Change of Plans: MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide...

Good Morning, All:

At the moment, I am preparing to release my next MyD20 Lite product, which I am calling MyD20 Lite Bestiary: Common Creatures. It is a small collection of more than sixty monsters that can be used with any MyD20 Lite campaign. A majority come from the work I've done on the Referee's Guide, some from Hammersong's Legacy (updated to MyD20 Lite, of course), and some are introduced just to cover some of the bases regarding common creatures. This 40-page supplement should be available before the end of the week, in both PDF and Print-On-Demand.

In essence, I'm looking at breaking the Referee's Guide up into smaller parts so that I can get more of it out there now, and then add the parts that are still missing as I go along. Expect to see a Treasure supplement in the next few weeks, as well as Referee Advice. Other bits and pieces will follow, and eventually, I'll compile them all into a single book, once I've finished everything. While this doesn't give the MyD20 Lite fans a complete book all at once, at least it gives them something that they can use right now. Eventually, I may even create my own version of the D&D Rules Compendium and bring it all together into one giant hardcover book.

Of course, if the MyD20 Lite stuff doesn't sell well, then I know that the material isn't in high demand and I can stop beating myself up about not getting it done. If that's the case, I will wait until I have an actual MyD20 Lite gaming group instead of the Savage Worlds game I'm running right now before I finalize the whole system. Since I tend to write more for things that I can use in my game, in one form or another, that will probably be the biggest motivator toward getting things done. Right now, though, my Savage Worlds game is going strong, and I'm really enjoying it, so I wouldn't expect that additional external motivation just yet. But if there are a significant number of people waiting, I'm more motivated to get it finished and out there where it can be used and enjoyed.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: The Role of Gods...

Good Evening, All:

Here's another snippet from the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide. In this particular case, I'm exploring the role of Gods and Pantheons from the perspective of the Referee. Please read through this and let me know if you have any questions, comments and concerns.

The role of Gods in most fantasy campaigns tends to fall into one of four basic categories: monotheism/dualism, one common pantheon, multiple regional pantheons and the use of religious organizations instead of individual gods. As the Referee, one of your decisions is to decide on which approach to take for your campaign. A great majority of campaign settings typically promote the concept of one common pantheon. For the purpose of discussion, however, the other three types are also presented in this section.

Monotheism and Dualism
Campaign settings cast in this particular model typically reflect the monolithic presence of a single church devoted to one God, much as the Roman catholic Church existed in the late Middle Ages in Europe. In such a setting, those spellcasters that do not worship the single God of the setting are arcanists, and do not have access to divine magic. The social role of arcane spellcasters is seriously impacted by this association, even if they are devoted to the single God of the setting.
As an interesting variant of this concept, two Gods vie for the souls of the mortal world, each diametrically opposed to one another. This alleviates the social pressure on arcane spellcasting characters, as now there are two sources for divine magic. Due to their opposed nature, one of these Gods is often portrayed as Good, while the other is seen as Evil.
Before making a decision to develop a campaign setting under this model, Referees should discuss the matter with their players. Some people may feel that this arrangement reflects their own personal beliefs, and may have strong feelings regarding the depiction of something resembling their own beliefs within the context of a fantasy game.

One Common Pantheon
This is the most common model used to depict deities in published campaign settings. In essence, these campaign settings describe the presence of five or more (sometimes over a hundred more) deities, all worshiped individually as part of one gestalt pantheon. Each deity in the pantheon embodies one or more archetypes or aspects of the world, and are often drawn from or inspired by historical and mythological pantheons from various Earth cultures. In some cases, archetypes unique to fantasy settings have evolved to handle the presence of races and professions that are common to fantasy literature, but did not exist historically.
As a Referee, should you decide to use one common pantheon, it is suggested that you identify ten to twenty different archetypes you wish to include in your campaign and then build from there. As mentioned previously, you could easily review historic and mythological pantheons for inspiration, and possibly even use the deities you find directly.

Multiple Regional Pantheons
Another common practice in published campaign settings is the use of multiple regional pantheons. For example, many settings have one large common pantheon, supported by smaller racial pantheons. (Frequently, fantasy races are divided into separate regions with their own cultures, which lends itself well to a regional pantheon concept.) Alternately, a setting that emulates different Earth cultures will also include regional pantheons, one for each culture, to give these regions their own unique identity.
When using multiple regional pantheons, it is recommended that each region have a fairly small pantheon, to make it easier for you as the Referee and for your players to keep things straight. Too many gods in too many separated pantheons can easily lead to confusion.

Religious Organizations
As a final note, a few published campaign settings have forgone the use of deities and pantheons, and instead used religious organizations in their place within the context of their worlds. Such organizations may be modeled after real-world religions, or may take a more fantasy-oriented bent to them. The influence of such organizations tend to be much less pervasive than a divine pantheon, extending only so far as the originating culture has spread. This particular model suggests adventures based on political intrigue within the hierarchy of an organization, as well as the interaction between various organizations. With no omnipotent, omnipresent deity actively involved in the matters of mortal men, there's a lot more room for story lines that involve the darker aspects of human nature where secular power is concerned.
Bear in mind, however, that should you, as Referee, decide to pursue such a setting, you should check first with your players to make sure that they are comfortable with the religious organizations you decide to implement in your setting. As with the One God concept above, fantasy game elements that bear too much of a similarity to strong personal beliefs may make one or more player-characters uncomfortable.

Enjoy,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Guilds...

Good Evening, All:

In working on MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, I started gathering together information regarding guilds in a fantasy setting, in the hopes that it would make for a good addition to the book. I've included the basics of what I've found below. A version of this text will likely appear in the final book. I may also include a sample stat block for use with such organizations, much like I've shown elsewhere on this blog and utilized in the Hammersong's Legacy Campaign Setting.

For more information on guilds in a fantasy setting, I've found references to the following products that might be helpful: Guilds by AEG, Guildcraft by Bastion Press and Guilds & Adventurers by Mystic Eye. If you have any other suggestions, comments or concerns, I'm open to them as always.

Guilds
Much like the medieval guilds that inspire them, guilds in most fantasy settings evolve primarily to protect local and regional trade within specific occupations. Guilds are best described as exclusive, regimented organizations created to preserve the rights and privileges of their members separately and distinctly from the local government. In a world where individuals are often defined by their occupation and livelihood, the union of local craftsmen and merchants offers a degree of economic protection that the law of the land does not always provide. Thus, guilds fill an important role in urban life.

Most guilds in fantasy settings fall into one of two categories: merchant guilds and craft guilds. Traders form merchant guilds for the mutual protection of their horses, wagons, and goods when traveling. Many townships have been founded when a merchant guild obtains a charter to do so from the local sovereign or governing body, so that caravans would be protected at the end of a day's travel along trade routes between major markets.

Groups of artisans and craftsmen engaged in the same occupation associate themselves together as craft guilds for protection and mutual aid. As the craft guilds rise in power within the local government, they tend to enforce a monopoly, denying the ability to practice their craft without being a member of the guild. In this way, the craft guild could protect their local business from outside trade.

While guilds are often portrayed in fantasy settings as protecting their own members, they also provide protection for consumers (such as the average adventuring party) as well. Craft guilds often have regulations on the quality of work produced by their membership, and may even require that all works be examined and approved by the guild before they can be sold. Prices are regulated (though rarely fixed), at least within a given city or region, so that local merchants are not able to drastically under-sell one another. Guilds often promote laws and decrees that forbid foreign artisans from selling their work within the guild's domain. Secrets regarding the production processes of a guild are guarded from discovery, and those who sell such secrets or train others in forbidden techniques are often hunted down and slain for such actions. Within a guild, monopolies are maintained through the control of the number of masters, and resources are protected to avoid impacting the guild members' ability to perform their craft.

In addition to the obvious trade-related services, guilds also perform other services for its members. They provide funeral expenses for poorer members and aid to survivors of disasters, provide dowries for the daughters of poorer members, provide assistance for the care of sick or injured members, build and/or support shrines and temples dedicated to a guild's patron deities, monitor the impact of members who indulge in non-ethical behavior such as gambling or usury, and promote education among the families of their membership.

In some instances, guilds are required to perform public services, such as taking turns with one another policing the streets or constructing public buildings and walls to defend the city.

Guild Ranks
Although there are exceptions, most guilds are organized into different ranks, or levels of membership and authority. These are typically, from lowest to highest: apprentice, journeyman, master and Guildmaster.

Apprentice: Most apprentices live with a master and his family, as the apprentice's parents have paid to have their child taken on. Apprentices work for free and are subject to the whims and teachings of their master. During their apprenticeship they are often not allowed to marry. This learning period might vary from 2-7 years depending on the craft. The apprentice's training included the rudiments of the trade. When the apprentice has mastered the basics of the guild's craft, they may be promoted to journeyman.

Journeyman: Journeymen are entitle to earn a salary as they continue to work in service to the guild. In addition to their day-to-day work, a journeyman must produce a masterpiece that will satisfy the Guildmaster of their mastery of the craft and hopefully earn the rank of master. The journeyman must work on his own time to produce this masterpiece, using his own tools and raw materials he has purchased himself. Once the work is completed, the journeyman may receive a vote of acceptance, so long as the economy is sufficient to support the addition of a new master. If times are tight, a journeyman may not receive their vote of acceptance immediately.

Master: Once the masterpiece is complete, the Guildmaster has approved it, and the guild has voted to accept the journeyman as a master, he then joins the ranks of the masters and enjoys all the rights and responsibilities of that position.

Guildmaster: While a guild can have many masters, it can typically only have one Guildmaster. Often a person of political and social importance given his role in the guild, the Guildmaster often sets or guides the policies of the guild and their enforcement. While a guild is still subject to the law of the land and the decrees of the local sovereign or governing body, within those strictures, the Guildmaster often possesses great power.

With Regards,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Referee's Guide Update...

Good Evening, All:

I'm almost done with the section on Magic Items in the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, which is good news. I feel that I have the following sections that are still outstanding on the book:

1. Common Fantasy Elements: I need to finish my discussions on various fantasy elements that are often depicted in fantasy campaign worlds.
2. A Basic Bestiary: I need to complete the common special abilities, although I may limit them to only those covered by the monsters provided. I also need to complete the Monsters & Combat subsection.
3. Non-Player Characters: I need to decide how I'm going to proceed with the Stock NPC section and then finish that up. Most of that will be dealing with stat blocks.
4. Adventure Creation Advice: I need to finish my discussions on elements of a good dungeon design, and finish my example. I also need to flesh out the wilderness adventure section.
5. The Appendices: I need to finish up my conversion notes from various fantasy game systems into MyD20 Lite.

While I am unsure if I'll be done by the end of January, I do feel like I'm making significant progress. Truthfully, there's a lot more I'd like to do with this book, but I think getting something out now is better than waiting another year while I create the tome I'd actually like to release. Perhaps I can continue my work on the side, and eventually release another supplement of Referee advice.

With Regards,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Conditions Summary...

Good Morning, All:

In working on the condition summary page for the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, I developed the following from the 3E SRD. Most conditions are self-explanatory, in my opinion, or are found in the one or two areas where they are used, so I didn't include them. However, these are prevalent enough that I felt they needed to be covered, as they will likely come up under a greater variety of circumstances. Please feel free to review these rules and let me know your thoughts on the matter:

Condition Summary
If more than one condition affects a character, apply them all. If certain effects can't combine, such as different levels of the same category of conditions, apply the most severe effect.

Fear
There are three different stages of fear in the MyD20 Lite rules: shaken, frightened and panicked.
Shaken: A shaken character suffers a -2 penalty on all ability checks, including attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks. A character is typically shaken until they have rested uninterrupted for ten minutes.
Frightened: A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature suffers a -2 penalty on all ability checks, including attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape. A character is typically frightened until they have rested uninterrupted for ten minutes, at which point they merely become shaken.
Panicked: A panicked creature must drop anything it holds and flee at top speed, as well as any other dangers it encounters, along the most direct path away from the source of its fear. It can’t take any other actions. In addition, the creature suffers a -2 penalty on all ability checks, including attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks. If cornered, a panicked creature cowers, unable to act and suffering a -2 penalty to Armor Class. A panicked creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.

Queasiness
There are two different stages of queasiness: sickened and nauseated.
Sickened: The character takes a -2 penalty on all weapon damage rolls and ability checks, including attack rolls, saving throws and skill checks.
Nauseated: A nauseated creature suffers from extreme stomach distress. Nauseated creatures are unable to attack, cast spells, concentrate on spells, or do anything else requiring attention. The only action such a character can take is a single move action per turn.

Tiredness
There are two different stages of tiredness: fatigued and exhausted.
Fatigued: A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and suffers a -1 penalty to Strength- and Dexterity-based ability checks, including attack rolls and Reflex saves. Eight hours of complete rest will remove a creature's fatigue. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue increases their tiredness by one level, making them exhausted.
Exhausted: An exhausted character moves at half speed and suffers a -3 penalty to Strength- and Dexterity-based ability checks, including attack rolls and Reflex saves. One hour of rest shifts an exhausted character up one level of tiredness to fatigued. A fatigued character becomes exhausted by doing something else that would normally cause fatigue.

Part of me thinks there should be another level to tiredness, to cover the -2 penalty that lies halfway between fatigued and exhausted. I found this concept in True 20, where the intermediary condition was called fatigued and the -1 condition was called winded, and the idea still rattles around in my head from time to time. What do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Designing a Trap...

Good Evening, All:

In working on the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide today, I developed a quick section on designing traps that is similar to the section I have for creating new monsters. I’m providing a sneak peek at that section below. In addition, I’m providing some basic traps for simply plug-and-play use, and a few other tidbits as well.

Designing A Trap
When building a trap from scratch, the following table offers some suggested values for use in the trap's stat block, based on the desired Challenge Rating (CR) of the trap.

CR	XP	Attack Bonus	Attack Dmg	Ongoing Dmg	Difficulty	Max Spell Lvl
1/2	150	+1	1d8	1d4	12	1
1	300	+2	1d8	1d4	13	1
2	450	+3	2d6	1d4	13	1
3	600	+4	2d6	1d6	14	2
4	900	+6	2d6	1d6	15	2
5	1,200	+7	3d6	1d6	15	3
6	1,800	+8	4d6	2d6	16	3
7	2,400	+9	4d6	2d6	17	4
8	3,600	+10	4d6	2d6	18	4
9	4,800	+12	5d6	2d6	18	5
10	7,200	+13	5d6	2d6	19	5
11	9,600	+14	5d6	2d6	19	6
12	14,400	+15	6d6	2d6	20	6
13	19,200	+16	6d6	3d6	21	7
14	28,800	+18	6d6	3d6	22	7
15	38,400	+19	6d6	3d6	22	8
16	57,600	+20	6d6	3d6	23	8
17	76,800	+21	6d6	3d6	24	9
18	115,200	+22	7d6	3d6	24	9
19	153,600	+24	7d6	3d6	25	9
20	230,400	+25	7d6	3d6	26	9

CR: The CR of a trap is equivalent to a monster of the same Challenge Rating.
XP: The XP value of a trap is equivalent to that of a monster of the same Challenge Rating.
Attack Bonus: For traps that utilize an attack roll, such as those involving weapons, this is the suggested attack bonus for such attacks.
Attack Dmg: For traps that utilize attack rolls or that inflict damage once after being activated, this is the suggested damage that could be inflicted by the trap.
Ongoing Dmg: For traps that inflict ongoing damage, such as poison traps, this is the suggested ongoing damage value.
Difficulty: For traps that require a saving throw instead of an attack roll, this is the suggested Difficulty of that save.
Max Spell Lvl: For traps that emulate a spell effect, this is the maximum level of spell suggested for a trap of this Challenge Rating.

The Attack Damage values are based on the Moderate Damage column I provided in a previous post when crunching the numbers on monsters, while the Ongoing Damage values come from the Least Damage column of that same post. These are, of course, based on CR, not Hit Dice. So, what do you think? Any suggestions, comments or other thoughts?

Enjoy,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Missing Topics in the Referee's Guide...

Good Evening, All:

As I work through the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, I'm finding a few topics that are not covered, but perhaps should be, if I want a more complete guide for the gamemaster. Here are the topics I am considering for addition to the guide:

• Traps
• Conditions
• Environment & Wilderness Exploration

There are almost certainly more topics that could be added, to provide a more well-rounded gaming experience, but I think these are likely to be the minimum needed for a good game. While Fantasy Concepts was a campaign resource designed to be used with existing 3E materials, MyD20 Lite is intended to be a complete stand-alone game in its own right. When all is said and done, I am hoping that I do not need to reference any other gaming material except when searching for ideas and inspirations. At least, that's my goal in terms of developing the core of this system.

The Inner Earth adventures of the World Within will use the core MyD20 Lite system, with an alternate spellcaster to replace the Mage and Priest classes. So, whether my next fantasy campaign is vanilla fantasy or the World Within, I'm looking to use this system for my next campaign. I am definitely looking forward to it.

With Regards,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Stock NPCs Revisited...

Good Afternoon, All:

I'm torn on the concept of stock NPCs. As I've done more reading into 4E, I've found that there's a different way that NPCs can be created instead of building PCs using the character classes. What 4E does is fairly simple, and easy to implement. In essence, 4E adds a small subset of a class's features to a monster through the use of a "class template". From the perspective of MyD20 Lite, that would be something as simple as:

Warrior, Experienced (approximately 4th level)
Hit Dice: +4 Hit Dice. (Be sure to modify BAB, Saves, Bonus Damage, Difficulties and other elements as necessary.)
Saving Throw Bonuses: +2 Fortitude, +1 Reflex.
Weapon Mastery: This creature has a +1 bonus on attacks and a +2 bonus on damage when using weapons from a single weapon group.
Warrior Talents: Choose two talents from the Warrior class.
Challenge Rating Adjustment: +4.

Or, for a spellcaster such as a Mage, something like:

Mage, Experienced (approximately 4th level)
Hit Dice: +2 Hit Dice. (Be sure to modify BAB, Saves, Bonus Damage, Difficulties and other elements as necessary.)
Saving Throw Bonuses: +1 Reflex, +2 Will.
Arcane Spells: This creature has 10 spellpoints, and carries a spellbook with up to five 1st level and five 2nd level spells.
Mage Talents: Choose two talents from the Mage class.
Challenge Rating Adjustment: +4.

I'm sure this same concept can be used in other retro-clones. To determine the number of bonus hit dice to add, I would find the number that is closest to the attack bonus and base hitpoints for the class at that level. If those differ, I'd lean more towards hitpoints, I think, than attack bonus. After that, the rest is pretty easy.

But I'm still trying to decide exactly how I want to do it. I just had this thought and decided to share it, in case anyone had a comment on it, either positive or negative. So, what do you think?

With Regards,
Flynn

Working on MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide...

Good Evening, All:

Today I continued my work on the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide. I added a rewritten synopsis of the 5x5 Method, with proper accreditation, and then included a link to the article for more information. As it turns out, you can't mix other licenses with the OGL, so I can't quote the actual text of the method verbatim or directly. In addition, I updated the monster stat blocks based on James' suggestion earlier about adjusting the damage done by large creatures. Finally, I did some more work on the magic items section, working on the Constant Items lists.

I’m also building a number of lists for different types of Spirit Lords that can provide Pact Gifts to Ritualists. So far, I have four major categories: Elemental, Primordial (for those Elder Gods of the Mythos), Profane and Sacred. I also have a fifth category called Universal, which are gifts open to all Ritualists. If anyone has any additional suggestions, I’m definitely open to them.

More Tomorrow,
Flynn

A Brief Update: Shades of Synnibar... And Greyhawk...

Good Evening:

I've begun some basic mapping of Mediterranea, that region of the Hollow Earth I'd like to game in. Now that I've become absorbed somewhat by this concept, I am working through some of it so that maybe I can get it out of my mind and get back to the actual projects I want to work on.

I've also been reading through the synopsis of the Warlord comic issues from the blog From The Sorcerer's Scroll, which has added some other elements to the picture that is forming in my head. Imagine, if you will, adding elements of science fiction to the mix ala Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, giving you a "Conan Goes To Pellucidar To Battle Ancient Robots" vibe. Well, probably not that blatant, but hints of it would not be inappropriate. Yes, it bears minor shades of the setting of Synnibar, but it also bears shades of Greyhawk, so there's a wide range of qualities and levels of success to choose from here.

As an aside, I have recently done some work on the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide, and it is coming along. I still hope to finish it before the end of the year. It would please me a lot to release it in the year 2010.

More Tomorrow,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: The Math Behind The Monsters, Part Three...

Good Afternoon, All:

In this third and final post on the "Math behind the Monsters" series for MyD20 Lite, we are going to look at the damage that monster inflict. Toward that end, I simply wanted to recap some the base assumptions I used.

• I used the Priest and Rogue's hitpoint values as the average for characters at each level.
• I assume that the average encounter lasts three rounds.
• I assume that the average monster successfully strikes once, maybe twice, per round.
• The last two assumptions indicates that a monster may hit as much as six times in an encounter, and so melee dmg should take that into consideration.
• For special abilities, I assume that there are four levels of damage: Least, Minor, Moderate and Major. These correspond to one-sixth, one-quarter, one-third, and one-half of an average character's hitpoints at that level.
• The corrolary to the previous assumption is that a monster can only apply special ability damage once per round.
• For ongoing damage, I assume that the average character will likely make their save within the first two-three rounds, but could go on for a few more rounds. Therefore, damage associated with a special ability that provides ongoing damage should use the values for the Least Damage (one-sixth of a character's level).
• For single damaging attacks, the usual damage should be the moderate damage value (one-third of a character's level in HP), since an encounter averages three rounds.
• For devastating single damaging attacks, the special ability should use the major damage value (one-half of the hitpoints of a character of the appropriate level), but should only be able to be used once per encounter.
• For annoying special attacks, the usual damage should be the minor damage value (one-quarter of a character's level in HP), which will leave a character with a quarter of his hitpoints at the end of an encounter, should he fail every saving throw.
• I assume that the average character will make half of his saves, given the means by which we calculated the Save DC values. Thus, the impact of the above will be halved. i.e. He can make it through two encounters against a suitable opponent before he is left on the edge of survival and required to use resources he's gathered over the course of his adventures.
• Finally, I assume that this will make combat more risky and challenging, but I also assume that players will then rise to the occasion and play either with more creativity or with more consideration for alternative approaches to resolving scenarios other than combat 100% of the time.

With the above in mind, I came up with the following relatively huge table. Starting from left to right, the table covers the following evolution:

1. Hit Dice are converted to PC Level using the table I provided in the first post of this series.
2. PC level is then converted to average PC hitpoints, using the Priest as our basis.
3. I then calculate the Least Value, Minor Value, Moderate Value and Major Value for each level by dividing by 6, 4, 3 and 2, respectively.
4. I then converted each Value (which are hitpoints) into a die range by dividing each value by 3.5 and assuming that many d6. At the lower end of the table, I handwaved a few d8s, d4s and d3s to cover duplicates and better match those lower values. This gave me Least Damage, Minor Damage, Moderate Damage and Major Damage by hit dice.
5. Assuming that there would potentially be six attacks per encounter that land on a target, I took the Least Value and subtracted four from it, to simulate the average Medium creature attack of a d6. This gave me a rough damage adjustment by level (Rough Dmg Adj).
6. Finally, noting that I didn't want to start with a negative number, and noting that we cap out at +9 for 25 HD creatures, I divided 25 by 9 to get ~2.78, which I rounded up to 3. Thus, every three levels gave us a +1 increase in melee damage.

By looking at the last two columns, you can see that the suggested damage increase falls under the one-sixth calculated value starting at 7 HD, and runs behind thereafter. Therefore, I'm good with not capping the damage adjustment at a lower HD range, and just letting it run all the way up to the overall cap of 25 HD.

Table: Damage Values By HD

HD	PC Level	Avg PC HP	Least Value	Minor Value	Moderate Value	Major Value	Least Dmg	Minor Dmg	Moderate Dmg	Major Dmg	Rough Dmg Adj	Smooth Dmg Adj
1	0	8	1	2	3	4	1d4	1d6	1d8	2d6	-3	0
2	1	16	3	4	5	8	1d4	1d6	1d8	2d6	-1	0
3	2	21	4	5	7	11	1d4	1d6	2d6	3d6	0	1
4	3	26	4	7	9	13	1d6	2d6	2d6	3d6	0	1
5	4	31	5	8	10	16	1d6	2d6	2d6	4d6	1	1
6	5	36	6	9	12	18	1d6	2d6	3d6	5d6	2	2
7	6	41	7	10	14	21	2d6	2d6	4d6	6d6	3	2
8	6	41	7	10	14	21	2d6	2d6	4d6	6d6	3	2
9	7	46	8	12	15	23	2d6	3d6	4d6	6d6	4	3
10	8	51	9	13	17	26	2d6	3d6	4d6	7d6	5	3
11	9	56	9	14	19	28	2d6	4d6	5d6	8d6	5	3
12	10	58	10	15	19	29	2d6	4d6	5d6	8d6	6	4
13	11	60	10	15	20	30	2d6	4d6	5d6	8d6	6	4
14	12	62	10	16	21	31	2d6	4d6	6d6	8d6	6	4
15	12	62	10	16	21	31	2d6	4d6	6d6	8d6	6	5
16	13	64	11	16	21	32	3d6	4d6	6d6	9d6	7	5
17	14	66	11	17	22	33	3d6	4d6	6d6	9d6	7	5
18	15	68	11	17	23	34	3d6	4d6	6d6	9d6	7	6
19	16	70	12	18	23	35	3d6	5d6	6d6	10d6	8	6
20	17	72	12	18	24	36	3d6	5d6	6d6	10d6	8	6
21	18	74	12	19	25	37	3d6	5d6	7d6	10d6	8	7
22	18	74	12	19	25	37	3d6	5d6	7d6	10d6	8	7
23	19	76	13	19	25	38	3d6	5d6	7d6	10d6	9	7
24	20	78	13	20	26	39	3d6	5d6	7d6	11d6	9	8
25	21	78	13	20	26	39	3d6	5d6	7d6	11d6	9	8

So, what does this mean in terms of gaming experience? First, while dice pools can give "swingy" results, much like a Mage's fireball or lightning bolt will, on the average, two combat encounters with a monster of an appropriate level will be pretty rough on the characters and bring them close to death. A third encounter without using resources or taking time to recover should prove fatal to at least one character. Once players see the effects of this in play, they should hopefully think twice before jumping into combat willy-nilly. And if they do, it should get the adrenaline pumping and fuel the excitement of the scene as the combat moves toward resolution. Yes, there's the chance that "bad dice" could end a combat sooner than the players might desire, but there's an equal chance that it could be as devastating on the monster. One of the elements I like about this approach is that it allows the Warrior to excel in combat, as he is supposed to, while encouraging the Mage to stay out of combat when he can, due to the greater risk to life and limb. Will it work out that way in actual gameplay? I don't know for a fact, although I strongly suspect it will, but I'm looking forward to finding out. The math is solid, and so far as I can tell, the math backs the underlying assumptions.

What are your thoughts? Any holes in my logic that you might want to share with me, to improve the game experience overall for all involved?

Thanks In Advance For Your Time,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: The Math Behind The Monsters, Part Two...

Good Morning, All:

Today, we continue our look at the math behind MyD20 Lite for monster statistics. Today, we'll look at Armor Class. From my previous post in this series, I am using the Priest's attack rolls at each character level, including magic adjustments, to determine the base AC for a given Hit Die value, assuming that the average monster probably should require about a 10 on the D20 to hit it.

Table: AC Calculations

HD	Level	Avg BAB	Magic Adj	Calculated Base AC	Smoothed Base AC
1	0	0	0	10	10
2	1	0	0	10	11
3	2	1	0	11	12
4	3	2	0	12	13
5	4	3	1	14	13
6	5	3	1	14	14
7	6	4	1	15	15
8	6	4	1	15	16
9	7	5	1	16	16
10	8	6	2	18	17
11	9	6	2	18	18
12	10	7	2	19	19
13	11	8	2	20	19
14	12	9	3	22	20
15	12	9	3	22	21
16	13	9	3	22	22
17	14	10	3	23	22
18	15	11	3	24	23
19	16	12	4	26	24
20	17	12	4	26	25
21	18	13	4	27	25
22	18	13	4	27	26
23	19	14	4	28	27
24	20	15	5	30	28
25	21	15	5	30	28

Again, I'll have to make some changes to the Referee's Guide, but these are pretty decent values. A Warrior may find things ridiculously easy to hit at higher levels, and a Mage may suffer the opposite problem at higher levels, but this should work well over the range of most campaigns.

Tomorrow, we'll talk damage.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: The Math Behind The Monsters, Part One...

Good Morning, All:

Today, I wanted to start explaining the math behind MyD20 Lite, in regards to monster statistics. This may, of course, cause some changes in the final values I use, since I'll also be exploring some of the comments that have been posted about the math. I do want the game to be fun, after all. In order to start off, I should probably start off with a list of my general assumptions.

1. I assume that, by 4th level, characters will have a +1 bonus to Saves, Attacks, Damage and AC due to magic items. This increases by +1 every four levels (i.e. +2 at 8th, +3 at 12th, and so on.)
2. I want to tie the basic math behind monster stats to Hit Dice, so that it is easier to translate pre-3E creatures to MyD20 Lite, as they frequently do not have ability scores.
3. I assume that I can use Bad Axe Games' Trailblazer tables to assign a rough character level to each hit die value, so that I can tie character advancement to a monster's abilities.
4. Using the Priest's attack rolls at each character level, including magic adjustments, and assuming that the average monster probably should require about a 10 on the D20 to hit it, I can determine the base AC for a given Hit Die value.
5. Assuming the best save progression at each character level (+CLM+2), and assuming that the character should roll a 10 or higher on the D20 in order to successfully save, I can determine the base DC for special abilities for a given Hit Die value.
6. Using the Priest and Rogue as the median character in terms of hit points, it is possible to calculate the number of hitpoints an average character can have at each character level.
7. I assumed that the average encounter will last three combat rounds, and should determine numbers aimed at that as a goal.
8. I assume that a monster will likely hit its target once a round, or twice a round at best, with physical attacks.
9. A suggested minor damage value can be calculated from the base hitpoints for a character of the appropriate level such that four average uses of that damage should disable the average character. That value can be converted to a given die type (with preference towards d6s). When dealing with fractions, round down so as to favor the character.
10. A suggested moderate damage value can be calculated as per minor damage values, save that only three average uses of that damage should disable the average character.
11. A suggested major damage value can be calculated as per minor damage values, save that only two average uses of that damage should disable the average character.
12. A suggested minimal damage value can be calculated as half that of the moderate damage value, creating a damage value that should disable the average character in six average attacks. This value should be used for ongoing damage, such as poison effects.

Let's start with the basic values for a PC, which will be used for comparison and calculation.

Table: Base PC Values

PC Level	Avg HP	Avg BAB	Magic Adj	Best Save
1	16	+0	+0	+2
2	21	+1	+0	+3
3	26	+2	+0	+3
4	31	+3	+1	+4
5	36	+3	+1	+4
6	41	+4	+1	+5
7	46	+5	+1	+5
8	51	+6	+2	+6
9	56	+6	+2	+6
10	58	+7	+2	+7
11	60	+8	+2	+7
12	62	+9	+3	+8
13	64	+9	+3	+8
14	66	+10	+3	+9
15	68	+11	+3	+9
16	70	+12	+4	+10
17	72	+12	+4	+10
18	74	+13	+4	+11
19	76	+14	+4	+11
20	78	+15	+5	+12

Now, to link monster Hit Dice to character level, we look at the Trailblazer tables for the average number of Hit Dice at each CR (assumed to be equal to character level), find the slope of those values to determine a consistent power curve for Hit Dice versus character level, and use that to calculate the following values:

Table: Base Character Level by HD

Monster HD	Character Level
1	0
2	1
3	2
4	3
5	4
6	5
7	6
8	6
9	7
10	8
11	9
12	10
13	11
14	12
15	12
16	13
17	14
18	15
19	16
20	17
21	18
22	18
23	19
24	20
25	21

Today, I'll cover DCs for special abilities, since that's pretty easy to determine from the basic information above. In essence, I can find the DC for a given character level by adding the Best Save value and the Magic Adj value from Table: Base PC Values to a base of 10, since that's what I want them to roll. In the table below, I used those calculations to determine a rough base, and then smoothed the curve out over the range of hit dice, for a more regular procession.

Table: MyD20 Lite Monster Save Progressions

HD	Level	Rough DC	Smoothed DC
1	0	12	12
2	1	12	13
3	2	13	13
4	3	13	14
5	4	15	15
6	5	15	15
7	6	16	16
8	6	16	16
9	7	16	17
10	8	18	18
11	9	18	18
12	10	19	19
13	11	19	19
14	12	21	20
15	12	21	21
16	13	21	21
17	14	22	22
18	15	22	22
19	16	24	23
20	17	24	24
21	18	25	24
22	18	25	25
23	19	25	25
24	20	27	26
25	21	27	27

As you can see, I already have to make some adjustments to the rough draft as a result of this discussion. It's a Good Thing(tm) that I'm going through this exercise then, isn't it? We'll continue tomorrow with AC and damage.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Latest Draft of Referee's Guide is posted...

Good Morning, All:

I know it's been a long time coming, but for those interested, I have posted rough draft version 5 of the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide to my Google Site provided below:
https://sites.google.com/site/flynnsfiles/my-gaming-files

While it is still not complete, you can tell that we are moving in that direction. Please take some time to review the document and let me know your thoughts, concerns, suggestions and feedback as you are able.

With Warm Regards,
Flynn

MyD20 Lite: Referee's Guide Update...

Good Evening, All:

Some people have been asking me how the MyD20 Lite Referee's Guide is progressing. In a nutshell, it hasn't. I'm focused on the Hammersong's Legacy Campaign Setting, and being sidetrekked by Stellar Quest ruminations. However, I thought it would be good to review where I'm at on that project, and what lies ahead before it is ready for layout and release.

Here are the outstanding elements that remain to be completed:

• Training and downtime
• Duties, taxes and other fees
• Gods and pantheons
• Guilds
• Magical research
• Orders and organizations
• Royalty and nobility
• Slavery
• Strongholds and territories
• Wars and other catastrophes
• Many, many monsters (or just some monsters and cut down the bestiary even further...)
• Some common monster traits
• Some stock NPC stat blocks
• Encounter creation advice (most of that chapter)
• Using modules
• Creating wilderness adventures
• Gems & jewelry
• Power components
• Spells books
• Finish magic items section
• Monster lists (once finalized)
• Random encounter tables
• Finish conversion notes

Some of these elements may be removed from the list as the project moves towards completion, and others may be added. I definitely hope that, between some basic elbow grease and feedback from my peers, this book turns out to be pretty useful for Referees as more than just a reference for magic items and monsters.

Okay, looking at the list above, do any of you guys have any suggestions as to what topics are more important (or less important) to you than others? Your input will very likely help shape the direction that this book takes. The core will contain the elements I need to play the game I want to play. The rest, that which makes it a more well-rounded and usable product, will ultimately evolve as time and interest allows.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn