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RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Seven

Another RPG Week draws to a close here at Greywulf Towers. In previous Weeks we’ve looked at the marvel that is Dragon Warriors, The marvel that is…. uhhhh… the Marvel RPG, and this week it was the turn of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia. We’ve looked at it’s character generation, cosmology, combat mechanics and mass combat system. And we’ve barely even scratched the surface. Heck, we’ve barely even scratched the air above the surface. We’ve barely even scratched at all.

In this final post I was going to show you some of the things I’ve not covered such as the Weapon Mastery rules, the Monsters, the encounter rules, Castle building and dominion economics. I could show you all this, and more.

But, in the best Top Gear (an excellent comedy series here in the UK that masquerades as a motoring show) tradition, I’m not going to bore you with hard facts. It’ll spoil your own personal voyage of discovery with this utterly brilliant system.

Instead, and at the risk of invoking the spirit of Jeremy Clarkson too much, I’m going to end with a car analogy.

The D&D Rules Cyclopedia is like this 1969 Corvette.

1969corvette

Whereas 4e D&D is this 2009 model

2009corvette

Now, you might well argue that the newer model is the better car. It’s the result of decades of design theory. It’s probably more efficient, and comes with more cool Powers…. I mean, gizmos than you can shake a shift stick at. In arguably every way, you could claim that this model is superior.

And you’d be wrong.

For all the technology, engineering and advancements in the newer model, it’s the old one that appeals to the inner child. Its the one your heart wants to drive. Sure, it might leak a little and show it’s age. You might have to hold parts of it together with duck tape, and change gear *just so*, but it’s got something that the newer model lacks.

It’s got soul.

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Posted 18 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Six

The Known World. A place of warring Empires, Horseclans, City States, Frontier lands, Merchant Princes, rugged Norsemen and much, much more. It’s a campaign world unlike any other for more reasons to count. Here’s just a few.

1) It’s not been messed with. Use the Known World as presented in the Rules Cyclopedia and you have a campaign world that’s every bit as fresh, vibrant and exciting as it ever has been. It’s not been buggered around with due to changes in Editions of the game or marketing visions (so long as you ignore AD&D’s attempt to make Mystara into some kidified setting, which I do). The hard-to-find Almanacs of the Known World (continued by fans here) provided a wealth of plot-hooks, ideas and really brought the setting to life without all those revisionist revisions that plague the other D&D gameworlds. Forgotten Realms, I’m looking at you.

2) The Known World uses cultures and civilisations modelled on those we’re familiar with. From the expansionist Thyatis Empire (*cough* Romans *cough*) to native Tradalarans of Karameikos (Celts!), from the Emirates of Ylaruam to Soderfjord, Vestland and Ostland, these are cultures we can relate to, and therefore differentiate. If I ask you to picture a Thyatian Nobleman, you’ll picture a guy in a toga, and will instinctively know what a charging Vestland Berserker is wearing on his head. That sense of the familiar makes the setting a much more vibrant place – we can picture the styles, architecture and lands based on our own knowledge. To do that in “more” fantastic gameworld, and you’ll need to buy a lot of supplements.

3) The Players can own a part of it! I’m repeating myself, but it’s worth repeating. Hit 9th level, and the character is rewarded with a Dominion. This is an 8-mile hex of land that’s theirs to rule as proxy. That’s about 55 square miles. To put that into context, imagine drawing a 4 mile radius circle around where you live, and being able to say “I own this”. In my case here in the North of England that’ll encompass about 8 villages, 2 towns, 1 Castle and several Halls, most of which have been around since Roman times in one form or another. Take a look at all those hexes on the map. One of them could be yours!

4) Zooming out, the larger maps of the Known World use 24-mile hexes. Each hex is around 500 square miles in size. The entire planet is about 19,500 miles in circumference, and the Known World potion is just a teeny, tiny patch of land on the continent of Brun – kinda like the area around the Mediterranean Sea was the Known World back in the day. All the rest – it’s your own private sandbox playground. Some of the other areas have been expanded – the Serpent Peninsula and Alphatia, for example – but nothing is immune to your GM wiles. Want a gameworld that gets you started but has millions of miles of unexplored territory? This one’s for you.

5) Oh, and it’s Hollow. If one world isn’t enough, there’s another one right under your feet (give or take a few hundred miles). Thanks to the efforts of Ka the Preserver and other Immortals, civilisations that were at-risk of extinction were moved to the inside of the planet and given a prepetual sun of their own. Which is nice. If your players are the kind of folks who prefer battling with primitive Dinosaur Cults, meddling in Aztec politics and rubbing shoulders long-forgotten cultures (who don’t know they’re long-forgotten), then maybe a trip Down Under (no, not Australia) is the order of the day.

Did I mention the Known World is pretty awesome? No?

Next: Putting it all together.

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Posted 17 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged:

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Five

I’ve already written some about how Classic D&D’s gameplay evolves as the players climb the level ladder. Starting out as naive hicks off the farm, our heroes might eventually reach the heights of 9th level and be awarded title and lands to go with their burgeoning egos fame. From there, they steadily carve their own empires, and that usually means only one thing – WAR!

I’ll say this just once – the War Machine rules in the D&D Rules Cyclopedia are worth the price of entry alone. It’s a standalone mechanism that can be used with any other system out there (I’ve used it to great success in GURPS, 3e D&D and even Mutants & Masterminds), and quite simply one of the best, funnest ways to handle a huge-scale combat at the gaming table – and this coming from someone who comes from the De Bellis Antiquitatis world of old school (really old school!) wargaming.

Compared to the rest of the Rules Cyclopedia which has a wing-it-on-your-ass free-wheeling style, War Machine Mass Combat system is rather damned crunchy, requiring ploughing through a Worksheet for each force to get a Battle Rating. This is then modified according to Environment, Troop Morale, Terrain, etc. Then it’s just a matter of rolling d100, adding the modified Battle Rating and comparing the results. That’s a day of battle done. The highest roller has won the day (but not the war!) and casualties, fatigue and changes in location are noted for each side.

In other words, it’s kinda like regular D&D combat, only with d100s instead of d20s, each turn lasts a day and the players are responsible for hundreds or thousands of troops instead of one single PC. Add in a few more options such as the effect of Tactics, Character actions, Heroism, Troop Movement & Supplies and the whole system can be as detailed or fast’n'light as you want.

We’ve used the War Machine rules on their own for entire sessions, and also used them as background colour to show the effect of the player’s actions as they attempt to turn the tide of battle. War Machine is also pretty fun played solo when there’s no other gamers around!

Here’s a quick example of War Machine in action. But first, we need two armies. If you want to follow along, I’m basing this on the Battle of Hattin, an actual battle from 1187 that took place near an extinct volcano and turned the tide of war in Saladin’s favour for years to come. Because battles near extinct volcanoes are feckin’ cool, that’s why.

In the white-and-red corner there Guy de Lusignan’s Crusaders – a 20,000-strong force which includes 15,000 infantry, 1,200 knights and 500 turcopoles (mounted archers). With him are three other heroes – Raymond III of Tripoli, Gerard de Rideford and Balian of Ibelin – all of whom are 9th level or above. The Troops are all excellently trained with good equipment, but most don’t have much field experience. The average Officer level is 5th, and the average Troop level is 2nd.

Working out the numbers, the Basic Force Rating for the force is 110; their Troop Class is Excellent. No surprises there. If the Crusaders had more mounted troops, spell-casters or substantial missile support this would modify the number further, but they don’t, so it doesn’t.

Against him is Saladin, who (for the sake of keepin’ things Fantasy-themed) is a powerful leader of the Desert Elves. He’s powerfully charismatic and leads 20,000 mounted Elven troops into battle against the usurpers. They are armed with horsebows and scimitars. As Elves, the Troops are 1HD foes.

The Basic Force Rating for these guys is 91, and they’re classed as Good. Their final modified Battle Rating (taking into account their horses and wicked elven archery skillz) is 118. It’s going to be a close fight!

The Battle Rating only needs to be calculated once for each army, so once it’s done it’ll only change if anything that affects it alters (such as a change in Leadership). On to Day One of the battle……..

Guy’s troops have beaten this foe before, but they’re in an unfavourable environment. That’s a -15 modifier so Guy’s player rolls d100+110-15, for a total of 158.

Saladin’s Elves are on their home turf and are well suited to the environment. That’s a net +35. Ouch. Rolling d100+118+35, the player gets 195.

That’s a win for Saladin on Day One, with a difference of 37. Guy takes 40% casualties a so he’s down to 12,000 fit-to-fight troops, while Saladin takes 20%, so he’s down to 16,000 troops. Worse yet, Guy’s army is Seriously fatigued after the first clash, while Saladin’s is only Moderately fatigued. It was a close-fought, hard won first day, and both sides withdraw to lick their wounds and recover from the clash.

Two rolls, one day and 12,000 casualties.

Dude, it’s like a war out there.

Next: The Known World!

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Posted 16 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Four

Let’s talk combat. In the world of Classic D&D there’s hardly a mention of miniatures, battlemats, squares or other such economically-driven ephemera to be found in recent D&D. This is pure in-your-head gaming of the first degree where the action is driven by your imagination and narrative Powers instead of at-will, encounter or daily Powers.

This is combat, unchained. The players are free to do anything they want, as often as they want provided it’s in keeping with the character and dramatically appropriate. Want to shove that Ogre off a cliff? Go for it, and make a roll. There’s no looking down your character sheet to see if you’ve any Powers that will Shift your foe the required number of squares – you just do it! This is D&D freed from the constraints of the game designer’s minds where the GM and the narrative is king. Talk to us grognards about the Best Combats Ever and you’ll hear wild tales of Magic-Users casting Fireball to light an army’s arrows, Fighters leaping underneath a giant and castrating him with his greatsword, and Rogues dropping from ceilings firing off paired Crossbow Pistols into a room of Goblin Horsethiefs. It’s a version of D&D that provides just enough rules to play, but encourages the gamers to used them in wild and unpredictable ways – and garner the XP for quality play.

On to the mechanics.

Classic D&D provides three mathematically equal ways to see whether you’ve hit a foe. Option One is look the result up on a bigass table, cross-referencing your Class/Level against your foe’s AC. Roll d20, add any modifiers and if you get equal or higher than number from the table, you’ve hit. As your level changes infrequently, it’s common just to jot the relevant line down on your character sheet for quick reference.

For example, a 6th level Thief’s sheet would contain the line:


AC   10 9 8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 -1 -2
Roll  7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

As GM, I could just tell the players the opponent’s AC, and they all know what they need to roll on a d20. We also granted max damage on a natural 20 – something echoed in 4e’s Critical rules.

That’s Option One. The second choice is to use the much maligned THAC0. This is just the math of the table, brought to the gaming…. errrr… table. Note down the number required To Hit AC0 (THAC0 – see?), and just take the AC the GM gives you from that to get the number you need to roll to hit. For example, the Thief above has THAC0 17. If she’s fighting against an AC 4 foe, he needs (17-4) = 13 or more to hit. Check it against the table above – it works! The math falls apart a little against negative AC foes where (as per the table) the “20″ result is duplicated a few times, but generally speaking we just stuck to this method of rolling and didn’t worry about that discrepancy.

The third choice is to twist the THAC0 math around a little more. Roll d20 and take that result away from your THAC0; that’s the highest AC you’ve hit. In the example above, if our Thief rolls a 12, then he’s hit anything with (17-12) = AC 5 or worse. That AC 4 foe had ducked the blow!

A wise GM used both THAC0 methods, with the players using Option Two for their characters, and the monsters using Option Three. This put all the working out of who-hit-what onto the players, so you (as GM) just have to roll the dice and can concentrate on describing the action. The only annoyance with the Rules Cyclopedia is that the Monster entries don’t contain their THAC0 (which is derived from Hit Dice), so in my copy I went through and added them all in by hand.

But, as they say, that’s not all! Close combat is just a tiny part of the battle rules inside the Rules Cyclopedia. There’s unarmed combat, wresting, naval, underwater and aerial combat, siege warfare and huge-scale mass battles – and that’s what I’m going to talk about, next time.

See you there!

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Posted 15 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Three

In the grand cosmology of the Rules Cyclopedia, there isn’t an Epic Battle between Good and Evil. It’s bigger than that.

This is Classic D&D with just three Alignments – Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic. The Good and Evil axis is absent, and the entire rulebook remains conspicuously silent about the whole ethical side of things other than to concede that Chaotic behaviour might be called “evil” in some circles.

No, this isn’t about good vs. evil. It’s about Civilization versus Savagery. It’s about Nurture versus Nature. It’s about Order versus unbridled Chaos. It’s Us…… versus Them.

But, Epic as that sounds, that’s not all.

There’s multiple Planes of existence, alternate realities and dimensions to explore all covered in a mere three pages of the Rules Cyclopedia. Each alignment has it’s own tongue. In our campaign, the language of Law is Latin (of course). Law books and religious texts are written in this tongue, and most civilised folks know quite a lot of Latin words without even knowing it. The language of Chaos is very bad German Thrash Metal….. no, I mean Old Norse, and the language of Neutrality is French, the tongue of the philosophers.

But that’s not all.

Gradually, as the characters steadily gain levels they discover that the world is more than it first appears. For a start, it’s Hollow (but we’ll save that for another time, ok?). Those Gods the common folks worship and the Clerics pray to for spells….. they’re not Gods at all, but powerful Immortals who were once members of ordinary mortal races like you and I – and it’s possible to become one of them! These are deities in the classic Greek, Roman and Norse tradition with all-too-human ambitions, passions, plots and goals. There’s a strict hierarchy with lesser Immortals plotting and scheming to gain power and prestige in their area of influence.

Each Immortal is a Patron to one of five Spheres – Matter, Energy, Time, Thought and Entropy – and their prime objective is to further the cause of their Sphere while at the same time thwarting the wiles of the other four. It’s easy to label the Immortals in the Sphere of Entropy as the Big Evil (indeed, many are), but each Sphere has more than it’s fair share of righteous and unrighteous Immortals. The power-play between the Spheres means there’s a precarious balance in the heavens which is ripe for all sorts of wonderful GM-spawned high-level adventures. Immortals are also obsessed with their own personal interests, so the Immortal of Boomerang Throwers might have an ongoing feud with the Immortal of Shuriken Wielders, even though they’re both members of the same Sphere. An Immortal who was originally an Elf might have a closer affinity for that race, or an Orc-born Immortal be busy poking his followers eyes out with a stick. Or whatever.

In short, the Classic D&D take on religion is living, dynamic, plot-filled and an order of magnitude awesomer than any other D&D Pantheon that’s followed.

Want more proof it’s so cool it hurts? One of the Immortals is a feckin’ Tyrannosaurus Rex! Yep, Classic D&D has a T-Rex GOD. Ka the Preserver, I salute you.

Next: Combat and that THAC0 thing

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Posted 14 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day Two

Ah, the Classic D&D Classes. So reviled, so little understood yet still so dearly loved by their fans for nigh-on thirty years. There’s just the four human classes – Fighter, Thief, Magic-User and Cleric – and the three non-human races (Elf, Dwarf, Halfling – you knew that, right?). Plus Druid and Mystic too, but let’s not confuse things, ok? Character creation takes mere minutes meaning it’s trivial (and expected, at 1st level) to roll up two or three in preparation for the game. Up until around 5th level, this is high-attrition D&D where characters have to be Very Lucky or Very Well Played (or both) to survive. Every gamer group had their own House Rules ranging from boosting 1st level Hit Points to re-writing the entire combat system. And y’know what – that’s one of the big strengths of this Edition.

Classic D&D has self-contained mechanics for each subsystem. Rolling a saving throw is different to making a skill check, Turning Undead or making an Open Doors check. It might sound counter-intuitive to say having all of these different mechanics is a strength, especially after we’ve been brainwashed into believing that consistency is king, but it is. For a start, having different mechanics means that this is a wonderfully hackable system; don’t like the Turn Undead rules? Change ‘em, and everything else stays the same. Compare that to the minefield that is house-ruling 3e or 4e D&D where the slightest alteration can have unforeseen effects down the line.

Also, having different game mechanics means that each character class feels special. Whether it’s the Magic-User’s hinky spell memorization, the Thief’s skills or the Cleric’s Turn Undead, that player has got some super special slice of rules that no other character has. Y’know, just like 4e D&D’s exception-based paradigm, only the rules really are different, not just the same with a different coat of paint.

In our games we roll 4d6, dropped lowest and allocate stats. We grant max Hit Points at 1st level, use the Skill and Weapon Mastery options (more on those, another time) and ignored the restrictions on allowed weapons – if a Magic-User wants to become a Grand Master in the Sword (eventually), so be it. If a character drops to 0hp the player decides whether they are dead or if they want to bring in a replacement character – but if the entire party reached 0hp then they’re all eaten. Nasty.

There are a few more wrinkles – Magic-Users can memorise more spells if they have high INT (as do Clerics with high WIS), for example. The focus is on fast, fun characters first and foremost. The irony is that the generation rules from the Rules Cyclopedia are every bit as flexible as those found in 3rd Edition, and streets ahead (in terms of flexibility) of those in 4e. Want a Classic D&D Ranger? Create a Fighter, make him skilled with the Longbow, Dagger, Sword & Handaxe and take Skills in Survival, Animal Training, Stealth and Snares. Done. I’ve yet to find a character I can’t create in Classic D&D with a little imagination and some occasional rules twistery. And there ain’t nothing wrong with that.

It’s all funky, and I love the funk. I dig that Clerics don’t get spells until 2nd level – they’ve got to prove themselves to their Gods, dawg. I love the 1st level Thief’s piss-poor skill percentages because that means he can only tackle piss-poor locks and traps and quite right too – he’s only First Level! Mind you, the Stealth Skill goes a long way toward improving a Thief’s survivability. Which, if you want to play a Thief, is a Good Thing.

Want a few example characters? Here’s four, all 1st level, wide-eyed and ready for their first (and probably last) dungeon.

Cardamon, Male Lawful Fighter-1
Str 17, Int 9, Wis 5, Dex 12, Con 15, Cha 15
HP 9, AC 4 (Chain & Shield), THAC0 19

DR/P 12, MW 13, P/TtS 14, BA 15, R/S/S 16

Sword (Bs), +2, 1d8+2
Shortbow (Bs), 1d6
Mace (Bs), +2, 1d6
Staff (Bs), +2, 1d6

Muscle (18), Endurance (15), Bargaining (15)

Anise, Female Chaotic Elf-1
Str 12, Int 15, Wis 13, Dex 14, Con 13, Cha 14
HP 7, AC 5 (Scale), THAC0 19

DR/P 12, MW 13, P/TtS 13, BA 15, R/S/S 15

Longbow (Bs), +1, 1d6
Sword (Bs), 1d8

Nature (15), Survival:Forest (16), Singing (14)
Infravision, Detection, Immune to Paralysis

Spells:
1: Sleep**, Read Magic

Basil, Male Neutral Thief-1
Str 7, Int 12, Wis 10, Dex 14, Con 9, Cha 10
HP 4, AC 6 (Leather), THAC0 19

DR/P 13, MW 14, P/TtS 13, BA 16, R/S/S 15

Shortsword (Bs), -1, 1d6
Light Crossbow (Bs), +1, 1d6

Stealth:Urban (16), Acrobatics (16)
Thief abilities, Backstab

Mugwort, Male Neutral Magic-User-1
Str 10, Int 17, Wis 13, Dex 6, Con 15, Cha 7
HP 5, AC 10 (Ouch!), THAC0 19

DR/P 13, MW 14, P/TtS 13, BA 16, R/S/S 15

Staff (Bs), 1d6
Dagger (Bs), 1d4

KS:Local Myths & Legends (18), KS:Local Geography(17), Nature Lore (17)

Spells:
1: Magic Missile**, Read Magic, Detect Magic

The Rules Cyclopedia gets it just about spot on with the mix of funky rules and simplicity. Too many rules and you end up with conflict, confusion and…. well, AD&D. And that will never do.

Next: Cosmology!

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Posted 13 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

RPG Week: D&D Rules Cyclopedia Day One

Anyone who has read this blog for a little while already knows that I consider the D&D Rules Cyclopedia to be the definitive version of D&D, bar none. It’s my role-playing bible, the single best edition of the Dungeons & Dragons ever made. And this week, I’m going to show you why.

Each day I’m going to touch on just one piece of the Rules Cyclopedia, from character generation to encounters and combat, from monsters to the Known World and show why your game would benefit from a little Classic D&D injection, whatever Edition of the rules you use.

cyclopedia
Is this the best D&D ever? I think so.

Let’s start with just the facts, ma’am. The D&D Rules Cyclopedia is a 300-page hardback book released in 1991 that collated the vast majority of the Classic D&D rules from the Basic, Expert, Companion and Master rules (and other supplements) into one single tome. Unlike 3rd Edition’s Rules Compendium, the Rules Cyclopedia contained everything you need to play – and when I say everything, I mean….. everything. From complete character generation for all levels of play from 1st to 36th (and beyond) to monster stat blocks, a complete game world (with colour hex maps) and more, the Rules Cyclopedia has the lot.

Basically, if it’s in D&D, it’s in this book. Want a Druid class? Paladins? Wandering Monster Tables? Planar Travel? Castle building? Seige combat? Naval combat? Manscorpions? Treasure tables? To get the equivalent content in 3rd Edition D&D you’d need all three Core Books and many other supplements to boot. By my reckoning, to equal the Rules Cyclopedia’s $24.95 value, you’d need to invest well over $200 in any other edition to even come close. Oh, and that $24.95 was the cover price back in 1991. Now, you can get all that goodness for around five bucks as a PDF from RPGNow. What’s not to love?

Ok, I’m gushing again. I’ll stop. Maybe. For a little while.

The thing is that not only is it a complete enough set of rules to keep me gaming and raving about it 18 years later, but it’s also damned good fun too. Sure, some of the rules might seem hinky on first impression, but the whole  thing hangs together beautifully. Unlike later Editions of D&D, if you want to change something you can without feeling like the whole thing is going to fall apart around your ears. This is a version of D&D that just begs to be toyed with, hacked and customized to your liking.

Y’know the crazy thing though? The more I play with the Rules Cyclopedia, the less I hack. It’s a zen-like voyage of discovery where you’ve got to go through the pages and pages of house rules and come out the other side.

Case in point: the Classic D&D Classes. In the Rules Cyclopedia we have Fighter, Thief, Magic-User and Cleric – all of whom are Human – and the demihuman “classes” of Elf, Dwarf and Halfling. In our campaigns we say that humans undergo a Casting ceremony while still a child (at birth or later, depending on religion and culture), and their path in life is revealed. The D&D human Classes are the character’s Caste, and wars have been fought over a child being Casted a Thief to a long line of noble Fighters. The other races have no such ceremony – an Elf is just an Elf – and are bemused by human’s pre-occupation with pidgeonholing each other. In many cultures, ordinary folks can’t afford the Casting ceremony (unless a kindly Cleric offers it for free), and end up as castless Commoners, shopkeepers, etc.

See? Suddenly the hinky Classic D&D classes make sense, and no House Rules needed. Zen, indeed.

Next: Let’s take a closer look at those Castes… I mean, Classes.

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Posted 12 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: ,

6 is 4 is 1

I’ve said before that 1st level in 4e D&D is comparable to 4th level in 3rd Edition. So where’s that put it against Rules Cyclopedia-era Classic D&D? 6th level, that’s where. Here’s a straight head-to-head comparison between a 1st level (4e), 4th level (3e) and 6th level (uhhh…. 0.5e) character to see how the numbers stack up.

Just to make things interesting, the character who’s going to get a multi-edition make-over is a Human Wizard (err… Magic-User) generated straight from the Core Rules for each Edition. I’ve used 4e’s standard array (10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, adjusted for race and level) for all the characters and max Hit Points at 1st level. For the Rules Cyclopedia, both the Skills and Weapon Mastery systems are being used (‘cos they’re the bomb) and I’ve allowed bonus memorized spells for high INT (13-15 = +1 1st, 16-17 = +1 1st & 2nd, 18 = +1 1st, 2nd & 3rd).

I used the excellent Javascript Character Generator for 4e, the rather spiffy Redblade generator for 3e and hairy chested old school pen and paper for Classic D&D. Each character has equipment appropriate to his level.

First, let’s meet the victim.

crumbb

Felonius Crumbb (with two Bs) is a portly, bookish Wizard with a fascination for the magic of forgotten Empires. Much as he’d rather do his research in a comfortable chair in front of a roaring fire, he accepts that field trips are essential, and (truth be told) quite enjoys the fresh air and chance to put his more explodey spells into practise. He has a habit of muttering to himself and poking dead things with the end of his staff.

Here’s his stats in 4e, 1st level.

Felonius Crumbb, Lawful Good Human Wizard-1
STR 10, CON 13, DEX 13, INT 16, WIS 12, CHA 14

HP 23, bloodied 11, surges 5×7/day
AC 14 (robes & staff), Fort 12, Ref 14, Will 15, Init +1

Dagger +3 vs AC, 1d4, Thrown +4 vs AC, 1d4+1
Quarterstaff +2 vs AC, 1d8
Ghost Sound/w, Light/w, Mage Hand/w, Prestidigitation/w
Cloud of Daggers/w +3 vs Ref, Magic Missile/w +3 vs Ref, Scorching Burst/w +3 vs Ref
Ray of Enfeeblement/e +3 vs Fort
Acid Arrow/d +3 vs Ref or Flaming Sphere/d +3 vs Ref

Arcana +8, History +11, Insight +6, Nature +6, Religion +8
Alchemist, Skill Focus (History)

Rituals: Brew Potion, Comprehend Language, Explorer’s Fire

…. and 3e, 4th level. (* denotes memorised spells)

Felonius Crumbb, Lawful Good Human Wizard-4
STR 10, DEX 14, CON 12, INT 17, WIS 13, CHA 15

HP 16, AC 13 (Ring of Protection+1, Cloak of Resistance +1), Init +2
Fort +3, Ref +4, Will +6

Quarterstaff+1, +3, 1d6+1

Decipher Script +10, Diplomacy +4, Gather Information +4, KS:Arcana +10, KS:Geography +7, KS:History +10, KS:Local +6, KS:Nobility +10, Search +5, Spellcraft +14, Use Magic Devices +4
Common, Elven, Draconic, Dwarven, Giant, Common

Combat Casting, Investigator, Magical Aptitude, Scribe Scroll, Brew Potion, Summon Familiar

Spells 4/4/3
0: Arcane Mark, Dancing Lights*, Detect Magic**, Prestidigitation, Read Magic*
1: Color Spray, Mage Armor*, Magic Missile***
2: Hypnotic Pattern*, Web**

…. and Classic D&D, 6th level. (again, * denotes memorised spells)

Felonius Crumbb, Lawful Magic-User-6
STR 10, INT 16, WIS 13, DEX 14, CON 12, CHA 15

HP 17, AC 6 (Ring of Protection +2), THAC0 17
DR/P 11, MW 12, P/TtS 11, BA 14, R/S/S 12

KS:History+2 (18), Alchemy (16), Navigation (16), Mapping+1 (17)

Staff of Harming (Sk), A:+2, A:-1AC/2, Deflect(1), 1d6+2 or 2d6+3 (30 charges)
Dagger+1 (Sk), 15/25/35, H:+2, H:-1AC/1, d6+1

Spells 3/3/1
1: Magic Missile**, Light, Protection from Evil, Shield*
2: Web**, Entangle*, Knock
3: Fireball*

Broadly speaking, the three characters are comparable. The 3e and 4e characters have identical Hit Points and Armor Class, and the saving throws are within spitting distance of each other. The Classic D&D character, even at 6th level, has lower Hit Points (hey, it’s a Magic-User – what did you expect?), but a higher Armor Class, especially when armed with a Staff – the Weapon Mastery rules mean he’s AC 5 against the first two attacks in a round, and he’s pretty skilled at cracking skulls too. Nice. Each Edition’s Skill system makes it clear that this is a character who knows his ancient history with 3rd Edition winning out with it’s lovely granularity and 4e’s broader skillset feeling like a step backward in comparison.

When it comes to each character’s abilities in combat there’s little difference with each one more than able to hold it’s own. Where the 4e version has a multitude of at-will abilities, both the 3e and Classic characters have Magic Missiles as 1st level spells and Web ‘n’ Fireball covering the per Encounter and Daily bases. 4e’s Rituals pad out the 4e Wizard’s non-combat magical abilities.

In short, yeh, these characters are equivalent. 6 is 4 is 1, indeed.

What this means is simple. If you want to play a high-fantasy high-octane D&D game in the style of 4e but using the 3rd Edition rules, generate 4th level characters but set the XP at 0. When the players reach 1,000 XP allow them to gain another level, and continue from there.

If you want to play 4e-style in Classic D&D, generate 6th level characters, start at 0 XP and…. oh, I’m sure you get the idea. It also means that 4e’s 30 levels of play are comparable to Classic D&D’s 36 levels of play with the first 6 levels shaved off. If you want to know where D&D low-level play went to, that’s where.

Thoughts?

UPDATE: 3e Wizard corrected, as spotted by Oz. This puts the Hit Points lower than 4e (and Classic D&D too, but that’s the way the dice fall sometimes), but the rest of the class abilities remain comparable nonetheless. Good catch!

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Posted 09 January 2009 † greywulf § RPG ‡ Comments (0) ° Also tagged: , , , , ,