Hit Points, Armour Class, and Damage Revisited

It is no secret that Hit Points and Armor Class (ascending or descending) really chap my ass. It is with a great and heavy heart I accept the idea that armor makes you harder to hit than harder to damage in my D&D games.

I despise the concept.

I also hate that characters get harder to kill as they level up. I mean really? It makes no sense. I swear if one of you posts about how "hit points are an abstract of luck and skill and blah, blah, blah", I will scream! When I played Star Wars d20 the Vitality Points vs. Hit Points confused the HELL out of me all the time, I mean I got hit, but I didn't get hit? I took damage, but it wasn't really damage? The blast nearly got me, but I still lost something? WTF!?!?!?!?

Professor DungeonMaster's video the SECOND Secret Every DM Needs to Know really brings it all home for me on this subject. Go ahead and watch it. I'll wait.

So? Did you watch? That part about how could a Major survive a grenade better than a Private really brought it home for me, how about you? Do you understand now? I hope so because here's where I kick the wheels off the cart of D&D for Bastard Sword!

Hit Points Revisited

In Bastard Sword you get the following at character creation for Hit Points.

Constitution + 1 Hit Die as your total HP.

There are Boons that can bring that up, as well as Banes that might lower it, also magic might help, but that's it. Those are the Hit Points your character must live with.

If your Constitution goes up or down through adventure, adjust your HP total accordingly.

So what good are hit dice then? Well hit dice are used for healing during rests. On a Short Rest (1-4 hours) you can heal 1 hit die and on a long rest, usually overnight (5 - 8 hours of rest) you can roll as many hit dice as you have left, but there is one caveat...

Hit dice do not replenish at a rate of 1 per day of rest. That's right, one solid day of doing nothing but counting your gold, carousing, reading, whatever the case may be, but not fighting. If you get into a combat in the middle of that day, the clock resets.

Sounds mean I know, but let's be honest adventuring is a brutal life and its roads are littered with the corpses of lesser heroes.

Now let's move on to armour.

Armour Revisited

So instead of making your harder to hit, armour makes you harder to damage. That's it, nothing more complex than that.

So instead of providing you with an AC bonus, armour instead provides you with a Damage Reduction (DR) number.  Let's take a look;

Armor	Type	DR	Min. STR*	Stealth	Casting**	Cost
Padded	Light	1	-	Disad.	Disad.	5GP
Leather	Light	1	-	-	-	10gp
Studded Leather	Light	2	-	-	Disad.	45gp
Hide	Medium	2	-	-	-	10gp
Chain Shirt	Medium	3	-	-	Disad.	50gp
Scale Mail	Medium	4	-	Disad.	Disad.	100gp
Half-Plate	Medium	5	-	Disad.	Disad.	750gp
Ring Mail	Heavy	5	-	Disad.	Disad.	125gp
Chain Mail	Heavy	6	+1	Disad.	Disad.	175gp
Splint Mail	Heavy	7	+2	Disad.	Disad.	200gp
Plate Mail	Heavy	8	+2	Disad.	Disad.	1,500gp

* If you do not meet the Minimum STR to wear this armour, you have Disadvantage on all DEX based actions.

** This applies to Casters and Jongleurs only.

Now this is a very limited list of armours, and does not include helmets, in Bastard Sword helmets provide a bonus to Death Saves when you get struck in the head, more on those in a later article.

Shields are a different beast, they are not as much damage reducers as barrier to attack, so for me the shield bonus adds to the formulas below. If you have the Shield Master Boon though, you can also gain DR from your shield, refer to this chart;

Shield Size	Defensive	DR*	Cost Wooden	Cost Metal
Small	+1	+1	5gp	10gp
Medium	+2	+2	7gp	20gp
Large	+3	+3	10gp	30gp
Tower Shield	+4	+4	25gp	100gp

* Requires Shield Master Boon

So if the armour now only removes damage, how do we determine how to hit someone?

Read on good fellow (or good lady)  and your answer awaits.

Attack & Defense

Combat is a big part of D&D and while many feel it is too unrealistic, that bar though is very subjective, and it moves depending on who the commenter is really and what they like. So for me, I prefer this to AC. So instead of having Armour Class as the target, we now will have two new statistics;

Parry/Block (Melee) and Duck/Dodge (Ranged)

Parry/Block is calculated with the following formula:
STR Mod + Base Combat Bonus (BCB) + Misc. + 10 = Parry/Block 

Duck/Dodge is calculate as follows:
DEX Mod + BCB + Misc + 10 = Duck/Dodge

Thongar the Barbarian has a STR Mod of +2, is carrying a medium shield (+2 Defense), and is level 1 so his BCB is +1. So his Parry/Block is 2+2+1+10 = 15. That is the target number in melee that his enemies need to meet or exceed to do damage. 

Conversely Thongar isn't as agile as he is mighty, his DEX gives no mod, so his Duck/Dodge vs ranged attacks is just his medium shield (+2) and his BCB (+1)... so 2+1+10 = 13.

That's it really, nothing revolutionary or even now, but it suits me down to the ground. Now your mileage may vary, but for me this hits a sweet spot of fantasy fighting.

Andrew Collas

a.k.a. Celtic Viking, Grumpy Old Gamer, Bear

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/acelticviking/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fantasyheartbreakergames/

"Steampunks dress as though they are Russian royalty; Dieselpunks as though they’re off to assassinate them!." — From the Internet

Experience Revisited

So one of the things that I want to make clear is that I do not care for sacred cows, unless I am putting them in a stew, making burgers, or delicious sacred cow roast.

I think you get my point.

Experience Points in B/X are mental. They require tons of gold to level up, and we already saw in my article on the Fighter Revisited that I hate empty levels.

Milestone advancement is nice, but it lacks a certain amount of players getting rewards every session for surviving, being clever, or just bloody showing up. This makes it hard to feel progress or like things matter.

I admit I was torn and about to throw my hands up, but then my mentor came through!

Professor DungeonMaster saved the day with his DungeonCraft video D&D XP the Fast & East Way! Yes there are 3 different links there and you should click on them all. This man does great work and is a mentor to me even if he doesn't know it.

So after watching his video and thinking about it, I decided he was right, and this is how I went with it in the end;

XP is given not for slaying monsters or collecting treasure, but instead of accomplishing goals and overcoming challenges.

Accomplishing a goal is worth 1 – 3 xp.

• A 1-point goal might be retrieving an item from the goblin caves for a client.

• A 2-point goal might be rescuing the mayor’s daughter from being imprisoned in the bandit camp.

• A 3-point goal would be the level of saving an entire town from destruction but a dragon or summoned horror.

 These goals often walk hand-in-hand with the challenges the party faces.

Challenges are rated similarly 1 – 3 but are measured on how taxing on the party it was.

• 1-point challenges might be defeating a couple of guards, convincing the merchant to give you the item to you need to accomplish the goal, or sneaking into a castle undetected.

• 2-point challenges are ones where the spectre of death, or worse hung close. Defeating a band of goblins, avoiding be put in the dungeon by the magistrate, or escaping said dungeon are all good examples.

• 3-point challenges are something to behold. They usually involve at least one party member dying, or multiple members being brought below 0 hit points, convincing the Arch Bishop to lend a unit of Templars to assist with the evacuation of a village, or convincing the King to send his army into the foothills to stymie the oncoming orc horde. 3-point challenges, like 3 point goals, should be epic and the subject of poems and songs.

It takes 10xp to level, always and once you level your XP resets to 0 and starts up again.

Once you have your 10xp and it is time to level, you stop gaining more XP until you do a Milestone Quest. This can be a special adventure that everyone partakes in for the party, or a singular one for a character who has reached 10xp before the others for whatever reason.

When players who are not at 10xp accompany a hero on their Milestone Quest, they gain +1xp to whatever XP they get for the session.

Players can and should suggest Milestone Quests and remember that the higher level the character, the more epic the Milestone Quest should be.

Next up we'll talk about Hit Points and how Healing works in Bastard Sword.

Until next time...

Andrew Collas
a.k.a. Celtic Viking, Grumpy Old Gamer, Bear
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/acelticviking/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fantasyheartbreakergames/

"Steampunks dress as though they are Russian royalty; Dieselpunks as though they’re off to assassinate them!." — From the Internet

...

The Fighter Revisited

It was recently revealed that the most common character class in all of D&D was the old human fighter. Many were shocked by the news, some even upset, but I relished the news. For my limited times as a player I mostly played human fighters and have a deep love the class.

One of the things that annoys me about B/X are the empty levels. With such massive XP needs, it leaves levels where nothing happens, just some more HP and that's that. 3rd edition did a much better job on this for sure, but it was over-complicated and cumbersome.

So one of my design philosophies for Bastard Sword (nee B/X Revised) is to make sure that every level has meaning or grants the character more ability or options for customization. No class needs that more than the good old dependable Fighter, so without further ado, I present to you the Fighter Revisited.

FIGHTER
Martial Class
Requirements: None
Prime Requisite: STR
Allowed Races: All
Hit Die: d10
Ability Bonus: +1 to either STR or CON
Saves: +2 vs. Death
Armour: Any
Weapons: Any

Fighters are champions, swordsmen (and women), soldiers, and brawlers. They live and die by their knowledge of weaponry and combat. Fighters can be found on the front lines of any battle, clashing with monster and villains. Good fighters are strong and healthy if they hope to survive.

Fighter Level Progression

Level	XP	HD	BAB	WPs	NWPs	Save	Abilities
1	0	1d8	+1	4	2	14	Combat Stance, Weapon Specialization, Weapon Groups, Fighting Style
2	2,000	2d8	+1	4	2	13	Heroic Surge
3	4,000	3d8	+1	5	2	12	Martial Prowess
4	8,000	4d8	+2	5	3	11	Combat Training
5	16,000	5d8	+2	6	3	10	Heroic Surge II
6	32,000	6d8	+2	6	3	9	Shake It Off
7	64,000	7d8	+3	7	4	8	Combat Training II
8	120,000	8d8	+3	7	4	7	Indomitable
9	240,000	9d8	+3	8	4	6	Shake It Off II
10	360,000	10d8	+4	8	5	5	Old Soldier

Fighter Abilities

Combat Stance

Fighters now have a new Combat Ability called a Combat Stance. Normal Stance is default unless the player declares they are changing Combat Stance. This may be done at the beginning of the round, and last until their next actions comes up in the following round.

Stance	Effect
Normal	No changes, attack and defend as usual.
Aggressive	The fighter is attacking wildly and trying to take down his opponent as quickly as possible, though probably leaving themselves open to their attacks. The character gets a +2 bonus to hit but a -4 penalty to AC.
Defensive	The opposite of aggressive stance, this represents a fighter being more cautious and on his guard. The character gets a +2 bonus to AC, but a -4 penalty to his own attack rolls.
Protective	Using this stance, the character attempts to guard a friend or companion who is near to them. The character in protective stance gets a +2 bonus to AC but may not attack at all. If the protected companion is hit by an attack this turn, the character using protective stance may choose to take the hit instead.
Commanding	The character makes themselves conspicuous to the enemy but exhorts his companions to greatness. The character gets a -6 to AC and may not attack but may make a CHA check to give his companions and followers +2 to hit for the round.

Weapon Specialization

Fighters may Specialize in a weapon, costing 1 Weapon Proficiency slot to do so, on top of the original Weapon Proficiency spent to be proficient in the weapon. This gives them a +1 to hit and a +2 to damage with said weapon, and also opens up the multiple attack options for them.

Multiple Attacks

Level	Melee Attacks per Round	Ranged Attacks per Round
1-7	3/2	5/2
8-14	2/1	3/1

A Fighter specialized in long sword for example would get 1 attack on the first round, and 2 on the second, rinse repeat, until they hit 8th level, when they would get 2 attacks per round.

The same fighter specialized in longbow would get 2 attacks on the first round, and 3 on the second, rinse repeat, until they hit 8th level, when they would get 3 attacks per round.

At 4th level, when the Fighter gains another WP and can choose to Double Specialize. This means they double-down and focus on their primary Specialization gaining an additional +1 to hit and +1 to damage, raising it to +2/+3 in total.

Weapon Group Proficiency

Another benefit of being a Martial Class allows Fighters to spend a single Weapon Proficiency to take a Weapon Group Proficiency. These groups are mostly open and are as follows;

Weapon Groups

Group	Includes
Axes	Battle Axe, Great Axe, Hand Axe, Throwing Axe
Bows	Long Bow, Short Bow, Composite Long Bow, Composite Short bow
Clubs	Club, Mace, Morning Star, Tetsubo, Warhammer
Crossbows	Heavy Crossbow, Light Crossbow, Hand Crossbow
Long Blades	Bastard Sword, Longsword, Rapier, Scimitar, Two-Handed Sword
Medium Blades	Cutlass, Sabre
Polearms	Bardiche, Fauchard, Glaive, Halberd, Lucerne Hammer, Ranseur, Voulge
Short Blades	Dagger, Dirk, Knife, Short Sword, Stiletto
Spears	Harpoon, Javelin, Long Spear, Pike, Short Spear, Trident

By spending a single WP on a group, the Fighter is considered to be proficient with all the weapons listed in that group.

Fighting Styles

The Fighter can take is Fighting Style specialization for the cost of 1 WP. Choose from the following;

Fighting Style

Style	Description	Benefit
Ranged Weapon Style	Archers, marksmen and snipers use ranged weapons as if they were an extension of their body making uncanny shots.	Increase all ranges by 25% and eliminate point blank penalties.
Single-Weapon Style	The character wields a single weapon in one hand and nothing in their free hand.	Gain a +1 to AC when wielding a single weapon only.
Two-Hander Style	The character wields a weapon that requires or accommodates two-hands such as polearms or bastard swords.	Add +1 to damage when wielding a two-handed weapon.
Two-Weapon Style	The character wields a weapon in each hand, making two attacks per round. The weapons may be the same size.	Reduce the penalties for Two Weapon Attacks by 1.
Weapon and Shield Style	The character wields a weapon in their primary hand and a shield on their off-hand.	Gain the Shield Punch maneuver, allowing you to make a 2nd attack with the shield at -2, doing 1d4 damage.

A Fighter may only ever be Specialized in 1 style, again as this is their specialty, and there are no Double Specializations for Fighting styles. That said, a creative DM could make those rules if they wanted to, they are just outside the purview of these rules in specific.

Heroic Surge

Starting at 2nd level a Fighter can push themselves beyond their normal limits for a moment. On their  turn, they take one additional action. They may use this ability once per day. They gain an additional use of this ability at 5th level.

Martial Prowess

The 3rd level fighter, when scoring a Critical Hit (natural 20) may immediately take a second attack against the same target, in addition to normal Critical Hit rules. If the target is down, an adjacent foe may be targeted instead. There must be an available target to use this ability.

Combat Training

At 4th level the Fighters chooses a Combat Ability from the following list;

Combat Abilities

Ability	Description
Blind-Fighting	Not only does the Fighter not suffer Disadvantage on attacks against invisible or concealed opponents, they no longer have Advantage against them.
Combat Expertise	Gain +2 AC by taking a -2 to hit until the start of their next turn.
Far Shot	Do not suffer Disadvantage on Long Range ranged attacks.
Point-Blank Shot	No Disadvantage for making ranged attacks within 15’ of thier target.
Power Attack	Gain a +2 bonus on melee damage rolls, in exchange for a -2 penalty on melee attack rolls until the start of their next turn.
Precise Shot	If shooting or throwing into melee combat they do not get Disadvantage as per normal.
Shield Focus	Increase the AC bonus of their shield by +1. If the Fighter is specialized in Weapon and Shield style, their Shield Punch damage is now 1d6.

At 7th level the Fighter may choose another Combat Ability from the list, but it cannot be one previously taken.

Shake It Off

A 6th level Fighter can recover damage while still fighting. Once per day they can choose to heal 1 hit die during combat as their action instead of attacking. Fighters gain a second use of this ability at level 9.

Indomitable

Once per day a Fighter can choose to succeed on a failed Saving Throw.

Old Soldier

At 10th level the Fighter is so adept at combat once per day he can do each of the following;

• Seize the Initiative, allowing his side to go first in a round.
• Take Advantage on an Attack, or confer it to an adjacent ally.
• Take Advantage on a Defense, or confer it to an adjacent ally.

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So there you have it, a Fighter I would want to play in a heat-beat. Some of the rules represented by this class are not yet revealed (such as the way Hit Points, Hit Dice, Saves, and Defense), but they will be very soon.

I hope you enjoyed this and I look forward to your feedback.

Until next time...

Andrew Collas
a.k.a. Celtic Viking, Grumpy Old Gamer, Bear
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/acelticviking
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fantasyheartbreakergames/

"Steampunks dress as though they are Russian royalty; Dieselpunks as though they’re off to assassinate them!." — From the Internet