ultrablast
8. Dream Travel 7. Teleportation 8. Psionic Sense
9. Phase Shift 9. Psychic Drain
10. Retrieve 10. Receptacle
11. Time Leap 11. Stasis Field
12. Time/Space Anchor 12. Stretch

PSIONIC COMBAT MODES

ATTACK MODES DEFENSE MODES
1. Ego Whip 1. Intellect Fortress
2. Id Insinuation 2. Thought Shield
3. Mind Thrust 3. Mental Barrier
4. Psionic Blast 4. Mind Blank
5. Psychic Crush 5. Tower of Iron Will

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE RANGER

Table 22: Ranger Experience Levels

Casting Spells per Day
Level XP Required Level Title HP THAC0 Save Level 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1st 0 Runner 6 2 7 1st 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2nd 2,700 Strider 9 2 7 2nd 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 0
3rd 5,500 Courser 12 3 8 3rd 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0
4th 11,000 Tracker 15 3 8 3rd 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0
5th 22,000 Bounder 18 4 9 4th 3 3 1 0 0 0 0 0
6th 44,000 Marcher 21 4 9 5th 3 3 2 0 0 0 0 0
7th 88,000 Warder 24 5 10 5th 3 3 2 1 0 0 0 0
8th 175,000 Forester 27 5 10 6th 3 3 3 1 0 0 0 0
9th 350,000 Mage-Knight 30 6 11 7th 3 3 3 2 0 0 0 0
10th 500,000 Mage-Knight 31 6 11 7th 3 3 3 2 1 0 0 0
11th 650,000 Mage-Knight 33 7 12 8th 3 3 3 3 1 0 0 0
12th 800,000 Mage-Knight 34 7 12 9th 3 3 3 3 2 0 0 0
13th 950,000 Mage-Knight 36 8 13 9th 4 3 3 3 2 1 0 0
14th 1,100,000 Mage-Knight 37 8 13 10th 4 3 3 3 3 1 0 0
15th 1,250,000 Mage-Knight 39 9 14 11th 4 3 3 3 3 2 0 0
16th 1,400,000 Mage-Knight 40 9 14 12th 4 4 3 3 3 2 1 0
17th 1,550,000 Mage-Knight 42 10 15 13th 4 4 4 3 3 3 1 0
18th 1,700,000 Wizard-Lord 43 10 15 14th 4 4 4 4 3 3 2 0
19th 1,850,000 Wizard-Lord 45 11 15 15th 4 4 4 4 4 3 2 1
20th 2,000,000 Wizard-Lord 46 11 15 15th 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 1
21st 2,150,000 Wizard-Lord 48 12 16 16th 4 4 4 4 4 3 3 2
22nd 2,300,000 Wizard-Lord 49 12 16 16th 4 4 4 4 4 4 3 3
23rd 2,450,000 Wizard-Lord 51 13 16 17th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 3
24th 2,600,000 Wizard-Lord 52 13 16 17th 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
25th 2,750,000 Wizard-Lord 54 14 17 18th 5 5 4 4 4 4 4 4
26th 2,900,000 Wizard-Lord 55 14 17 18th 5 5 5 5 4 4 4 4
27th 3,050,000 Wizard-Lord 57 15 17 19th 5 5 5 5 5 5 4 4
28th 3,250,000 Wizard-Lord 59 15 17 19th 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5
29th 3,350,000 Wizard-Lord 60 16 18 20th 6 6 5 5 5 5 5 5
30th 3,500,000 Wizard-Lord 61 16 18 21st 6 6 6 6 5 5 5 5
31st 3,650,000 Wizard-Lord 63 17 18 21st 6 6 6 6 6 6 5 5
32nd 3,800,000 Wizard-Lord 64 17 18 22nd 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6
33rd 3,950,000 Wizard-Lord 66 18 19 23rd 7 7 6 6 6 6 6 6
34th 4,100,000 Wizard-Lord 67 18 19 23rd 7 7 7 7 6 6 6 6
35th 4,250,000 Wizard-Lord 69 19 19 24th 7 7 7 7 7 7 6 6
36th 4,400,000 Wizard-Lord 70 20 19 25th 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7

7-6. The Ranger

Prime Requisites: All. The ranger is a highly versatile class—functionally a “multi-class”

combination of fighter, mage, some cleric, and some thief. Therefore, it is the lowest score
among all six of a ranger’s abilities that determines their prime requisite XP adjustment.

Hit Dice and Hit Points: Rangers use six-sided hit dice. A ranger begins with 6 hit points at
1st level, adds 3 hit points at each level from the 2nd through the 9th, and thereafter adds 1½
hit points at each higher level.

Notes and Restrictions: Rangers can use all weapons, like a fighter. They can wear all armor
except suit armor and carry any except a tower shield. Rangers can employ any magical
items useable by either fighters or mages. They may also use magical items of a clerical

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 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE RANGER

nature if they specifically pertain to healing, plants, animals, or scrying. (Rangers cannot
read clerical scrolls, even if the spell in question appears on the ranger’s spell list. They can,
of course, read magical scrolls bearing these spells.) While lone rangers do exist, most
belong to a Lawful-aligned order that binds its members to a sacred oath. These rangers
vow to protect the innocent, guide travelers in the wilderness to safe havens, and guard the
border-lands of civilization from the depredations of wicked men and monsters.

A 9th level ranger (Mage-Knight) attracts 2d6 followers, apprentice rangers and woodland
creatures, who acknowledge the Mage-Knight as an elf-friend and a chieftain among the
wise. A ranger does not typically build a stronghold until he reaches 18th level and becomes
acknowledged as a Wizard-Lord. At that point, 10d6 individuals (0-level men-at-arms and
1st level adventurers of all classes) arrive to serve in the Wizard-Lord’s personal guard.

Table 23: Ranger Special Abilities

Level Special Abilities #AT Sneak Track Calm Level #AT Sneak Track Calm
1st Woodcraft 1 4 10 −0 19th 2 13 14 −6
2nd Set Spear 1 5 10 −0 20th 2 13 14 −6
3rd — 1 6 10 −1 21st 9/4 13 14 −6
4th Cavalry Charge 1 7 10 −1 22nd 9/4 14 14 −6
5th — 5/4 7 11 −1 23rd 9/4 14 14 −6
6th Perfect Parry 5/4 8 11 −2 24th 9/4 14 14 −7
7th — 5/4 9 11 −2 25th 5/2 14 15 −7
8th Heroic Fray 5/4 10 11 −2 26th 5/2 14 15 −7
9th — 3/2 10 12 −3 27th 5/2 14 15 −7
10th Dashing Disarm 3/2 11 12 −3 28th 5/2 15 15 −7
11th — 3/2 11 12 −3 29th 11/4 15 15 −7
12th Power Smash 3/2 11 12 −4 30th 11/4 15 15 −8
13th — 7/4 12 13 −4 31st 11/4 15 16 −8
14th Blind Fighting 7/4 12 13 −4 32nd 11/4 15 16 −8
15th — 7/4 12 13 −5 33rd 3 15 16 −8
16th Combat Dominance 7/4 12 13 −5 34th 3 15 16 −8
17th — 2 13 13 −5 35th 3 16 16 −8
18th Lordly Presence 2 13 13 −6 36th 3 16 16 −9

Fighting Magician: Rangers gain access to the various special abilities of fighters at the
levels listed on Table 23. They cast spells in exactly the same fashion as mages, requiring
grimoires and needing to learn their spells from others. Rangers learn spells from a much
broader list than mages, though, using the elf spell list from GAZ5, The Elves of Alfheim.
This list is missing certain iconic magical spells, but it includes a large number of spells
normally only useable by clerics or druids, though often at higher spell levels than usual.
The elf spell-list is also quite bottom-heavy, having many more low-level spells on it than
high-level spells, a fact that contributes to the ranger’s particular versatility.

A 1st level ranger begins the game with a grimoire given to him by his teacher at the end of
his apprenticeship; this grimoire contains six random cantrips, a mere fraction of all the 0-
level spells a ranger can potentially learn. Thereafter, the ranger can only acquire new
spells through adventuring and happenstance. Until he learns how to read magic, he can
only acquire new spells through direct instruction, not by copying from scrolls or grimoires.

A ranger’s effective caster level is eventually lower than his actual experience level, as
noted on Table 22. A ranger does not learn to craft any magical items until he reaches the
18th experience level (Wizard-Lord), and even then, rangers are only able to craft the
simplest of consumable items (potions and scrolls).

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CHARACTER CLASSES—THE RANGER

Woodcraft: Rangers are skilled at scouting and forestry. A ranger’s base chance to move
silently or hide in the wilderness is the same as a thief’s Skullduggery roll on 1d12 (see
Table 18), while his chance to track is the same as a thief’s Acrobatics, −1 per day of the age
of the tracks. In addition to any armor check penalties for sneaking or hiding in armor, any
indoor use of Woodcraft to sneak, hide, or track is rolled at −3. A ranger in the wilderness is
surprised only half as often as normal (a roll of 1 on 1d6), while a lone ranger or a party
consisting solely of rangers and experienced (6th level or greater) thieves all operating
outdoors is more likely than usual to surprise enemies (1–3 on 1d6). A ranger who boldly
and fearlessly approaches a normal and nonmagical animal (tame or wild), whispering
soothing words, can calm or even befriend that animal if the creature fails a saving throw
that takes the penalty indicated on Table 23 (−1 per three ranger levels up to the 18 th and
per six ranger levels above
the 18th).

Fighter Maneuvers: Set

Spear, Cavalry Charge,
Perfect Parry, and Blind
Fighting function for the
ranger just as they do for a
fighter.

With respect to the Heroic

Fray, Dashing Disarm,
Combat Dominance, and
Lordly Presence, the
ranger counts as a fighter
of one-half his actual level
for the sake of employing these abilities. This means, for example, that a 20th level ranger
counts as a 10th level fighter, imparting −4 on saving throws vs. Dashing Disarm, making
2+2 HD (or 10 hp) enemies vulnerable to a Heroic Fray, and 1+1 HD (or 5 hp) enemies
vulnerable to Combat Dominance (at 10 attacks per round) and Lordly Presence.

A ranger’s Power Smash is likewise roughly half as effective as a fighter’s. The ranger
cannot take a to-hit penalty exceeding one-fifth of his base THAC0. This means that when
the Power Smash is learned at 12th level (THAC0 7), the ranger can only accept a −1 penalty
to hit and Smash for +3 extra damage. This improves to −2/+6 at 17th level, −3/+9 at 27th
level, and maxes out at −4/+12 at 36th level.

Changes to Spells: The ranger’s spell list differs from the GAZ5 elf spell list in a few minor
ways. The ceremony spell is eliminated, replaced by predict weather, which comes down to
1st level from 2nd; cure wounds I takes its place at 2nd level. The other cure wounds spells
appear at the 4th and 6th spell levels, while haste moves up to 4th level and polymorph up to
5th (the same as for mages).

A new spell, hunter’s mark, is also added to the list of 2nd level spells:

Hunter’s Mark
Range: Self.
Duration: 1 day.
Save: No.
This spell enables a ranger to target one specific class of creature, according to the ranger’s experience
level. A 6th level ranger (casting level 3rd) can only target humanoids/giants with this spell. An 8th level
ranger can choose to target humanoids/giants, animals/vermin, or magical beasts. A 10th level ranger can

40
 CHARACTER CLASSES—THE RANGER

use this spell to mark any one class of creature (humanoids/giants, animals/vermin, magical beasts,
plants/oozes, faes/nature spirits, planar/elemental spirits, abominations/horrors, constructs/automata, or
the undead). For the duration, the ranger receives a bonus of +1 per 4 experience levels to damage that
type of creature with weapons, and a bonus to hit and track that type of creature which is one-half the
damage bonus rounded up.

0-LEVEL RANGER CANTRIPS 1ST LEVEL RANGER SPELLS 2ND LEVEL RANGER SPELLS
1. Animate Tool 1. Analyze 1. Combustible Cobwebs
2. Clean* 2. Command Word 2. Cure Wounds I*
3. Discern North 3. Comprehend Languages 3. Detect Evil
4. Flare 4. Charm Person 4. Detect Natural Dangers
5. Flavor* 5. Detect Magic 5. Detect Invisible
6. Guidance* 6. Faerie Fire 6. Entangle
7. Inscribe 7. Faerie Lights 7. Hear Thoughts*
8. Irritate 8. Fellowship 8. Hunter’s Mark
9. Knot* 9. Illumination* 9. Invisibility
10. Mage Hand 10. Locate Animal or Plant 10. Know Alignment*
11. Mend 11. Long Stride 11. Levitate
12. Open* 12. Magic Missile 12. Locate Object
13. Perfume* 13. Precipitation 13. Mirror Image
14. Prestidigitation 14. Predict Weather 14. Phantasmal Force
15. Soothe Hurt* 15. Protection Spell 15. Produce Flame
16. Summon Vermin* 16. Read Magic 16. Purify Food and Drink
17. Transfigure 17. Resist Cold 17. Resist Fire
18. Virtue 18. Ventriloquism 18. Silence Circle
19. Ward* 19. Watcher 19. Warp Wood

3RD LEVEL RANGER SPELLS
1. Call Lightning
2. Clairvoyance
3. Cure Disease*
4. Dispel Magic
5. Heat Metal
6. Hold Animal*
7. Hold Person*
8. Invisibility Circle
9. Obscuring Mist
10. Protection Circle
11. Resist Poison
12. Speak With Animals
13. Ward Against Missiles
14. Water Breathing
15. Wizard Flight
4TH LEVEL RANGER SPELLS
1. Charm Monster
2. Confusion
3. Cure Wounds II*
4. Dimension Door
5. Enchanted Weapon
6. Fear
7. Growth of Animals
8. Growth of Plants*
9. Hallucinatory Terrain
10. Haste*
11. Mass Morph
12. Remove Curse*
13. Summon Animals
14. Wall of Fire
15. Wizard Eye
5TH LEVEL RANGER SPELLS
1. Conjure Elemental
2. Contact Outer Plane
3. Control Temperature
4. Control Winds
5. Dissolve Rock*
6. Feeble Mind
7. Insect Plague
8. Magic Jar
9. Neutralize Poison*
10. Plant Door
11. Polymorph*
12. Resist Lightning
13. Telekinesis
14. Teleport
15. Wall of Stone

6TH LEVEL RANGER SPELLS 7TH LEVEL RANGER SPELLS

1. Anti-Animal Shell 1. Charm Plant
2. Anti-Magic Shell 2. Create Normal Monsters
3. Bestow Geas* 3. Dispel Evil
4. Cure Wounds III* 4. Legend Lore
5. Lower Water 5. Magic Door*
6. Move Earth 6. Mass Invisibility*
7. Pass Plant 7. Rock
8. Projected Image 8. Teleport Object
9. Reincarnation 9. Transport Through Plants
10. Stone to Flesh 10. True Sight
11. Weather Control 11. Turn Wood

41
CHARACTER CLASSES—THE IMMORTAL

7-7. The Immortal

As mentioned earlier in Section 1-2, the 1992 Wrath of the Immortals rules are treated as
superseding the 1986 Immortals Set. The later rules are better-presented and much more
playable. That said, they are not more complete: the gold box still contains information that
Wrath does not. Thus, the Wrath set is only held to take priority over the gold box when the
two rulesets come into direct conflict.

Table 24: Immortal Ability Scores Ability scores for Immortal PCs have all of
the effects on characters outlined on pages
Score Modifier Retainers Morale Aura 52–54 of the Codex of the Immortals. (Ability
1–2 −2 2 5 (+2) scores in these rules have very little direct
3–7 −1 3 6 (+1)
impact on mortal PCs, as noted earlier in
8–13 ±0 4 7 ±0
14–18 +1 5 8 −1 Section 2-2 of this document; an Immortals
19–22 +2 6 9 −2 campaign need not exhibit such restraint.)
23–26 +3 7 10 −3 That said, so that the ability scores can scale
27–30 +4 8 11 −4 more smoothly from the mortal to the
31–34 +5 9 12 −5 Immortal score and modifier ranges, the
35–38 +6 10 (+1) −6 table of Immortal ability scores and
39–42 +7 11 (+2) −7
modifiers has been altered as shown on
43–46 +8 12 (+3) −8
47–50 +9 13 (+4) −9 Table 24, left.
51–54 +10 14 (+5) −10
55–59 +11 15 (+6) −11 One other mechanical tweak is needed to
60–64 +12 16 (+7) −12 bring Wrath of the Immortals into line with
65–69 +13 17 (+8) −13 these rules. Since this system converts all
70–74 +14 18 (+9) −14 attack rolls and saving throws to chances-in-
75–79 +15 19 (+10) −15
20 (i.e., a “roll under” mechanic), the revised
80–84 +16 20 (+11) −16
85–89 +17 21 (+12) −17 table of Immortal saving throws appears
90–94 +18 22 (+13) −18 below. Unlike mortal saving throws (which
95–99 +19 23 (+14) −19 use only a single saving throw statistic in
100 +20 24 (+15) −20 these rules), Immortal saving throws
remain divided into the four distinct
categories given in the core rules.
Table 25: Immortal Saving Throws
A final note concerns the responsibilities of
Level Spell Physical Mental Power
Immortal PCs. The Immortals are the
1st–6th 1 6 3 4
7th–8th 1 7 4 5
deities of the multiverse; they are not merely
9th–10th 2 8 5 6 scaled-up superheroes. An Initiate might be
11th–12th 3 9 6 7 considered little more than an ageless and
13th–14th 4 10 7 8 unkillable hero at 1st level, but he will
15th–16th 5 11 8 9 gradually have to assume the portfolio of a
17th–18th 6 12 9 10 demigod by 6th level. Temporals watch over
19th–20th 7 13 10 11
whole worlds; Celestials, over many worlds;
21st–22nd 8 14 11 12
23rd–24th 9 15 12 13
Empyreals oversee entire galaxies; Eternals,
25 th 10 16 13 14 universes; and Hierarchs, all the countless
26 th 11 16 13 14 many planes of the multiverse. ■
27th 12 17 14 15
28th 13 17 14 15
29th 14 18 15 16
30th 15 18 15 16
31st–36th 16 19 16 17

42