F is for Fighting

Okay, to be honest, this one isn't really specific to the Kingdoms of Kalamar, but is more a list of my house-rules to liven up combat a bit.

While I do love B/X's simplicity and class balance, there are a few things I can find fault with. The first is that fighters are a bit underpowered, at least for their experience point requirements. The second is that there's really no reason for a fighter to use anything other than a sword or two-handed sword unless charging (with a lance) or receiving a charge (with a spear).

You don't really notice the underpowered nature of the fighter unless you compare experience point to experience point rather than level-to-level. Fighters may get better attack rolls every three levels while clerics only get them every four, but between 12,000 and 16,000 XPs, the cleric is fighting just as well as his fighter ally--and using the same armor, and an only-slightly inferior weapon. To be honest, I've often wondered why the fighter doesn't have the cleric's XP tables and vice-versa.

I found the answer while doing a bit of study of D&D's original "little brown books" in light of Chainmail. It was basically just a bit of digging to see if using Chainmail's original rules instead of the "alternative combat system" which later came to dominate D&D made a difference.

Hoo-boy, yes it did.

Just to start with, a 1st level fighter fights as a "Man+1" on Chainmail's man-to-man combat tables, where clerics and magic-users fight as normal men. Now this is particularly important because Chainmail's man-to-man charts (and indeed, all of its mechanics) use 2d6 to resolve combat instead of a d20. This makes a +1 bonus in Chainmail worth at least a +2 bonus in D&D. This is why OD&D didn't include any strength bonuses for combat--a fighter was automatically assumed to be much stronger and more dangerous than his fellows, with a bonus equal to a B/X fighter with a 16 strength!

It gets better. By 2nd level, an OD&D/Chainmail fighter fights as "2 Men +1." That literally means he fights as two men, getting two attacks per round with a +1 bonus to each. At third level, he can either fight as three men or as a "Hero -1." A Hero fights as four men in Chainmail, so a 3rd level fighter can either attack three times without a bonus or four times at -1. He can also (presumably) use the "man vs. monsters" chart, but that's a whole other subject.

Moreover, by 8th Level ("Superhero"), a fighter not only gets to attack eight times per round, but also causes lesser foes to have to instantly check morale just for the fact that he's attacking them!

Those are some huge perks, though not without their own parallels for the magic-user who achieves the level of Wizard. (Clerics don't appear in Chainmail.)

So here then are my own house-rules for the fighter: An 8th-level fighter is known as a Weapon-master (or Sword-master) rather than a “Superhero.” (Sorry, but "Superhero" sounds pretty dumb.) Opponents of 2 Hit Dice or less facing a known weapon-master must make a morale check or fall back before him. (Here I'm thinking of a scene in the first Wheel of Time book where Queen Morgase's guard are terrified at facing Rand Al'Thor--who nobody even knows can channel yet, let alone that he is the Dragon Reborn--just because he carries a "heron-mark sword," which only the most skill warriors in Jordan's world bear.)

Fighters (including dwarves, elves, and halflings) may make additional attacks per round as follows: A fighter may divide his attacks so as to attack one Hit Dice of opponent per level of the fighter. The highest HD opponent must be taken into account first, since more powerful or skilled opponents by necessity require the fighter's attention.

For example, a Weaponmaster (8th-level fighter) may attack an ogre (4+1 HD) twice, or two ogres once each. If the ogre is accompanied by ten orcs (1HD each), the fighter may attack any five opponents (4HD + 4x1HD) or attack the ogre twice. He may choose to focus on the orcs five times so as to thin out their numbers or may attack the ogre twice, but the presence of the ogre in striking range diverts enough of his attention that he cannot attack the orcs eight times—as he could without the higher-level monster nearby. 

This should serve to give the fighter a nice edge in fights against swarms of lesser opponents without making other classes useless--everyone still gets just one attack per round on a giant or dragon, for example, but the fighter can mow through the orcs nearly as fast as the magic-user can fireball them.

Now on to weapons and tactics:

Two-weapon Fighting: Any character can use a dagger or hand-axe in their off-hand, in which case they can use their dexterity missile bonus in place of their strength bonus to attack (not damage) rolls. Obviously this is only a benefit to characters with a 13 or greater dexterity.

Flanking: If two opponents manage to get on opposite sides of an enemy, each gets a +2 to their attack. This increases to +4 for four opponents working at 90 degree angles and +6 for six opponents working together. Creatures larger or smaller than man-sized may find it relatively easy to escape such flanking maneuvers (stepping over or under one of the attackers) at the DM's discretion, but a knight might want to avoid letting himself get completely surrounded by the angry mob of peasants. Putting one's back to a wall or that of a companion means that the maximum bonus to attack is +2.

Such flanking maneuvers always assume that the attackers are attempting to trip up, throw down, or otherwise immobilize their opponent in addition to making their basic attacks.

"Light" Blades: Characters wielding short swords, rapiers, or other such "light" weapons may also use their dexterity missile bonus in place of their strength bonus to attack (not damage) rolls.

Spears and Pole-arms: In addition to being usable from the second rank of a formation and being able to be set to receive a charge (doing double-damage on a hit), a person wielding a spear or pole-arm automatically gets the initiative in the first round of combat with a given foe using a shorter weapon, reflecting that weapon's greater reach.

Armor-cracking Weapons: Battle-axes, maces, and light crossbows get a +1 to hit against medium (chain) or heavy (plate) armor. Warhammers get a +1 vs. heavy (plate) armor. Heavy crossbows get a +2 vs. medium and heavy armor, but can only be fired every other round. Whether this affects creatures with "natural" armor is up to the DM.

Rapid-fire: Bows can be fired twice per round. A fighter using a bow can fire it either twice per round or the same number of times he can against lesser enemies, as explained above.

Missiles in Active Combat: Missile weapons cannot safely be fired into active combat, but if someone wants to try, the attack roll is made at -4, and a miss means an automatic attack against the ally engaging the target. This attack rolls as if a 1st level character, but any bonuses for strength (but not dexterity) or magic are still applicable.

Grappling: (Note: These rules are rough, and subject to changing on the fly depending on the actual situation.) Any character may attempt to grapple another simply by rolling to hit, though doing so automatically loses initiative. If the hit is successful, the target cannot move or attack for one round, and cannot do so in subsequent rounds unless he makes a saving throw vs. paralyzation. The attacker can attack barehanded (for 1d3 damage) or with a dagger (1d4) each round without breaking his grip.

I'm sure I'll have more entries here eventually, but these are the ones that have come up in my years of actual play.

D is for Demi-Humans

The original Kingdoms of Kalamar booklets, as well as the D&D3 Sourcebook, work elves, dwarves, gnomes, and halflings into the setting mostly by noting where they fit among the human population centers, but also giving elves and dwarves a few cities of their own and a couple of footnotes in history. Seriously, that's it. The most notable thing any demi-human has apparently ever done in the known history of the world is cursing the King of Brandobia with triplets so that they could squabble over daddy's empire, Charlemagne's-sons-style. Other than that, the entire emphasis on humanity.

The reason is pretty simple: KoK was originally conceived as a systemless setting, one that could be used for GURPS or Rolemaster or Tunnels & Trolls just as easily as AD&D. Each of those have their own takes on demi-human races, so why bog the setting down with AD&D's assumptions of mutli-classing vs. level limits?

Now later books, like the KoK Player's Handbook and some of the splatbooks, did contain more details--primarily in the form of a dozen sub-races for each of the playable races of D&D3. This, as with many of the 3e mutations of Kalamar, tended to erode the setting's uniqueness of being a realistic, rare-magic, humanocentric, yet (unlike Harn, which came with its own system) thoroughly D&Dish world with a minimum of canon to have to master. Indeed, when you've got a few dozen demi-human sub-races to choose from, each with its own description, culture, and perks, while human characters are just treated as the regular old baseline, you inevitably end up with a party of mostly non-humans.

B/X D&D largely averts that by having race-as-class and level limits. You don't end up with every halfling being a thief, nor every thief a halfling--that being such a common player choice that the Forgotten Realms portrayed halflings as a race of somewhat venial con-men while Dragonlance simply turned the race into the kleptomaniac kender.

Race-as-class, by limiting the selection of non-humans, shapes the game world towards humanity. Want to play a cleric or a thief? Then you'll have to play a human. Want to play a single-classed wizard? Human. Want to continue into high-level play? Human again. Indeed, the mere fact that there are four human classes to three demi-human classes in B/X means that you're going to end up with a party that is mostly human, which fits perfectly with the Kingdoms of Kalamar.

However, race-as-class does require some in-setting explanation for players who want to know why they can't play a dwarven fighter-cleric or whatever. So here's what I've derived out of my interpretations of both B/X and the Kalamar setting:

First, human history in Tellene--at least as known by those in the present--only goes back about a thousand years. Obviously, the world is far older than that, and there were many great empires by the Dejy, demi-humans, and even monsters that rose and fell on the mainland long before the rest of mankind emerged from Svimolz. The elves, dwarves, and halflings we see today lack the knowledge and might of their ancestors: An elf today is limited to the 10th level of experience due to the slow fading of his people, but the elflords of old knew no such constraints.

The present age is the age of Man because the humans are the chosen people of Law. This is why only humans can become clerics and why the human passion for taming the wilderness is without precedent in the history of Tellene. Even though halflings are nominally allied with Law and both dwarves and elves will sometimes ally with Law against pure Chaos, none of them had the passion for imposing order on the world or the blessing of the Saints of Law that humans have. Consequently, humans are presently the only race with no upper limit to their advancement (though 14th level is probably as high as the vast majority will ever go).

Nevertheless, humans share the world with many other races, including,

Dwarves (Adurek) aren't just short, bearded humans, but a race of fleshy earth elementals, much as described in the Dwimmermount campaign. I actually like the idea that "baby" dwarves are literally carved from stone and given life, but that particular detail may be nixed already by campaign canon--one of my players has a dwarf character who wears a wedding ring. While no details about his wife and children (if any) have yet emerged, this obviously mitigates the idea that dwarves have no real concept of gender. Nevertheless, I like the idea too much to let it go, so I may work it into the campaign at some point.

In any case, the dwarves of Tellene are deeply tied to earth and stone on an almost empathic level. They are often thought of as greedy, but what they are actually obsessed with is beauty that lasts. They love gold so much because unlike iron and steel, it never rusts, and unlike silver, it never tarnishes. They love gemstones for much the same reason. But they also love more base materials that others overlook. A dwarven clan that discovered a hill of solid granite lwould consider it a treasure beyond measure, and would spend a thousand years shaping it into a monument-city of such beauty as to make even a dull-hearted human weep. And if it were ever stolen from them, they would spend another thousand years and the blood of a hundred thousand dwarves to get it back and take vengeance on the thieves who stole it.

Any dwarf of name level may create magic items appropriate to their race: Weapons, armor, items of metal and stone.

The Elves (Lathlani) claim to be the eldest of the many races of Tellene. Even so, they are a fading people, withdrawing into increasingly shrinking forests and wilderlands as humankind continues to spread abroad. They do not rule great kingdoms as men do, but rather cities and strongholds of surpassing beauty. Most PC elves are Lathlani (High Elves) and have dark hair, pale skin, and light eyes. 

There are other sub-races of elves. Wood-elves (Aralarai) are a sub-race of the Lathlani. While rustic by the standards of their cousins, they still have some innate magical ability. The Doulathan, or grey elves, have hair of blonde, platinum blonde, or even white, and are, if possible, even more arrogant than their Lathlani cousins. There are also rumors of “wild elves” who live so deep in the forests that they have never met mortal men, and “shadow elves” who live deep beneath the earth and have never known the light of the moons. 

Elves are intrinsically magical and have a martial culture, so all elves are both fighters and magic-users (though in my home campaign, wood-elves are a combination of hunter and magic-user). Wood elves seldom bother with the heavy books that most elves and magic-users are known for; in each of their villages stands an irminsul into which is carved all of the spells known to that tribe. Any member of the tribe can study it to memorize their spells each day or before setting on a journey.

Halflings (Gurin) are found throughout Tellene, though they are more concentrated in the northern lands and cities. Some legends say that they once ruled a pleasant realm deep in the Wild Lands. Most peoples scoff at the idea; how could such a small and weak folk ever hold a land of their own? The Gurin themselves do not speak of the subject. They are treated as unwanted refugees by most other than the dwarves; sadly, the halfling love of open sky and rolling hills means that few would wish to settle in or near the high mountain holts the dwarves favor.

Halflings are indeed a stealthy folk, getting a +1 to all surprise checks and being able to move silently or hide in shadows as a thief of the same level. Despite these bonuses, prejudice against the Small Folk is such that few thieves guilds will admit them. No halfling may begin play as a thief—most simply lack the mechanical skill to open locks and disarm traps—but if they have at least a 16 Dexterity and can make contact with a thieves' guild willing to admit them, a halfling may be able to progress as a thief indefinitely.

Finally, thanks to their small size meaning they need less calories (though they are big eaters when they have the luxury) combined with their natural stealth and skill with missile weapons means that a halfling working alone or with other halflings gets a +1 to his chance of foraging and hunting.

I'll be the first to admit that my conception of the demi-human races was shaped first and foremost by The Lord of the Rings, but I do like adding elements of other sources as well. For example, the elves of my Tellene are not necessarily good, but like the faerie folk of Three Hearts and Three Lions, are a fey and dangerous people to mere mortals. Being neutral, they are just as often at war with human civilization as they are with the forces of Chaos.

The halflings I've come to love as a race. Unlike Middle-earth, where the Shire benefited from the guardianship of the rangers and a particularly powerful wizard, the halflings of Tellene have been left to their own devices, and long ago lost their own homeland. In many ways, I imagine them being like the Jews in Medieval Europe--suffered for a time when they are thought to be useful, but then expelled at the whim of future rulers. Consequently, the Shire-less Gurin are a tougher race than the Shire-folk--or perhaps reflect the innate toughness of Tolkien's little people in times of crisis.