I'm not a fan of assuming that a fantasy setting automatically has dwarves, elves, and especially halflings. I know LotFP starts as a much better version of D&D red box, but I'm thinking about reskinning the halfling class because I'm far from being a fan of Tolkien's hobbits.
Has anyone done this before?
Considering the boons that come with the halfling class, I'm thinking about turning them into a quasi-human race, inspired by the picts of the Hyborian setting by Robert E. Howard. That would explain the uncanny bushcraft and stealth, and could also explain the saving throws (they live in a savage land, so they develop an uncanny skill in avoiding dangers).
Of course they'd need to be a very small, pygmy-like folk to also have the halflins' problem with encumberance of weapons...
1 2012-08-20 13:20:08
Topic: Reskinning halflings (2 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)
2 2012-08-20 12:55:07
Re: Lots of questions from a newbie LotFP referee (4 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)
1) About the "Paralyse" saving throw.
There's a balance between classes in saving throws. For example, the halfling has the best saving throws and that's their main class feature. They are mechanically balanced, and anyways, there's no explanation of how they work in fiction, so you can make it up. Maybe the magic user has better saving throw when avoiding to fall into a pit because he has an uncanny sixth sense. Before tinkering with a game, always try it as it is first.
2) A person with Constitution 10 travels 24 miles a day, and a person with Constitution 18 travels 27 miles a day. Is this correct?
I'm prone to think it is, yes. Not many words are spent on the subject but since you add your constitution modifier, it should be a correct assumption. Notice that if your group travels together, its speed is going to be that of the slowest moving element of the group. Or do you leave people behind when you travel?
3) The movement table (Rules & Magic, pg. 38) lists exploration, combat and running distances per round. What is the normal, "strolling down the street" distance per round in feet?
I'd say the average movement as listed in the table.
4) About the skills. I've been thinking about using difficulty modifiers, such as "+1 for an easy climb". Is this something that other referees do? My motivation is to prevent silly situations like a Fighter repeatedly failing to climb a 9 feet tall wall in a situation in which I cannot rule that no dice roll is required (for instance, running from the city guard and attempting to climb over a wall in an alley). However, I'm worried that this might make the specialist class' skill focus seem less important overall.
You're the referee and you are ALWAYS entitled into ruling that no dice roll is required. In fact, it should only be required when you cannot decide and a random result is needed. So making a character roll for an easy climb makes no sense to me. Or if you roll and fail, that might only mean that you take longer, not that you fall. It's an old school game. Ruling, not rules! The book states it clearly that you, the referee, ARE the system. You decide when dice are rolled.
And you're right, it'd weaken the Specialist.
5) Concerning XP rewards for the sample adventure [SPOILER alert!]. I very much expect my players to never even find out about the jewels unless I'm very heavy handed - "hey, there is TREASURE inside some of these people! Hack away!". Is it "ok" if my players end their first adventure with 0xp? Do you think it will be too frustrating?
I think it would, yes. There should always some loot, or they'll never advance. It's not difficult to include a treasure. If you think your players are never going to find out about the jewels, then maybe you should place them in an easier position for them to notice/reach.
7) Concerning some developments in the sample adventure [SPOILER alert!]:
I'm afraid I cannot reply to this question because I haven't played the adventure yet, but I may get back to it in the future if I have an occasion.
8) Holy Water (Rules & Magic, pg. 60) seems like a lot of effort for almost no gain (10 bless spells, plus a silver vial, for a 1d8 damage missile). Am I looking at it the wrong way?
No it's correct, it shouldn't be too easy to obtain one, or was your group's cleric hoping to walk around with a hundred vials strapped to his belts? Besides, the uses are limited, not all monster should be vulnerable to blessed water, so it's not something to worry about too much. And besides, think of all the narrative consequences of having blessed water. It could be used to heal illness, or do something equally cool. Your choice as Referee, but it doesn't have to be just a weapon.
9) Critical hits. Does anyone use them?
No, I use ruling. I never assume that a character just hits or misses the target, and always add something in fiction that makes every strike interesting. I expect as much from the players, so there's no real need for critical hits. The '1 is always a miss and 20 is always a hit' rule already works well enough, but if you want to add extra spice, funkaoshi gave some valid alternatives.
3 2012-08-20 12:38:01
Re: Specialists abilities for everyone (10 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)
I don't like the idea of giving skills to anyone. They're specific of the specialist, otherwise we end up in a game that is everything and nothing at all like D&D 3.x
Besides not having skills doesn't mean that your character can't do anything. Remember the Old School gaming tenet: Player Skills, not Character Abilities.
From the Quick Primer for Old School Gaming:
"Original D&D and Swords & Wizardry are games of skill in a few areas where modern games just rely on the character sheet. You don’t have a “spot” check to let you notice hidden traps and levers, you don’t have a “bluff” check to let you automatically fool a suspicious city guardsman, and you don’t have a “sense motive” check to tell you when someone’s lying to your character. You have to tell the referee where you’re looking for traps and what buttons you’re pushing. You have to tell the referee whatever tall tale you’re trying to get the city guardsman to believe. You have to decide for yourself if someone’s lying to your character or telling the truth. In a 0e game, you are always asking questions, telling the referee exactly what your character is looking at, and experimenting with things. Die rolls are much less frequent than in modern games."
The specially merely has some more mechanical leverage as unique feature. It perfectly makes sense: he's the adventurer type that relies on skills just like the fighter is the only adventurer that raises his AB...
I recommend trying the game as it is before tinkering with its rules.
4 2012-08-20 12:28:26
Re: Unhappy with 1D6 Skills... (11 replies, posted in LotFP Gaming Forum)
You could create a hybrid with Vincent Baker's Apocalypse world. It uses a 2D6 mechanic. 7-9 is for partial success (i.e. a success, but with consequences, and these depends on what you're rolling), 10+ is for perfect success (with no consequences).
You should take the time to define consequences for each skill but there aren't so many so it shouldn't be bad.
For example, with Open Doors a 7-9 success could cause you to roll for a random encounter because you opened the door but caused a frightful lot of noise.