Revised Magic Swords in MyD&D

In MyD&D the bonus of a magic sword was generally used to indicates the Grade of the weapon. So a +5 weapon was Grade A (or First Rank), a +4 weapon was Grade B (or Second Rank), and so on down to a +0 weapon being Grade F (or Sixth Rank). Over time, the Grade of the weapon became more important in defining the power and abilities of the weapon than the numerical bonus.

I was always a little unhappy with Gygaxian approach to magic weapons, mainly because a +1 bonus was a miniscule effect when you used a d20 to resolve combat. The original Chainmail approach used 2d6 instead, where a +1 bonus created a much more sizeable bonus because of the normal distribution of the 2d6 roll. On Chainmail and OD&D, 75% of swords were +1, and the maximum bonus for legendary named weapons was +3. That 2% chance of a +3 sword was supposed to represnt finding magic swords such as Excalibur, Gram and Durandel. In MyD&D these have always been represented by the legendary Grade A (+5) weapons, which must be named and have a dedicated purpose.

In the MyD&D grade system a Grade F (+0) weapon is effectively a masterwork weapon. It gives no actual bonus in combat, but is a status-boosting item for characters, increasing the character's perceived fighter level by the magic bonus of the craftsman. So a masterwork weapon produced by 7th level weaponsmith would grant the wielder a +3 bonus to the characters Fighter level. As a side effect of their craftsmanship, a masterwork blade can be enchanted without shattering the blade when the enchantment ends.

Now there was only one type of Grade E (+1) sword in MyD&D. It traditionally provided a +1 bonus to the wielder (as well as the status bonuses of a masterwork weapon). This bonus was a result of the simple perfection of the sword rather than being the result of any overt entchantment. Now I consider this bonus to be inadequate for the idea behind the weapon. So my new proposal is that Grade E (+1) and higher swords be reclassified as a "magic sword" in MyD&D.

All magic swords in MyD&D will allow the character to roll two d20 and take the highest of the two results as the result of the roll (the same as for advantage in 5E).

The comparative chance of success for a normal person using a +1 magic sword is given in the following table.

Armour Worn	OD&D Sword+0	Chainmail Sword+0	OD&D Sword+1	Chainmail Sword+1	MyD&D Sword+1
No Armour	60%	58%	60%	72%	80%
Shield Only	50%	42%	55%	58%	75%
Leather/Padded	45%	42%	50%	58%	70%
Leather&Shield	49%	28%	45%	42%	64%
Chainmail	35%	42%	40%	58%	58%
Chainmail&Shield	30%	42%	35%	58%	51%
Plate	20%	58%	25%	72%	44%
Plate&Shield	10%	42%	15%	58%	36%

Grade D (+2) weapons have always had a +1 bonus in MyD&D and so are the same as Grade E weapons under these revised rules. There are two types of Grade D weapons - weapons with a special magical ability and bane weapons.Having these abilities do not make the magic sword more effective as a sword.

• Bane weapons are those listed in OD&D as +1/+3 vs a specific target. In MyD&D these do double damage against the indicated target type (roll double the damage die rather than multiplying by 2). Remember in OD&D all weapons originally did d6 damage, so doubling the damage has the same general effect.
• Magical weapons have special abilities culled from the intelligence powers table. Although I used a modified version of the table by John T Sapienza Jr from Different Worlds 4 so the special abilities are much more varied than the ones fornd in the OD&D table. These powers may be active (which need to be invoked by the user), or passive (and simply affect the user).

Grade C (+3) weapons are reforged in an elemental forge and imbued with the elemental energies of the forge. Mythically they are considered twice-forged weapons as a result. Note that elemental energies include both classical elements such as fire, earth, metal, ice, and stone, but also more abstract elements such as death, undeath, holy, unholy, and even things like love (although a sword or knife embued with love energies is probably going to cut emotional bonds as a result, rather than create them; arrows and clubs on the other hand...). The advantage in these swords is entirely due to their elemental affinities rather than their being better swords, so I don't think I will pursue my original plan of rolling three d20 for a hit roll.

Grade A and B (+4 and +5) weapons are elemental weapons that are forged for a third time, which shapes the elemental energies into a dedicated function. For example am elemental metal sword (a Grade C weapon) can cut through most substances and lesser metals with ease, negating the effects of armour (for example). An elemental metal sword reforged into a sword of sharpness (a Grade B weapon) can cause crippling injuriies with a successful strike. The one-and-only vorpal sword (a Grade A sword) can do the same to creatures that are normally resistant to such injuries. Again, having these powers does not make the weapon a better sword, just a more dangerous one. So again, the hit probability need not be changed as a result.

The corollary of this is, of course, that wearing "magic armour" (Grade E or better armour) causes anyone targetting the wearer to roll two d20 and use the lower result (the same as disadvantage in 5E). Which is a pretty severe penalty. Fortunately, when wielding a magic sword against a target in magic armour both factors will cancel out and a single d20 is rolled to determine the success of the attack. Of course the nature of the other abilities of weapon and armour will affect the fight.

I will point out that high grade magic items are pretty rare, even though I actually have written guidelines of how to forge them. The first step is to find a craftsman with sufficient abilities to make them and convince them (and most likely their employer) to do the work for you. Then there are the materials required, which tend to be rather expensive. And for equipment of grade C and above you will need to find an appropriate elemental node to charge the elemental forge with the required energies. The vast majority of magic items are of the Fourth Rank or less.

Aristocratic Families

Within the aristocratic caste it's all about the family. This makes the generation of the character's family a bit more complicated than other castes.

Family Title

It is first neccessary to generate the Family Title. This is done by rolling 2d6 and consulting the following chart. If this roll is a "12," the player has the option of rerolling using 3d6. [In this case leave the dice on the table.]

2d6	Family Title
2	None.
3	Household Knight/Courtier
4	Manorial Knight
5	Knight Bannerette
6	Baron
7	Viscount
8	Count
9	Marquis
10	Duke
11	Prince
12*	King
13**	High King
14**	Great King
15**	Minor Emperor
16**	Emperor
17**	Great Emperor
18**	World Emperor
* If a natural 12 is rolled on the first roll the player has the option to roll 3d6 instead. They must take this result, even if it is less than 12. ** If this title does not exist in the game then the family is of ancient royal blood.

If the roll is a "2" the family is considered of noble blood but there is no title or estate to inherit for whatever reason. As a result there is no need to continue the aristocratic family genration progress.

If the 3d6 roll gives a title that does not exist in the game, then take the lowest two dice of that roll (or roll 2d6 again) to determine the family's actual title. However the family is considered to be of "ancient royal blood." This attribute can be used to justify the family's claim on the crown.

Inheritance Rank

This is literally the number of people between the character and their inheriting the family title (not including the character). Roll 2d6 to determine this number. Remember that player characters are neither the heir nor the spare, which is why they have turned to the career of an adventurer to make their own fortune in the world.

Note that the title-holder (noble) will have an immediate family of 1d6+1 people that might potentially inherit the title.

If the Inheritance Rank is greater than the number of the immediate family then the character is considered a distant cousin. It is not unknown historically for such a cousin to discover they have inherited the title, especially after a "successful" peasant uprising. [Successful in this case means the peasants ambushed and killed the noble and their family, the uprising was supressed by the neighbouring nobles (who are generally not of an overly progressive bent), and a few token peasant "ringleaders" were hanged.]

As a reminder, eliminating the people between you and the title is generally frowned upon by polite society. [Even leavinbg aside that technically an adventurer has foresworn their birthright (although there are many cases of them claiming it anyway).]

Family Reaction

Technically the family reaction roll (2d6 + Cha bonus) to your choice to become an adventurer represents the reaction of the titular head of the family. If you are a cousin, you may also elect to make a reaction roll for your own immediate family (which will also consist of 1d6+1 siblings). This may substitute for the equippage roll if it is better than the noble family reaction.

Note that a Positive, Friendly or Allied reaction (9+) often comes with an unspoken understanding that the character is also supposed to support the family interests while acting as an adventurer. Failure to do so may reduce the family's reaction level (and the assistance that can be covertly obtained from them in the future).

A Quick Summary of Martial Arts

All classes in MyD&D have the capability to evoke "magical" effects. The magic-using classes (Mage, Cleric, and Adept) do this overtly with spells, sutras, and masteries. The combat-orientated classes (Fighter, Ranger, and Rogue) may do so using the various martial arts. The term is generic for all three classes, although each class has their own specialised forms of martial arts.

Like spells, specific martial arts must be learned from ancient treatises or from someone that already knows the technique. The same procedure is followed. The treatise must be studied for a week and then the student makes a d12 roll against the standard spell knowledge table. If they roll the number specified or less, then they have understood the techniques sufficiently to be able to invoke it. This base number is altered by the characteristics of the student. Any class may add their Willpower bonus to the number. If it is higher, fighters may add their Charisma bonus to this number instead, while rogues may add their Intelligence bonus to this number instead. Rangers may use either their Charisma bonus or their Intelligence bonus, depending on the nature of the martial art.

For example, Fred the 1st level Fighter has a treatise that teaches the first level martial art of hands of fire. From the table we see that the base chance of doing so is 1 in 12. However Fred has a Willpower of 9 and a Charisma of 16, which means that he gets a +2 bonus, meaning the chance is actually 3 in 12. After studying the treatise for a week, his player rolls the dice and gets a "2." Fred has learned how to focus his fire qi sufficiently to manifest flames from his fists, causing his melee attacks to also have the fire elemental effect.

Note that each repeated attempt of learning from the same treatise reduces the target number by 1. If you cannot learn the technique within that time, then the treatise is not suitable for you.

Note that a practioner may specialize in a specifc form of elemental qi. This makes learning techniques involving that qi easier to learn, while other techniques become harder to learn. As for specialising in a type of magic, this reduces the effective level of any technique using the qi the character has specialised in by 1, whilst increasing the effective level of any other technique by 1. This also applies to the cost of invoking the technique as well as learning it.

Fred is now a 6th level fighter who has specialised in fire-based martial arts. The 3rd level body of fire is considered to be a 2nd level technique for him. This means he has (assuming his bonuses have not changed) his chance of learning this technique is 4 in 12. Similarly the first level feet of water is also considered a 2nd level technique for him, again with a 4 in 12 chance of success.

Note that there is no difficulty in learning techniques that make use of different qi. However invoking techniques that make use of different qi may result in something called qi poisoning. This is particularly true if the qualities of the qi are naturally opposed, or the area of their affect overlap. If you can relate the qi in some manner then the chance of poisoning is much reduced.

Because of his specialisation, just having Fred invoke feet of water has a chance of causing qi poisoning, since water is naturally opposed to fire. If he also invoked hands of fire this chance would increase. And if he invoked body of fire it would almost certainly cause qi poisoning.

You will note that most martial arts are simply described using a body part and a form of elemental energy representing the qi of the martial artist. This makes it relatively easy to randomly generate a treatise; although there are many commonly known techniques as well, such as feet of air (allowing free movement over difficult terrain) and hands of fire (allows melee attacks to also have the fire elemental effect). In setting they almost certainly have much more poetic names.

The exact effect of the martial art is usually determined by the qi invoked. Note that qi is internalised elemental energies and will generally have the same effects. So hands of metal will cause the practioners hands to cause damage in a fight as if they were sharp weapons. The actual damage die used in this situation is determined by the character's level, so a 1st level fighter would do damage equivalent to a dagger (d4).

The level of the martial art technique generally determines the size of the body part that is affected. For example:

• 1st level: The hands, feet, eyes, ears, mouth, or heart.
• 2nd level: Legs, arms, tail, wings, or chest.
• 3rd level: Body.
• 4th level: Extrabody. For example having wings of fire when the character does not have any natural wings.

Martial arts are generally a lot more limited in level than spells simply because most practioners do not possess high enough SP to freely make use of higher level techniques.

Like spells, the cost to invoke a martial arts technique is equal to (the level of the technique + 1) squared in SP. So a 1st level technique will cost 4 SP to invoke. This will require an action, and usually involve some sort of performative activity to do so. The effect will last for the scene, or until dismissed.

The actual martial arts tend to be associated with the style of combat of the class. So fighters have martial arts that focus on melee combat, rangers have martial arts that focus on missile combat, and rogues have martial arts that focus on avoiding combat. As with spellcasters, the basic "cantrip" magic of each class is not actually considered a martial art. For fighters, for example, this is the ability to make a special attack (an attack that has some other effect than causing damage) for 1 SP.

[Quick Review] Steadings & Followers

For those players and gamemasters interested in a quick and easy system for building settlements then I would take a look at Sibling Dex's Steadings & Followers supplement for Dragonbane. Looks like a nice system for building out your local village/township, regardless of what rules system you use, and is available for free from here.

That said, I do like those systems that don't just build a settlement but also provide explicit benefits for the lord (presumably the player) investing in the settlement. Examples of these include:

• The Book of the Manor for Pendragon which provides the character with bonus checks during the Winter Phase based on what they add to their manor, improve income, and the loyalty of their peasants. For example buidling a Hunting Lodge on your lands earns you a free check of the Hunting skill each Winter Phase.
• Houses of the Blooded which provides the players with free checks based on what is built. For example building a brewery can give the players free Courage checks.
• The Dawnline which allows the player vampires to update and improve the human village they are sheparding through the predawn. Such as a Butchers Rack that allows the village to trade Distance for Sustenance (too much time spent may mean the Dawn catches up to everyone), or a Cartographer's Wagon that gives bonus Distance moved each downtime phase.

Beyond, of course, having local craftsmen available at need.

Armour Absorption in MyD&D

One of my big problems with D&D is that artificial armour is simply not as effective as it was in history.

One way to improve this is to allow armour to negate a certain amount of damage. Now there are a number of ways to do this. Many games, including Runequest for example, just absorb a fixed amount of damage. Dragon Warriors has a novel systems where weapons do a fixed amount of damage, but have an Armour Bypass Roll that must be tested against the armour worn to do that damage. But my favourite comes from an old article in Alarums & Excursions (whose author I have unfortunately forgotten) that uses random damage absorption.

Armour Worn	Damage Absorbed
Padded	d2
Leather	d4
Studded Leather/Ringmail	d6
Chainmail	d8
Splint/Banded	d10
Plate	d12

Magic armours get to add their magical bonus to the effect.

Chivalric weapons, which are designed to be swung with great force in order to defeat armoured opponents, halve the damage absorption (round down), but at the cost of striking last in the round (unless they also have reach).

Note that all this is in addition to the normal penalty to hit the target due to AC.

This does help greatly improve a fighter's power, and is invaluable in one-on-one adventuring games. The only problem is that you now need to go through your Manual of Monsters and determine what component of the creature's AC is due to armour that is worn, and what component is due to speed and magic (or whatever other factors might apply). I do like the variability this system provides in that you can generally rely on armour, but it's not always completely predictable and a lucky shot might make it through a gap.

Character Upkeep

The standard annual upkeep of a character is equal to the square of their their level in gp (£). Due to the fact that there are 12 sp in each gp, this is also the monthly upkeep of the character. Either assumes that the character is in a somewhat settled situation. If the character is living day-to-day then they may pay this fee in cp, but this works out to be 50% more expensive since there are 20 cp in each cp, but 30 days in each month (not accounting for the standard festivals).

A character is free to spend more than this amount and appear to be of higher status than they would normally appear to be. Conspicuous consumption is in fact encouraged; a miser that hoards their money may be wealthy but will not generally be treated as being wealthy (except by thieves wanting to steal their hoard).

If the character cannot pay their full upkeep over the year they are considered "poor." Their clothing and equipment will not be replaced as normal and will show the signs of their poor status; it will gain the fragile attribute for each of the levels the character is short paying their full annual upkeep (round up). This is the number of d6 that are rolled each month to determine whether a piece of the character's equipment need's repair [d6:1-3], breaks [4-5]. or is otherwise lost [6]. One piece of equipment will be affected for each roll. In choosing what equipment is affected, generally choose the most expensive piece of equipment the character owns. However if the character has hirelings, they will be the first to be lost, then henchmen. If a character has a stronghold, then this will generally be the first thing lost.

A character cabn choose to live at a lower social status, but will be treated as if that is their status. However note that as player characters start at second level their minimum assumed status is that of a townsman (£4 upkeep). This entitles them to certain benefits in society, such as freedom to travel and bear common weapons. Living on less than this amount may cause legal problems for the character.

Certain costs to the character may be expressed in terms of the character's upkeep. For example, the cost of an extra outfit is generally equal to the character's monthly upkeep. although court clothing may cost a character an amount equal to their yearly upkeep. And a dress for that royal ball, even more. Note that your normal clothing is technically replaced each year (as long as the character pays their upkeep).

Comparison with standard upkeep

The following table list the standard annual upkeep by social class and rank. Note that this upkeep is automatically included in the wages provided by their employment, although generally not in terms of actual money, but rather kind. Support may be just for the individual themselves, the individual and a spouse, of the individual and their family. Note that no rebate is provided if the character lacks a spouse or family; they are assumed to be working to eae costs.

The upkeep for a character can be directly comparedto these values. For example a starting character is considered to be the equivalent of a townsmen, and thus generally has a right to travel and a right to bear arms. Remember that the highest level character in this game is 12th, with an annual upkeep of £144, although it is entirely probably that such a character will have acquired a much more important position with a higher upkeep )fortunately provided by that position. Not that characters that have a formal position get "free" ipkeep at the appropriate level.

Social Rank	Annual Upkeep
Beggar [1]	£0
Peasant [2]	£1
Freeman [3]	£2
Townsman [4]	£4
Guildsman [5]	£8
Official [6]	£16
Gentry [7]	£32
Baron [8]	£64
Count [9]	£125
Duke [10]	£250
Prince [11]	£500
King	£1,000
High King	£2,000
Great King	£4,000
Minor Emperor	£8,000
Emperor	£16,000
Great Emperor	£32,000
World Emperor	£64,000
Galactic Emperor	£125,000
Cosmic Emperor [12]	£250,000

[1] A beggar does not need to pay upkeep but is required to make monthly survival skill tess to find shelter and food and avoid trouble with the authorities. An urban beggar usually requires a small city or greater to be eligible to make these rolls, unless the settlement has a poorhouse (or similar institution), generally sponsored by a religion that believes in charity to the poor. A beggar can also live in the wilderness as a hermit, living off the land. However this is often considered illegal by the noble that owns the land.

[2] Your typical peasant is not free and usually bound to the land (either through serfdom, slavery or tenancy). This is also the level of upkeep required for basic servants and slaves, labourers, and apprentices.

[3] The rural freeman or village elder. These usually have a rural job. This is also the upkeep required of a typical servant or slave or worker.

[4] A tradesman (owner of a non-guild business) in a town, or a salaried journeyman will typically have this level of upkeep. Also includes seniorr servants and slaves and skilled workers who are not guildsman. A rural master will also requirethis level of upkeep (living in the country is cheaper).

[5] The master in a guild (owner of a guild business) or junior official.

[6] A guild official (such as guildmaster, treasurer, or secretary), or a town or city official, such as a magistrate. A junior royal official.

[7] The owner of an estate, mine, or wealthy business. A knight. The mayor of a town or small city. A royal official. In general, a non-noble person of quality.

[8] Someone that holds a large estate directly from the sovereign. Note at this and higher levels it may be difficult to maintain this status without actually holding the appropriate title.

[9] A rich baron.

[10] A rich count.

[11] This refers to a sovereign prince (or poor king), such as the ruler of a city-state, rather than the son of a king (whose upkeep is provided as part of the king's family).

[12] Yes I am being ridiculous, but technically it is a game-approved rank within the aristocratic caste. Also at these levels the character's holding require much more in maintainance than the character's upkeep. Those planet-sized palaces for galactic emeprors are not cheap to keep clean.

Saving Throws

In MyD&D saving throws are performed by making a Difficult skill test (d30) against the appropriate characteristic.

Saving Throw	Characteristic
Save vs Paralysis & Petrification	STR
Save versus Poison & Death	CON
Save versus Breathe & Blast	DEX
Save vs Sorcery & Spells	INT
Save vs Magic	WPR
Save vs Fear & Charm	CHA

Choice of Saving Throw: The choice of what saving throw is made is determined by the player, depending on the nature of the attack and the character's response to it. For example when attacked by a wand of paralysis the character could respond by taking cover (a save versus magic [INT]), dodging the attqck (a save versus blast or breathe [DEX]), resisting the magic of the wand (a save versus spells [WPR]), or resisting the effect itself (a save versus paralysis {STR]). The character can only save once, so they will usually choose the ebst save they have. Note that some saves may be more difficult than others. For example dodging out of the way of an area effect attack is usually performed by halving the character's DEX score, unless the character actively attempts to use movement to get out of the area of effect.

Amulets of Protection: A common form of magical enchantment is a protection against a certain attack form. These do not provide a bonus directly, but instead reduce the difficulty of the saving throw to normal. For example a sword might grant the user protection vs magic, which will cause the user to save vs magic by making a d20 throw against WPR. Some protections may be more limited in scope, only protecting against specific forms of atatck. Note that enchantments applied to items that are already protective in nature (shields, armour, and amulets) may grant the yser increased protection with their use (such as a shield being used to take physically take cover from a dragon's breath weapon attack. The majority of protection enchantments are of the fourth rank (Grade D; +2).

Amulets of Protection 2: Amulets of Greater Protection provide full immunity against the specified attack form. These are normally Magic Items of the Second Rank (Grade B; +4), although if they simply protect against elemental forms of attack they can be created as Magic Items of the Third Rank (Grade C;+3). In any case it requires the appropriate Elemental Forge to create them, and they almost always take the form of amulets, rather than an enchantment on another device. Note that they may have collateral effects, such as preventing the user from making use of the element that they protect against. In game terms these convert any appropriate saving throw to Easy difficvulty (automatically successful unless the user is crippled in that characteristic). Note that these amulets also negate half damage on a failed save.

[Design Notes]: Remember that in MyD&D the character's characteristics increase as the character levels. This allows the saving throws to reasonably match those used in OD&D for the various classes. This version is slightly different from the one playtrested in my game in that the INT save used to be Save vs Wands & Staves and the WPR save used to be Save vs Magic &aamp; Spells. Note that I have added a sixth save (Save vs Fear & Charm), both to complete the tableau, but also because undead in my game tend to have an aura of fear that affects mortals.