Old School Rules (Shadowdark) RPG System: Gorgana Colony

Game Master DeJoker

Shadowdark Guidelines
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Temporary Guidelines on character creation see Recruitment

Character Creation Guidelines:

To be Posted

Gear:

Intial Crawling Kit
... Cost: 5gp
... Slots Used: per Backpack
... Includes: Backpack, Flint-n-Steel, Torch x2, Rations x3, Grappling Hook, Iron Spikes x10, Rope 60ft
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Backpack
... Cost: 2gp
... Slots: 0 when worn, 1 Slot otherwise
... Free Slots: The 5th, 10th and 15th Slot Used are Free
... Maximum Slots Held: 15
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Pouch
... Cost 1sp (first one is free)
... Slots: 0 for first, 1 otherwise
... Holds: 1-100 coins

Coins: Coins not in a pouch take up 1 Slot for each 1-100 coins. Further coins dropped directly into a backpack may get lost (per secret hidden GM rolls).

Basic Gear
Bag of Caltrops .... 5sp .... 1
Crowbar .... 5sp .... 1
Flask/Bottle .... 3sp .... 1
Flint-n-Steel .... 5sp .... 1
Gem .... *** .... 1-10/1
Grappling Hook .... 1gp .... 1
Iron Spikes x10 .... 1 gp .... 1-10/1
Lantern .... 5gp .... 1
Oil Flask .... 5sp .... 1
Mirror .... 10gp .... 1
Pole 10ft .... 5sp .... 1
Rations x3 .... 5sp .... 1-3/1
Rope 60ft .... 1gp .... 1
Torch .... 5sp .... 1

Armor:

Armor Type ........ Cost .... Slots .... AC ..................... Properties
Light Armor .......... 10gp ...... 1 ........ 11+DexMod .... Non-Metal Armor
Medium Armor .... 60gp ...... 2 ........ 13+DexMod .... DisAd w/Stealth, Swim
Heavy Armor ...... 130gp ..... 3 ......... 15 ..................... No Swim, DisAd Stealth
Shield .................... 10gp ...... 1 ........ +2 ..................... Occupies One Hand covers only front and left or front and right
Mithral .................... x4 ....... -1 ......... ** ..................... Metal armor only, cancels armor Properties

Weapons:

Weapon Type .... Cost .... Slots.... Type .... Range .... Damage .... Properties
Dagger ................. 1gp ......... 1 ....... M/R ....... C/N ......... 1d4 ........... F,Th
Short Sword ........ 7gp ......... 1 ......... M .......... C ............ 1d6 ........... F
Long Sword ......... 9gp ......... 1 ......... M .......... C ............ 1d8
War Axe ............. 10gp ......... 2 ......... M .......... C ............ 1d8 ........... V
Great Sword ...... 12gp ......... 2 ......... M .......... C ............ 1d12 ........ 2H
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Weapon Type .... Cost .... Slots.... Type .... Range .... Damage .... Properties
Club ........ 5cp ........ 1 .... M .... C .... 1d4
Hammer ....... 5gp ........ 1 .... M/R ... C/N .... 1d6 .... Th
Mace ........ 5gp ........ 1 .... M .... C .... 1d8
Maul ........ 10gpg ........ 1 .... M .... C .... 1d10 .... 2H
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Weapon Type .... Cost .... Slots.... Type .... Range .... Damage .... Properties
Javelin ........ 5sp ........ 1 .... M/R .... C/F .... 1d4 .... Th
Spear ........ 5sp ........ 1 .... M/R .... C/N .... 1d6 .... V,Th
Staff ........ 5sp ........ 1 .... M/R .... C/N .... 1d4 .... V, Th
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Weapon Type .... Cost .... Slots.... Type .... Range .... Damage .... Properties
Sling ........ 1sp ........ 0 .... R .... N .... 1d4
Shortbow ........ 6gp ........ R .... F .... 1d4 .... 2H
Crossbow ........ 8gp ........ 1 .... R .... F .... 1d6 .... 2H, L
Longbow ........ 8gp ........ 1 .... R .... F .... 1d8 .... 2H
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Properties
F = Finesse may use Str or Dex when attacking with this weapon
L = Loading must forgo moving to reload this weapon
Th = Thrown may make ranged attacks using Str or Dex
2H = Two-Handed must use two hands with this weapon
V = Versatile can use either one or two hands, increase the Melee damage by 1 Step when wielding it with two hands.
R = Range Can use wapon at (C)lose, (N)ear, or (F)ar range.

Ammunition:

Projectile Weapon Ammunition .... Cost 1 gp .... Slot: 1
... Box w/Bullets
... Case w/Bolts
... Quiver w/Arrows
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Ammo is tracked by Lot.
The current Lot will be considered empty each time one returns to the Colony.
A character can buy more than 1 Lot they just take up addtional Slots.

While in the field a Lot might run out as part of a critical failure.

Of course the projectile weapon might break as well but one can buy a repair kit for their weapon as follows:

Projectile Weapon Repair Kit
Sling Kit ............. Cost 5cp .... Slot: 1
Shortbow Kit .... Cost 3gp .... Slot: 1
Crossbow Kit .... Cost 4gp .... Slot: 1
Longbow Kit ..... Cost 4gp .... Slot: 1

Difficulty Class:

DC.. 9: Easy ------- Leaping a narrow chasm, sneaking up on an inattentive guard
DC 12: Normal --- Kicking open a stuck door, picking a poor lock
DC 15: Hard ------- Swimming against a strong current, giving first aid to stop a character from dying
DC 18: Difficult --- Climbing a slippery cliff, restraining a lion
DC 21: Extreme -- Climbing a slippery cliff one-handed, restraining a frenzied lion

Morale:

Anyone functioning individually that is reduced to Half their Hit Points must make a DC 15 Wisdom check or become demoralized. PCs suffer a -2 Morale Penalty to all Actions while NPCs just flee.

Groups consistimg of 3 or more with a designated leader may use their Leader's Wisdom modifier when making this save and the DC is only 12 until the group loses half or more of their starting number whereupon it goes back to a DC 15.

NOTE: PCs are considered to be operating individually unless they overtly denote they are following someone else as their leader. Whereupon they will be expected to follow the designated leader's orders. To get the leader bonus to Morale for PCs requires that the designated leader has at least two PC followers and then only those who have designated they are following said leader get the bonus.

Regardless if an individual drops to less than a Fourth of their Hit Points they must make that DC 15 check each round or become demoralized.

Dying:

Death Timer: 1d4 + Constitution Modifier (Min 1) secretly rolled by the GM

On your Turn make a Charisma check DC 18 plus any negative Hit Points to automatically stablize, regain consciousness and be at 1 HP. This can even occur after someone else has stabalized you to keep you from dying outright. However you are considered Dazed and have a -2 Physical Penalty to all Actions until you can rest for at least 1 hour.

If an individual's negative damage exceeds their Constitution they are immediately dead.

Stabalize Other
Close Range, DC 15 Intelligence check plus any negative Hit Points. Success the target stops dying but remains at at their current Hit Point total and is still unconscious.

Spell Focus:

One cannot cast a spell that requires Focus while maintaining a spell that requires Focus.

While Focussing on a spell, one must make a Spell Casting check at the start of each Turn to maintain the spell being Focussed upon.

Critical Success: One no longer needs to make Focus rolls, but are still considered Focussing on a spell.

Success: The spell stays in effect at least until one's next turn

Failure: The spell immediately ends but you do not lose the ability to cast that spell again.

Critical Failure: The spell immediately ends and one loses the ability to cast that spell again.

Search/Examine:

To Search or Examine a character may either use their Wisdom or Intelligence bonus, their choice.

Standard Old School Guidelines say that for a non-Elf to search for a Secret door took 10 minutes per 20-foot section of surface (wall or floor or ceiling). This thus means it took 1 minute per each 2-foot section of surface.

Thus I am going to say to do a single search or examine takes 1 minute of time (10 rounds) minus the the amount over 11 you get on the 1d20 roll without modifiers thus 10 down to 1 round.

Further to help speed things up I will be incorporating the Take-10 and Take-20 guidelines but if you choose to Take-10 it takes you a full minute. To Take-20 takes up to 20 minutes, 10 minutes plus 1 additional minute for each point above 10 that is required to beat the DC.

Final Note: In the case where more than one person is searching or examining I will take the worst result -- OR -- if the area is to small for more than one or two folks then I will apply the additional rolls as additional time.

Take-10 Take-20:

Take-10: When a character is not in any immediate danger nor distracted, they may choose to Take-10. Instead of rolling a 1d20 for the skill check, they calculate their result as if they had rolled a 10. For many routine tasks, Take-10 makes them automatically successful. Distractions or threats (such as combat) make it impossible for a character to Take-10. In most cases, Take-10 is purely a safety measure when the character knows (or at least suspects) that an average roll will succeed but fear that a poor roll might fail, so they elect to settle for the average roll (a 10). Take-10 is especially useful in situations where a particularly high roll would not be overly beneficial.

Take-20 Again when a character has plenty of time, they are not faced with any threats nor distractions, and the skill being attempted carries no penalties for failure, they can choose to Take-20. In other words, if they rolled enough times, eventually they will get a 20. Instead of rolling 1d20 for the skill check, they just calculate their result as if they had rolled a 20.

Taking 20 means you are trying until you get it right, and it assumes that you fail many times before succeeding. Taking 20 takes up to 20 times as long as making a single check would take (usually 2 minutes for a skill that takes 1 round or less to perform). However it is not static, it requires 10 times the amount of time plus 1 additional time increment for each number needed above 10 that is required to beat the DC.

The Rest Under Construction