Character Challenge 2026 - Catching Up - Otto's Ghosties

Ghostie armor is
technological, not magic

This collection of characters is all third-level characters with secret weapons. They are known to Otto, and he fears them with good reason. 

Of course, these characters were created for Old School Essentials, but I am going to link to a copy of Fiend Folio on Drivethru. It fits the vibe of these three characters and their creepy equipment. 

Thomas Reed, Third Level Human Thief

STR 11
INT 10
WIS 13
DEX 15
CON 12
CHA 14

HP 10
AC 7 Leather

GP: 7 SP: 100 CP: 100 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: a small diamond, 100 gps

Spells: None
Languages: Common

Equipment: 
Elven cloak
Ghostie dagger
Ghostie veil

Greta Southpaw, Third Level Fighter

STR 16
INT 12
WIS 11
DEX 14
CON 14
CHA 10

HP 22
AC 4 Chain and Shield

GP: 67 SP: 80 CP: 18 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common

Equipment
Ghostie chainmail
Ghostie longsword
Normal shield
Ghostie veil

Marrick Hollower, Third Level Fighter

STR 13
INT 10
WIS 11
DEX 12

CON 14
CHA 15

HP 27
AC 4 Chain and Shield

GP: 100 SP: 25 CP: 25 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common

Equipment
Ghostie chainmail
Ghostie axe
Ghostie shield
Ghostie veil

Previously, I mentioned Ghostie equipment. Rather than sketch out these characters, I will describe the Ghostie weapons and armor they have and how they use them. 

Ghostie equipment is high-tech, not magical. All Ghostie equipment is old and battered. 

Ghostier armor and weapons have many strange properties. Ghostie equipment is always +1. However, it has many other properties that inspire terror in opponents. Creatures of animal intelligence must make a morale check when the equipment is around. Typically, they will flee rather than stay around to fight someone using Ghostie equipment. 

Let's start with the armor. 

Ghostie equipment cannot be directly sensed. It can only be seen out of the corner of the eye. Once out of sight, creatures forget they saw it. If worn and buttoned up for combat, it stops making any noise caused by movement. Distressingly, the wearer's voice and breathing are amplified. The wearer cannot stop this. If the wearer is motionless and quiet, there is a good chance (a save vs. paralyzation) that they will be mistaken for an empty suit of armor. AND forgotten when the creature looks away. 

Opponents should flee.

If someone asks the DM about this property, the DM should gaslight them: 

"Armor? I didn't say armor. Oh my god, an armored thing sneaking up on you - roll for initiative!" 

If you can get a jolt out of players, do it a couple of times in a row. Don't let the PC's make any rolls except initiative. Do everything yourself. At the start of each round, use a script like this: 

"You're winded and lying on the ground. As you stand up, you can't remember how you came to be on the floor. It seems important. The room is empty except for scuff marks on the ground where you fought...  

"The armored thing is coming at you! You remember it hit you. Roll for initiative!" 

Lather, rinse, repeat. 

Eventually, this will get old, and you should stop. Assume the terror weakens with exposure. Animals won't hang out for this type of abuse. After a while, the characters will figure out how to compensate for the forgetting and the terror. Any indirect spell or weapon can easily hit Ghostie armor, such as fireball, magic missile, vials of oil or acid, etc. 

Ghostie weapons are +1 to hit and damage. Since they can't be seen directly, the user gains a bonus of 1 to their AC. On to hit rolls, a natural 20 skips the damage roll. The strike will do weapon type's maximum damage ( and a +1) and forces a roll vs. poison. If this save failed, in 1d3 days, the character will begin to suffer from infection. This is caused by the debris and dirt that the weapon pushed into the wound. 

Ghostie weapons are also invisible to direct sight and are forgotten once out of sight, just like the armor. This creates a curious problem when they get dropped because it affects the owner as much as the opponents. 

These three men have a sheet of Ghostie material that they cut up to use as a mask or veil. It is utterly terrifying because their faces are blank spaces, but it doesn't have the full effect of armor or weapons. 

The most common armor is plate and mail, followed by chainmail, and/or shields. There is no such thing as soft Ghostie armors. Weapons come in several types: hook-like daggers, axes, stilettos, and long swords. There are no Ghostie missile weapons, spears, hammers, or maces. 

Let me know what you think. 

Character Challenge 2026 - Catching Up - Pieces of 8

I liked creating Willy Pete and his Merry Gang, so this time I created 8 more characters as a group or party. Six characters are 1st level while the remaining two, Thrain and Elma, are second level. They are currently co-leaders. 

Oddly, the thief, Otto Grimm, pulled the party together. He is a bit perplexing, having low wisdom and modest intelligence with a gift for languages. He was able to fool the other party members into following him until the ideas and cash ran out. At that point, the most experienced characters took over. The Bollin Cay, the fighter decided to call the group "Pieces of 8" since they had 64 coppers, silvers, and gold. 

Let's sketch out this party, starting with the co-leaders, starting with Thrain and moving on to the elf, Elma. 

Thrain Ironfist, Second Level Dwarven Fighter

STR 15
INT 13
WIS 11
DEX 10
CON 14
CHA 10

HP 12

AC 4 (chain, shield)

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Dwarven

Equipment:

Battle axe

Backpack
7 torches
50’ rope
Iron rations
Pickaxe

Hatchet
Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Maybe Elma has a shield like this.

Elma Strider, Second Level Elf

STR 10
INT 13
WIS 12
DEX 14
CON 11
CHA 10

HP 9
AC 6 Leather, Shield

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: 
Languages: Common, Dwarven, Elven

Equipment:
Longsword
Hatchet
Bow and 24 arrows

Spellbook
Elevn cloak
Wineskin
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

You will note all the characters have a hatchet, rations, a bedroll, and a change of clothes. They are carrying everything they own on their backs. They do not have much. 

Elma and Thrain have hopes of either joining a crew heading to the Isle of Dread or becoming a guard troop for a caravan heading north. If they join a crew, they will have no need of a leader. If they join a caravan, they have decided Elma will lead. Thrain is currently the leader in the port town. 

Bollin Cay, First Level Human Fighter

STR 14
INT 13
WIS 10
DEX 12
CON 13
CHA 11

HP 7
AC 5 Chainmail

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: 
Languages: Common, Elven

Equipment: 
Spear +1
Long Bow and 24 arrows
Short Sword

Hammer
Lantern

Flask of oil
Tinderbox 
Lyre
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes

Nissa the Quick, First Level Halfling

STR 15
INT 10
WIS 11
DEX 16
CON 12
CHA 13

HP 5
AC 6 Leather and shield

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Halfling

Short sword

Silver dagger
Sling

Backpack

Lockpicks 
Greatcloak
Flask of oil

2 sacks
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Alvin, First Level Cleric

STR 12
INT 10
WIS 15
DEX 11
CON 13
CHA 11

HP 6
AC 5 Chainmail

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Clerical
Languages: Common

Equipment:

Holy Water Sprinkler (1d8) 
Sling +1 30 bullets

Backpack
Holy symbol
Holy water
Prayer book
Music book
Drum
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Alvin, Cay, and Nissa make up the heart of the party. They all have an interest in music. They are also the only ones with magic weapons. They are the first to gather firewood and set camp, and the last to leave the camp after cleaning up the dishes. 

They perform whenever the rest of the party lets them. In town, they have busked the party a free drink or ten. They really aren't that bad... at singing. 

They can handle dishes and starting fires, but the three of them are abysmal cooks and worse at hunting. Even picking berries and fruit doesn't go well for them unless under the guidance of someone else. They are the happy little band. 

Morcant the Pale, First Level Magic-User

STR 12
INT 16
WIS 12
DEX 11
CON 10
CHA 9

HP 4
AC 9 Robes

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Light, Locate Object
Languages: Common

Equipment:

Staff
Knife

Backpack
Bronze torc
Spellbook
7 books, ink & quill
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations
Small tent
Hammer and tent spikes

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Lovers under a tree

Dawn'wen Star, First Level Elf

STR 10
INT 15
WIS 10
DEX 14
CON 11
CHA 12

HP 5
AC 7 Leather

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: Detect Magic, Light
Languages: Common, Elven, Dwarven

Equipment:

Rapier
Bow and 24 arrows
Dagger
Sling

Backpack
Silver torc
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Dawn'wen and Morcant the Pale are the team's unlikely couple. Both are soft-spoken, often quiet but friendly when they get speaking. The two barely speak to each other, but are great friends. They are the only ones who sleep in a tent. Dawn'wen hunts with her bow, and Morcant cleans and cooks what she provides. 

Both wear expensive torcs of matching designs. The rest of the party suspects these are bands of ownership and believe they are escaped slaves. The rest of the party would never dream of asking. The torcs and the couple occasionally attract ill-attention. Such attention is usually handled by Otto Grimm. 

Otto Grimm First Level Thief

STR 13
INT 12
WIS 6
DEX 17
CON 11
CHA 13

HP 6
AC 7 (leather)

GP: 8 SP: 8 CP: 8 EP: 0 PP: 0 Gems: None

Spells: None
Languages: Common, Elven, Halfling, Orc, Goblin, and several others.

Equipment:

A pair of stiletto's
Mithril long sword
Sling
Wire garrot

Lockpicks
Lock grease
Chalk
Vial of acid 
Holy Water
Tinderbox 
Hatchet

Iron rations

Bedroll
Change of clothes 

Otto is a gregarious man of little wisdom. He talks a great game, but when the rubber hits the road, he comes up short all of the time. No one is exactly sure how this moron knows so many languages, but he is great at them. 

In combat, he is extremely wily and dangerous, packing more weapons than anyone else. He has a fine Mithril sword that, by all accounts, should be magical. The party has tested it several times, and it has a distinct lack of magic. 

Dawn'wen Star has a theory about Otto. He is an assassin, one who has been cursed to be good and lawful. Thrain believes her more than anyone else, because he has seen the results of Otto's hand when anybody bothers the young couple.  

Well, let me know what you think of this crazy crew of characters. 

I'll end today with the overt commercial: 

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials, but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this with two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. Or you could taste test it with the Basic Rules. These are free.

Since I mentioned in two posts, here is a link to Isle of Dread on DriveThruRPG. 

Character Challenge 2026 - Catching Up - Mugwar

Here is a character I reverse-engineered: Mugwar, the Man of Mystery. 

A few years back, I made an impulse purchase of the Dungeon Masters Adventure Log (Link to Noble Knights). I know this is an item I always wanted, but never had. When I saw it at Noble Knight Games, I had to have it. 

The prior owner wrote in it... as they should. Nowadays, I can just scan and Photoshop a new book for myself, but there is a lot of value to me in a pre-loved book. 

Of course, these aren't full-character sheets, but I can guess what they might have looked like. Rangers have minimum stats, and the prior owner kindly wrote some bonuses to AC and attacks. I can also tell this was AD&D e1, but they also had Unearthed Arcana because they had a Caviler in the party. 

One oddity, and I don't find it too odd, is that they had a Halfling in the party. I do the same thing, mixing and matching B/X and AD&D. 

It appears that Mugwar survived approximately 8 modules. He leveled up from 1 to 9. He has used many different weapons and many different types of armor. 

Mugwar Ninth Level Ranger

Strength: 18/76
Intelligence: 13 
Wisdom: 14
Dexterity: 16
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 9

Hit Points: 61
Armor Class: Various

GP: 0  SP: 0  CP: 0 EP: 0   PP: 0 Gems: None  

Spells: Unknown
Languages: Common

Equipment: 
+1 Broadsword

Usually, I start with the commercial. Today, it's at the end.

I use Necrotic Gnome's Old-School Essentials, but picked up the boxed sets from a Kickstarter. You can approximate this by purchasing two titles: The Referee's Tome and The Player's Tome. Or you could taste test it with the Basic Rules. These are free.

Saturday Night Stock Characters

During COVID, Matt Johnson hosted a series of Collabo Dungeons. Participants selected a room and posted a description and a possible encounter on Matt's website. 

Here is what I posted in 2020. 

Location Seven. The Twins.

There are two women, twins, in the pit. They are identical in all ways save one. One woman wears a lead ring. When they become aware of the characters, they will both shout out for help. When the characters look in the pit, they will hear the following orders:

Twin with the ring: "Kill her! She's a demon!"
Twin without the ring: "Kill her! She's an idiot!"

They are both at the bottom of the pit and represent no threat to the characters in this state. They are both bloodied and bruised from the fall and each has a blackened right eye.

If the party rescues them, they will find out the following information. Twin One, the one with the ring is named Meredith. She entered the dungeon with her friends in search of treasure. She found a gold ring in area 8 and after discerning no purpose to it, put it on. She was pushed by a monster into the pit.

Twin Two, without the ring, was a doppelganger hiding in Area 8. To take on Meredith's form, she ambushed her by pushing her into the pit. Unfortunately for the monster, Meredith grabbed it's wrist as she fell and both ended up at the bottom. As the doppelganger took her form, Meredith shouted "Begone!" which the ring of wishes interpreted as a command against the monster. Since the doppelganger was in mid-transformation into Meredith, the ring fixed it in that form before turning to lead. The doppelganger is now an exact copy of Meredith.

The twins have found combat against each other to be profoundly lethal, as they mirror each other's moves perfectly, hence the matching black eyes. They will not fight each other. They will join the party to escape the dungeon.

At the time, I posted Meredith as unstated. I had envisioned Meredith as a young character, one who needed more wisdom. I supposed that she was an accursed thief or perhaps a mage. In rolling them up, I decided they were fighters. 

Them... They... In the room description, we find out how Meredith became a twin. 

I've given one of them a new name, Mercy. They have matching stats, experience, and class, plus a few other surprises. In their time adventuring together, they have found a pair of Bracers of Defence, AC 4. In addition to this, they both have magic swords. These hand-and-half swords are also a matched pair like the Bracers. Each woman is vaguely annoyed that every treasure they find is a matching set. This is because they both want and value the same items. In reality, they have ignored other treasures as worthless because it wasn't what they wanted or valued.  

Meredith wields the sword Nine Lives. It is only +1, but it prevents her from being flanked or backstabbed. If someone attempts to flank or backstab her, the attacker must make a saving throw versus paralysis. If the attacker fails this save, Meredith magically spins to face the attacker, negating their bonus. This can happen as many times in a combat round as there are flanking attackers. This does not allow Meredith an extra attack unless the person flees. 

Mercy wields a sword named Calico. This sword also has powerful magic. On the first swing in combat, it is a +1 to attack and damage. On the next swing, it is +2. This continues until Mercy receives a +3, at which point the sword resets to +1. Mercy is a brutal fighter. She often draws Calico and makes two flourishing swings, which sets the sword to +3 from the get-go.  

The Bracers and the Swords are meant to be used by a single person, Florentine style, not two different people. The Swords' special abilities work together, making the wielder nigh unstoppable. 

The Twins have several other nasty traits. First, Meredith is the original human and is identifiable by the lead ring. This is a helpful trait, sometimes. 

Next, the ring cannot be removed by any mechanism except a wish. Grabbing at the ring will unleash woe on the thief. They must save versus death, or collapse in a seizure for 2d6 rounds. They take no damage but will be horribly sick once the seizures end.  

Heaven help the person who tries to use a tool to get the ring, like a bolt cutter or knife to cut the ring (or finger) off. They will also need to save vs. death. If they succeed, they merely have the seizures described above. If they fail, they burst into flames for 1d6 points of damage per round AND have 1d6 rounds of seizures. Unless someone helps them, they will burn for the entire duration of the seizure. 

The third dangerous trait is that Mercy only uses that name in Meredith's presence. In Meredith's absence, she reverts to using "Meredith". Since she is an exact copy of Meredith (except for the ring) and knows everything she does, she has her identity, too. This can cause chaos for a party. Or a lover. Mercy does this to assume Meredith's place as if they were the same person. She does not intend harm to the people she fools; she only wants her rightful place, as the original woman. 

For this reason, the real and original Meredith is unperturbed by Mercy's behavior and ignores it. She will honor Mercy's promises in her stead and will easily forgive and forget others' missteps regarding Mercy's unseemly behavior. Mercy's adoption of Meredith's place is confusing, not malicious. They are effectively the same person and have the same goals and desires, but do not intend to share anything. 

Mercy and Meredith are pseudo-cursed to stay together. Since they are a matched pair, they always assume the other will be there for them. Separated, they suffer shortcomings from this expectation. Together, they are far more powerful and successful. 

Occasionally, circumstances cause them to come to blows. They will only slap, punch, and kick as their blows land on each other unerringly. They will not use weapons on one another, as it would be instantly fatal. This quirk can foil charms, illusions, and other mind-altering magic as they see each other as the same person and will be resistant to interpreted self-harm. 

#CharacterCreationChallenge - Ruleset OSE - Mugwar the Ranger - For the Fame

 Ah! The Adventures I have... not known? 

Last year, I made an impulse purchase of the Dungeon Masters Adventure Log (Link to Noble Knights). I know this is an item I always wanted, but never had, and when I saw it at Noble Knight Games, I had to have it. As you can see from the image above, someone wrote in it... as they should. Nowadays, I can just scan and Photoshop a new book for myself, but there is a lot of value to me in a pre-loved book. 

There are some initials in it (which have been cropped out) and a few hints as to what was happening to these characters. It appears the party had just run S2 White Plume Mountain (Link to Noble Knights) and survived. Of course, these aren't full-character sheets, but I can guess what they might have looked like. 

Here is my rendition Mugwar the 8th-level Ranger: 

Level 8 Ranger 

Armour Class -3 (+2 elven chainmail armour + ring of protection +3)

Hit Points 54

Attacks
1 × Long Bow (1d6) or 

1 × Two-Handed Sword (1d10)

1 × Dagger (1d4)

Movement Rate 90' (30')

Saves D8 W9 P10 B10 S12

Alignment Lawful

STR 12 INT 11 WIS 9

DEX 18 CON 16 CHA 10

Spells invisibility to animals [See Advanced Fantasy]

Items 

 

Now, the difficulty comes in matching that -3 AC. With an 18 Dex, we hop from 9 to 6. Add in chainmail and we are at 2, leaving us 5 short. Let's skip a shield and use magic to get us lower.  

There are a couple of options from here. 

I like the possibility of  +2 Elven Chain bringing us to AC 0. And a magic ring of protection to get us the rest of the way. 

 At least that is what I would want my Ranger to look like.  

Now, there is this tiny, tiny chance that the player of Mugwar is still around and playing. Perhaps some magic will happen and we will get a real answer. 

You can also use DriveThru as a source for White Plume Mountain at this link. They do not have the Dungeon Masters Adventure Log available. 

#CharacterCreationChallenge - OSE Rules - Ormonde the Assassin

I'm a day behind in my #charactercreationchallenge. I'll have to catch up and skimp on my goal to have a useful image in each post. 

In many of my campaigns, I use Assassins as soldiers. The reason for this is that assassins have valuable military skills for recon. While OSE doesn't specifically list spying as one of their abilities, their skill set supports it. 

Meet Ormonde, a nicely named soldier-assassin. 

Level 3 Assassin
Armour Class 5 [14] (leather)
Hit Points 11
Attacks:
1 × crossbow (1d6)
1 x sling (1d6)
1 x short sword (1d6)
THAC0 19 [0]
Movement Rate 90' (30')
Saves D13 W14 P13 B16 S15
Alignment: Neutral
STR 9 INT 13 WIS 12
DEX 17 CON 12 CHA 16

Items: Beastiary, country map, journal, papyrus, ink, 3 quills, knife, map case, lamp, oil flasks x3, sarcina, bed roll, trinket bag, 5 days of rations, 24 bolts, 2 potions of healing, 1 potion of giant strength, 2 potions of diminution, 6 potion vials of rum (non-magical), a small net bag, 100 gold pieces. 

Ormonde is a veteran of many campaigns but has never progressed in the ranks. That has not held him back, he loves army life. Very often he is paired with a new lieutenant or unit of green troops. He has a special ability to teach the troops to campaign. He had a very hard time as a recruit due to his lack of strength and constitution. Often mocked, he was able to turn this around by putting his other skills to use. He was a master of collecting gossip and scuttlebutt, which he offered to his superiors and peers usually for a price but sometimes for free. 

When things got rough, he can calm and soothe the troops. Many nights around the campfire, he would pen letters home for the new recruits or tell stories of fantastic (and funny) beasts. Ormonde has a funny map that doesn't seem to be useful for anything but telling tall tales. He has a trinket bag full of lucky charms, orisons of hope, and boozy potions of courage. Most of his "rations" fall under the category of welcome and surprising treats like dates and other dried fruits. Items that can be soaked in booze or poison or nothing at all.     

Everything about him screams Bard, except for the whispers of things that happen in the dark. Ormonde uses his other abilities to make dangerous and foolish people disappear. He will do anything to keep his warband safe. 

He is often elected or volun-told to travel with rookie troops and smooth out any mistakes or poor choices by the officers or the troops, one way or another. These special assignments require payment in gold to ensure what is desired by the officer or peer happens. Much to his credit, the vast majority of newbies return home with more skill and respect for the institution of soldiering than those who don't return. He is known and highly valued by a select number of veterans and officers in the army. 

He is a savvy assassin. His sling remains hidden until needed either as intended or as a garrot. Ormonde will lend his crossbow out for hunting and take the time to teach how to ambush prey. He is a terrifyingly good shot, which is often more the point than hunting. 

Ormonde is also careful to explain his potions to his peers, so as not to be mistaken for a poisoner. Many times he uses his potions on others in creative ways. Usually, the drinker is willing in the case of healing. On other occasions, he will dose someone with a potion of diminution before putting them in a net bag until they learn some important facet of soldiering or command. Other times, he will drink the potion himself to gain access to places he normally couldn't reach.  

There is one famous tale about Ormonde which is usually told around the campfire. Ormonde and three young soldiers were cornered and almost captured behind enemy lines. He dressed in a dirty sack and gave his charges the Diminution potions before placing them in another dirty sack. He brazenly walked through several enemy checkpoints, offering to sell his bag of chickens to various officers and sergeants. He was kicked, knocked down, and punched so many times, it took him a month to look and walk like himself again, but he and his men escaped. Those three men are generals now, but cluck when he calls them "his chickens". 

The Best Thief Ever Rolled...

I said I wasn't going to create characters for the 31 day challenge back in this post here. Then I posted a list of 20 sets of die rolls for other people to use for characters. 

Well, tonight I got bored and started plugging in stats into characters. So shoot me. I lied. 

My method was from the original red box rules and I assigned stats in the order I rolled them. I started with clerics and went through every character type in order, one block of stats for each. When I got to the end, I started over until I ran out of statistics. 

The red box requires certain stats of 9 or better with a few exceptions. Clerics require a 13 in Wisdom while Thieves, FIghters and Magic Users have no required minimum stats. Every character type benefits from having one or two high stats for a better return on experience. Prime requisites kind of exist, but not really.   

When I made this list of die rolls, this one jumped out. It's the only time I ever recalled rolling four 1's in a roll. Then I thought how bad it would be to have this set of stats. As luck would have it, this block of rolls was assigned to a thief who has no required scores. I cocked my head in thought. 

Strength: 10
Intelligence: 16
Wisdom: 3
Dexterity: 11
Constitution: 15
Charisma: 18

Oh my god. He exactly the thief that you don't want in your party! He has high intelligence, enough to look down on people. He is charismatic so he can lead people into harms way. His constitution garners a slight bonus to hit points, hopefully enough to get out of some horrible mess he is bound to create. 

He's perfect! 

If you give a handwave to his backstory, he has a ton of gold because he stole his gear from mom and dad. He has some vaguely weapon-like implements from the kitchen and backyard plus handfuls of gold to lead his associates astray with promises of more. Of particular note are 3 maps his dad had in his chest of drawers. Obviously, those must lead to treasure even if they are clearly standard maps of the Kingdom, the County and the Capital. What trouble could that be? 

Obviously, the surviving family dog's wisdom is just high enough to not to want to be a part of this. 

This guy was rolled to be rolled. 

#31daychallenge, Part 2

Get those dice warmed up. It's time for the #31daychalllenge. Roll a character a day. 

Yesterday, I declined the challenge myself, but offered 20 sets of die rolls to create your own character. I want to spend my time reading a blog a day in January. 

Today, I'm reading blogs. Games in Libraries is up to the challenge, as is Spodding. 

Now for the plug. I wrote a book called "Zero to Hero: Uncommon Commoners" specifically designed to roll up NPCs and to give Player Characters professional skills. It's meant for B/X and AD&D e1. It's available at DriveThruRPG for PWYW. I also have a handy dandy character sheet for AD&D e1 and Unearthed Arcana. It's a scan of a sheet I created in the 80's in PDF format. Suitable for printing. 

And with that, I am off to read some blogs. 

31 Day Character Challenge

A few days or weeks ago, I saw Tim Brannan's post on a 31 day challenge. The goal is to post 31 characters in the month of January. See his first right here.* I thought that was awesome, I love rolling characters. 

But... I do this all the time. Click the Pregenerated tab to see over 100 characters. It would be better for me to not play along, go read other people's blogs and instead do something else for myself this year. I don't know what that is yet, but I've decided to post links to others doing this challenge as I come across them. 

I have to be honest, it took me 30 seconds to find Tim's post not counting the 30 minutes of reading his other recent posts. Follow those links above and subscribe. 

I can't leave you high and dry on New Year's Day. I do have a small contribution to this 31 day endeavor. Here is a list of 20 4d6 rolls with the lowest roll dropped. 

 Here they are typed out in order:

A) 15, 12, 12, 9, 16, 10
B) 10, 14, 14, 9, 12, 11
C) 13, 16, 17, 13, 13, 12
D) 11, 14, 15, 12, 12, 13
E) 9, 13, 12, 15, 12, 14
F) 14, 10, 10, 11, 10, 11
G) 14, 13, 10, 14, 16, 12
H) 13, 15, 14, 13. 14, 14
I) 14, 17, 16, 6, 9, 11 
J) 11, 13, 11, 12, 15, 14
K) 10, 15, 11, 13, 14, 14
L) 11, 8, 12, 13, 9, 17
M) 10, 16, 3, 11, 15, 18
N) 13, 14, 17, 14, 11, 15
O) 12, 17, 15, 14, 12, 12
P) 17, 10, 14, 13, 13, 15
Q) 10, 7, 13, 17, 12, 15
R) 12, 14, 10, 9, 17, 16
S) 13, 10, 12, 13, 15, 16
T) 14, 12, 16, 14, 15, 15

I hand rolled these numbers on my lunch breaks last week when I thought I would be participating. What I find interesting is, I don't ever recall rolling a 3 as a stat. I'd like to say I must cheat a lot when rolling dice, but in this exercise, I didn't roll a single 4 or 5 and the one 3 I rolled was actually four 1 in a roll. By the same standard, I only rolled one 18, 7 and 8. That is weird, but thems the dice for you. 

Green-5 Stats for WotC Star Wars

Green-5 is a unique droid to the Tarkeren Campaign. He has been on his own for far too long, Green-5 is suffering from corruption. He has taken on some traits that are not helpful. 

He has this obsession with turning speeders into fighters, which is less useful than it sounds. He has also taken on the idea he should know medicine. For a tactical droid, this is even more questionable than the thing with the speeders. 

T-Series Tactical Droid Statistics
Medium 4th-Degree Droid Soldier 3

Force Points: 2
Initiative: +6; Senses: Perception +7
Languages: Basic, Binary, Zabrak, Rodian

Defense:
Reflex Defense: 18 (Flat-Footed: 17), Fortitude Defense: 13, Will Defense: 13; Vehicular Combat
Hit Points: 30, Damage Threshold: 13
Immune: Droid Traits

Offense

Speed: 9 Squares (Walking)
Melee: Unarmed +1 (1d3)
Ranged: Heavy Blaster +2 (3d8)
Base Attack Bonus: +1; Grapple: +2
Attack Options: Quickshot (Heavy Blaster)

Base Stats:

Abilities: Strength 10, Dexterity 12, Constitution -, Intelligence 14 (Corruption. 10), Wisdom 14, Charisma 12
Talents: Battle Analysis

Feats: Armor Proficiency (Light), Armor Proficiency (Medium), Armor Proficiency (Heavy), Vehicular Combat, Weapon Proficiency (Pistols), Weapon Proficiency (Rifles), Weapon Proficiency (Simple Weapons), Point Blank Shot. 

Skills: Initiative +6, Knowledge (Tactics) +7, Perception +7, History +6, Use Computer +7, Treat Injury +2, Pilot +1, Astrogation +1.

Droid Systems: Walking Locomotion, Heuristic Processor, 2 Hand Appendages, Internal Comlink, Vocabulator, Backup Battery. 

Possessions: Heavy Blaster, Electrobinoculars, Durasteel Plating (Droid Armor; +6 Reflex), Cape, Notebook, Pen.

Availability: Unique

Session 001 - Character Rewind

I forgot to post character sheets. It's Sunday and I am working on my Neimoidian bounty hunter, but I would like to share the player's initial sheets.  

These are photocopies of a character sheet I had on hand and I rewrote what the players did on their sheets. There are mistakes, either one of the players didn't write in languages or I missed it. 

In either case, these are available by hitting the Pregenerated Characters tabs above or from the links below. When the players share their updated sheets, I'll load those, too. 

Just to recap, there are 5 player characters. Nonin is a Devaronian force adept with a blaster. Talhana is a Zabrak force adept, also with a blaster. Malta is Rodian scoundrel and dreamer, with a tiny holdout pistol. Dex is a human handiman and fringer with a sporting blaster. And lastly is Lidda. She is a twi'lik solder with more weapons than anyone else. Click those links for the individual PDF files. 

The characters have made it to level two, but I wanted to show their initial stats from Session 000.  Click the link for a recap. The short of it is, all of the characters have far more equipment and funds now. 

These characters the players created are forcing me to change up the scenarios in Invasion of Theed. In dumping the players on a different home planet, the scenarios can't play out as described. That one I knew. The second change followed by an adjustment was the players wanted to be in a place like the worlds in The Mandolorian. Since they made that choice they changed their minds. They want lightsabres now. Not too hard. The final change I have to make is the final villains can't exist on the players homeworld for a variety of reason, but the primary is, as played the characters would see these villains as heroes. That just won't do. 

Session Updates - The Characters

The Adventure continues in Borderlands. I'll be doing a real session update this weekend. This week has been hectic, with my kids going back to Virtual School and I went back to work, hopping between two really great 6-1-3 classrooms both virtually and in person. It's good to see new and old students again. 

Back to D&D. We have been playing two short sessions a week. It been a lot of fun and I have handed out a lot of experience points. I wanted to share the kids character sheets before they got too messed up. 

I have them in PDF form for download, if you need a low level character in a hurry. Just click the link for the file. 

First up is Aleric the Fighter-Cleric-Magic user. He is the only first level character, but he packs a lot of firepower. He has chain armor and a small shield plus a bow and bastard sword. 

Next is Belaphon the Mage. I use "Wizard" and "Mage" as synonyms for "Magic User". He's an Elf and usually has sleep and magic missile memorized. He's frail, but stands next to Aleric when the fighting starts. 

Helvani and Lauren are next. They are the paladin and ranger duo. Helvani, like Aleric carries a bastard sword and bow while Lauren is using a short sword and bow. Both wear chain and carry a shield. Each has a backup weapon, a hatchet and axe which double as tools. 

Solvo the thief is the idea man of the party. He has a short sword and bow. Solvo wears leather armor which is no where as a good as his Dex modifier. He's a bit too agressive for his hit points and AC, he's been knocked down to 1 HP twice. 

Vandohl is the party's cleric, armed with a mace and sling. She doesn't use a shield, so of all the fighter-types she's a bit more vulnerable. For some reason, she isn't willing to heal the party unless someone asks her. 

These character sheets date back to the 80's, when I first got my hands on a Mac 512K and Unearthed Arcana. One of the main features of this sheet is the comprehensive encumbrance tables on the backside. Back in the day, a lot of my players were in love with spy movies and woodcraft, so they all had tiny first aid kits and gizmos shoved in their pockets. That trait was extended to their characters. 

If you like these sheets, you can download them at DriveThruRPG. 

Character Sheet for AD&D

Character Sheet for AD&D

Pre-Generated Characters - 2nd Level Monks 002

This is my second group of monks. Decima, Seneca the Swift, and Segria are fairly typical monks for my campaign. They have temporal tasks, which takes them away from their homes in the monastery. They have a lot of money for monks, which probably indicates they are either transferring funds from one location to another or have taken in a donation Segria has small diamonds flecks, which are important to her order.

Each of these characters has probably been on an adventure or three. I like to give my pregenerated characters some flavor with their equipment. Each character has something either secular like an instrument or spiritual like intense or a book. One of them has a wooden sword, which could be an interesting reveal, sort of like Book's ability to use a shotgun on Firefly.

If there is a call for it in the comments, I will make DOCX and Google Doc file available as I have the PDFs. The reason I have not done this from the get go is that I created every character of a class in one document and print each page as a PDF.

Pre-Generated Characters - 1st Level Assassins 002

This is my last batch of Assassin for a while. I meant to generate level 2 Assassins but somehow reverted back to level 1. Oops. Anyway, Elvina, Arrius and Linus are more in line with classic AD&D assassins than the assassins in my campaign.

Each of these characters has probably been on an adventure or three. I like to give my pregenerated characters some flavor with their equipment. One of these assassins has a lute and two of them have books which touch on ethics which is an interesting spin on assassins.

If there is a call for it in the comments, I will make DOCX and Google Doc file available as I have the PDFs. The reason I have not done this from the get go is that I created every character of a class in one document and print each page as a PDF.

Pre-Generated Characters - 2 Monks and Terry

These 1st level characters are monks, Miles and Laelia. Terry is a joke character. Click the link to download the PDF file. These characters are almost ready to go. In generating ability scores, I made sure the range was acceptable in both D&D and AD&D. To convert these characters to straight AD&D, simply add or subtract the racial modifiers and class abilities.

Terry is comic relief. As you read through his character sheet, you'll realize that he is every person you've met in a costume at a renaissance fair. I normally don't do joke characters on my blog, but Terry is exactly the type of shenanigans I engage in at the table.

If there is a call for it in the comments, I will make DOCX and Google Doc file available as I have the PDFs. The reason I have not done this from the get go is that I created every character of a class in one document and print each page as a PDF.

Pre-Generated Characters - 3rd Level Assassins

These 3rd level characters are Assassins, Marcus, Mircea and Tulia. Click the link to download the PDF file. These characters are almost ready to go. In generating ability scores, I made sure the range was acceptable in both D&D and AD&D. To convert these characters to straight AD&D, simply add or subtract the racial modifiers and class abilities.

In my campaign, Assassins make up between 10-20% of the human Empire's Legionary. These characters have far more than a typical adventurer would have owing to the fact that they are professional soldiers. I will post again with a better explanation of their equipment.

If there is a call for it in the comments, I will make DOCX and Google Doc file available as I have the PDFs. The reason I have not done this from the get go is that I created every character of a class in one document and print each page as a PDF.

Assassin of the Empire

In my campaign, the Assassin in the Guild operate more as spies than killers. They are the secret police for the Emperor, persevering the peace through whispers and intimidation. Since the Human Empire is at war with dwarves and elves, assassins have a noticeable inability to infiltrate these societies. Sleep and height basically preclude it. Silly, but reasonable. They aren't sidelined by this lack, instead they keep the roads clear for the troops and citizens alike. They handle messages at all levels of government and even provide a private mail service. 

In this campaign assassins tend to work like urban and rural rangers, where the road between counts as a part of the creating town or village. Why not simply make them rangers? Because rangers operate completely without support in the wilderness, where as assassins and spies use and misuse resources already in place. Assassins require civilization to abuse, while rangers don't care about what everyone else is doing. Some of their skills collide, such as being knowledgeable about the lay of the land, habitation, trails, roads and alternate routes. But assassins can only work when they have the civil pact to violate. An assassin the woods is just as lost as a ranger in a church or temple.

Assassins will know the roads, the towns and the important places within the town. They are often attached to patrols to act as guides and reporters to civil agencies. They know the important people, and not just the people that think they are important. Assassins know the right scullery maids and court clerks. Rangers know different facts, which are clearly not in the same circle. 

Another Assassin Post - The Swindle Pig

Here is another look at assassins. You can download the full file here as a pdf.

I generally don't do single page character sheets, but this assassin popped into my head fully formed.

The Swindle Pig is an atypical assassin. His real name is unknown, but he goes by “Patch”, “Plug” and “Paully”. Sometimes, in the same conversation.

He specializes in information gathering. He is able to provide the player characters with many useful details.

From the DM side, The Swindle Pig excels at spycraft so he knows what the party needs. He is horrible at negotiation,  so he doesn’t bother. He offers his information for “free” at the outset and explains that people should repay him according to their means once the information proves useful.

This sort of indebted exchange rubs a lot of people wrong, but they still pay accordingly. 

Many player characters will realize that The Swindle Pig is an excellent assassin and fighter but he sees no value in killing people if he doesn’t have to. On the other hand, people who try to cross him or the people he networks with will end up very dead. He will never double cross honest people and won’t work with honorless people.

The Swindle Pig has two journals or notebooks. He is very educated and has excellent penmanship. When he gives out information, he writes it on a page in the red book and tears it out. When someone gives him a reward, he places their names in the black book, no matter the amount.   

There is a story about him rescuing someone who came to harm from his information. It’s an ugly tale, but also proof positive that he is honorable.

Pre-generated Characters - 1st Level Assassins

These 3 first level characters are Assassins, Felix, Laelia and Philo. Click the link to download the PDF file. These characters are almost ready to go. In generating ability scores, I made sure the range was acceptable in both D&D and AD&D. To convert these characters to straight AD&D, simply add or subtract the racial modifiers and class abilities.

In my campaign, Assassins make up between 10-20% of the human Empire's Legionary. These characters have far more than a typical adventurer would have owing to the fact that they are professional soldiers. I will post again with a better explanation of their equipment.

If there is a call for it in the comments, I will make DOCX and Google Doc file available as I have the PDFs. The reason I have not done this from the get go is that I created every character of a class in one document and print each page as a PDF.

February Freeze - Star Smuggler - The One About The Crew

Ok, we've run through 31 days of game play with Star Smuggler and the crew as appeared very infrequently. So, let's talk about them.

In order of appearance, they are Duke Springer, Emily, Ratchet, Doc, Left and Deadeye. Each character has a "class" or set of abilities. Let's focus on the "pure" NPC characters, then I will touch on Duke.

Emily - Captain's Heir

Emily is a Pilot/Navigator. She can fly the ship, drive a skimmer and fire a side arm. She can defend herself in hand to hand combat, but will avoid it. She cannot make repairs or fire the ship's guns. She can operate the ship's radio, which is a distinction between "the ship's necessary crew" and "crew that happen to ride on a spaceship".  Should she die, a payment of 200 secs. will be made to her family.

Emily - Pilot/Navigator
Marksmanship: 4
Hand-to-hand: 4
Endurance: 4

Equipment: Sidearm, TL-1; Heavy Side Arm, TL-1; U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 80 secs.
Salary: 15 a week, due to working in a Status Field generator.
Deathpay: 200 secs.

A note on equipment is important. Whatever Duke gives to his crew becomes their personal property. Emily can and will take this if she leaves the crew. Her money cannot be counted towards the Duke's pool of cash. 

I added a rule for this online play through, Emily is the designated heir to Duke, she will receive the ship if he dies and continue on. I have also added a second house rule, if Duke is offered something at a price that an NPC can afford, they may purchase their own stuff. Say a heavy hand weapon, tech level 5, verses the standard side arm, tech level 1 that Duke gave her. It's more paperwork, but reasonable.  

Ratchet - Ship's Engineer

Ratchet is an engineer. He can perform repairs and preventive maintenance. He can drive a skimmer, fire a sidearm and can engage in hand-to-hand combat, but avoids any combat he can. He can operate the ship's radio, which is a distinction between "the ship's necessary crew" and "crew that happen to ride on a spaceship" Should he die, a payment of 80 secs. will be made to his family.

9 times out of 10, they shouldn't travel with Duke because they can get killed up.

Ratchet - Engineer
Marksmanship: 5
Hand-to-hand: 3
Endurance: 4

Equipment: Sidearm, TL-1; U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 75 secs.
Salary: 15 a week.
Deathpay: 120 secs.

More notes on the characters. Almost all characters will have two values for salary listed, one if their workspace is covered by a Stasis Field, and one without that protection. I figure the NPCs are being paid so little that there is no point and role playing renegotiated salaries based on the addition or loss of that stasis field . Duke provides things to them and will want to restore broken items his ship and make improvements. If that benefits the crew, so be it. 

Engineer's repair and preventive maintenance require a day of rest or RRR to do. If you use anything over T-1, you are either adventuring every other day, or taking a risk. Maintenance adds a bonus to breakdown rolls, it doesn't eliminate them. This is hard to track and the game doesn't say what happens if you maintain something then place it in storage. I assume that the bonus is "sticky" and is only used up when the item is actually used. Stuff does not breakdown until the end of the day. 

Doc - Ship's Doctor

Doc can patch people up and not much else. He cannot drive, operate a weapon or use the ship's radio. Did I mention, all he does is heal people.

Doc - Medic
Marksmanship: 0
Hand-to-hand: 1
Endurance: 3

Equipment: U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 40 secs.
Salary: 10 a week.
Deathpay: 80 secs.

Medics are cheap, they don't receive a sign on bonus nor much in death pay. I don't like that, because they are invaluable. They can't shoot and will avoid hand-to-hand combat. 

These guys can patch you up should you get hurt. 9 times out of 10, they shouldn't travel with Duke, because they can get shot up. In all cases, it is better to bring a PS bot with you. They can't be hurt and can instantly save a life. 

Bones - Ship's Medic

Doc can patch people up and not much else. Like Doc, she cannot drive, operate a weapon or use the ship's radio.

Bones - Medic
Marksmanship: 0
Hand-to-hand: 1
Endurance: 6

Equipment: U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 20 secs.
Salary: 10 a week.
Deathpay: 80 secs.

Medics are cheap, they don't receive a sign on bonus nor much in death pay. I don't like that, because they are invaluable. They can't shoot and will avoid hand-to-hand combat. 

These guys can patch you up should you get hurt. 9 times out of 10, they shouldn't travel with Duke, because they can get shot up. In all cases, it is better to bring a PS bot with you. They can't be hurt and can instantly save a life. 

Lefty - Gunner's Mate

Lefty is one of two gunners I have on the ship. Gunners are in my opinion better than bodyguards and should be hired in pairs. They have the exact same stats as a bodyguard, but can fire the ship's guns, boat guns and skimmer guns in addition to side arms. They cost more, but can do far more.

Lefty - Gunner's Mate
Marksmanship: 6
Hand-to-hand: 2
Endurance: 4

Equipment: Sidearm, TL-1; Heavy Side Arm, TL-1; U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 40 secs.
Salary: 15 a week.
Deathpay: 100 secs.

Deadeye - Gunner's Mate

Except for stats, Deadeye is a clone of Lefty.

Deadeye - Gunner's Mate
Marksmanship: 5
Hand-to-hand: 1
Endurance: 5

Equipment: Sidearm, TL-1; Heavy Side Arm, TL-1; U-Suit, TL-1; PS-bot, TL-1.
Money: 40 secs.
Salary: 15 a week.
Deathpay: 100 secs.