Magic

In my regular group we have been using Arcane Stress for a while now. I guess since 2011. Yikes.
It works great and does what I want it to do, which is make magic a bit more powerful, weird, and dangerous while changing as little as possible of the regular BX Vancian magic system. The way it works is Magic-Users cast spells just like they normally would in your old school system of choice. If the want to cast any more than they normally would be able to, they can try but they've got to roll a D6 on this table:

1d6	Spell result:
1	Fails. Caster is knocked out d4 turns.
2	Fails.
3	Mutation. Roll on the Spell Mutation Table.
4	Cast at ½ strength.
5	Cast. M-U ages d6 months per spell level.
6	Cast at x2 strength. M-U looses d4 HP per spell level.

Actually some where along the line in the hardcopy I use in game I penciled in some changes:

1d6	Spell result:
1	Fails. Caster is knocked out d4 turns.
2-3	M-U is embroiled in a mystical melee with unseen forces. Roll again next turn.
4-5	Mutation. Roll on the Spell Mutation Table.
6	Cast at x2 strength. M-U looses d4 HP per spell level.

This system is fun because in truly dire situations Magic-Users can take action (magic flavored action) and it might make things worse or it might spectacularly save the day. I changed the table to make mutations more common (because they're fun) but I think the whole idea could be tweaked to be more fun. In my group, when a wizard casts via Arcane Stress it pretty reliably makes the situation entertaining because it is so dangerous/random, but really it is a rarely used last resort.

I feel like it could be changed to make magic more powerful, weird, and dangerous. I've been thinking about this lately because of Brendan's post on Catastrophe Magic. This is a pretty slick roll to cast system. This takes us a bit further from Vancian magic, but it does more to make magic chaotic and interesting without making too much extra work for the player or the DM.

	13	11	9	5	3	1	*	*	*	*
20
19
18
17
16
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1

The left hand column is the D20 roll.

The top row is the level of the caster.  

The results break down like this:

	Principal Intensified
	Principal
	Principal and Corollary
	Corollary, Decline and Delay
	Catastrophe

Those are all per Brendan’s descriptions except “Corollary, Decline and Delay” which is corollary and decline plus the spell will go off at the end of the following turn.  After a “Corollary, Decline and Delay” is rolled the MU moves to the next column the next time a spell is cast.  

I’m going to think about this more but I think it could add a bit of interest and make casting get increasingly risky which sounds fun.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE TRIES TO READ A WIZARD’S SPELL BOOK:

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN SOMEONE TRIES TO READ A WIZARD’S SPELL BOOK:		AND IF THE READER IS ALSO A WIZARD AND CASTS READ MAGIC:
1	They don’t. The thing is locked. The thing is tight. There is no visible lock for the thief to pick. Not even Jimbo the fighter can even pick the thing up.	It grows D6+1 demonic chicken legs and runs away. (In the direction of the Wizard who owns it)
2	An uproarious stream of light and sound erupts from every page if the book is opened. (Make a wandering monster check every time this happens)	Anyone nearby who makes a saving throw suffers D6+1 damage and anyone who doesn’t’ is knocked out. Effects continue each round until the book is closed.
3	It’s just page after page of complete gibberish… Wait, here is something that you can make out. Do you read it? (See table below)	(See table below)
4	The arcane symbols are difficult to make out. Out of the corner of the Reader’s eye they make out a figure. If they look directly at it, it is gone. If they look away again they will see the figure walking towards them out of the corner of their eye. If the figure reaches them it will strike with a dagger each round and automatically hit. By looking at it the reader can make it disappear. Only by focusing their gaze on the last place the saw it and backing away can the Reader make it stop. If they take the Spell Book it follows.	They may make a Saving Throw to avoid the effects described to the left. If the Reader continues to attempt to read they must save again.
5	The words on the pages crawl up the Reader’s arms and into their mouth, where they transform into an unending string of the most foul and blasphemous uncontrollable utterances. By stripping naked and scraping off the words crawling on their skin and physically plucking the words from their tongue the effects can be ceased.	Instead of blasphemies random spells are uttered.
6	Nothing, they can’t read magic.	The spells therein may be deciphered.

IF THEY READ THE LEGIBLE TEXT HIDDEN AMONG THE GIBBERISH:
(if the Reader casts Read Magic they can make a Saving Throw to avoid the effects described below)
1	The Reader is turned into a toad.
2	The Reader is turned into a slimy mass of tentacles and mouths.
3	The Wizard who owns the Spell Book instantly appears.
4	The Reader and anyone nearby is teleported to the current location of the Wizard who owns the spell book.
5	They cast Geas on themselves and are compelled to return the book to it’s Owner.
6	As 5 above, but it affects everyone in the room and it’s a competition. Each person or creature wants to be the one to return the book to its Owner.

Crap Armor House Rule

Armor in BX DnD is hella cheap. Why? Because it's old and crappy. 

On any successful hit against a PC that does 6+ damage the player must roll a D6 and subtract that amount from the damage but also loose that many points of AC. 

Armor can be repaired. It costs half as much as getting new armor. 

Fancy/very well made armor can be found, sure. Doubling the cost raises the amount of damage that triggers a break by 1. Like this:

ARMOR	Cost
Damage to Break	Leather	Chain	Plate
6+	20	40	60
7+	40	80	120
8+	80	160	240
9+	160	320	480
10+	320	640	960
11+	640	1280	1920
12+	1280	2560	3840

I like this because when making a character it doesn't change any thing. Armor costs what it says in the book, there's no weird rule to teach the Players. Then on the second or third session when the ogre hits one of your Players with his spiked war club and does 9 damage you can be like, "that's 9 damage, are you dead? yeah, shoot. oh wait, roll to see if your armor is busted instead." They'll be delighted, and then later you'll get to make up a funny voice for the armorsmith in the next town. 

The secret history of the Gygaxian Spell List

Light.

That was the first spell.  That's what some priests will tell you. But who knows? There were at least 8 different spellcasters at the dawn of magic in the world.  They formed schools and taught others what they had discovered.  Alteration was the most prolific and the most powerful at first. The school of Evocation had few spells but was dedicated to martial prowess. The young Evokers were constantly daring and dueling.  Abjurers, the magesmiths crafted Mage armor most of which no longer exists.  Of the lesser schools there are the extroverts: Enchanters and Illusionists and the introverts: Divination and Necromancy.  Of course, there were the Summoners. Some say they started it, others are sure it was the Evokers. Either way the Mage War lasted for generations. The Summoners fielded mages with battalions of crossbow wielding Unseen Servants upon whom the would cast Flame Arrow.  Then the Evokers developed the Fireball and Lightning bolt spells. The devastation wrought by these spells brought the first MageWar to a close, with a peace brokered by the school of Alteration, who would take the magic users into an age of exploration throughout the world via the Teleport spell or into the astral plane via accidents while using the Dimension Door spell. The illusionists, who along with the other lesser schools were but mercenaries during the Mage war began to increase the scale of their magic. They had always considered themselves artists, they were now treating the landscape as a canvas with the Hallucinatory Terrain spell. During this time the Evokers withdrew from the world, literally walling themselves off from the rest of the world behind fire and ice, iron and stone.

After a time the second Mage war occurred. This time the aggressors were the Necromancers who attacked the Evokers over long held grievances left over from the first Mage war.  The undead armies of the Necromancers nearly wiped out the Evokers before, ironically the Summoners newfound ability to Conjure Elementals put an end the the second Magewar.

For some time there was relative peace. During this peace there was friendly competition, even cooperation.  The wizards of this time began to see the divisions between the schools as artificial and they began learning from each other. This was a long period of prosperity as well as enlightenment, for with the Diviners newfound ability to Contact Outer Planes humanity was reaching far beyond previous understanding. Eventually a group of wizards, master of Summoning and Abjuration sought to tap the powers of beings from beyond. This cabal of Wizards was able to summon demons and bind them into their service with the Cacodemon, Spiritwrack and Trap the Soul spells.  Prosperity continued for a few short years before the demons were able to go free. These demons returned with an army and the third Mage war began. This time all wizards were united against this army of demonic aliens. The Mages of this era bore into the earth creating secret defenses and redoubts from the demons but the demons were able to penetrate and forever polute the magics of these places. It was a Summoner who eventually ended the final Mage war by casting a Wish spell so powerful it ended his life, but rid the world of the demon army.

Now, in the wake of this final Magewar against the otherworldly demons there is an uneasy truce amongst the magic-users of the world aided by the practice of wizards living in isolation in towers in the wilderness. Some chaotic magic-users and clerics (evil high priests) have chosen instead to dwell amongst the demons and monsters in the ruins of the underground fortresses created during the last Magewar.

Horror Movie Alignment

BX DnD does some funny things with alignment. Moldvay calls the three alignments "ways of life" and implies a link to morality but glosses over life and death choices of good and evil. I believe this is an attempt to keep things light for the intended gamer, "adults, ages 10 and up" and at the same time it allows for a simplification in the game. The alignments sorts monsters and NPCs into groups: the ones that are here for you to kill and take there stuff, ands the ones who aren't.

I don't use alignment in my games. The folks I play with aren't in it to act out sadistic fantasies, but their also not going to flinch at harsher tactics so it's not really an issue. I like the idea of the kind of cosmic alignment that LotFP uses, but by requiring Magic-Users to be chaotic and making Lawful characters rare (and boring) LotFP reduces the number of decision points that relate to Alignment and I think that's unfortunate because Player decisions are what make role playing interesting.

Looming large in the background of old school DnD are the old Universal and Hammer Horror flicks.  From the monster list to the equipment list and the Cleric's primary power it's pretty clear that these movies were a major inspiration. I think the mileu of classic horror could help inform the alignment system in an interesting way.

The following alignment system was made with these goals:

1. Make explicit what is only implied in Moldvay BX because we don't need to worry about what moms in the 1980's are going to think anymore.
2. Help to make the choices that are made in game interesting by having consequences for those choices.
3. Redirect the imagined spiritual foundations (the gods and their impact on morality) of the game back towards something that would fit right in a classic horror movie  as opposed to the somewhat bland pantheism that has become the default for DnD. 

There are three alignments: Good, Neutral and Evil.

Good characters: 

• Will talk or take other non-deadly action first before resorting to violence unless facing a known enemy or unintelligent creature.  
• Will not torture.
• Will not kill a helpless foe.

Neutral characters:

• May kill to achieve goals.
• May kill or torture enemy combatants.
• Will not kill for fun.
• Will not torture or kill innocents.

Evil characters:

• Are bent on dominating or destroying their surroundings.
• Will kill or torture for any reason.

Any character committing an act prohibited by their alignment must change their alignment from Good to Neutral or from Neutral to Evil. The DM must warn the Player of this prior to the character completing the action.

Good characters with a belief in God may pray for temporary Protection from Evil. By making a Saving Throw - the Evil foe's Level or HD a Good character will be protected for 1 round. Praying with a Holy symbol will allow a roll with advantage and the duration will be the Praying character's Level.

Evil characters with a belief in an Evil God may make a Saving Throw upon death to return as malicious undead. After animating they may Save again to remain as permanent undead. (At the DMs option this may be reserved for special creatures or creatures with one or more Levels in a character class)

Good and Evil characters receive a +1 to reaction rolls with similarly aligned creatures and -1 with creatures of the opposed alignment.