Maps

Been a while since I posted on here. Thought I would share a couple from my current interest... Map making.

Half-Orcs

As Black Wyvern Press moves closer to releasing Tales of the North Volume 2 I thought I would share the Labyrinth Lord compatible half-orc class that was developed for part of that adventure.

Half-Orcs

Requirements: STR 9, CON 9

Prime Requisite: STR and DEX

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level: 10

Half-orcs result from orc and human matings. Orcs will breed with nearly any humanoid, and are fertile beings. The majority of orcish cross-breeds are nearly indistinguishable from orcs in appearance and behavior. Player character half-orcs are assumed to be within the rare 10% of orc hybrids that can pass as ugly humans.

Half-orcs are able to use any weapon but are restricted to using scale or less protective armor. They may use shields. Strength and dexterity are the prime requisites for the class and they must have a 13 in either to get a 5% bonus to experience, if they have at least a 16 in either and a 13 or better in the other ability then they get a 10% bonus to earned experience.

Half-orcs have 60’ infravision, and they can also move silently on a roll of 1-2 on 1d6, Half-orcs get a bonus of +1 to surprise rolls when alone or in a party composed only of half-orcs. A half-orc has the ability to backstab. He must catch an opponent unaware of his presence, using his move silently and surprise abilities. The half-orc will receive an attack bonus of +4 and will multiply all damage by 2.

Half-orcs may speak their alignment language, common, and orc. Half-orcs use the fighter attack table and save as thieves.

Half-Orc Level Progression
Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d8)
0	1	1
3,001	2	2
6,001	3	3
12,001	4	4
24,001	5	5
48,001	6	6
96,001	7	7
180,001	8	8
360,001	9	9
500,001	10	+3 hp only *

*Hit point modifiers from constitution are ignored

Reaching 9^th Level: Half-orcs that attain 9^th level can build a raiders stronghold in a remote area, often within striking distance of a major trade route. Other half-orcs and brigands will be attracted to the service of the half-orc. Lawful half-orcs will usually build their stronghold in chaotic territory.

To Begin With

I have in the last few months become a retro RPG fan. Specifically Labyrinth Lord by Goblinoid Games. I like many retro fans started playing with the Moldvay edition. I snubbed it for many years as I entered my late teens and played "Advanced D&D". No more kid stuff for me.

I moved through every stage of the game up to and including 3.5. It did take me a long time to convert from each edition to the next. I have never been trendy with any thing I do.

But I am digressing I really wanted to start off by recording what turned me into a grognard.

A few months back I decided that I wanted to put my players through T1-4. As I started converting it became very apparent that I was going to have 20th level characters before they were through or close. So much for following up with the A series and moving to the Gs. The conversion was incredibly tedious. I did get through the moathouse when I decided to see if anyone had tried this before... and maybe steal what they had done.

That led me to the conclusion that I really needed a light version of 3 to get everything I wanted out of the adventure. Which in turn led me to discovering Basic Fantasy. Quite and awesome little game. I am running the ToEE with it right now. Race and Class broken out. BAB combat system. I could easily make my group swallow this game. They had the same mentality I started with.

Further investigation and reading led me eventually to Labyrinth Lord. After playing both BFRPG and LL for quite a while now I have been converted entirely back to Old School methodology.

As I get older the appeal of the simple rule system really hits home for me. It is not just a step back to my childhood it is a step forward to a set of rules that I have time to develop for and play with minimal preparation. Gone are hours of tweaking the feats on my newest villain. I don't miss the cool powers and talents. Now my imagination sets the limits of what can be done not a set of expensive and expansive rule books that are often not balanced for play.

Thanks to all the founders of the OSR. May it march forever on!