Mind = Blown

Go suck on your THAC0

Thieves and Traps

"One of the interesting peculiarities about the Supplement I (and Holmes) thief class is that, while it possesses a "remove traps" ability, it does not possess a "find traps" ability, which wasn't introduced until the AD&D Players Handbook and also adopted by the Moldvay rules. (As an aside, it's worth noting that the Cook/Marsh Expert Rulebook lists only "remove traps" as a thief ability on its class tables, although one presumes this is just an editorial glitch). I surmise that the thief lacked an explicit "find traps" ability, since it was simply assumed they had the same chance to find them while searching as any other character class (1 in 6). Thus, thieves were adept only at overcoming traps once found but lacked any special skill in finding them."

From Grognardia

Old School Maps with Excel

http://www.gnomestew.com/tools-for-gms/mapping-for-the-rest-of-us

Initiative and Movement

"In a nutshell, it's an approach that uses variable action speed combined with a cyclic initiative queue to serve as a "positioning" mechanic; i.e., instead of depending on your position on a battlemat, the tactical subsystems are designed to depend on your position in the queue. Most of your options revolve around fiddling with the initiative order; for example, instead of having effects that slide your opponent around the battlefield, you have effects that mess with their position in the queue, generally to their detriment. This is how most turn-based CRPGs out of the last fifteen years have handled tactical positioning."

Consider this stolen for d20Shawn 6th Edition

From Dwimmermount:

"I'll also note that the "Dave Arneson rule" for converting gold into XP is working beautifully. I only give XP on treasure that is spent. This means that every time they find gold or gems or whatever in the dungeon, they have to use it to buy things for themselves, whether they be scrolls, new gear, hirelings, or just a night out on the town if they want to gain experience points from them. This has served two purposes: 1) They must return to Adamas if they want to spend big sums of money and 2) They are perpetually poor. I am very satisfied with this, as I am with the campaign in general -- an excellent session overall."

Sayeth Old Geezer:

"Back in Brown Box OD&D, you NEEDED henchmen.

Thus, Charisma was VITAL, not a dump stat.

This is a case of the game being played WAY differently from how it was conceived."

Vecna = Vance

In games of Dying Earth, (player character)magicians must resist their Arrogance attribute in order to share spells with other magicians.

"Without the DMG, you're also missing the incredibly important Treasure Parcel table. The game kinda breaks without it."

"Well, not a Rolemaster level chart, but yes, a chart. Basically, you have the AC numbers running along the top and the various weapons running down as the column. When attacking, you find the row with the appropriate weapon, then run across to the AC number and that shows you what you need to roll to hit. Thus, swords work really well against unarmoured folks, but not well at all against plate mail. A mace, OTOH, is the reverse."

-- Armor Class in "Spellcraft & Swordplay"

Awesome Ideas

At least we also get encouraged for giving out exp for Learning Experiences aka Bad Things such as being cursed (250 exp) and tripping a trap (50 exp). Reminiscent of the system in Tunnels & Trolls where you get points for a missed Saving Roll. You also get XP for casting spells (100 for a spell useful to the party in general like "Create Food & Water")

(from Arduin)