Granting Experience Points

I've gotten a couple of emails recently over the Sirac's Point game about how I do XPs for the characters. For this game, I'm simply granting full monster XP for creatures slain, driven off, 'overcome' or defeated in some manner. This is to make up for not granting any XP for treasure at all. Thus far it makes for a moderately fast advancing game, with most of the players gaining 2nd level after about 5 sessions. The fastest advancing classed characters will reach 3rd after about 7-8 sessions, due mostly to the grind that was Session 6. The good use of strategy, missile/2nd rank spear wielders and doorways made most of the fights one-sided (not that I consider this bad either) and only through a couple of critical hits and being paralyzed by a ghast were any player characters in true danger of death. Of course, the group has 2 Clerics and they are exploring a tomb filled with undead, so I fully expect them to have some moderate success dealing with injury and undead. Thus far it has been fun to Referee for them, since they are a group that, while small (there are only 4 players with now 2 hirelings remaining) are as entertaining for me as I hope I am for them.

I digress though, the XP guidelines I'm using are pretty much straight forward as follows:

• Full monster XP for all characters for 'overcome' threats.
• About 1/20 the XP total needed to level for every week, even if not played. It keeps the characters moving, even if slowly, if I have to cancel a game or if a player can't make a game.
• The character's XP adjustment is used on the XP total needed to advance so there is just one calculation each time a PC levels instead of on XP earned each session.
• When the PCs achieve a goal, I grant a bonus XP award (currently, they need to gather enough proof of Haindrad's Tomb and return to Sirac's Point with it to achieve this goal).

Tales from Sirac's Point, Session 6

Our weekly session was played despite weather advisory of snow, drifting and winds. It actually wasn't bad out, despite the 'Snowmageddon II' predictions. We were 1 player short, with Rak'Shan the Initiate's player unable to attend due to family obligations. I'll post a synopsis of the session in the next day or so.

Updated 2/27:

Campaign Date:
Solenus 18th, 5231 A.C.

Deciding to finish exploring the level they were on, the group returned to the intersection to the south and took the western passage. Rak’Shan was left behind to guard the chapel in case something decided to come up from the secret door or into the complex from topside. The passage led to a “T” intersection and they chose left, ending in another falling-apart door. Opened, an empty storage room was found to contain nothing of value.

Going back and taking the other passage, they found another deteriorating door. Galeena, designated the party’s ‘scout’ with Rak’Shan out of immediate use, heard no sounds nor found any traps. Flambo tried to open the door, but just made a hole in it when he applied a crowbar to it. Using his lantern, he shone light into the room and saw a blue-tinged long sword with a ruby pommel stone resting on a wrought iron stand in the center of the room, inside of a silver-inlayed protective circle. Galeena heard ‘fem’ and immediately started asking questions since she was shuffled to the back of the party and Cregg and Autumn given the order to restrain her if she tried to make a dash for the cash.

Flambo opened the door and cautiously entered with Vendee and Lirus. They discovered there were holy runes inscribed around the protective circle as well, all facing inwards. Empty stone shelves lined all of the walls with inward carved protective runes, but all of the shelves were empty. There was a lengthy discussion amongst all of the spellcasters over the meaning of the runes pointing inwards instead of outwards and the consensus was that it was meant to keep something in and not out. Closer examination of the sword (from outside the circle) revealed the pommel stone was a ruby carved to resemble an eye. Cregg recalled that the dark deity Arek, Lord of Madness and Slimes, used a ruby eye as his holy symbol. They decided not to tamper with the weapon, lest it be an evil or cursed thing and made a thorough search of the chamber. Finding nothing else, they returned to the chapel hall. Galeena was dejected since they were leaving an obviously valuable object, but agreed that it seemed a bad idea to tamper with something that could be powerfully evil.

With Rak’Shan guarding the secret door, the group descended the stairs revealed by the sliding altar. A short hallway extended from the landing to an ornately carved, stone double door. Galeena listened and searched for traps, giving Flambo the all clear to open the right door after several minutes. She was sure that one was safe, but not so sure about the left door. Flambo easily opened the door with not a sound. Beyond in the lantern light a large stone sarcophagus was found sitting in the center of a plain room. The lid was ornately carved to resemble a young warrior with electrum and silver inlays and plating on his armor, sword and shield. Vendee brought up the plainness of the room however, citing that a follower so revered would have a much grander resting place. There was some discussion about this, then finally the decision to open the lid.

Flambo and Autumn pushed the lid over the back of the stone box, revealing the skeleton of a large (nearly 6 ft tall) man in ruined plate armor, pavis (heavy shield) and footman’s mace. The red crown holy symbol of Apathos was plainly seen on the armor and shield. Looking for something they could use a proof that this was Haindrad, Cregg made a search of the body and discovered a small palm-sized bronze disc. Inspecting it informed the group that this was another follower of Apathos that was designated to ‘stand in’ for Haindrad and guard his tomb from looters.

The group removed the body carefully and Cregg made a search inside the stone box. The bottom dropped out suddenly but Cregg was able to grab onto the side and Flambo hoisted him out. A hidden plate revealed the tomb’s false bottom and a slide into darkness. Vendee dropped a torch down and discovered it only went about 10 ft to a landing then a narrow stair descended beyond the light. Some discussion at this point was made about taking the bronze disc and some of the other items they found back to Sirac’s Point as proof they found the Tomb of Haindrad. The adventurers decided to press on.

Descending the stairs led to a wide area with passageways and several doors providing opportunities for exploration. They decided to try the nearest door, after Galeena checked it for traps and noises, which she deemed safe. On Flambo opening the door, a swarm of five giant rats leapt out, intent on making a meal of him. The party made quick work of them though, with only Flambo taking a minor wound. The room the rats had been nesting in appeared to have been an embalming chamber in the past, but nothing of value was found. A door at the far end of the room appeared to be the only other exit.

Beyond the door was a “T” intersection hallway and another door. Deciding to keep using the halfling lucky charm, they chose the door and once the all clear was given, opened it to reveal an odd room that contained two moai head statues at opposite sides of the room facing each other. Both have open mouths, but one has a silver piece in it, while the other is empty. Flambo, leading through, makes a thorough examination but warns everyone else he thinks it’s some sort of trap. Vendee takes issue with the cultural identity of the statues and the fact that Haindrad is from the Zuhn Empire and stylistically this was more than a little odd. With Galeena in tow they passed through the room and out a door in the far end, to another wide area with several passageways and a door.

Checking the stone door, Galeena moves aside for Flambo and the door is opened. To Flambo’s shocked amazement, three humanoid creatures, wearing the tattered remnants of Knight’s Armor are feasting on the remains of a semi-fresh orc. Immediately the creatures rush at Flambo and before he can react one of them bites him and he finds himself unable to move. The largest of the three creatures shoves Flambo backwards into the rest of the group, clustered so they can see what’s happening. Vendee, slow to move, gets knocked down and pinned under Flambo’s sizable girth. Cregg, guessing the creatures are some form of humanoid undead since they have survived down here for so long, calls on Tymira and thrusts his holy symbol aloft. The golden light drives the creatures back to the far wall of the room, where the group moves in and uses missiles to whittle down the weaker creatures. The largest moves to a door and escapes before he can be shot down. The remaining creatures are mowed down in a hail of missile fire.

Moving to the door, it is flung open and combat resumes with the creature. Autumn gets in close and discovers it has a retched stench, but does not succumb to it. Off to her right, a skeletal creature in the armor of a knight and wielding a sword moves to join the combat, its eyes flickering with tiny green flames. The skeletal creature scores several solid hits on various party members that join it in melee before being destroyed. With no other exits in sight, the party makes a thorough search of both rooms, which appear to be crypts, finding a small amount of treasure. Cregg, feeling it was nearly time to do his devotionals to Tymira (which he does in the evenings) let the rest of the party know. They decided to use the rooms as a place to rest, keeping 3 watches of two people each. Nothing disturbed their rest and they healed what damage they could to those that were the most seriously injured.

Campaign Date:
Solenus 19th, 5231 A.C.

Packing up their belongings after morning devotionals were done by Flambo and Lirus studied his books, the group headed up one of the halls from the large chamber, coming to an archway. Shining the lantern into it, a long hall stretched out of sight, lined with statues on both sides of fighting-men. They entered the hall, carefully searching each statue as they went. Lirus was standing in the archway when the party heard him scream. He was gone when they turned around and moving into the hallway revealed a small horde of crawling hands and feet, pummeling Lirus mercilessly.

More of the creatures awaited on the other side of the archway, attacking from behind them several members of the party stepped out to try to save Lirus. Enough room was created to get Cregg in the hallway and he drove off the undead through his devotion to Tymira once again. Lirus was checked, but deemed beyond healing. Flambo wanted to cremate the body, but Vendee objected, informing him that the Elves return their dead to the earth. They wrapped Lirus in his cloak and returned him to the rooms they rested in. Flambo deposited him into one of the now empty tombs and Vendee commented if they were able they would return for him before leaving so he could be properly buried.

Returning to the statued hall, the group made a painstakingly thorough search over several hours, finding nothing, but recording the names of each statue. There was another archway at the far end of the hall, which led to the large chamber they first entered at the bottom of the stairs. Across the chamber, they saw two doors and decided to check the one most directly ahead.

Galeena listened and searched, giving Flambo the go-ahead. The door opened to a web-filled chamber. As the group prepared torches, four large (about 1 ft in diameter) spiders dropped from the webbing and attacked Flambo in the doorway, lightly wounding him. Short work was made of these vermin though and when the room was torched, the webs flash burnt and a formerly-webbed orc body dropped from the ceiling, spilling some coins from his belt pouch. There were several holes in the ceiling as well, some a large as 2 ft in diameter. Knowing that a spider can squeeze thought tight spaces and something larger than the small spiders would have to have lifted the orc, the group warily gathered the coins and searched the rest of the room. Through a door on the southern wall, a giant-sized skeleton burst in, fully 12 ft tall and hunched to fit in the room. Both Flambo and Cregg’s attempts to call on their deities to drive the creature off were for naught and all of them were required to wade in, swords, hammers and spears at the ready so the creature couldn’t focus on any one member and dismember them with his sharp-looking claws. After several minor wounds were inflicted by the creature, it fell to the group.

Cautiously moving into the room beyond the door, the group discovered a tomb large enough for the huge warrior as well as some more loot for the markets. They spent more time carefully going through their findings, with Vendee noting that the coins, though they are close enough to the standard weights of the modern day coins, are ancient and some appear to be for the most part in mint condition may be more valuable to collectors than simply just spent in the market.

Assessing the treasure gained thus far, this is where we ended the session…

Dramatis Personae:

Character	Sex/Race	XP Given	XP Total	Next Level
Flambo, Novice of Vulknar	Male Endu	1,000	3,145	3,150 (+10%)
Vendee, Arcane Warrior	Male Elf	1,070	3,339	4,050 (+10%)
Galeena, Woman-at-Arms	Female Halfling	472	1,363	1,900 (+5%)
Cregg, Novice of Tymira	Male Human	920	2,070	3,150 (+10%)
Rak’Shan the Initiate	Male Tigran	87	1,297	1,663 (+5%)
Autumn, Woman-at-Arms	Female Human	472	1,184	1,900 (+5%)

Cregg has reached 2nd level!

Looking for Family

I've noticed a few people from the Baton Rogue area have been frequenting the blog lately and I'm reaching out for help -

My cousin John moved down into the Baton Rogue area (as far as I know) a number of years ago and I've only heard from him once since (many years ago) and the rest of the family has heard from him sporadically over the years. His birthday was last month (January) and he's originally from New Cumberland, Pennsylvania and I know he's out there somewhere still and I just want him to know I still think about him and wonder how he's been. Hell, I miss the big lug.

If anyone knows him or think you know someone who knows him, please ask him to shoot me an email to arminath(at)hotmail(dot)com.

I'd be extremely grateful.

Intelligent Weapons

An oft-overlooked, but useful tool for the Referee is the Intelligent Weapon. For my games, Intelligent Weapons usually make an appearance in some memorable way. I ran a Sacrred Lands campaign (before the Termana sourcebook came out) and it mentioned that gnomes were wiped out during the Scarred Lands' Divine War. I happen to like gnomes, but I adhered to the setting's gnomes-are-a-dead-race history. Enter the Intelligent Short Sword "Seeker". Of gnomish creation, this weapon was moderately enchanted and had the mind/personality of its gnome creator. Of course no one could read the gnomish runes on the blade, or understand it when it spoke it's native gnomish tongue (no had the spells that would allow them to at that point). Eventually the character who 'owned' Seeker got in touch with his 'inner gnome' and learned alot about the dead race. The sword was even a valuable party member...to a point. Eventually though, Seeker's owner had enough of Seeker and its lamenting of 'gnoming around alone' for the rest of eternity so the dude made a wish that a gnome worthy of wielding Seeker would come to him...and *poof* there stood a bewildered and confused gnome, ready to smite the party (he was taken out of the Divine War at the moment he was about to assassinate the gnoll general responsible for wiping out the last gnomish hold...weird time travel conundrums...). It took alot of convincing, but they gifted Seeker to him and eventually they went into the sunset.

My rules for creating intelligent weapons is simple. I don't follow the whole 'has a purpose or special enemy' reasoning to creating one. Just let the dice fall where they may. I will make one suggestion: don't just randomly throw one in. Think about where it came from, what it's seen and what goals it may have. That may sound strange, but if you were trapped in an inanimate object forever wouldn't you have a hobby to keep you sane (even if it is killing orcs just for the kicks).

Intelligent Weapons

• 10% of magical swords (5% of other weapons) of +1 or greater possess an Intelligence and generally can communicate with their bearers mentally, and often (25% chance) can speak audibly.
• There is a 10% chance that such a weapon may have the ability to cast spells with a caster level of 1d4+1.
• Randomly determine the ‘race’ of the intelligence inhabiting the weapon. The weapon can impart the intelligence’s racial abilities (usually limited to detection-type abilities, but others at the Referee’s discretion) on the wearer as well.
• Randomly determine the weapon’s Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma. These scores, added together, are the weapon’s base Willpower score. If the weapon and owner disagree, the character and weapon compare their Willpower scores, plus the roll of a d20. The side with the highest total wins the contest of wills. If the weapon wins, it can force the owner to do the action it desires for up to 1 turn.

Clericy Magic Goodness

In trying to create a small, yet functionable spell list for the faithful of Onn I had to 'reel in' some of the ideas I have for the faiths and their roles. Clerics (and other classes that recieve divine spellcasting) should be generic at their core, so that playing a Cleric of one faith is as simple as playing one from another faith, mechanincally speaking. The player should be the one who brings their character's views into the game. Many people may disagree due to their real-world religious indoctrination, but professing the worship of a make believe deity is no worse for the soul in playing a game than doing so in real life. It's a game, leave your real views outside the gaming table because not everyone is going to agree where religious matters (imagined or imagined) are concerned, but everyone is there to have fun. I've gotten email from 2 'groups' (calling them organizations would be giving them credit they do not deserve) over the months, who consider themselves old school PRG'ers but feel the inclusion of any class that represents a false deity or idol is inherently evil and wanted to 'save my game' from becoming another in a long line of youth corrupting material by demanding that I remove all of the polythesic elements and represent the one 'true' divine spirit. I declined, several times in fact. So, as the World of Onn Core Rules nears I thought I would give those divine casters some love.

The final spell list for Clerics for Onn looks like this:

Level 1
1 Command
2 Cure Light Wounds*
3 Detect Evil
4 Detect Magic
5 Light
6 Protection from Evil
7 Purify Food and Drink*
8 Remove Fear*
9 Resist Cold
10 Shield of Faith

Level 2
1 Bless
2 Consecrate*
3 Enthrall
4 Find Traps
5 Hold Person
6 Resist Fire
7 Silence, 15 ft Radius
8 Snake Charm
9 Speak with Animals
10 Spiritual Weapon

Level 3
1 Aid
2 Animate Dead
3 Continual Light
4 Cure Disease*
5 Locate Object
6 Prayer
7 Remove Curse*
8 Speak with the Dead
9 Striking

Level 4
1 Create Water
2 Cure Serious Wounds*
3 Death Ward
4 Dimensional Window
5 Glyph of Warding
6 Neutralize Poison
7 Protection From Evil 10 ft. Radius
8 Speak With Plants
9 Sticks to Snakes

Level 5
1 Commune
2 Create Food
3 Dispel Evil
4 Finger of Death
5 Healing Circle*
6 Insect Plague
7 Quest
8 Raise Dead

Level 6
1 Animate Object
2 Blade Barrier
3 Conjure Animals
4 Find the Path
5 Regeneration
6 Speak with Monsters
7 Word of Recall

Tales from Sirac's Point, Session 5

We did play today, but the session notes will have to wait until tomorrow.

Update 2/20: I'm still writing out the session, it should appear in the next day or 2.

Update 2/22:

Campaign Date:
Solenus 18th, 5231 A.C.

Well-rested, the group set about in the morning mist using the Map Vendee created from the map room in the Knights' Tomb. By mid-morning they found a large area about 100 yards long and 50 yards wide that seemed unusually flat and a strange formation of two small (2ft tall) white marble pillars about 1 foot and a half apart were found. It was determined that this was the place and the formation was probably the remains of a statue (the legs) and digging into the earth confirmed so when the feet and base were found. Some quick discussion on whether a statue outside of a temple or tomb would face towards or away ensued and the group decided the statue would face away. A search was started behind the statue feet to find any place where a likely entrance to an undergound chamber could be found. Flambo took to the air, finally able to stretch his wings and the rest of the group fanned outwards.

Both Rak'Shan and Flambo discovered a deep gully near the far end of the flat area and in it a hole, some 4ft tall was in its side. Flambo retrieved the rest of the party while Rak'Shan searched about and discerned there were small dog-like prints in the mud of the gully. The rest of the group gathered around the gully and Rak'Shan was given a lantern by Galeena and green-lighted to scout in by the group.

He got through the hole and discovered the interior was much larger and was well-carved stone stairs that descended and curved deeper undergound. He explored them until he arrived at a landing and waited for the rest of the group. When they caught up, they moved down a short hall and arrived at a four-way intersection.

At the intersection, a magic mouth appeared and directed newcomers to the passage on their right for rest, to the left if they were in need of bathing and refreshing or to continue on to the main temple if they so desired. Searching about, they determined the dog-like tracks came by this way and went to the right, to the 'rest area'.

Following the tracks, they found a large room that was once a common resting room, mostly disintegrated bunks and linens made odd-looking organized rows through the room. There was a door in the far corner of the room as well. Autumn found a rusted iron box in what may once have been a leather bag. There was a keyhole, but further searching produced no key. Flambo decided to test his strength against the weakened metal and the box crunched with some effort, producing a cloud of greenish, poppy-smelling vapor. Flambo felt sluggish for a few moments, taking the puff in the face, but suffered no ill-effects. Rak'Shan determined the tracks went through the room and the other door, so after their searching was done, the group aligned at the door.

Rak'Shan opened the door and was greeted by a trio of javelins, thrown by small dog-men. In the furious combat that ensued, Rak'Shan was knocked out by one of the larger dog-men and nearly decapitated as a trophy, but withthe rest of the party taking some minor damage, dispatched the yapping creatures. The room was searched, but was merely a storage room for the common room and contained nothing beyond the worn cot frames and moldy linens and the dog-men had nothing of value.

Healing magic applied, all of the wounded were at least mobile and in fighting condition. Returning to the main passageway, they decided to take the other fork to the 'bathing room'. After Rak'Shan determined there was a bubbling sound but nothing more, the group noted this door was in much better condition than the other doors encountered thus far. The door opened, revealing a large bathing room, complete with a large oval bathing pool (15ft x 10ft) filled with bubbling, black brackish water and another door at the far side of the room. The room was searched, with nothing of value found and the door led to another storage room, filled with moldy, time-worn linens.

Rak'Shan did his best to stay away from the pool, being at the far end of the room when Vendee borrowed Autumn's spear and poked the bottom of the pool to determine its depth. Striking something metallic, then stone to either side, the thought was there may be treasure in the pool. Those thoughts were turned aside when seven skeletons burst from the pool forcing the group back towards the room's exit. Rak'Shan, at the far corner and seperated from the group was either ignored or unnoticed, that is until Cregg called for the protection of Tymira and turned the skeletons...right towards a solitary Rak'Shan.

Owing to his natural agility and monastic training, Rak'Shan was able to escape being surrounded and the group waded in with Cregg keeping the unholy creatures pinned close to the far wall. Vendee called on the power of his magical amulet once again and was ignored by the undead as the group waded in. Some more minor wounds were inflicted but the adventurers were victorious.

More bandaging and frugal use of the group's limited healing magic were applied. Rak'Shan volunteered to search the pool and after entering it discovered the water was moving, sluggishly coming from several jets around the sides and there was a drain in several places in the bottom. After nearly an hour of painstaking searching, a small horde of silver was recovered from the pool as well as some small amounts of other coinage. The loot was sacked for the time being, with Flambo designated as the treasure carrier since he seemed not to be overly affected by the extra weight.

Onward they pressed, moving cautiously into the chapel, which was a pillared affair with a vaulted ceiling. Flambo, Cregg and Rak'Shan could feel the reasuring effect of the consecrated area and a grand altar sat at the chapel's far wall. Carved into the altar was Apathos' holy symbol, a red crown on a black field. There were also a single door on each side of the room. A search revealed there were slight grooves to one side of the altar. Flambo attempted to move it, but the 'click' sound of a locking mechanism prevented it from moving. Not wanting to possibly destroy a deity's altar, they decided to try to find the key or mechanism to unlock the altar first.

Taking the door on the right side of the chapel, they discovered a trio of rooms that appeared to be acolyte's quarters. The first one they explored, a swarm of crawling hands erupted from the debris in teh room, forcing the group to retreat to the chapel. The hands wouldn't enter the room to attack though. Not wanting to possibly end whatever sanctuary-like effect they were in, the idea to attack from within the room was nixed. One by one, the party members worked their way out into the all again, fending off the hands and creating space for Cregg to get into the hallway, where he successfully called on Tymira agian to drive off the unholy creatures. The party gave chase into a different acolyte's quarters and cut, squished and splattered the hands to the last. They searched all three rooms, finding some more minor treasure and a monocle hidden in a niche behind a fallen-apart bookcase. Vendee set off a dart trap while taking a small idol of Apathos, but suffered nothing more than a scratch for his effort. The small treasures were counted and added to the mounting total for Flambo to carry, then the group returned to the chapel and the other door.

Following the hallway to another 4-way intersection, they pressed straight ahead until the hall ended at a door. Rak'Shan listened, but heard nothing. The door was forced open to reveal a library-like chamber with a small consecrated altar in the center. Looking at the tomes and volumes on the shelves, titles such as 'Divine Enchanting', 'Holy Theory on the Creation of Magical Items' and the like were piled high. One of the party members attempted to take a book from the shelf, but it fell apart in his hands. Knowing that if there was a way to restore the ancient books they would be worth some good coin, so the descision not to touch anything more was made and the door was shut.

Back at the interesction, the group took the left fork and found another door. On this door was a tarnished brass plate that read in archaic common (or Zuhnish) 'High Priest'. Opening the door revealed quarters for a high priest of the chapel, with ancient religious paraphernalia well beyond its usefulness. Though they were cautious on seeing a suit of ancient full-plate on an armor stand, when it was noticed that the armor was wearing a holy symbol of Apathos as opposed to having one engraved or painted on the breastplate, the armor stepped off the stand and proceeded to tear into the party. Rak'Shan was knocked unconscious by the armor's gauntleted fist and other party members were slammed by powerful blows as well. Eventually though, it was nothing more than a pile of parts on the ground. Vendee picked up the symbol and noted that it was made from a reddish metal and felt slightly warm to the touch. In the pile of parts a scroll was found as well -

First, bless the altar with a prayer to the gods,

Second, anoint the item to be used,

Last, channel the divine and keep to your faith.

You will be rewarded for your effort.

A search revealed two potions, an amethyst and a few electrum coins. Several members severly wounded and healing lacking, they returned to the chapel hall. Inspecting the altar more closely, it was thought after some discussion that the red metal holy symbol would fit into the carving of the crown on the altar. Using the instructions on the scroll, Flambo said a blessing over the altar, holy water was used to annoint the holy symbol and Cregg summoned the power of Tymira in a show of divine power. The holy symbol was placed into the altar and with a nearly inaudible 'click', the altar slid to the side, revealing stairs descending into a deeper darkness.

Some discussion was made and debate over whether to finish exploring the area they were currently in, lest they miss some clue or leave some monster to creep up on them, or to push deeper into the complex.

And here is where we ended the session...


Dramatis Personae:

Character	Sex/Race	XP Given	XP Total	Next Level
Flambo, Novice of Vulknar	Male Endu	490	2,145	3,150 (+10%)
Vendee, Arcane Warrior	Male Elf	427	2,269	4,050 (+10%)
Galeena, Woman-at-Arms	Female Halfling	257	891	1,900 (+5%)
Lirus the Apprentice	Male Elf	282	940	2,375 (+5%)
Cregg, Acolyte of Tymira	Male Human	390	1,150	1,350 (+10%)
Rak’Shan the Initiate	Male Tigran	402	1,210	1,663 (+5%)
Autumn, Woman-at-Arms	Female Human	257	712	1,900 (+5%)

Vendee has reached 2nd level!

Black Orcs

Again, thinking Brian Freed is some sort of German-loving and PC-hating machine, we ran into a different breed of Orc in his games - the Black Orc. Now, Brian's orcs were a thing to behold. They used tactics, they hunted down PCs that let one get away and eventually, we discovered that sometimes they went for the kill in more covert but just as deadly ways. We had a usual encounter with some orcs in the early sessions of one of Brian's campaigns in Moi Greke (his game world) and in the interest of avoiding any further 'Orc-perial entanglements', when they fled we let them go so we could limp away alive. BIG mistake! When the orcs never regrouped and came back for us, we thought we were free and clear. What we didn't know was the orcs put a bounty on us and one of their assassin's decided to try to collect. This big black-skinned orc started to pop up every once in a while and another player, Brad (whose character I can't recall anymore), foiled it once and added a few choice insults to the injury...this made Brad's character the orc's first target after that. This badass orc would trail us, sometimes figure out where we were headed and lay traps for us and in general was one of the most annoying, scary and thorough off the cuff nemesis I've had part in dealing with over the years. Some of the actual villian bad guys were easier to deal with than this orc. And every time he popped up he got Brad but couldn't finish him off, which made both even more driven to kill the other. Eventually Brad got that orc, but it was one of the most memorable not-planned party enemies I've dealt with in a long time. Hats off to you Brian, as a player I hated these things, but they are fun to throw!

Orc, Black (M)
Armor Class:	5[14]
Hit Dice:	3
Attacks:	1 weapon (1d8+1)
Saving Throw:	13
Morale:	7
Magic Resistance:	Nil
Special:	Sunlight blindness, sneaking, backstab
Move:	120ft(40ft)
Challenge Level/XP:	5 / 240

Orcs are normally stupid, brutish humanoids with pig or boar-like features that gather in tribes. Most are subterranean dwellers, and fight with a penalty of -1 in sunlight. There is a type of orc known only by their skin color and not by their tribe - the black orcs. These orcs are born with the favor of the demonlord Fuleni, Lord of Treachery. Black orcs are assassins of the highest caliber, able to sneak with proficiency (+1 to suprise rolls) and every attack they make is considered a backstab attack.

For a conversion into Swords & Wizardry, divide first number of the base movement rate by 10, so Black Orcs would have a S&W movement of 12.

Tales from Sirac's Point, Downtime

Alas Session 5 has been postponed due in part to the weather and my work schedule with shovelling snow on top of the normal stress. But our adventurers are still adventuring and planning on discovering the Tomb and plunder, err, explore it...

Dramatis Personae:

Character	Sex/Race	XP Given	XP Total	Next Level
Flambo, Novice of Vulknar	Male Endu	175	1,655	3,150 (+10%)
Vendee, Apprentice-at-Arms	Male Elf	112	1,842	2,025 (+10%)
Galeena, Woman-at-Arms	Female Halfling	0	634	1,900 (+5%)
Lirus the Apprentice	Male Elf	0	658	2,375 (+5%)
Cregg, Acolyte of Tymira	Male Human	75	760	1,350 (+10%)
Rak’Shan the Initiate	Male Tigran	87	808	1,750
Autumn, Woman-at-Arms	Female Human	0	455	1,900 (+5%)

More Cover Goodness

Just for kicks while I wait for a finished cover, I did a mock-up of some combined art from the old Onn Supplement I cover, bordered it with my red/blue and added in some of Kimberly's additional art. I have to say it looks like a good idea keeping the art inverted with a white/black motiff instead of the standard color or black/white. It makes the border pop too, something to catch the eye with.

We're on the artist's time table now, so as soon as that's done, the book will go on sale.

Captain Phil Harris Passes Away Today

I find it morbidly odd that this is the next post after my 'Death and Dying' post...

I saw this at Discovery and reposted it here as I'm a huge 'Catch fan. Captain Phil's health struggles have been documented by the show along with every other aspect of life on a crab boat. My condolences go out to his family and friends. He and his no-holds-barred personality and blunt perspective will be missed, as well as the snapshots of a loving and caring father you got to see on occasion with his boys.

Phil Harris, the fishing boat captain of the Cornelia Marie from television's series 'The Deadliest Catch' has died.

Phil, 53, suffered a stroke on Jan. 29 while in an Alaskan port off-loading a catch. He was flown to Anchorage for surgery and showed signs of recovery through the days following, but ultimately succumbed to the trauma.

Harris had been showing signs of recovery from the stroke. His sons wrote in a Feb. 3 posting on the ship's Web site: "No one ever said Captain Phil Harris wasn't tough. Today, dad showed some good signs of improvement, squeezing our hands and even summoning his trademark Captain's bluntness ... We are encouraged, but still very cautious."

Harris began working on a fishing boat at age 7, and by the time he was 21, he was running a fishing vessel out of Seattle.

Death and Dying

After the Session 4, Vendee's player brought up the topic of how difficult it was to be killed now due to the way I houseruled the dying part of death and dying. In my S&W campaign last year there were nights where players were literally spending the game rolling up/introducing new characters, mostly through no fault of their own (orcs can be a major *biotch* fighting in formation with a melee front liner, 2nd rank spearman and 3rd rank oil tosser/archer). So I relaxed the dying rules a bit and now no one has really come close to dying, but there have been alot of unconscious/bleeding out characters. So I worked out this for the World of Onn:

Damage and Death

If an attack hits, it inflicts damage to the defender based on the weapon’s damage die and any modifiers and adjustments from Strength (melee or thrown weapons) special abilities and magic. The damage is subtracted from the defender’s hit point total.

When hit points reach 0, the character is unconscious and at less than 0 he is bleeding to death. Each round the character spends bleeding to death he must make a System Shock roll or lose another hit point. Succeeding at the System Shock roll grants the character 1 hit point. If the character reaches 0 hit points, he is merely unconscious, but the character dies if he reaches a negative hit point total equal to his maximum hit points at 1st level (maximum die result modified by any Constitution adjustment for hit points). Any successful first aid or magical healing will make a dying character stable at 0 hit points and unconscious.

So basically, this means that characters will croak at:

Class	Con 4-	Con 5-8	Con 9-12	Con 13-16	Con 17+
Bard	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
Cleric	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
Druid	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
Shao Disciple	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
Fighting-man	-6	-7	-8	-9	-10
Div.Champion	-6	-7	-8	-9	-10
Ranger	-6	-7	-8	-9	-10
Spellblade	-4	-5	-6	-7	-8
Magic-user	-2	-3	-4	-5	-6
Illusionist	-2	-3	-4	-5	-6

Cover In Progress

The final pieces of art are being worked on and now I'm looking to how to do the cover. I've already decided that I want some kind of Red/Blue border or theme in homage to the Cook "B"/Marsh "X" D&D sets, but the exact art though is vexing me. Kimberly has a few good ideas and sketches but the problem is that I know they'll all be something I want to use.

Going along this vein, I already decided that the Onn Companion (for levels 16+) will have a purplish border or theme for the cover (Red+Blue) and the theme will follow the B/X theme of one picture on the first rulebook, then a larger picture that incorporates the first picture on the second book. I thought it was a cool idea and I've been holding onto it for a long time now, so I thought I'd share it.

Who Dat? We Dat - Superbowl Champions!

Even though Bo-bama picked the Saints to win, we overcame his support and now our Superbowl record is a perfect 1-0 now. Manning and Brees both played masterful games but it came down to one mistake and that's what we've lived on all season long. Good officiating in the game, there weren't many penalties called on either side and the players were let alone to play the game.

Mardi Gras is starting a week early this year!

Tales from Sirac's Point, Session 4

We did play session 4 of the Sirac's Point campaign last night. I'm still working on the write-up, but I wanted to post the XP earned by the group. There was alot of role-playing involved and the wife of Cregg's player joined us for the evening, boosting our numbers by 1 Fighting-woman. James M. over at Grognardia mentioned the '1st session slump' after breaking the normal gaming routine in one of his excellent posts. We missed last week, but the players had a few cobwebs and I couldn't seem to get into a flow. I guess it happens, hopefully next week's game will go smother.

Post Update 2/8/10:
The session began with the party opening the portcullis. One of the human expedition guards, Autumn, climbed down the entry hall hole and asked to join the group, citing she felt safer with them after the calamities that have thus far befallen the expedition. Cregg accepted her offer to join under his employ. At the end of a short hall was a "T" intersection that ended in 2 doors.

Beyond the first door checked Rak'Shan heard noises, but upon opening the door found another tomb, more ornate and intact than the first tomb they found. The frescoes painted on the walls depicted a great warrior bearing a shield with the symbol of Apathos, Lord of Rulers and Military Commanders, leading a legion of warriors against a red-eyed darkness. The party cracked open the sealed tomb, discovering a mummified knight in ornate plate armor with a bastard sword and knight's shield bearing Apathos' symbol (all bearing the signs of age, but still in otherwise serviceable condition). Still needing proof they found Haindrad's Tomb, they extricated the knight from his armor as best they could and recovered the shield. Under his body, they found a rectangular depression that looked out of place, but couldn't fathom its purpose. Some discussion ensued between Flambo and Vendee over the 'proper' burial rites of the remains, eventually ending with Vendee making the point that performing funerary rites (i.e., putting interred remains to the torch) to Vulknar, God of Fire, on remains of warriors dedicated to Apathos while in a consecrated location may be a bad idea. Cregg was given the plate armor to "continue the contributions of it's former owner" until they got back to Sirac's Point. On Exiting the room after reinterring the knight's body and sealing the tomb, Flambo noticed some dirt falling from a large crack in the tomb's roof (they noted there were several cracks throughout the tomb itself) and borrowed Autumn's spear.

Poking into the crack, he found an angry millipede. The millipede, fully 4 feet in length and with sharp mandibles, shot down Flab’s spear and wounded him. The group, clustered in and around the doorway, jockeyed into position to see what was happening and then to try to help Flambo. Flambo tossed the spear and millipede down and Rak'Shan, not having a spear and unable to fire a missile weapon into the melee used his 10 ft pole to push the creature away from Flambo. Autumn, moved into melee, but the millipede caught her and in a single bite wounded her into unconsciousness. It then climbed over her and reared up, daring the party to take its meal away. Several minutes of combat ensued, with the millipede's armored shell protecting it well. Several of the party were wounded, but in the end the beast was slain and luckily Autumn was unconscious but stable. Cregg, Vendee and Flambo bound up the wounded's injuries and applied light healing magic to Autumn, waking her back up and restoring some of her health.

Boldly, they made for the other door on the other end of the hall. Rak'Shan heard no sound beyond it and the group forced it open. Beyond, they found a third tomb. It was unfinished, but inside they found the remains of another knight, his rusted sword run through a skeleton, and seven mostly disintegrated headless skeletons. The stone of the room was singed by a great fire, as was the front of the knight's mostly destroyed armor. In the unfinished tomb, they found a second rectangular depression. One corner had a holy water font and basin, and Flambo set about doing the blessing to create holy water and succeeding in making enough to fill four vials. Not having any, he blessed an empty rum bottle and poured the liquid into it, hoping his deity would see fit to show his favor. Thinking on the odd depressions, Vendee remembered they found two rectangular blocks of obsidian marked with Apathos' symbol. Taking them, he inserted a block into each depression (after re-disturbing the knight in the tomb) and the complex shook slightly for several minutes with a deep sound of stone moving. Seeing no visible effect though, they returned to the entry room to plot their next course of action.

Rak'Shan checked the two remaining doors and decided to open the southern door. Beyond was a small cleansing room, complete with working bathing fountain and a small supplicant's altar. Cregg filled his waterskin from the fountain and discovered the water was clean and refreshing. Flambo drank from the fountain and the water turned black. He spasmed a few times and keeled over, nearly dying had Cregg not been there to apply first aid and healing magic. Rak'Shan theorized that the fountain was to spiritually cleans the person, washing away their sins so they could worship at the corrupted shrine. Cregg was safe from the effect since he took water from the fountain, but Flambo drank directly from the fountain and suffered for it.

The decision to return topside met the group with the total destruction of the remaining expedition guards and the scout was missing. Most looked as if they were strangled or clawed to death and a few had bite marks. Clouds begun to roll in and threatened a storm as well (something Rak'Shan and the rest of the group did not relish trudging through). They cleaned up the bodies and gathered what supplies they could carry, giving last rites and set about posting watches so they could rest and Flambo could recover from his ordeal. Overnight the clouds broke into a light rain, but otherwise it was uneventful.

The next morning the group returned to the last door they had yet to explore. Rak'Shan heard scraping noises beyond and the group made ready to fight. The door opened, they beheld a room with a suit of plate armor wielding a great hammer standing in the center. A cursory look with bull’s-eye lanterns revealed a passage exiting to the right at the far end of the room. Rak'Shan skirted the room to the passage and reported the hall beyond 10 or so feet was sealed by a great stone plug. Wary of the armor, Vendee entered the room and the armor swung its hammer about, flinging it at Rak'Shan with devastating accuracy and knocking him unconscious. A furious melee ensued, with the empty suit of armor wounding several of the party heavily before falling to parts on the floor. Wounds were bound and the last of the healing magic at their disposal was applied. After examining the plug and much discussion, the group decided it was sealed tight and not moving unless there was a hidden control they missed.

Discussion was also brought up over simply leaving. They found a tomb, that was for sure, about the same age as the era Haindrad lived in, and had proof of it in the armor and shield taken from one of the knights. Galeena piped up about the black 'pearl' as well, reminding the group of their promise she could have it when they were ready to leave the place for good. After some discussion of how the group would put her down if the 'pearl' began to do strange or vile things to her (or forced her to strange and vile things to them), the group returned to the desecrated chapel.

On the way they noticed the stone door to the first warrior's tomb was different and did not have the gap on the bottom it originally had. Forcing this open they discovered the room was different than before - it was a map room of Haindrad's Hills made in miniature, marking the location of Haindrad's Tomb. It was surmised that Haindrad's Tomb was hidden by the builders and this secondary site was created and inhabited by the few faithful entrusted with the secret location of Haindrad's true resting place, to throw off any would-be looters. Unfortunately, some calamity (probably the attackers found in the third warrior's tomb) wiped out the inhabitants of the complex, taking the location to the grave. Vendee used a sheet of parchment and made a map of the miniature region, noting some of the features had changed since it was made. Noting the Haindrad's Tomb was only about a mile to the north, the group allowed Galeena to grab the 'pearl', waiting tensely when she grasped it. The only effect they noted was a single pulse of energy, but no other effect seemed to happen.

Returning topside, they gathered the gear they could carry and set out northwards, following Vendee's map. En route, they were set upon by a thirst of five stirges. Rak'Shan was taken down by one of the creatures, but Autumn made sure it did not escape, killing it in a shower of blood. Vendee was set on by one of the creatures as well and nearly killed when Flambo struck at it with his hammer while Vendee was grappling with the small beast. The rest of the creatures fell in quick succession and Rak'Shan was patched up as best as Cregg could manage and the group marched their way to the location on the map. Tired of the rain and the pains of their wounds, the group decided to scout for a defensible location to make camp and wait until tomorrow to begin scouting the Tomb's entrance.

Campaign Date:
Solenus 15th-17th, 5231 A.C.

Dramatis Personae:

Character	Sex/Race	XP Given	XP Total	Next Level
Flambo, Novice of Vulknar	Male Endu	430	1,480	3,150 (+10%)
Vendee, Apprentice-at-Arms	Male Elf	467	1,730	2,025 (+10%)
Galeena, Woman-at-Arms	Female Halfling	177	634	1,900 (+5%)
Lirus the Apprentice	Male Elf	189	658	2,375 (+5%)
Cregg, Acolyte of Tymira	Male Human	430	685	1,350 (+10%)
Rak’Shan the Initiate	Male Tigran	462	721	1,750
Autumn, Woman-at-Arms	Female Human	455	455	1,900 (+5%)

Shifter Cat

Shifter Cat (M)
Armor Class:	4[15]
Hit Dice:	6
Attacks:	2 tentacles (1d8) + bite (2d6)
Saving Throw:	11
Morale:	8
Magic Resistance:	Nil
Special:	Shifting
Move:	120ft(40ft)
Challenge Level/XP:	7 / 600

These large cats are comparable to the size of a panther and have a mottled grey and black fur hide. In poor lighting, they seem to be nothing more than large cats, but when angered or seen in bright light, two wispy, ethereal-looking claw-tipped tentacles seem to sprout from the creature’s shoulders. Characters attempting to strike a shifter cat find that they are not totally of this plane, existing simultaneously on the Ethereal Plane as well. This results in the first attack any creature makes is an automatic miss against a shifter cat. All attacks made thereafter suffer a -2 penalty. Because of their dual nature, shifter cats can attack creatures in the Prime Material and Ethereal Planes at the same time.

For a conversion into Swords & Wizardry, divide the first number of the move score by 10, so a shifter cat would move at 12.

Ghosts of Onn

Ghost (M)
Armor Class:	0[19]
Hit Dice:	9
Attacks:	1 touch (1d6 + aging) + gaze (fear)
Saving Throw:	6
Morale:	9
Magic Resistance:	15%
Special:	Immune to sleep, charm and hold, DR 9/+3 magic, fear gaze, aging touch, ethereal, flight
Move:	210ft(70ft) fly
Challenge Level/XP:	13 / 2,500

Ghosts are the restless spirits of powerful mortals that become trapped between worlds - unable to return to life or cross over to true death, they become bitter of everything living. They resemble the form of their former body, pale and translucent and misty. They can pass through solid objects while ethereal but may only attack other ethereal creatures while in this state. The gaze of a ghost causes fear (Ego saving throw negates) and their touch drains the vitality of the living, aging then 1d10 years (System Shock reduces this by half). Ghosts usually attempt to lead adventurers to their doom and feast on their remaining lives just before death. In some cases, a ghost can be laid to rest if its physical remains can be properly taken care of (not that the ghost will allow their bodies to be taken peacefully however).

For Swords & Wizardry, simply divide the first number of their movement score by 10, so movement is at 21 (fly). XP value would be 13 / 2,300.

Shao Disciple (Cleric Subclass)

Hit Dice Type: 1d6 per level; +1 hp per level after 8th level.
Armor/Shield Permitted: Padded armor; Light shields allowed.
Weapons Permitted: Tetsubo (Club), Daggers/Sai, Flails, Naginata (Pole-arm), Spear, Staff, Matera (Bastard Sword), Katana (Longsword), Wakizashi (Short Sword), Whip, Yumi (Long Bow), Crossbows, Dart and Sling.
Prime Attribute: Wisdom and Dexterity, 5% XP Bonus for 15+.
Attack Table: As per Cleric.
Alignment: Law/Good or rarely Neutral.
Starting Gold: 1d4x10gp.

Many monks never become more than lay worshippers devoted to a Higher Power, living in sects in self-sufficient communes on the edges of small communities and villages. Most of these sects keep to themselves, or only make minimal contact with the communities near them. Instead of following the path of becoming a Cleric, Shao Disciples focus their meditations on becoming closer to their deity and honing their spiritual and physical selves as one being that is as close to perfection that a mortal can attain.

The Shao Disciple is a sub-class of the Cleric that is wise and agile as well as dedicated to the tenets of Law/Good and follows a church or temple. Prospective Shao Disciples must have scores of at least 12 in Wisdom and Dexterity. Shao Disciples gain several special abilities from their meditations and adherence to their faith.

Shao Disciple Class Abilities

Vow of Poverty: Shao Disciples cannot own more wealth and gear than would constitute an unencumbered load. They may not amass more treasure then they need to live on.

Precognition (1st level): The Shao Disciple uses his Wisdom adjustment as well as his Dexterity adjustment to modify his armor class. He also gains the bonus listed on the table to his armor class as well. The Shao Disciple loses these bonuses to AC if he wears any armor other than Padded and/or a Light shield.

Unarmed Strike (1st level): When fighting without weapons, the Shao Disciple can use his body as a lethal weapon. Instead of swinging a sword or axe, they use punches, kicks, body checks and head butts to fight against their opponents. When fighting in this fashion, use the Unarmed Strike damage listed on the table. At 1st level they can harm creatures requiring silver weapons or arc wood to hit; at 5th level they can strike creatures requiring +1 magical weapons, 9th level +2 weapons or blessed weapons and 13th level +3 weapons or adamantine. At 7th level they gain a bonus attack every round.

Deflect Missiles (2nd level): Once per round, they may deflect or snatch a missile attack they are aware of by making a Dodge saving throw.

Disciple Combat Options (4th level): The character can select one of the Fighting-man Combat Options, except for Berserk. At 8th and 12th level an additional combat option may be taken.

Fast Movement (5th level): At 5th level movement becomes 150(50); at 10th level movement becomes 180(60) and at 15th level movement becomes 210(70). If the character is encumbered, his movement drops to the normal movement for his weight carried.

Healing Touch (6th level): Once per day, the Shao Disciple can heal 1d6 hit points of damage plus his level by using pressure points, massage and ancient techniques with a little mysticism.

Slow Fall (8th level): Falling distance is considered half as much if the character is within 10 ft of a wall or protrusions.

Mind Over Body (10th level): The Shao Disciple’s meditations fortify his mind and body. He gains a +2 bonus to saving throws against poisons and diseases as well as mental attacks. The Shao Disciple may go into a meditative trance that lasts up to 1 month per level. While in this state, the character physically appears dead, his body functions slowing until they become imperceptible. He knows the amount of time that is passing though and can come out of the trance at any time. While in the trance the character does not need food or drink, but must have air.

Spiritual Speech (11th level): The Shao Disciple learns how to speak to the winds and the earth, plants and animals. With their help, he can speak with virtually any creature.

Walk Between the Wind (12th level): 3 times per day, the character can dimension door up to his maximum movement.

Gentle Touch (14th level): One of the most potent powers a Shao Disciple develops, the Gentle Touch can produce one of the following effects once per day: cure disease, neutralize poison or a double-strength Healing Touch.

Level	Title	Experience	HD	Dodge	Ego	Toughness	AC Bonus	Unarmed
1	Initiate	0	1d6	15	14	16	-2[+2]	d4
2	Novice	1,750	2d6	14	13	15	-2[+2]	d4
3	Brother	4,000	3d6	13	12	14	-2[+2]	d4
4	Disciple	7,500	4d6	12	11	13	-2[+2]	d4
5	Immaculate	16,000	5d6	11	10	12	-4[+4]	d6
6	Master	35,000	6d6	10	9	11	-4[+4]	d6
7	Superior Master	70,000	7d6	9	8	10	-4[+4]	d6/d6
8	Grand Master	128,000	8d6	8	7	9	-4[+4]	d6/d6
9	Grand Master	192,000	+1 hp	7	6	8	-6[+6]	d8/d8
10	Grand Master	262,000	+2 hp	6	5	7	-6[+6]	d8/d8
11	Grand Master	330,000	+3 hp	5	4	6	-6[+6]	d8/d8
12	Grand Master	400,000	+4 hp	5	4	6	-6[+6]	d8/d8
13	Grand Master	470,000	+5 hp	5	4	6	-8[+8]	d10/d10
14	Grand Master	540,000	+6 hp	5	4	6	-8[+8]	d10/d10
15+	Grand Master	+70,000	+1 hp	5	4	6	-8[+8]	d10/d10

For a conversion into Swords & Wizardry, they gain 1d6+1 hit points per Hit Dice and use the Cleric Saving Throw with modifiers.
 
For OD&D (LBB with or without Supplements) they gain d6 for hit points and refer to the Cleric class for rate of gain for acquiring Hit Dice, Saving Throws and Attack Table.

Crawling Horrors

Crawling Horror (S)	Foot or Hand	Head
Armor Class:	7[12]	6[13]
Hit Dice:	1d4 hp	1d6 hp
Attacks:	1 rake or kick (1d2)	1 bite (1d4)
Saving Throw:	18	18
Morale:	N/A	N/A
Magic Resistance:	Nil	Nil
Special:	Immune to sleep, charm and	hold
Move:	120ft(40ft)	60ft(20ft)
Challenge Level/XP:	A / 5	B / 10

Crawling horrors are the severed appendages of a human or humanoid creature animated through the use of necromantic arts. They crawl, hop and roll along to their victims and inflict light damage, but their true danger lies in their numbers and the fact that they gain a +1 bonus to surprise opponents due to their size.
Crawling horrors can be made with the animate dead spell, with double the amount of being animated by the caster. Crawling horrors turn as skeletons and count as 1/2 HD each.

For Swords & Wizardry, simply divide the first number of their movement score by 10, so Feet or Hands move at 12 and Heads move at 6.

Other Uses for Turn Undead

So everyone knows that a Cleric's ability to use Turn Undead drives off (hopefully) undead creatures like skeletons, zombies and more powerful and exotic creatures (hopefully) as the Cleric rises in power. In games and campaigns that limit the ability in some manner (the World of Onn limits its use to 3 times per day, plus the character's Wisdom adjustment), some additional effects might be gleaned from channelling the divine power of your Deity. Consider these:

• Show the Cleric the auras of faith any other Divine spellcasters in the area of effect have. The Cleric may not know what the faith is, but each Deity (or other creature able to grant divine spells) would leave a unique 'taint' on his spellcasting followers.
• Perform Ceremonies by blessing the event with divine energy (marriage, investure of a new Cleric into the Order, Holy events, etc)
• Bypass Clerical wards (Glyph of Warding or a Clerical Symbol) by making a sucessful Turn Undead attempt using the spell's level as a Hit Dice equilivent on the turning chart. A successful Turn shuts the ward down for 1d6+4 rounds, an automatic Turn shuts it down for 1 full turn, a Destroy or D+ result deactivates it for a day.

Creating effects for each faith would also be possible to further define them without a huge catalog of magical spells (although there's nothing wrong with a few 'faith spells').

• A Fire Deity may allow his Clerics to use a Turn Undead attempt to create a light effect on his holy symbol equal to torchlight by causing it to burst into harmless flames, or allow his Cleric's weapon to burst into flames for an additional 1 point (Wisdom 13-16) or 1d2 points (Wisdom 17-18), or fire a bolt of flame from his holy symbol (requires a missile attack roll) that inflicts 1d4 points (Wisdom 13-16) or 1d4+1 points (Wisdom 17-18).
• A Deity of Healing may allow his Clerics to heal 1 hit point to all the Cleric's allies in the area of effect, or allow the Cleric to Lay on Hands and heal 1d3+Wisdom adjustment to a single wounded character.

There are alot of interesting effects possible that require little rules crunching (many of them can be created on the fly by creative players and Referees) that enhance the character's faith without making the class unbalanced or overpowering.