A Peek at Perilous Journeys 2

A Question Answered
In my last post about Perilous Journeys, I wondered if there were any differences between the pdf and the print version of the rules.  The author, Jamie Hardy, has informed me that the only differences are the cover to the print version and the fixing of some typos and minor clarifications. Just an FYI for those interested.


Now, a look at the character creation process in Perilous Journeys...

Introduction
Two things caught my attention when reading the introduction of the character creation chapter of the rule book.  First, the beginning characters created with this system are not weaklings and the power level is one that is "appropriate... for characters that would be adventuring in a dangerous world".  Some might argue that the "OD&D feel" mentioned in the foreword of the rule book is not in agreement with this.  I disagree with that view.  The characters in both games just begin at a differing level of power.  Second, the rules ask each player to come up a somewhat fleshed out character concept before character creation begins. It is even pointed out that this concept should be more than just "warrior" or "thief" but should include details on personality, abilities, how the character was trained, etc.

The Character Creation Steps
There are 14 steps to creating a character in the Perilous Journeys rules.  Some of the steps are either optional or do not apply to every character due choices made in other steps.  It may sound like a lot of steps but - I am happy to say - the steps are clear without any confusion to the reader.  Unlike Lejendary Adventure, I am 100% confident that I understand the steps and can actually create a character.  In fact, I am tempted to once again pull out my Lejendary Adventures book to see if I can make any more sense of those rules.

Races
Players have 8 races to choose from in the Perilous Journeys rule book.  Four of the races - Dryad, Fomorian, Lurikeen, and Wild Elves - offer a wider variety of chooses for the player.  Some might be wondering why the Wild Elf is simply not listed as a sub-race of the Elf.  After a little examination, it is clear that the two races are quite different from each other.  A simple sub-race listing would not work in this case.

Each race entry is laid out in an easy to follow format.  First, there are some introductory remarks about the race that includes physical details.  Second, the generation of the Core Attributes is covered in detail in this section.  Players have two options here - a point based method or a points plus random rolls method; both methods seem viable but the choice of method is up to the GM.  Third, this section covers the selection of Abilities (commonly called skills in other games) for the character being generated.  Humans are free to choose anything but the non-human races have abilities that are excluded - they can never learn them - and others that are restricted - they can not begin play with these abilities.  Fourth, the race entries end with Racial Traits that are other capabilities such as immunity, special hearing, special vision, etc.

This is just a beginning post on character creation.  I am going to try to locate my Lejendary Adventures rule books so I can do a side by side examination for several sections of the two rule sets; explaining my problems with LA and any insights with PJ.  I feel that is the proper way to continue this look at Perilous Journeys.  If I am unable to locate my LA books then I will just continue examining the PJ rules alone.  More later...

[House Rules] Alternate AD&D Ability Score Generation Methods

I promise I am returning to AiF posts soon...

I am somewhat fortunate to have a co-worker that is also a role-player.  We often discuss games at break or lunch.  During one of the recent coversations we discussed different methods for rolling ability scores during character creation in (A)D&D.  I thought the two methods we discussed could prove to be fun so I thought I would share.

18D6 & Split
Each player rolls 18D6 for the ability scores.  The player then splits them into 6 groups of 3D6 and chooses which score gets assigned to each ability. 

9D6 Physical, 9D6 Mental
Each player rolls 9D6 for the physical ability scores.  The player then splits the 9D6 into 3 groups of 3D6 and assigns each score to one of the physical abilities of strength, constitution, or dexterity.  Each player rolls 9D6 for the mental ability scores.  The player then splits the 9D6 into 3 groups of 3D6 and assigns each score to one of the mental abilities of intelligence, wisdom, or charisma.

Both of these methods give the player a little more control of the character creation process.  It should make it a little bit easier to qualify for some of the more difficult classes to qualify for in AD&D.  It just seemed like a fun change.  I'm going to give it a try sometime.

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edit 1 - fat fingers.

[House Rules] AD&D Ability Scores

I am taking a break from my Adventures in Fantasy posts to do this real quick.

Note: The following better suits the detailed approach of AD&D instead of the looser approach of D&D.

I like to tinker with the rules of the various games I play.  The game I have probably house ruled more than any other is AD&D.  I have always wanted to look into expanding the list of abilities but I have never given it a serious effort.  I think it could work.  I honestly do not know if it would be worth the effort but I think it might be worth a look.  Since there are 3 physical and 3 mental abilities with a total of 6 abilities I would want to maintain the same sort of balance when adding the new abilities. I would suggest adding 2 abilities to the core six of Strength, Constitution, Dexterity, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma.

Agility (AGL): Agility would represent something like total body control and also set the modifier for AC.  This would mean Dexterity now represents hand to eye coordination and actions requiring fine manipulation.  Some of the thief skills would now be affected by Agility and some by Dexterity.

Composure (COM): Composure would represent something like mental endurance, coping with stress, and the ability to persevere in the face of terror; similar to Sanity from Call of Cthulhu.

I'm sure that both of these abilities could be added and put to good use.  Composure could be fun to mess with but it could also be done with a saving throw.  I have always thought there should be a split between Dexterity and Agility. I'm not quite so sure it would be worth the effort.  Honestly, I would not want to worry about figuring one or more additional ability scores when using an "official" module or resource.  This is just one of those ideas that cross my mind from time to time but I have never acted upon it.  Maybe one of these days I will.  On the other hand, in my older age with limited free time I would rather play than try to decipher a bunch of unnecessary house rules.  Not that I am opposed to house rules - I plan on sharing some of mine in this blog - but let's use them where they are needed.

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edit 1 - fat fingers.
edit 2 - fixed some awkward wording.