The Goblin, a Playable Race as Class for Labyrinth Lord

Labyrinth's Goblins

Getting on with preparing for my Birthday Party in the Caves of Chaos, I've made a Barbarian Class for LL+AEC and am now working on an Half-orc version for Labyrinth Lord. I've called this race as class Goblin instead of Half-orc for a number of reasons. Firstly, I love the very concept of Goblins. Secondly, the word Goblin in Tolkien was used to identify Orcs in The Hobbit. Thirdly, if I say to any of the people I know "Would you like to play a Goblin?" they would immediately think either of the 80's Warhammer Fantasy Goblins or the warg riders in The Two Towers movie, which are both hideous images to me. I can assure you that the following Goblin Race as Class has nothing to do Labyrinth (the movie), for I hate that fucking shit with all the strength of my little heart, and I wish David Bowie would die a horrible death.

Goblins
Requirements: Dex 9
Prime Requisite: Dex
Hit Dice: d6
Maximum Level: 11

Weapons: Goblins can use any weapon except regular two-handed and other very large ones. Still, they can use some large regular weapons (such as a Long Sword) two-handed.
Armor: Goblins can use any armor. If wearing something more than studded leather they can't use their thievery abilities.
Creatures of the Sunset: Playable Goblins are not exactly the anti-sun creatures of the dark as their more evil cousins. They will suffer the -1 penalty only when in direct summer midday sunlight, and have infravision up to 60'. They still don't like direct sunlight that much, anyway.
Stupid: Goblins love tricks and fooling around with people. They have a nasty sense of humor and most people find them annoying at best. They are not limited in Q.I. and are generally very good at inventing weird and dangerous devices for the fun of it. They are totally unpredictable: sometimes they run laughing hysterically toward certain death, sometimes they run like hell from not so dangerous situations. They are definitely schizoid.
Sneaky: Goblins have the same Backstab, Pick Locks, Pick Pockets, Move Silently and Hide in Shadows abilities as a Thief of the same level.

Progression
Experience Level HD
1,500 1 1
3,000 2 2
6,000 3 3
12,000 4 4
24,000 5 5
50,000 6 6
100,000 7 7
150,000 8 8
200,000 9 9
250,000 10 +1 hp*
300,000 11 +2 hp*

*Constitution bonus no longer applies

Other Statistics
Saving Throws: Same as Dwarves.
To Hit: Same as Hobbits.

Silly Idea for Demi-humans Changing Class

I don't like the possibility in 3rd edition of any PC acquiring new levels on the spot. In my mind, if a human is born a Warrior, he will die Warrior. That's it. Demi-humans though are quite a different story. Dwarves, Elves and Halflings have very long life spans. It makes perfect sense in my head that a Dwarf, having reached the highest possible level as a Fighter, decides to re-invent himself as a Thief instead of retiring. So, this is my idea (all rules refer to first edition, but you can adapt the concept very easily).

Demi-humans Changing Class: Once a demi-human character (except Half-breeds) reaches the highest level in his/her Class, he/she can decide to pick another Class and continue adventuring instead of retiring. He/she will add the new hit dice to his/her previous hit points, use the best To Hit value, use the best of each Saving Throw, use all his/her previous abilities along with the new ones, with the obvious limitations (a Dwarf Fighter 7/ Thief 1 will not use his new thief abilities if wearing Plate Mail). Will also acquire new weapon proficiencies, according to the new Class. XPs are as if the character continues advancing in his/her previous Class, but the bonus is now the one from the new Class.

Example: Górin Trollterror, a Dwarf with 16 Strength and 13 Dexterity, reaches the 7th level as a Fighter. He is still young enough to continue adventuring, and so chooses to pick up new levels in the Thief Class. Once he gains 125,001 XP (Superhero), he becomes a Champion/Rogue. He adds 1d6 hit points to his total (adding his +1 bonus to hit dice), and gains the new awesome abilities. No changes to his To Hit and Saving Throws values. He also gets 2 Weapon Proficiencies, but still has the -2 penalty he had as a Fighter with weapons he is not proficient with. From then on, Górin will no longer have the 10% bonus to XPs, for his new Prime Requisite is barely 13. When Górin has gained 250,001 XP (Lord), he becomes a Champion/Footpad, and so on.

Birthday Party and Problem Solving

UZZAH! So far the very unexpected number of 11 guests out of 13 invited have pushed the "I'll be there" button on the Facebook page. I say unexpected because a) 7 of the 13 invited have no experience in roleplaying games at all (and two have played Call of Cthulhu but once, one has played Call of Cthulhu once and D&D in a solo-game with me twice, my brother used to play D&D with me when we were just kids, one has played but only a home brew rpg and regularly plays in a Play by Chat game, one used to play D&D but 3rd edition and never played with me) and b) none of them look like potential D&D players (sure, two of them study mathematics with me at university, and one of the girls studies physics, but you'd be surprised to see how many supposed geeky people are not that geeky at all). Also, none of them have experience with MMORPGs and any other variant form of RPG. They are, by the way, all avid players of Munchkin (and this is because of me).

I'm not scared by the potential amount of players (the more we are the more the awesome), neither by the fact that nearly a third of the group is composed of girls (girls play way better, you try) or by the fact that half the group is going to be composed by total noobs. But there's something that scares me: the one guy who used to play 3rd edition D&D (he said "Cool I haven't played for years I want smash some motherfucking goblins I want to play a Half-orc Barbarian yes kill'em all!" without breathing), he is a real enthusiast, although I know for sure he is not a rule lawyer – just a guy who happened to have some fun playing D&D.

Therefore, I have some concerns in running a straight Labyrinth Lord game, for I don't want to say to the only person at the table who happens to have a rough idea of the game we are about to play "Sorry, you can't play your Half-orc Barbarian because I haven't got it in my rulebook". Nor do I want to say to him "forget the saving throws and to hit as you remember them, because we will be playing something else". And definitely I'm not saying both the above things at the same time. So what to do? Going with 3rd edition looks difficult, for I don't want to have them run pre-generated characters (rolling up a character takes 5 minutes in Labyrinth Lord, and I know from previous experiences with noob gamers that rolling up the character is definitely a necessary step), and running 3rd edition without talents, skills and using first edition spells scares me, for I never tried such a thing. Still, the possibility of going completely authoritarian attracts me. Anyway, I have a couple of ideas ready to go, and perhaps I will have to reconsider them. I wanted:

1. Run Labyrinth Lord;
2. 4d6, drop the lowest, assign in order for abilities;
3. Non-variable weapon damage;
4. Standard equipment, but you get 1d6x10 gp;
5. No 1st level spell for Clerics, instead they can Cure Light Wounds;
6. No spells/day; instead, you memorize (reading or praying) a spell, cast it, then you can memorize (reading or praying) another (though it takes some time).

So far, the only possibility of solving this situation seems to be to adopt the Advanced Edition Companion and write up an easy peasy Barbarian class. Still, all the newbie players will have race as class. I will probably have to make some spell cards for the first level spells (for magic-users and elves), or something like that.

Dirty Tolkienism

I know I probably have been pretty vague and unclear in my previous post about Khuzud-dâm. When I talk about dirty tolkienism, I mean a bastardized Middle-earth. To be more concise.

The Known Lands: The Known Lands are just like Middle-earth. There have been multiple wars against an Enemy (which was eventually defeated), there is Gondor (which is called The Empire of Men), there is The Shire, and Mirkwood, the Misty Mountains (The Gray Mountains) and even Caradhras (The Kardhas). The real difference between the Known Lands and Middle-earth lies in the folks who inhabit it.

The Elves: Dndish Elves are much more human than Tolkien ones. They are mortal, they are not that powerful, and even not that fairish. Depending on the ruleset you're running elves may be both fighters and magic-users or only one of those at a time, and even thieves. Elven Thieves? Definitely not that tolkienian. But nor are they. I imagine most of the Elves of the Known Lands to be kinda like Tolkien's Wood Elves, only more human and definitely less melancholic, more curious and way more adventurous.

Half-orcs: Half-orcs are part of the Known Lands. I wouldn't go so far as to include Goblins as a playable race, but Half-orcs are definitely in. They are, for sure, mistrusted by most, but this doesn't necessary mean that every one of them is a dick or something.

Clerics: There is no such thing as clerics in Tolkien, but they are in D&D. They may be not as influential to the destiny of the Known Lands as they were in middle ages europe, but they are definitely there. And which god do they serve? Iluvatar, no way (although I would allow northern deities for Druids and such).

Magic-users: As a matter of fact, Magic-users in the Known Lands use vancian magic. And there are no such beings as Wizards. Where does magic come from? No one knows. Actually, no one gives a fuck.

Monsters: The Known Lands have PLENTY of weird monsters! Every single creature you can imagine is out there, lurking in the darkness, slowly crawling to your couch to kill you while you're sleeping. That said, the most common monsters are definitely orcs and dire animals. Oh, and there are demons there. Lots of awful demons.

Treasure: I've always been one of those guys who thinks that less is more when it comes to treasure, and magic items in particular. But given the bastardized Middle-earth seed, I think I should give the usual random treasure placement tables a try.

All in all, I think that around 90% of the action in the Khuzud-dâm campaign should revolve around the megadungeon itself, but I would like to have other ideas clear just in case the players should decide to go traveling around the wilderness. Actually, the thing that excites me the most is the possibility of using the original Middle-earth map (which is kinda my all time favorite) to run this bastardized world.

The Ghoul, a Playable Race for Labyrinth Lord and Advanced Edition Companion/OSRIC

Ghouls

“These figures were seldom completely human, but often approached humanity in varying degree. Most of the bodies, while roughly bipedal, had a forward slumping, and a vaguely canine cast. The texture of the majority was a kind of unpleasant rubberiness.”

“It was a colossal and nameless blasphemy with glaring red eyes, and it held in bony claws a thing that had been a man, gnawing at the head as a child nibbles at a stick of candy. Its position was a kind of crouch, and as one looked one felt that at any moment it might drop its present prey and seek a juicier morsel. But damn it all, it wasn’t even the fiendish subject that made it such an immortal fountain-head of all panic—not that, nor the dog face with its pointed ears, bloodshot eyes, flat nose, and drooling lips. It wasn’t the scaly claws nor the mould-caked body nor the half-hooved feet—none of these, though any one of them might well have driven an excitable man to madness.”

The Pickman's Model, H. P. Lovecraft

As requested by Blair at Planet Algol and Booberry at American Barbarica, here is a Ghoul Advanced Race and Racial Class, both inspired by infamous Lovecraft stories The Pickman's Model, The Unnamable and The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath. Thus, you'll find some small differences between my Ghouls and the RoCC's Ghouls. I plan to use it in my Forbidden Isle of Doom/Kandahal Megadungeon campaign too.

Ghoul

For all we know, most Ghouls were once human. Normal people like you and me, although very often cultured, who were contacted by other Ghouls and convinced to abandon the Earth. They are borderland creatures between our reality and the Dreamlands, and can easily be found in cemeteries or at mass graves, where they feed on dead bodies. Younger Ghouls remember much of their human lives, and can be trustworthy fellows. They are, however, unearthly and alien, and most humans can't stand their presence. Only humans who have decided to become Ghouls by their own free will are eligible as PCs.

Abilities for Both Class Versions
Ghouls cannot abide sunlight, although on the Isle they are well protected by the everlasting mist and can go out even during the daytime, although they can see only 90' at such times. They have Infravision, and they can see in darkness as humans do in daylight. Ghoul speak common, ghoul, and their alignment language.

Ghoul (Advanced Class)
Requirements: INT 13
Ability Modifiers: STR +1, WIS +1, CHA -2
Ability Min/Max: STR 9/18, DEX 9/18, CON 9/18, INT 9/18, WIS 7/18, CHA 3/12
Available Classes: Cleric (8), Fighter (8), Thief (Unlimited), Magic-User (Unlimited)

Bonuses and Penalties to Thief abilities:
Move Silently: +5%
Hide in Shadows: +10%
Pick Pockets: -15%
Climb: +5%

Starting Age
25+1d30 (the age the Ghoul reached as a human) + 1d100 (years elapsed as a Ghoul)

Note on Ghoul Aging: Ghouls are virtually immortal, and they don't have to face the decay of their bodies. However, apply the modifiers due to aging based on the age they reached as a human (25+1d30).

Ghoul (Racial Class)
Requirements: INT 9
Prime Requisite: STR, DEX
Hit Dice: d10
Maximum Level: 7

This Race/Class combines the abilities of a fighter and a thief. Ghouls attack as Fighter of one level higher, but can wear no armor and use no shield. Ghouls can use Thief abilities as a thief of the same level, and use the saving throws of Magic-Users or Thieves, whichever is higher.

Ghoul Level Progression
XP – Level – Hit Dice
3,001 – 1 – 1
6,001 – 2 – 2
12,001 – 3 – 3
24,001 – 4 – 4
50,001 – 5 – 5
100,001 – 6 – 6
150,001 – 7 – 7

Footnotes
Whether or not a Ghoul's bite causes the victim to become a Ghoul is left to the DM. Ghouls can use their natural weapons (bite, claws) as described in RoCC, but still attack only once. Note that Ghouls have no Alignment restriction, and can even be Lawful Good.

Sanity

Because of the absence of Clerics on Yaqqothl, there is no need for the Wisdom ability (which, as far as the game is concerned only gives a bonus to the XPs awarded to Clerics). In its place Yaqqothl characters have an ability called Sanity, explained hereafter.

Sanity: is a measure of mental balance. Characters above 15 Sanity are not likely to be driven mad by dreadful encounters or magical spells. On the other hand, characters below 6 Sanity are, at best, a little freaky. They must select a Minor Mental Disorder from the appropriate table before the game starts. Sanity is subject to various changes during the game.

A Thief I Can Play With

This is my attempt to create a thief class that a) doesn't interfere with the simplicity and the "anyone can do that, just say you do" concept of OD&D and b) really fills the gap. Pick a thief class (whether from Greyhawk, B/X, BECMI, Advanced 1e or 2e) and read the abilities as follow:

• Pick Locks: As it is, but only one try per lock (if you fail then someone else can try, or the fighter will have to smash the door down).
• Find and Remove Traps: You can live without this. If a character is about to fall into a pit, let him roll to see if the pit surprises him. If the character says he is moving carefully and looking for traps you may allow a +1 to his roll.
• Pick Pockets: As it is, but without all the shit about being caught. If you fail the roll then you are caught.
• Move Silently/Hide in Shadows: Anyone who is unarmored or in light armor (i.e. leather) can move silently just by saying "I move silently/hide in shadows" as explained here. Although, thieves are far better at it than other classes! If the thief succeeds in moving silently/hiding in shadows no further roll is required and the opponent is automatically surprised. Otherwise the opponent is allowed to roll to determine surprise.
• Climb Walls: As it is. Thieves are more or less like Spiderman when it comes to climbing.
• Hear Noise: This is basically useless. Anyone can hear noise at a door or in a hallway/cave. Roll for Surprise if you think that success/failure will make a difference between life and death.
• Read Languages: Change it to "Read Treasure Maps", whatever language they are in.
• Use Scrolls: Are you kidding? Forget it.

So, my thieves will have the abilities of Picking Locks, Picking Pockets, Improved Move Silently/Hide in Shadows and Climb Walls, and Read Treasure Maps, none of which will ruin the thrill of exploration.

Yaqqothl Characters

This is the final word, no regrets!
Characters on Yaqqothl are all humans and either fighters or magicians. To allow further customization, there will be a list of kits (barbarian, assassin, pirate, witch/warlock, swordsman, rogue, shaman, inquisitor, monk, ninja, merchant, medicine man and so on). These kits will provide special abilities and limitations, similar to the sub-classes of supplements I-III, but a little more streamlined. There will be psionics and mutants, soon to be defined. The following rules apply to new characters on Yaqqothl:

• Gods are for killing;
• Clerics worship gods, therefore are for killing;
• If it's not human it's for killing;
• If it's human but a little weird, it's probably for killing (I know, cheat – I love mutants);
• Magic-users are for killing 99.9% of the time (again, cheat – I love vancian magic);
• Dinosaurs are either to ride or for killing;
• ...and so on.

If this campaign is not going to be a mess of brutality and hardcore gratuitous violence, then I will have done something wrong. More to come...

Thinking about Races on Yaqqothl

In a science fantasy campaign race is always an issue. I can see about five ways to handle the problem, i.e.:

1. The Arduin Grimoire approach: tweaked standard races plus gonzo additions (Amazon, Phraint, etc.);
2. The McKinney approach: numerous colored races of man;
3. The Planet Algol approach: colored races of man plus gonzo additions (Lilim, Cactoids, Mutants);
4. The China Miéville approach: normal men plus funky races (Mutants, Cactoids, Khepri, etc.);
5. The Jack Vance approach: only normal men (at least, in The Dying Earth).

I love all of those approaches, but thinking about simplicity, I'm inclined to go with 2) or 5). I do have some weird races ready to go (Replica, Molemen and Elders) but I can limit their use to NPC only or convert them to use as monsters. I also have a Table of Weird Traits for those players bothering to play one of the standard races. Mumble, mumble...