Flintlock Fantasy House Rules

For the game I'm currently running, I use a heavily modified Old School Essentials crossed with Dungeon Crawl Classics. As the players are (with the exception of my wife) all first-time D&D/RPG players, a simple "old school" ruleset had my preference and I have a (Dutch!) copy of the Mentzer Basic set from the 80's. I didn't want to burden the players with choice between dozens of feats and a myriad of character races and classes, so the old school way seemed the best way.

That said, I did file some of the more "tough to explain" serial numbers from the ruleset. We use ascending AC and attack bonuses, for example. But also, we dropped the vestigial 3-18 ability score, instead only using the modifier (each player received 5 points to distribute among their various attribute modifiers).

In addition, I have taken a liking to certain embellishments and baroque elements that Dungeon Crawl Classics has added to the game. For example, Magic-Users, Elves and Clerics in my game don't lose a spell after casting. Instead, they make a spellcasting check modified by their spellcasting ability, aiming to score 10+spell level to cast. A failure means the spell isn't cast that round and a 1 means the spell is lost for the day. 

Furthermore, I like the Mighty Deeds mechanic for fighters and the corresponding Deed Die. Though Marcus the Fighter has yet to reach 4th level (and the raise in attack bonus), I have already laid out a system for adopting that mechanic. Instead of a static attack bonus increase, Fighters receive a greater bonus die to add to their attack at level 4 and every three levels thereafter. They can also, during their round in combat, state to perform a Mighty Deed such as backing the enemy into a corner, tripping their opponent or swinging from a chandelier. The Deed succeeds on a 3+ of the bonus die. 

Last but not least, I uniformed the XP progression for all classes. XP in the world of Flintlock Fantasy is gained by spending 2d6 x 100 gp a week carousing. The amount in gold spent is the XP gained that week. On average, that means 700 XP per week. I laid out a chart to see how many weeks it would be desirable to adventure before reaching level 2 and each level thereafter up to level 14. I then calculated the XP gain needed for each. 

There are various other minor changes. Flintlock weapons, for example, are the dominant form of offense and armor has had some flavor changes too. Those will get covered in an upcoming post. 

First Two Sessions

Saturday two weeks ago, the premiere session of Flintlock Fantasy took place. The players - a Thief, two Elves, two Halflings, a Fighter and a Magic-User* - an eclectic bunch of adventurers, pseudo-archaeologists and roustabouts, have just arrived in the town of Burg, located in a northern province of the newborn Burgundy Republic. The first session was spent in getting to know the locals and tapping the bar for rumors in the Brewer's Inn. Run by the middle-aged but vigorous innkeeper Eus, the Brewer's Inn is a hotbed of adventurers, scoundrels, traders and hustlers all looking for a take on the rich and hidden history of the surrounding countryside. 

(* We are using a houseruled Old School Essentials crossed with True20 for a ruleset. I might post about houserules in future installments.)

Spending a few hours - and coin on drinks - in the Brewer's Inn they learned various rumors: about shady figures near a forgotten king's tomb north of Burg, about an ancient sorcerer's lore hidden in the dunes west of town, and about shifting stones near the southeastern lake. But the rumor they decided to pursue came directly from innkeeper Eus himself: the hoard of gold hidden in a ruined abbey down south.

Entering the ruined abbey, the Thief climbed the walls to claim a vantage point over the ruins. She discovered a large altar to the northern end of the main building, surrounded by colored tiles. When stood upon, some of these tiles clicked down and once a number of them were pressed simultaneously, whirring and clanging could be heard from the dungeons below. Determined to investigate, one of the Halflings went down a staircase to the cellar, but lacking light sources (and nearing the end of the session), the party was unable to push on.

Yesterday, the adventure continued. The party started by purchasing some torches, flint and steel, rope and sacks (to carry the loads of treasure in they would undoubtedly liberate from the dungeons) from Trader Janszen in Burg's market square. They asked Janszen if there was anyone in town with magical knowledge. He directed them to a dilapitated tower behind the Council Hall. There, they met a sorceress by name of Wanda, who confirmed the party's suspicions that the color of the tiles in front of the abbey's altar had something to do with the four primal elements of Fire, Earth, Water and Air. This raised more questions for party members than answers, so it was decided they would come back to Wanda once they had more clues or ideas on the matter.

Plunging the dungeons beneath the abbey, they quickly chanced upon a slanting corridor to the second dungeon level. Making successful use of the Magic-Users continued casting of Sleep, they confronted an Owlbear, three Trolls and a chained Hydra, before making off toward town again with an assortment of coins, two necklaces, two rings, a jeweled belt and a potion of healing.