Advanced Edition Companion
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Advanced Edition Companion By Daniel Proctor Goblinoid Games Foreword Something most gamers can agree upon, whether inclined toward „old-school‰ or „new-school,‰ is that the advanced first edition of the worldÊs most popular fantasy role-playing game had a unique feel and flavor. In fact, advertising rhetoric for later editions attempted to sell the idea that the feel had been maintained in 3rd edition and beyond. There was just something about all those monsters, classes, magic items, spells, and attitude toward dungeon delving that added a unique depth to the game. The flavorful demons and devils were undiluted, and foes to be reckoned with. The system, although eclectic by „modern‰ standards, had those little extra details that lent a certain life to the implied world. Some of my best gaming has been with the first edition rules, but when I think about the way my friends and I had always played the „advanced‰ rules it was essentially like the original classic game (i.e. Labyrinth Lord) with the added monsters, treasures, classes, and some other rules from first edition. So the goal in writing the Advanced Edition Companion (AEC) was to create an expansion of Labyrinth Lord that is a natural evolution (with compatibility) of advanced first edition but keeping the slick original game engine. I think youÊll agree that IÊve succeeded. If you play using AEC you will be playing advanced first edition rules as most people played them. This book presents the essential first edition rules, all as open game content, and combined with Labyrinth Lord there is a vast sum of open content available to everyone, forever. This is an exciting time, probably the best time ever since the mid 80s, for fans of old- school gaming. So much is available to us that was only wishful thinking until the Open Game License came along. Now, anyone can use this material to contribute in his or her way to the hobby, and technology for self-publishing is placing the ability in everyoneÊs hands to produce high quality work and see it distributed. Through the work of myself and many others, no one ever has to give up his or her favorite edition of the game again. In the coming years look for more support material from Goblinoid Games and a growing list of publishing partners. Sadly, even as we grab hold of our own gaming destiny by preserving games of the past, weÊre reminded that time keeps marching on. In so doing some of those pioneers of the hobby have passed from us. IÊve dedicated previous works to Tom Moldvay and E. Gary Gygax. As this book was being planned and written we lost another giant in hobby, Dave Arneson. I wish I had been able to meet Dave. Over the years I canÊt help but think that Dave lived in GaryÊs shadow, since he never quite had the recognition that Gary had. Nonetheless, the hobby we call role-playing, and the worldÊs most popular fantasy role-playing game, were first dreamed up by Dave. It was he who first led brave adventurers into the dank labyrinths in search of fame and treasure. When we round the corner of a slimy passage and fear what might lie there, weÊre inheriting DaveÊs vision of a new kind of game. For those familiar with the history behind Dave, Gary, TSR, and the origins of the split between the classic game and the advanced game, there might be some irony in the fact that IÊm dedicating this book to Dave Arneson. This is a meager and inadequate gesture of recognition to this man, but I offer it sincerely. Dan Proctor January 2010 Dedicated to the memory of Dave Arneson ACKNOWLEDGMENTS An immeasurable debt is owed to those who created the foundation on which this book rests, including Tom Moldvay, Dave Cook, Steve Marsh, E. Gary Gygax, Dave Arneson, Frank Mentzer, J. Eric Holmes, Rob Kuntz, Tim Kask, and many others. This work would not have been possible without the efforts of Ryan Dancey and Wizards of the Coast, Inc., in making the Open Game License and system reference documents available to the open gaming community. Much gratitude goes to David Macauley for donating his time in so many ways to keep things going. Thanks to Steve Zieser, Sean Aaberg, and Jeremy Pea for lending their exceptional artistic talents toward giving this book a character of its own. Finally, I must thank the playtesters who helped hone this book into a solid addition to the Labyrinth Lord game. PLAYTESTERS Scott Coppock, Mike Klein, Kelly Lawson, Becky Coppock, Dan Lawson, Steve Zieser, Keziah Clopton, Bradeep Ncube, Mirk Jedger, Justin Samuels, Sven Tardigan, Benson Mandela, Jonathan Prell, David Prell, Larry Miller, Cecelia Jimenez, Scott "PeelSeel2" Abraham, David Kalet, Chris Beyer, Kalle Nieland, Laura Peplow, Terry Winter, Sam Schrant, Roger Timperley, Megan Timperley Cover illustration by Steve Zieser, interior artwork by Steve Zieser, Sean Aaberg, and Jeremy Pea, layout and design by Daniel Proctor, editing by David Macauley and Daniel Proctor•Copyright 2009-2010, Daniel Proctor•Labyrinth Lord, Advanced Labyrinth Lord, Mutant Future, and Goblinoid Games are trademarks of Daniel Proctor•Some artwork copyright Steve Zieser, used under license•Some artwork copyright Sean Aaberg, used under license•Some artwork copyright Jeremy Pea, used under license Table of Contents HOW TO USE THIS BOOK .......................................................... 4 NEW RULES .............................................................................142 CHARACTER ABILITIES .............................................................. 4 COMBAT OPTIONS .................................................................... 142 ABILITY PRIME REQUISITES............................................................. 6 POISON ................................................................................... 142 CHOOSING A CLASS ...................................................................... 6 Poison Basics ..................................................................... 142 HIT POINTS ................................................................................ 6 Perils of Using Poison ......................................................... 143 CHARACTER RACES .................................................................. 7 STUN AND PARALYSIS ............................................................... 143 Dwarves................................................................................. 7 VISION .................................................................................... 143 Elves ...................................................................................... 7 Infravision .......................................................................... 143 Gnomes ................................................................................. 8 Ultraviolet Vision ................................................................ 144 Halflings ................................................................................. 8 Invisibility ........................................................................... 144 Half-Elves ............................................................................... 9 POTION MIXING ........................................................................ 144 Half-Orcs ............................................................................... 9 HUMANOID SPELL CASTERS ....................................................... 144 Humans ............................................................................... 10 COSMOLOGY (OPTIONAL)........................................................... 145 CHARACTER CLASSES ............................................................. 10 RANDOM TABLES ................................................................... 147 Assassins ............................................................................. 10 LABYRINTH FURNISHINGS .......................................................... 147 Clerics ................................................................................. 12 Random Traps ................................................................... 147 Druids .................................................................................. 14 Atmospheric Details ............................................................ 147 Fighters ................................................................................ 15 Special Encounters ............................................................. 148 Illusionists ............................................................................ 15 Specialty Room Furnishings ................................................ 149 Magic-Users ......................................................................... 16 RANDOM TAVERN PATRONS ....................................................... 150 Monks ................................................................................. 17 HEIGHT AND WEIGHT (OPTIONAL) ............................................... 151 Paladins ............................................................................... 18 MONSTER LIST ....................................................................... 151 Rangers ............................................................................... 19 Thieves ................................................................................ 20 ADVANCED HD (OPTIONAL) ......................................................... 21 SECONDARY SKILLS (OPTIONAL) ................................................... 21 CHOOSING ALIGNMENT .......................................................... 22 Good