Home of the Odd Duk
After quite some time, there is finally a name for my 2e-inspired clone: Andras. It is a word I coined because of some similarity to words in some Uralic and Nordic languages that mean 2nd.
It has its own project page that will feature links and downloads.
I've also updated the Downloads pages to feature content for Basic Fantasy and Older Editions of the world's most famous role-playing game.
I must confess that I have never played FATE, but I've heard a lot about it. One thing I never heard was that it was ill-suited for random tables. I guess I never thought about it because I just assumed random tables had nine items ranging from +4 to -4 with 0 being the most common result.
Over at Spirit of the Blank, Mike Olson posts about an RPG.net thread featuring a FATE triangle - a very elegant way to use FUDGE dice for a random table.
The creator of the FATE triangle explains it much better than I could. Have a read on the rpg.net thread here. Get your own fillable PDF to make your own FATE traingles here.
The thread on rpg.net features discussion of using this as a slick setting generator. For example, if you have three controlling powers called The Church, The Intelligentsia, and The Free Thinkers, results could show to current balance of power with the most common result that all three groups are about equal.
Another use for it would require several charts featuring two for character generation. Basically, have a chart represent an NPC chart. NPC magic has the attributes INT (mage), WIS (priest), CHA (psionicist). NPC mundane has the attributes STR (Warrior), DEX (rogue) and CON (Warrior). The three corners would have 17 for the primary stat, but weak in the other two. Thus, to generate an NPC, decide if he/she will be magical or mundane. Roll on both charts and you have stats. Other tables would have equipment packs, spell/power lists and the like. With ten tables, you could have a fairly extensive NPC generator.
I had a three-way table that produced possibilities of Psionic, Wizard, and Clerical magic powers in terms of levels. The idea was that in a newly visited world, what forms of 2e magic were present and at what levels. If it was a high-magic world with some clerics and no psionicists, the entry would read wizards to 20th level, clerics to 10th level. Since psionicists weren't mentioned, they wouldn't exist.
Unfortunately, I do not have adobe acrobat installed at home (I use Foxit Reader and SumatraPDF instead) and the table was lost. I can't seem to remember to print the result with a PDF printer instead of save a copy of the PDF results. But those are my personal problems...
I think it makes a new and interesting type of random generator table. What non-FATE use can you come up with?
I say that this is 2e, it should be more accurately stated as a look at my 2e-inspired clone.
There is discussion going around the OSR blogosphere about shields. I happened upon the discussion at Jeff's site where he mentions J.D. Higgins elegant solution. Further comments discuss Trollsymth's shields shall be splintered rule and Stuart from Robertson Games' revision of the AC table.
THAC0 Forever brings up the fact that 2e lists four different kinds of shields and his solution reflects varying AC benefits based on the type of shield. The effect reflects shield benefits in the 2e PHB:
Bucklers are+1 AC, protected from one attack per round.
Small shields are+1 AC, protected from two frontal attacks per round.
Medium shields are+1 AC, protected from any frontal and flank attacks in a round.
Body shields are+1 AC melee and +2 against missiles, protected from any frontal, flank and side attacks in a round.
Since one the goals of my 2e-inspired clone is faster combat, I don't like these options as I am getting into facing issues and arguments about what is and isn't a flank attack. As such, I am thinking more along the lines of JD's solution.
In the 2e PHB, there are a lot more armors. A couple are dubious historically, namely ring mail and splint mail. There are also two extra versions of plate mail, field and full. Both are accurately described as very expensive and difficult to get into. For adventurers, an extra +1 or +2 AC for those that can afford these made-to-fit and hugely expensive armors makes them less practical. To add even more complexity, bronze plate is also listed.
So, the chart will reflect all the various kinds of armors except bronze plate mail. Field and full plate are included only for completeness, I really wouldn't allow any PC to use field and full because of the time required to put these suits on.
| Type of Armor | AC Rating |
| Unarmored | 10 |
| Leather or padded armor | 9 |
| Studded leather or ring mail | 8 |
| Brigandine, scale mail, hide armor or shield only | 7 |
| Leather, padded armor or ring mail + shield | 6 |
| Studded leather, hide armor, brigandine or scale mail + shield or Chain mail | 5 |
| Banded mail, splint mail | 4 |
| Splint, banded, or chain mail + shield, plate mail | 3 |
| Plate Mail + shield or Field Plate | 2 |
| Field Plate + Shield or Full Plate | 1 |
| Full Plate + shield | 0 |
Much of the chart remains the same at the 2e PHB. The differences are that leather, padded, studded leather and hide armors got a +3 benefit from shields. Splint, Ring, Scale and Chain mail (along with Brigandine) only received a +2 AC benefit. Banded and all plate mails only recieved a +1 AC benefit.
Bucklers can only provide a +1 AC bonus maximum. They also are not subject to the shields must be splintered rule.
Small shields provide normal bonuses as listed above and can be used once to grant a saving throw against an Evocation spell or breath weapon. A shield can also absorb all damage from a non-magical attack. After granting the benefit, the shield is unusable and the AC bonus is lost.
Medium shields provide the normal bonuses listed above and can be used twice to grant a saving throw against an Evocation spell or breath weapon. It can also be used to absorb all non-magical damage as stated above twice. A medium shields can only provide two benefits (like saving throw versus fireball once and absorb all non-magical damage from an attack once). After granting two benefits, the shield is unusable and the AC bonus is lost.
Tower shields are like above, but grant four benefits.
Magic shields grant their plus in AC bonus and one addition benefit per plus under the shields shall be splintered rule.
My two cents. What do other folks, especially 2e players think?
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