Post
by waysoftheearth » Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:32 pm
waysoftheearth wrote:
Hey Machfront, glad you made the find [img]images/smiley/smiley.png[/img]
Deep questions indeed. Well, without an undue degree of navel gazing, I would say simply that I love JRRT's works, and was inspired to "do something" by the discussion of a possible Middle Earth OD&D supplement on these boards, and a recent re-reading of the tale of Hurin.
I had fun writing up these rules. They were a natural evolution of the house rules I'd been playing in my Hinterlands game (also on these boards) for 18 months or so at the time.
A couple of things that I'm particularly happy with are;
1) XP charts based on race rather than class (non-humans have some of the sneak's abilities, and this is reflected in the additional XP required by each race),
2) The "dd" (damage dice) system works beautifully for PCs (and man-sized enemy). It is gives damage rolls with occasional "critical damage" built right in,
3) Use of basic supplies for "refreshment" (aka non-magical healing),
Some things that didn't quite work out as I expected are;
1) Ability requirements for Elves weren't steep enough, so we had more Elves and Half-elves than I planned,
2) The system of multiple attacks per round is a bit too hard. Next time I would simplify it to +1 attack per round at 4 HD, 8 HD, 12 HD, etc.
3) I suspect that the "dd" (damage dice) system doesn't work as well for larger than man-sized enemy. This is because it doesn't scale up proportionally; going from 1dd to 3dd is a much bigger increase than going from 3dd to 5dd.
I haven't really evaluated granting XP for exploration yet. I like the idea, but haven't had the opportunity to use it much in practice.
That's all I can think of right now... hope that's helpful [img]images/smiley/smiley.png[/img]
[f=32]
Golgildir the Elf Medium (MV 12", AC 9, HD 1, hp 1/1, AL N) great cloak,
lantern; spells: color spray; scrolls: sleep, sleep, charm person
Hirelings: Georges;
torch[/f]