30 Day D&D Challenge - Describe a Magic Item You Created - Day Seven

Today's Topic is "Describe a Magic Item You Created" as we continue our celebration of International Original Dungeons and Dragons Month!

Well the magic item I would like to discuss is the sword, specifically a Holy Sword, but to do that I have to give you some background. I have been tweaking and changing magic items and how they work for a long time, this is my 45th year of OD&D and I have tried a lot of different things. Here is what I currently do. 

First is you read my earlier essay about Paladins, you know that I have Fighting Men who at 4th level can become Paladins of the Sword and in a similar fashion Clerics become Paladins of the Mace and Dwarves become Paladins of the Axe. So all three types can obtain after a Perilous Quest, respectively a Holy Sword, Holy Mace or Holy Axe all of which are intelligent.

In my campaign all magic swords are Intelligent with Ego. In OD&D these scores for both range from 1 to 12 with only swords of an INT of 7 or higher having Ego which then ranges from 1-12. My first tweak is that all Magic Swords have a minimum INT of 7 and the range is 7-16 (a range of 10).

Now while all magic swords are Intelligent, the only other magic weapons that are Intelligent are the Holy Mace and the Holy Axe as the only exception and they are treated the same as Magic Swords. All other Magical Maces and Axes are not Intelligent.

The other thing that is different about Magic Swords is that they come in three types. The first and most common is  an unseasoned sword, it has never been used for anything to spark its growth and while it starts with some power, its power is mostly nascent and will grow as the character grows. So if the character gains the sword at 3rd level, by the time he reaches 10 th level his sword will have grown in power as well. 

The second type of sword (1 in 100) is partially seasoned, having had one or more owners that used it well and fought some significant battles and from these things the sword under went some growth and it will start off more somewhat more powerful and will grow from there.

Magic Swords can and have been passed down in families from generation to generation growing more powerful over time. The original owner - his character and alignment must match the swords alignment and purpose in order to be able to use the sword. An un-attuned character will take 1d12 damage from handling the sword, if they continue to try to wield it, they take 1d12 damage the first round, 2d12 the second round and it escalates each round.

In each succeeding generation of the family only a worthy member of the family can use the sword and after the 3rd generation uses the sword, the sword becomes known as a True Sword and it will actively look in each succeeding generation for the True Heir which will be the MOST worthy member of the next generation. These swords pass to men or women.

The third type of sword (1 in 1000 up to 1 in 100,000) will be a sword that is or is on the verge of reaching Legendary Status being known as a True Blood Sword or a Holy Sword (depending on who has used it). All Holy Swords are of this type. These swords become independent of family ties and instead each will seek the MOST worthy person to wield it. It may if no worthy wielder can be found, it may disappear from the fabric of reality and stay hidden until a worthy wielder is found.

NOTE: This does not mean that these swords will automatically have +5 H and/or D bonuses. There powers and what makes them special may take other forms. They can also have a range of powers more extensive than that original presented in OD&D. 

So I created a Holy Sword named The Golden Bell, so named for the bell tones it sings forth when in use. It is a Lawful Sword with a Triple Special Purpose. It is purposed to Defeat Chaos, Destroy Evil and to Vanquish Undead. It has a INT of 16 and an Ego of 12. It is +1 H and +1 D against all Creatures; +3 H and +3 D against Chaotic Creatures and Evil Creatures; and +5 H and +5 D and Double Damage versus all Undead. When wielding this sword a Paladin dispels Evil/Undead/Spells and such as though he were four levels higher. When wielding the sword in battle he receives for the duration of combat a bonus of 5d10 HPs and the sword will always fight until all Evil and/or Undead are Destroyed/Vanquished, the sword will also never retreat when battling Evil or Undead and will always seek to confront the most powerful foe. If the Paladin is killed, the sword immediately disappears. All other standard Paladin Holy Sword powers apply. 

If a Paladin commits a Chaotic Act it will not function for him until he has completed an appropriate quest (if allowed depending on the act), if he commits an Evil Act, it will immediately attempt to slay him, after which it will disappear as it looks for someone worthy.

Tomorrow the seventh topic for International Original Dungeons & Dragons Month is "Tell How You Run Magic Potions."

30 Day OD&D Challenge - Handling Artifacts, Relics and More - Day Thirty

Today's Topic is "Handling Artifacts, Relics and More" as we continue our celebration of International Original Dungeons and Dragons Month! What I will discuss is how I handle Artifacts, Relics and near/future Artifacts and Minor Artifacts.

As I said, I suggest that you create items that are specific to your own home brew game world and come up with your own colorful names. Assign the powers, abilities and features to each item in a way that fits the flavor and character of your world and your campaign. There is no one size fits all when it comes to Creating Artifacts, Relics and so on.

If you go to this post (30 Day D&D Challenge - Describe a Magic Item You Created - Day Seven) that I made early in the month, I talk about creating Magic Swords.  

In this post I spoke of three types of Magic Swords. The third type being a sword that is or is on the verge of reaching Legendary Status (Artifact). Those that are not there yet are Minor Artifacts on the verge of becoming a full fledged Artifact. When I say on the verge of becoming that is a relative term, it might take hundreds of years to complete the transition from minor to major.

These major swords are True Blood Swords or Holy Swords. These swords become independent of family ties and instead each will seek the MOST worthy person to wield it. If no worthy wielder can be found, it may disappear from the fabric of reality and stay hidden until a worthy wielder is found.

NOTE: This does not mean that these swords will automatically have +5 H and/or D bonuses. There powers and what makes them special may take other forms. They can also have a range of powers more extensive than that original presented in OD&D. 

So I created a Holy Sword named The Golden Bell, so named for the bell tones it sings forth when in use. It is a Lawful Sword with a Triple Special Purpose. It is purposed to Defeat Chaos, Destroy Evil and to Vanquish Undead. It has a INT of 16 and an Ego of 12. It is +1 H and +1 D against all Creatures; +3 H and +3 D against Chaotic Creatures and Evil Creatures; and +5 H and +5 D and Double Damage versus all Undead. When wielding this sword a Paladin dispels Evil/Undead/Spells and such as though he were four levels higher. When wielding the sword in battle he receives for the duration of combat a bonus of 5d10 HPs and the sword will always fight until all Evil and/or Undead are Destroyed/Vanquished, the sword will also never retreat when battling Evil or Undead and will always seek to confront the most powerful foe. If the Paladin is killed, the sword immediately disappears. All other standard Paladin Holy Sword powers apply. 

If a Paladin commits a Chaotic Act it will not function for him until he has completed an appropriate quest (if allowed depending on the act), if he commits an Evil Act, it will immediately attempt to slay him, after which it will disappear as it looks for someone worthy.

Here is what I said about Magic Swords in this post (OD&D and Magic Sword House Rules) five years ago in February of 2015. 

Magic Swords, unlike other magic items, are intimately tied to their master on every plane of existence. A magic sword once claimed and used by its master, then becomes the ultimate symbol of its master’s power. An unused, unclaimed magic sword starts out as a semi-sentient entity with the potential for relating to its master as a good dog relates to its dearly loved master. Magic Swords start as a blank slate and align themselves over time with the alignment of their master. A magic sword has its own life-force that it bonds with its master’s life-force when it is treated with the proper respect and care and they become intertwined over time so that they cannot be separated willingly. 

A mistreated magic sword will turn on its master seeking to cause him harm in battle and slowly drinking his life force. A stolen sword is deadly to the thief and will seek to return to its rightful master. 

When the master of a sword dies, if he so chooses, his soul will combine with the sword increasing the power of the sword, its Intelligence and its Ego. In this way it is sometimes possible for a great Artifact to be created. 

When its master dies there are usually only two things that can normally be done with a magic sword, one is to pass it on to a blood relative who must be like minded with the original master and must seek vengeance for the original master’s death if the killer still lives and if they choose to take up the sword. These inherited swords are the only ones that do not start as a blank slate. If the blood relative is not like minded or does not choose to seek vengeance assuming the killer lives, then they should not take up the sword or it will turn on them. 

Inherited swords can be passed down through several generations until a suitable master is found. The other option is to bury the sword with its master where it will guard its master and is deadly to grave robbers. 

When the conditions are right for an Artifact to be created, these Magic Swords have a definite purpose and as such it is possible for someone other than a blood relative to wield the sword. This type of sword will seek out the person best suited to fulfill its purpose. Usually this person will have to undergo a series of tests in order to be found worthy.

A newly gained magic sword starts with the ability to glow in the presence of its new master’s enemies and the ability to wound anything that requires magic or silver to wound. As the master grows in power and skill, so grows the sword and they will grow from semi-sentient to fully sentient over time. Swords will as their master grows discover talents unique to that master. No two swords are ever the same. Swords used by those who also wield magic will discover talents unique to that master. Swords forged with unique and special metals will also discover unique talents. The more powerful the master, the more powerful the sword will become.

As I said, design these items in a way that makes sense in your campaign.

An Artifact that I created was my version of Ioun Stones. I allowed the player characters action to be woven into the mythology of the items. Here is what happened:

The players entered a room and as they investigated it they came across a box of black heavy cubes that were cold to the touch. All of the players ignored them except for the 9 year old girl who was playing a Cleric. IIRC she was up to 3rd level at the time. I also had at that point implemented the possibility for both fighters and clerics to become Paladins at fourth level if they were "chosen."  So she picked up three of them and as she held them they warmed up, became lighter in weight, turned white and began to glow. I also told the player character that she was getting a friendly feeling from the cubes. The other players were in a big hurry to move on, completely ignored everything that I told the 9 year old and rushed her away or she may have taken more of the cubes at the time. There were a few hundred present. 

Now I had planned that they would only respond to the first player that handled them, but not to anyone else. So I made it a trait of these cubes that only the chosen would show interest in them. These cubes come in sets of nine stones. There are multiple sets and each one is completely unique. This particular set is known as "The Colorful Cubes of Ceruveaux the Good" a Legendary Cleric-Paladin. These sets are specific for the race, class, and alignment of the PC. You don't find them, they find you and if you fail to gain all of them they will follow you until they are a united complete set. When they are complete then all of the benefits become apparent, until then only partial or random effects occur. If the PC "chosen" by these cubes dies both the PC and the cubes disappear instantly.

Had they went back to the room again, the cubes would have been gone. But the six cubes she did not take, gradually sought her out. Unlike Ioun Stones, these cannot be grabbed and taken because they take evasive action and will defend themselves. The other thing is that when the set is fully assembled they become sentient and can communicate telepathically with their "chosen." When the set is together each cube assumes its own color, up till then they remain white.

That is enough for today, I will likely return to this subject at another time.

OD&D and Magic Sword House Rules

How do you run Magic Swords in your campaign? I have run them a lot of different ways over the years. Here is the current method I use in my Redwall inspired campaign:
Magic Swords

Magic Swords, unlike other magic items, are intimately tied to their master on every plane of existence. A magic sword once claimed and used by its master, then becomes the ultimate symbol of its master’s power. An unused, unclaimed magic sword starts out as a semi-sentient entity with the potential for relating to its master as a good dog relates to its dearly loved master. Magic Swords start as a blank slate and align themselves over time with the alignment of their master. A magic sword has its own life-force that it bonds with its master’s life-force when it is treated with the proper respect and care and they become intertwined over time so that they cannot be separated willingly.

A mistreated sword will turn on its master seeking to cause him harm in battle and slowly drinking his life force. A stolen sword is deadly to the thief and will seek to return to its rightful master.

When the master of a sword dies, if he so chooses, his soul will combine with the sword increasing the power of the sword, its Intelligence and its Ego. In this way it is sometimes possible for a great Artifact to be created.

When its master dies there are usually only two things that can normally be done with a magic sword, one is to pass it on to a blood relative who must be like minded with the original master and must seek vengeance for the original master’s death if the killer still lives and if they choose to take up the sword. These inherited swords are the only ones that do not start as a blank slate. If the blood relative is not like minded or does not choose to seek vengeance assuming the killer lives, then they should not take up the sword or it will turn on them.

Inherited swords can be passed down through several generations until a suitable master is found. The other option is to bury the sword with its master where it will guard its master and is deadly to grave robbers.

When the conditions are right for an Artifact to be created, these Magic Swords have a definite purpose and as such it is possible for someone other than a blood relative to wield the sword. This type of sword will seek out the person best suited to fulfill its purpose. Usually this person will have to undergo a series of tests in order to be found worthy.

A newly gained magic sword starts with the ability to glow in the presence of its new master’s enemies and the ability to wound anything that requires magic or silver to wound. As the master grows in power and skill, so grows the sword and they will grow from semi-sentient to fully sentient over time. Swords will as their master grows discover talents unique to that master. No two swords are ever the same. Swords used by those who also wield magic will discover talents unique to that master. Swords forged with unique and special metals will also discover unique talents. The more powerful the master, the more powerful the sword will become.

2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary - Day One Hundred and Two

Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!

Today is Part 45 (Part A) of my series of looks at OD&D starting with Monsters & Treasure Volume 2.

**For those coming in, in the middle of this series I am giving you my take on OD&D during my first exposure starting in Sept of 1975. For this first part it is just the first three books of the original woodgrain box set and prior to obtaining the Greyhawk, Blackmoor and later Supplements.**

Now we will continue on with Explanations of Magic Items - specifically looking at Magic Swords:

Magic Swords are the elite weapon of all magical weapons as they are the only weapon which can attune itself perfectly to the wielder or seek to subvert and compromise the wielder. Either of these extremes is to further its own agenda. In my current campaign I allow certain Maces and War Hammer to be of this elite status, but those items are only usable by Paladins of which I have three types, but for about 40 years it was only the Sword that enjoyed this elite status among weapons.

I did and do use alignment in the campaign, alignment for living creatures is not some hard and fast straight jacket of forced behavior. Only Paladins ( which were not in the original three books) have a more strict code and to a lesser extent Clerics. I say to a lesser extent because the trope of corrupt clergy is unfortunately well established.

So the behavior of any  character is often all over the place and very, very few people ever play the Lawful Alignment as most people are Neutral in the way that they play. Now in the 70's my group was mostly Lawful (70%) and they played that way with a high moral code of ethics the majority of the time. And the guy that always played Clerics could have played a Paladin with never a hiccup had he been interested. The other (30%) were unabashedly Neutral.

Not so with Swords, they will follow their alignment closely and consistently. So I encourage players to choose alignment carefully and strive to play that alignment, because if you get a Magic Sword that is Lawful and you said you were Lawful, but your play style turns out to be Neutral leaning Chaotic the Sword will refuse to be used by you and if it decides that you are of a different alignment, then things noted below will kick in.

This is the alignment distribution of Swords in the game, if you players are nearly all Neutral I would suggest switching the percentages for Lawful and Neutral. I do not do this, because I have an in game reason 65% of Swords are Lawful.

A interesting twist with life energy level drain Swords. I ruled that such Swords are never Neutral.

This also applies if your alignment changes after you have been using the Sword for awhile as noted above. So try not to claim an alignment that you really are not going to play. Again deviations here and there are expected and usually not a problem, unless you do something that is just the last straw or jumps the shark for your Sword.

Yes, non-player character was a term used in the original rules. As a group we did not use it though, we called them ref characters (RCs) (we thought it was easier to say and it rolled off the tongue.)

And yes, there can be real downsides to having a hireling or a henchman or a charmed person pick up a sword. Many, many possible downsides.

Here is a bit about how Intelligence and Egoism of the Sword act in play and how it can affect the person picking it up. It is best to confirm the alignment and then only have a hireling or a henchman or a charmed person pick up it up if you are giving it to them. For instance you if you have a charmed chaotic person who is fairly average you might want to give them a strong Lawful Sword. (Might is a big word in this case.) We will be looking at Egoism more in depth in Part B tomorrow.

This table is for determining the Intelligence - the mental power and communicative ability of the sword with 1-6 having no mental powers and no communicative ability. Now I had a specific flavor for my campaign so when using this table instead of rolling a d12 for the 1-12 range, I rolled a d6+6 for a range of 7-12, so all Swords would have at least one mental power and at least empathy as a communicative ability. I will talk more about this flavor when we look at Egoism. Take note of how powerful some Swords may be. Note also a roll of 12 you are sent straight to the Extraordinary Ability Table.

Primary Powers and Languages spoken appears to be a way to balance human Fighting Men out with Magic-Users and non-humans (later called demi-humans) to some extent, although I really do not think that was part of the thought process. (We will look at this more later on when I look at Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign) I have been looking at this over the years and am moving towards changing this quite a bit to have the powers relate more to fighting prowess and activated by the character advancing in Levels. Note on the Primary Powers table it is possible to be sent to the Extraordinary Ability Table Twice and not have any Primary Powers. If there is a Intelligence of 12 as noted above then you could be sent to the Extraordinary Ability Table Thrice.

With the languages spoken, note that it is possible for a Sword to speak up to 10 extra languages. If the Sword has telepathy it can translate silently for the character completely secretly. How good it can be if you are completely attuned to your Sword. Typically my players did not share (all) the powers their Sword had, although some would become obvious.

Note that here on the Extraordinary Ability Table, a Sword gets Abilities of many Magic-User Spells. If you were sent here twice from the Primary Powers table, if you rolled two 00, then the Sword could have up to six Extraordinary Abilities. If the Sword also had an Intelligence of 12, that would up the maximum possible to nine Extraordinary Abilities. That would be a vanishingly small possibility.

Note that all Primary and Extraordinary functions are passed on the wielder of the Sword and also note that with the exception of Healing and Strength there is no limit imposed on the number of uses of any of these functions. Rolling the same ability twice doubles everything about the ability. 

I extended this so that if you rolled the same ability any multiple of times ( highly improbable) it would increase everything by that factor. I changed Healing to 6 points/6 times/day which is a big jump, but more in line with the other abilities. I capped the use of the no limit abilities to start at 1 use/day increasing one per two additional character levels until it reached a maximum of 4 uses/day. I also changed the strength from 1-4 times normal strength for 1-10 turns once per day to the following:

Roll Result
1      Twice Normal Strength
2     Ogre Strength
3     Troll Strength
4     Hill Giant Strength
5     Stone Giant Strength
6     Frost Giant Strength
7     Fire Giant Strength
8    Cloud Giant Strength

Usable once per day and duration of 3-6 turns (1d4+2 turns).

Tomorrow we will look at the Egoism of a Magic Sword.

Random Artifact - 003

Powerful Artifact:  Holy Warrior Sword: Any Holy Warrior of at least 5th Level can bring any Master Work quality sword and place it on the Altar pledging both it and his life in service. He will then fast and pray for 40 days and nights, after which if he is found worthy the sword will be imbued with a degree of power (elsewhere defined) and it will grow with him as he fights evil and Undead, if he is not found worthy, then the sword remains only a high quality sword. When he falls (he will die in service since he may not retire) any other Holy Warrior of at least 5th Level may claim the sword, but only if he also will place the sword on the Altar pledging both it and his life in service. He will then fast and pray for 40 days and nights, after which if he is found worthy he may carry and use the sword. If he is not found worthy, then he must leave the sword at the Altar for another to claim.

Holy Warrior aka replaces Clerics and Paladins. Holy Warriors are what I think Clerics should have been from the beginning. And maybe they started that way. I don't know if Arneson had the no edged weapons in Blackmoor or if that was all a Gygax adjustment to Clerics.

2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary - Day One Hundred and Three

Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!

Today is Part 46 (Part B) of my series of looks at OD&D starting with Monsters & Treasure Volume 2.

**For those coming in, in the middle of this series I am giving you my take on OD&D during my first exposure starting in Sept of 1975. For this first part it is just the first three books of the original woodgrain box set and prior to obtaining the Greyhawk, Blackmoor and later Supplements.**

Now we will continue on with Explanations of Magic Items - specifically looking at Magic Swords & Egoism: 

As I noted in my previous post I used a minimum of a 7 Intelligence for my Magic Swords so they all have an Egoism rating. I did the same thing with Egoism, instead of rolling a d12 I used 1d6+6 for a range of 7-12. My players were make aware that with all great and powerful magic items come risks as well as rewards. Sometimes it is best to pass up an item rather than try to possess it.

IMO these five things that a Magic Swords might do adds a lot to a campaign and it does encourage the use of other weapons as well. That is part of the reason I realigned treasure to decrease the percentage of swords as part of the total and increase the miscellaneous weapons percentage.

Of course what every character wants is to be in a true rapport or attunded to a Sword, which allows the full use of the weapon. I tell players that a Magic Sword will know your true character and motivations better than anyone else in the adventuring party. If you and the Sword are not on the same page it can get ugly.

Let us look at how that plays out.

Looking at how this is done with the Strength and Intelligence of the character, think about how you would tweak this if you use Greyhawk and have Extraordinary Strength. When we get to the Greyhawk Supplement, I will show you what I did.

Next up is Egoism in Continuing Relationship with the User. This puts an interesting twist on things.

Yes, that does put a new light on it, does it not. So if the Magic Sword is Egoism of 12 and the Fighting-Man is 4th level, then the Magic Sword will prevail in all General and in all Key Situations. So for instance it could compel you to fight that Troll by yourself, or charge into battle while scouting instead of reporting back to the rest of the group, etc. Also that Fighting-Man only achieves a 25% chance in General situations, but does gain a check in Key Situations at levels 7-10. At levels 11, 12, and 13 the Fighting-Man would have a 50/50 chance and doing any stress situation check both ways. At levels 13-17 it would go 75% to way of the character and check the Key Situations. At 18th level and up then the character prevails in most cases, except IMO when the character is badly wounded and under severe mental strain from magic.

On the plus side, I allow these Magic Swords, where they and the character are in true rapport, to aid the character against mental attacks such as Charm Person, Illusions and many others.

Now we come to the Origin and Purpose of Swords. Those Magic Swords that have a Purpose are very powerful indeed and go beyond other Swords, so much so that I consider them to be Artifacts and back in those days I devised some very powerful Swords.

I changed it to a score of 86 or higher.  Note that Intelligence and Egoism are automatically moved to the maximum score  as well as gaining an additional ability. These Swords are not to be messed with.

What makes the paralyzation and the disintegration so powerful? As saving throws are defined back in Volume 1, Men and Magic, these effects do not get a saving throw because they are from a Magic Sword, which is not identified as in that section as something you get saving throw from. That is the way that I interpret it and I am comfortable with that. And yes, monsters use magic weapons too! 

There are only six purposes listed above and I added some detail to that list. A Lawful Sword would seek to Slay the Chaotic version of those in the first two columns listed and a Chaotic Sword would seek to Slay the Lawful version of those in the first two columns listed. Defeat Law and Defeat Chaos would apply to any Lawful or Chaotic creature respectively. I also added Slay Undead, Slay Giant, Slay Troll, Slay Lycanthropes, Slay *Stoners and Slay Dragon.

*Slay monsters that can turn you to stone. 🤣

Note especially that Special Purpose Magic Swords will always pursue their agenda and any, any attempt to go counter to them will cause a Key Situation Check. So be careful what you wish for, you might not like it when you get it.

This was previously noted, but is well worth reminding you of. In later years I deviated form this and gave more swords and some other weapons damage bonuses as well.

Tomorrow we will look at Armor, Miscellaneous Weapons and perhaps even Potions.

Paladins of the Mace & Paladins of the Sword

The way that I run Paladins in my campaign is as follows here: Human fighting men and human clerics who have a Charisma score of 17 or greater may become Paladins at fourth level IF THEY ARE LAWFUL from the beginning of play for that character. This applies to both male and female characters. They just always do lawful deeds, since any chaotic (or evil) act will revoke the status of paladin hood, and it can never be regained. Fighting Men become Paladins of the Sword and Clerics become Paladins of the Mace.


Paladins have a number of very powerful aids in their continual quest for good and these are a bit different for the two types of paladins.


First all Paladins of the Mace: They can "lay on hands" to heal wounds or cure diseases but only in others, they cannot heal their own wounds this way; however, they are not subject to disease. They heal two points of damage for every level the paladin has attained, once per day at 4th level, twice per day at 6th level and thrice per day at 8th level and so on. They can cure the common minor diseases in groups of people twice per day at 4th level and so on as for healing damage. They can cure one serious disease per level attained twice per day and so on as for healing damage.


To see the tables associated with Paladins go to this link: http://sites.google.com/site/theoriginaldungeonsanddragons/home/paladins-of-the-mace-and-of-the-sword


As you may note from the table, Paladins of the Mace continue to accrue, albeit more slowly, and use cleric spells as they gain Paladin levels. Paladins of the Mace that are 8th level and above gain the ability (separate from spells) to dispel evil (spells, undead, evil enchanted monsters, and such) by ordering it so, and they detect all chaos, as well as evil, at a range of 6”. They also gain the ability to see in the absence of light.


Second of all we will look at Paladins of the Sword: They can "lay on hands" to heal wounds or cure diseases but only in others, they cannot heal their own wounds this way; however, they are not subject to disease. They heal two points of damage for every level the paladin has attained, once per day at 4th level, twice per day at 8th level and so on. They can cure the common minor diseases in groups of people twice per day at 4th level and so on as for healing damage. They can cure one serious disease per level attained twice per day and so on as for healing damage.


Paladins of the Sword do not get any clerical spells, as do Paladins of the Mace. Paladins of the Sword that are 8th level and above gain the ability (separate from spells) to dispel evil (spells, undead, evil enchanted monsters, and such) by ordering it so, and they detect all chaos, as well as evil, at a range of 6”. They also gain the ability to see in the absence of light.


Paladins with any type of “Holy Sword” or Holy Mace are almost completely immune to all magic. Paladins of the Sword may choose to obtain a horse, which is powerfully gifted, but not more than one per 10 years of game time, so if it is killed it is not automatically replaced. The paladin’s Horse is a Heavy Horse, with Armor Class IV, moves 18” has 8 Hit Dice and is highly intelligent. Paladins of the Mace may choose to obtain a mule, which is powerfully gifted, but not more than one per 10 years of game time, so if it is killed it is not automatically replaced. The paladin’s Mule is a Riding Mule, with Armor Class V, moves 21” has 6 Hit Dice and is highly intelligent. All paladin saving throws for Death Ray/Poison/All Wands including Polymorph or Paralization/Stone/Dragon Breath/Staves & Spells 10% better rounded up than the base class.


Paladins will never be allowed to possess more than two magical items, this does not include armor, shield and up to 4 weapons that normally use. They will give away all treasure that they win, save that which is necessary to maintain themselves, their men, and a modest castle. Paladins may not obtain a castle until they reach 10th level. Gifts must be to the poor or to charitable or religious institutions, i.e. not to some other character played in the game. A paladin's stronghold cannot be above 200,000 gold pieces in total cost, and no more than 200 men can be retained to guard it. Paladins normally prefer to dwell with lawful princes or patriarchs, but circumstances may prevent this. They will form strong alliances only with lawful characters. However, they may be found in parties with Neutral Characters since most adventurers are Neutral, they will, however, not associate at all with Chaotic characters. Paladins are recognized wherever they go as constituting a legitimate authority of Judge, Jury and Executioner. Once they reach 10th level, even Kings are subject to their decisions. Yes, these are powerful, however, I am of the mind that they are balanced with powerful Magic-Users, in addition they are very limited in how much magic and cash they can have. As noted in the tables, the experience requirements for advancing are quite steep compared to the base classes, so that balances out the power somewhat and allows the base classes to advance much faster.


This is my take on Paladins which I am near being able to start playtesting once one player advances a bit farther. Note that Paladins of the Mace are better healers and can use Cleric spells, along with being powerful fighters, there is still value in being a straight Cleric since you are not limited in magic such as scrolls and in coin, you advance much faster and are likely to have a Paladin seek you out once you become a Patriarch. Likewise, Paladins of the Sword are powerful fighters but very limited in magic and coin, and straight fighters advance much faster and if Lawful may have a Paladin seek you out once you become a Lord. Although paladins can build small castles they are more likely to forgo that if there is a Lawful Lord or Patriarch they can ally with.

#Dungeon 23 Project - The Ruins of Mount Auyán (Day 010)

Continuing down the corridor the next five rooms are empty but for broken furniture and dust and such. #8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. 

Another 20' down the corridor on the opposite side from the previous door is another door. This one has the following image engraved into the door.

#13 If you enter this room, it is 10'x10' and in the middle of the room is an anvil, on the anvil lays a hammer, next the anvil is a forge, it is lit and the fire burns hot, a few minutes in the room will have you dripping sweat.  A bellow operates by itself fanning the fire to keep it hot. In the forge is long piece of metal glowing almost white. A set of tongs and a pair of heavy leather gloves are present.

What do you do?

If anyone puts on the gloves, they will enter a trance state and taking up the tongs and pulling the metal from the fire they will begin to expertly work the metal with the hammer on the anvil. They will work very quickly and will not brook any interruption. Returning the metal to the fire from time to time. The hammer rings out as the metal is beaten and folded again and again. It becomes a sword right before your eyes and finally is quenched. 

Then it is fitted to this hilt:

Once the new sword blade is attached to the hilt the one in the trance collapses unconscious, the hammer, anvil, forge and such all disappear and the room is empty and bare except for all of you and the sword.

If you splash a little water in the unconscious ones face and give water to drink they will revive. They will immediately reach for the sword and will find it exquisitely balanced and much lighter than it looks. It swings easily and swiftly. The bearer is loath to sheath it, but finally does. You notice the bearer looks (somehow) taller, straighter, stronger and moves more quickly and more gracefully. Much more will become apparent as the sword is used. The sword has a strong personality as will become clear over time.

30 Day D&D Challenge - Favorite Playable Class - Day Three

Today's Topic is Favorite Playable Class as we continue our celebration of International Original Dungeons and Dragons Month!

My favorite class is simply "Fighting-Men" and to drill down farther it is Paladins and Rangers. To drill all the way down it is Paladins hands down. In OD&D the Paladins are Lawful, in later D&D versions it became Lawful Good. Lawful Good is how I always played my Paladins with the heavier emphasis on Good. 

I abhor all the stories I have heard of Lawful Stupid, I have no idea why anyone would play that way. It has always seemed to me that either jerks look at the Paladins write up and take it to a non-logical extreme to mess with all the other players or a referee just does not have a clue how the character should work and makes the players toe an impossible forced code of behavior.

In practice it has always been my perspective that there are a lot of fun ways to play a Paladin that does not involve ruining everyone else's fun and being a disruption.

It does not involve playing the role as the worst of the rigid inflexible rule following unmerciful and unloving holier than thou arrogant supercilious snobs.

It does involve playing the role as the best of the righteous, merciful, loving and humble servants of their god.

Let us consider the original write up in the guidelines of the Greyhawk Supplement to Original D&D.

Charisma scores of 17 or greater by fighters indicate the possibility of paladin status IF THEY ARE LAWFUL from the commencement of play for that character. If such fighters elect to they can then become paladins, always doing lawful deeds, for any chaotic act will immediately revoke the status of paladin, and it can never be regained.

So do you know any arrogant bossy jerks? Would you describe any of them as having high Charisma? I would not.

Consider Charisma and the original definition in Volume 1 - Men & Magic of OD&D says:

Charisma is a combination of appearance, personality and so forth.

So do you know any really stupid, impractical, hardheaded stubborn people? Would you describe them as having high Charisma? I would not.

Therefore, IMO we have ruled out bossy, self-righteous jerks and Lawful Stupid as being the way to play a Paladin, at least in my campaign(s).

The other thing that is part of the original write up is this:

They will associate only with lawful characters.

Now bear in mind this is OD&D where there are only three alignments. This is where I choose as the referee in creating my own home brew world to make the game my own. I introduce my house rule that reads as follows:

They will associate primarily with lawful characters; however, given there mission to protect the innocent, defend the faith, to wage war against malignant chaos and all the forces of evil they may at times ally themselves with neutral characters and at times make bargains with other neutral or even chaotic creatures when it serves the greater good.

That is pretty long is it not? But I have allowed them to participate in parties with neutral characters and  to even bargain with chaotic creatures. You will notice that I have made a distinction between chaos and malignant chaos. This reflects my game worlds where I do not tolerate a style of play that says you automatically attack everything you see. My campaigns allow for many non combat options. 

You should remember, that in OD&D Chaotic does not equal Evil. Just as Lawful is not always Good. Alignment in my campaign is more complex, for all creatures PC and NPC it is how they are inclined and where they would line up if an all out final battle were to take place. Only the Paladin is required to behave consistently with a Lawful alignment at all times. Other PCs and NPCs are not tied to their alignments so tightly.

Paladins stand apart from all others in being closely aligned with the goals of their god in a way that not even Clerics are; however, in my campaign Both Fighting Men & Clerics can become Paladins at 4th Level. That is the other change I have made is that Paladins can come from either background, being know as Paladins of the Sword and Paladins of the Mace. I also have Dwarven Paladins that are known as Paladins of the Axe.

Here is my write up for Paladins, you will note that only Paladins of the Mace, that is Paladins that started as Clerics get any Spells:

Alignment is Lawful, Neutral and Chaotic. These are not necessarily Good nor Evil in and of of themselves. Good and Evil only applies to certain classes on a personal moral level as constants, most people vary all over the place from time to time, but tend towards one or the other. Paladins must be of Lawful Alignment and in addition must be morally Good on a consistent basis. Anti-Clerics are of Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic Alignment and are by definition morally EVIL. Clerics on the other hand may be good small g or Good large G, I hope that is not too confusing. Only Clerics and Fighting-Men who are Good large G are eligible to become Paladins assuming that the meet the other requirements.

This is my edit of the Greyhawk supplement text. This is for an OD&D game without using anything outside the original 3 books except for house ruled things like this from literally anywhere. Hit dice are all 1d6 and all weapons do a base 1d6 damage with five exceptions: Maces do a base damage of 1d4+2 (3-6), Swords and Axes do a base damage of 1d6+2 (3-8), and daggers (and such) and slings do 1d4. Any other exceptions have to do with specific magic items.

The way that I run Paladins will be as follows: Human Fighting Men and Human Clerics who have a Charisma score of 17 or greater may become Paladins at fourth level IF THEY ARE LAWFUL Alignment from the beginning of play for that character and they must also be GOOD. This applies to both male and female characters. They must always do lawful deeds, since any chaotic (or evil) act will revoke the status of paladin-hood, and it can never be regained without extreme penance and a extremely dangerous quest depending on the magnitude of the act that cost them their status.

Fighting Men become Paladins of the Sword and Clerics become Paladins of the Mace. Dwarves may also become Paladins with all of the named requirements and they are known as Paladins of the Axe. Certain Other playable races may become Paladins and will usually be Paladins of the Sword.

Paladins have a number of very powerful aids in their continual quest for good and these are a bit different for the three types of paladins.

First of all - Paladins of the Mace: They can "lay on hands" to heal wounds or cure diseases but only in others, they cannot heal their own wounds this way; however, they are not subject to disease. They heal two points of damage for every level the paladin has attained, once per day at 4th level, twice per day at 6th level and thrice per day at 8th level and so on. They can cure the common minor diseases in groups(2d6+2) of people twice per day at 4th level and so on as for healing damage increasing to 3d6+3 people at 6th level and 46d+4 people at 8th level and so on. They can cure one serious disease per level attained twice per day and so on as for healing damage, increasing to thrice per day at 6th level and four times per day at 8th level and so on.

As you may note from the table, Paladins of the Mace continue to accrue, albeit more slowly, and use cleric spells as they gain Paladin levels, but as a Paladins they only get access to certain spells. Paladins of the Mace that are 8th level and above gain the ability (separate from spells) to dispel evil (spells, undead, evil enchanted monsters, and such) by ordering it so, and they detect all chaos, as well as evil, at a range of 6”. They also gain the ability to see in the absence of light.

Paladins with any type of Holy Mace are almost completely immune to all magic.
Paladins of the Mace may choose to obtain a Mule, which is powerfully gifted, but not more than one per 10 years of game time, so if it is killed it is not automatically replaced. The paladin’s Mule is a Riding Mule, with Armor Class V, moves 21” has 6 Hit Dice and is highly intelligent.

All paladin saving throws for Death Ray/Poison/All Wands including Polymorph or Paralization/Stone/Dragon Breath/Staves & Spells 25% better rounded up than the base class.

Second of all we will look at Paladins of the Sword: They can "lay on hands" to heal wounds or cure diseases but only in others, they cannot heal their own wounds this way; however, they are not subject to disease. They heal two points of damage for every level the paladin has attained, once per day at 4th level, twice per day at 6th level and thrice per day at 8th level and so on. They can cure the common minor diseases in groups(2d6+2) of people twice per day at 4th level and so on as for healing damage increasing to 3d6+3 people at 6th level and 46d+4 people at 8th level and so on. They can cure one serious disease per level attained twice per day and so on as for healing damage, increasing to thrice per day at 6th level and four times per day at 8th level and so on.

Paladins with any type of Holy Sword are almost completely immune to all magic.

Paladins of the Sword do not get any clerical spells, as do Paladins of the Mace. Paladins of the Sword that are 8th level and above gain the ability (separate from spells) to dispel evil (spells, undead, evil enchanted monsters, and such) by ordering it so, and they detect all chaos, as well as evil, at a range of 6”. They also gain the ability to see in the absence of light. Paladins of the Sword get a +1 to all rolls rolling high and a -1 to all rolls rolling low.
All paladin saving throws for Death Ray/Poison/All Wands including Polymorph or Paralization/Stone/Dragon Breath/Staves & Spells 25% better rounded up than the base class.

Paladins of the Sword may choose to obtain a Horse, which is powerfully gifted, but not more than one per 10 years of game time, so if it is killed it is not automatically replaced. The paladin’s Horse is a Heavy Horse, with Armor Class IV, moves 24” has 8 Hit Dice and is highly intelligent.

Thirdly we will look at Paladins of the Axe (only Dwarves may become Paladins of the Axe and they gain the advantage of unlimited advancement as a Paladin and are no longer limited to 6th level as a Fighting Man): They can "lay on hands" to heal wounds or cure diseases but only in others, they cannot heal their own wounds this way; however, they are not subject to disease. They heal two points of damage for every level the paladin has attained, once per day at 4th level, twice per day at 6th level and thrice per day at 8th level and so on. They can cure the common minor diseases in groups(2d6+2) of people twice per day at 4th level and so on as for healing damage increasing to 3d6+3 people at 6th level and 46d+4 people at 8th level and so on. They can cure one serious disease per level attained twice per day and so on as for healing damage, increasing to thrice per day at 6th level and four times per day at 8th level and so on.

Paladins with any type of Holy Axe are almost completely immune to all magic.

Paladins of the Axe do not get any clerical spells, as do Paladins of the Mace. Paladins of the Axe that are 8th level and above gain the ability (separate from spells) to dispel evil (spells, undead, evil enchanted monsters, and such) by ordering it so, and they detect all chaos, as well as evil, at a range of 6”. They also gain the ability to see in the absence of light to double the distance.
All paladin saving throws for Death Ray/Poison/All Wands including Polymorph or Paralization/Stone/Dragon Breath/Staves & Spells 25% better rounded up than the base class, in addition to adding four levels higher when rolling saving throws.

Paladins of the Axe may choose to obtain a Vorax as a mount, which is powerfully gifted, but not more than one per 10 years of game time, so if it is killed it is not automatically replaced. The paladin’s Vorax is a powerful wild beast that chooses to serve a Paladin, with Armor Class III, moves 18” has 8 Hit Dice and is highly intelligent.

All Paladins:
Paladins will never be allowed to possess more than two magical items, this does not include armor(includes helm), shield and up to 4 weapons that they normally use. They will give away all treasure that they win, save that which is necessary to maintain themselves, their men, and a modest castle. Paladins may not obtain a castle until they reach 10th level. Gifts must be to the poor or to charitable or religious institutions, i.e. not to some other character played in the game. A paladin's stronghold cannot be above 200,000 gold pieces in total cost, and no more than 200 men can be retained to guard it. Paladins normally prefer to dwell with lawful princes(barons) or patriarchs, but circumstances may prevent this.

They will form strong alliances only with lawful characters. However, they may be found in parties with Neutral Characters since most adventurers are Neutral, they may choose to associate with Chaotic characters if it is vital to be able to complete a Lawful task or to save innocents. Paladins of 8th level and above are recognized wherever they go as constituting a legitimate authority of Judge, Jury and Executioner. Once they reach 10th level, even Kings are subject to their decisions. Yes, these are powerful, however, I am of the mind that they are balanced with powerful Magic-Users, in addition they are very limited in how much magic and cash they can have. As noted in the tables, the experience requirements for advancing are quite steep compared to the base classes, so that balances out the power somewhat and allows the base classes to advance much, much faster.

This is my take on Paladins as it is currently. Note that Paladins of the Mace are better healers and can use Cleric spells, along with being powerful fighters, there is still value in being a straight Cleric since you are not limited in magic such as scrolls and in coin, you advance much faster and are likely to have a Paladin seek you out once you become a Patriarch. Likewise, Paladins of the Sword are powerful fighters but very limited in magic and coin, and straight fighters advance much faster and if Lawful may have a Paladin seek you out once you become a Lord. Although paladins can build small castles they are more likely to forgo that if there is a Lawful Lord or Patriarch they can ally with.

Paladins of the Axe are the most powerful of characters in an Underground environment and (if they have a mount) they have one  that is comfortable and capable Underground. Paladins of the Axe are held in high esteem by all clans of the Dwarves and are welcomed everywhere by Dwarves.