How Chainmail "Fixes" Fighters

The Leap was Made, unknown artist,
retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

Alternative Combat Broke the Fighting Man

TL;DR - when playing D&D from the Basic era onward, the Alternative Combat System (or, the d20 system) was the default mechanism for combat resolution: taking into account the level of the attacker and the armor of the defender to determine hits and damage. However, this left the Fighting Man under-powered as the party advanced: dishing out small amounts of damage to singular opponents per turn and, as levels grew on, becoming more and more likely to take damage each round in the face of the meek consolation prize of added hit points.

This problem was not introduced by newer editions - but instead was an infection at the start with the Alternative Combat System. If, instead of using the ACS, a referee opted to use the Chainmail combat system, as prescribed by the original 1974 little brown books, Fighting Men became conversely over-powered: dishing out significantly more casualties in melee and becoming significantly harder to damage in combat (regardless of armor worn) as they leveled.

Thus, one of the most house-ruled aspects of OSR game play - the buffing of fighters to keep up with other character classes in relative impact - is fixed entirely not by looking forward, but by looking back. Intrigued? Read on.

What Are Hit Points?

Characters in all editions of the D&D game have hit points:

These hit points represent how much damage (actual or potential) the character can withstand before being killed. A certain amount of these hit points represent the actual physical punishment which can be sustained. The remainder, a significant portion of hit points at higher levels, stands for skill, luck, and/or magical factors.

AD&D PHB, p. 34

Hit points are a resource to be managed, a currency to help determined how much longer you should adventure. At its core, OSR D&D involves a lot of resource management - hit points fit that idiom: however, traps routinely kill on impact - a la poison darts or spiked pits - and other challenges (movement of large sums of treasure, negotiating with dungeon denizens, etc) rely more on player ingenuity than spending of hit points. Knowing this, and knowing that D&D evolved out of war-gaming, hit points fall squarely in the purview, primarily, of combat encounters.

The Riddle of Steel (or, Verisimilitude in Melee)

A consistent criticism of the alternative combat system - among the swinginess of the d20 and the lack of differentiation between weapon types and their intended uses - is the disconnect between being hit and weapon skill. That is, a character's chance to hit an enemy improves with time and levels: however, their chance to avoid being hit does not, instead only changing with level.

The Riddle of D&D Equipment, retrieved from KnowYourMeme.com.
Image copyrights unknown; feel free to contact for proper attribution.

A fighting man of first level who rolled decently on starting gold can afford plate and a shield - granting an armor class of 2. The same fighting man - 8 levels later, having achieved the point where a domain is assumed - still using the same plate and shield (plate and shield being the top tier armor provided in the equipment list) still has an armor class of 2. Compare this to the Character Attacks matrix on X26: the fighting man at level 1 requires a 17 to hit an AC of 2: or a 1 in 5 chance per attack. Conversely, the fighting man at name level 9 requires a 12 to hit an AC of 2: or 9 in 20, almost an even split between hits and misses. How is it that the Lord has learned so much about the art of bypassing defenses but literally nothing about improving his own?

What about Dexterity bonuses? While it is true that having a Dexterity a standard deviation above the mean or better does improve armor class, it does not change with level - excepting extreme circumstances, such as the use of a Wish to improve the stat or similar not-in-the-core-progression events. Thus, a fighter of level 1 and a fighter of level 9 with a common 14 Dexterity will still both have an AC of 1 instead of 2. Dexterity represents something innate to the character: not something that the character has earned with experience.

Thor i Kampen for Balder, by Louis Moe,
retrieved from Wikimedia Commons.

But the Lord has more hit points than the Veteran. Yes, he does. And there are folks who will point to the abstraction of hit points as a representation of health, stamina, luck, and skill - per the PHB guidance quoted above. When you run out, you die - but between 100% and 0, you're not necessarily losing blood. This falls apart, however, when you're talking about natural healing - RAW, a character can heal between 1 and 3 hit points daily: meaning that if the Lord has "parried" and "luck"ed their way out of death for 30 hit points (reasonable, knowing that a character of that level would have an average of 40 or 41 hit points), it's going to take at best 10 days for them to "heal" from it; conversely, the Veteran with an average of 3 or 4 hit points - 8, if your referee is generous and houserules max HP at level one - physically cannot take that long to heal any injury they take: as the absolute maximum number of days they can go is 7: having taken more damage than that resulting in death. It has been argued to me that this may represent muscle fatigue or similar - to which I replied, "Fair" - but the argument still doesn't hold water against the Veteran's maximum downtime of a week compared to the Lord being able to go potentially over a month before getting back up again.

What about magic armor? While, again, it is true that magical armor exists and does improve armor class beyond the basic level, it is not on the core progression of a character: that is, while it is common for a character to find at least one magic item by the time they've reached level 9, it is not guaranteed: and it is likewise not guaranteed that it will be a magical armor. When rolling for magical items, potions and scrolls make up half of the results - occupying a result of 36 to 85 on the d% roll. Armor, on the other hand, has a 1 in 10 chance of showing up: interestingly being half as likely as a magic sword is to appear (1 in 5, occupying the 1 to 20 position on the d%), but I digress.

Magic Dial, by Daniel Maclise, retrieved
from OldBookIllustrations.com.

What if I place magic armor on purpose for the fighter? Or what if the fighter commissions magic armor from a magic user? Both of these are possible - as there are rules for doing it (sometimes punishing rules: such as, per X52, a suit of +1 plate armor should take about 6 months to create and cost 10,000 gold pieces: the a cost akin to a thirty-foot bastion within the Lord's castle with a far longer wait time) - but the key here is not in the production or the placement: but instead in the expectations. A concept was introduced in third edition known as the Christmas Tree Adventurer: that is, in 3e, there was a new chart in the DMG wherein the value of magical items that a character was assumed to have was listed. This is a transition point - one of the key changes between TSR and WotC D&D: first, it makes the effectiveness of the character based on the character's equipment instead of on the player's ingenuity - something that takes away from the experience - and second, it assumes tanking resources into equipment instead of progressing into a domain game: a key element of the original game and a key point of faithfulness that OSR style games should retain. Per my argument above, the merit of a fighting man should be derived from the fighting man's skill in addition to the quality of their equipment: adding magical bonuses to armor means nothing in an anti-magic zone or when a character is caught unaware, having not donned the armor in bed, when swimming, or in a plethora of other situations wherein having been wearing a +3 plate mail suit is not feasible.

That in mind, if you want to light up your players with deific magical artifacts, you're more than welcome to crack open 3.PF and do so: that discussion is outside the intended scope of this post.

Chainmail As Intended

Fighting Capability: This is a key to use in conjunction with the CHAINMAIL fantasy rule, as modified in various places herein. Dungeons and Dragons, Book I: Men & Magic, p. 18	When meleed by regular troops, and combat takes place on the non-Fantasy Combat Tables, four simultaneous kills must be scored against Heroes (or Anti-heroes) to eliminate them. Otherwise, there is no effect upon them. Chainmail, 3rd edition, p. 30
All attacks which score hits do 1-6 points of damage unless otherwise noted. Dungeons and Dragons, Book I: Men & Magic, p. 19

In Chainmail, hit points don't exist. The armor a character wore and the level of the character determined how difficult they were to kill: with zero-level (or, first level, as may be) characters being treated as rank and file: akin to hirelings or even a player character out for their first delve. At a glance:

Mass Combat For each participant, or set of participants, in combat, six-sided dice are rolled: inflicting casualties on a target number ranging between 4 and 6.

Man to Man Two participants strike each other using 2d6 - with casualties being determined based on weapon vs armor type and situational modifiers.

Fantasy Combat The Chainmail Fantasy Supplement introduces the Hero type - our proto-player character - which requires multiple hits to eliminate.

It is from these rules that the LBBs extrapolated: the player characters equating to a set number of men, heroes, or superheroes - denominations of infantry in Chainmail - when in combat. Thus, it can be reasonably inferred that 1-6 points of damage are dealt to a character based on their level and the corresponding Chainmail combat table. 

Defending Oneself

In Mass Combat, a Veteran is considered "Man + 1" in fighting capability: so, when wearing mail armor (akin to Heavy Foot troops), enemies considered Light would inflict 1-6 points of damage whenever a 6 was rolled; whereas a larger monster - say, a Heavy Horse - would inflict 1-6 damage whenever a 5 or 6 was rolled, but would be able to roll 3 dice in the attempt. When the character levels - advancing to Warrior - they are considered "2 Men + 1" in fighting capability; at level 4, the character advances to Hero: considered a "Hero" in fighting capability. By the book, a Hero requires four concurrent strikes to kill in a Chainmail game - as such, a player character Hero would, based on the above inference, require likewise four concurrent strikes to "hit" and deal 1-6 damage.  Depending on the referee's interpretation, this may likewise extend to the Warrior: requiring two concurrent strikes to "hit" - as it would take two "kill" results in Chainmail to eliminate two men - but as I can't find explicit support for that in the RAW, this potential benefit must be at referee discretion.

In Man to Man Combat, a single roll is required on 2d6, with a result to kill based on the weapon type versus the armor worn. This seems to reproduce the problem of subsequent editions, wherein you don't get more skilled: except at level 3, the Swordsman can fight as "Hero - 1": granting him access to Fantasy Combat. Fight With the Dragon, by Hermann Freihold Pluddemann, retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com. In Fantasy Combat, a Hero can participate, as can a Super Hero: a rank at which a fighting man gains access at level 7. Notably, in Fantasy Combat, a hit is based not on your armor, but instead on your level and your opponent: a Hero, for example, must roll better than a 7 on 2d6 to hit another Hero; that same Hero, fighting a Super Hero on the other hand, must roll better than a 10.

Higher level characters are thereby naturally harder to hit. The same is true across the board: the character then, as they ascend the tiers - Normal Man to Hero to Super Hero - become more difficult to hit as a byproduct of level.

On the Attack

Similarly, when attacking, higher level characters are more likely to inflict damage:

In Mass Combat, an LBB character fights as a number of men, or as a Hero or Superhero. This means that, when fighting in a skirmish scenario, a Veteran may roll 1 attack die, but a Hero will roll 4 attack dice at a time - more, if their armaments are effective against their opponent: for example, a Hero in plate with a lance on horseback would, when engaging Light Foot troops, roll 16 dice - scoring a kill (or, 1-6 damage, at least) on a 5 or 6: taking down 2 or 3 enemies per turn, on average. Take that, Cleave!

In Man to Man, the fighting man again has a little advantage - Veterans counting as "Man + 1", Warriors "2 Men + 1", etc - implying that they should receive a bonus to their die rolls, per the note regarding Leaders. In Fantasy Combat, the fighting man - having ascended to Heroic status or better, is now able to go toe to toe with monstrous creatures: trolls, ogres, etc, which can fight as four, six, eight men at a time - or some of which are specified not to be vulnerable to normal men!

Light Broke Forth, unknown artist,
retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

Wizard and Cleric types improve also - defensively and offensively - with levels, albeit at a slower rate than do Fighting Men. A Fighting Man, for comparison, reaches "Hero" at level 4 and "Superhero - 1" at level 7:

•	Magic Users fight as a Man initially, reaching "Hero - 1" at level 7 and then a special table, "Wizard," at level 10.
•	Clerics fight as a Man initially, reaching "Hero - 1" at level 6 and then "Superhero - 1" at level 9.

These numbers should sound familiar: they are remarkably close to the level tiers at which, in the Character Attacks table of 1981's D&D Expert set (X26), character class groupings improve their to-hit against AC:

Fighters:	Clerics: (and Thieves)	Magic Users:
1-3 4-6 7-9 ...	1-4 5-8 9-12 ...	1-5 6-10 11-15 ...

Higher level characters are thereby naturally more apt to damage each other - and to wade through less skilled adversaries - in melee.

Some Quick Math

To illustrate the differences in damage output, first, let's take a look at the amount of damage an OD&D and a 1981 Basic / Expert Fighter will deal, on average, against the three main armor types per round of a melee combat:

	OD&D Alternative Combat			‘81 Expert Combat, with D8 Weapon
Fighter Level	Plate	Chain	Leather	Plate	Chain	Leather
1	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
2	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
3	0.7	1.05	1.4	0.9	1.35	1.8
4	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
5	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
6	1.05	1.4	1.75	1.35	1.8	2.25
7	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
8	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
9	1.575	1.925	2.275	2.025	2.475	2.925
10	1.925	2.275	2.625	2.475	2.925	3.375

Note, the tiers of to-hit actually match - so the accuracy does not change (that is, the required number to hit an adversary), but the second damage output table is included to represent the advent of the variable damage optional rule - wherein a sword-and-board fighter would be rolling larger dice.

Next, consider the damage output using Chainmail's Mass Combat system paired with OD&D's fighting capability matrix:

	OD&D and Chainmail: As Heavy			OD&D and Chainmail: As Armored
Fighter Level	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light
1	0.58	1.17	2.33	1.17	2.33	3.50
2	0.58	1.75	3.50	1.75	3.50	5.25
3	0.58	1.75	3.50	1.75	3.50	5.25
4	1.17	2.33	4.67	2.33	4.67	7.00
5	1.17	2.92	5.83	2.92	5.83	8.75
6	1.75	3.50	7.00	3.50	7.00	10.50
7	1.75	4.08	8.17	4.08	8.17	12.25
8	2.33	4.67	9.33	4.67	9.33	14.00
9	2.33	5.25	10.50	5.25	10.50	15.75
10	2.33	5.25	10.50	5.25	10.50	15.75

Comparing the damage output, the damage output of an OD&D fighter with Chainmail Mass Combat is significantly higher than that of an OD&D fighter with the Alternate Combat System. Similarly, the damage output of an OD&D fighter with Chainmail Mass Combat is likewise generally higher than that of a B/X fighter using a larger damage die - d8 vs d6: especially when the player character is assumed to be an Armored troop type.

For further listening:

Regarding Chainmail and it's application to your home Fantasy Adventure Game, the Bandit's Keep Podcast, referenced in my review of the Bandit's Keep YouTube channel, is - as of this writing - likewise producing an audio series which dives into Chainmail in-depth and with an elan sufficient to pique interest.

Check it out!

Notably, when the player is a Heavy troop type, fighting Armored (Plate-wearing) adversaries at low levels is actually more difficult, thus the OD&D with Chainmail fighter will deal less damage per round until they reach Heroic status. As a vagary of the d8 and to-hit tables, at level 10 will likewise do less damage to Armored opponents than their B/X counterpart.

On the whole - using the Chainmail system will both smooth out progression for damage output and will improve the effectiveness of the fighter in melee significantly more than the ACS does, RAW: something that future editions attempt to correct using multiple attacks (slowing down combat turns) or feats akin to Cleave (which only boosts damage in certain conditions and again, slows down combat turns). But, knowing what we know from having done the math above - these patches were glossing over a core problem with the original progression of the game: by moving away from the Chainmail system, a new problem was created that truly was never elegantly solved.

Full disclosure, two assumptions were made for the above table: 

First, a fighter will be fighting either as a Heavy or an Armored combatant - as Chainmail examples for Heavy combatants as Vikings, Normans, etc. (who logically would be wearing chain-equivalent armor and fighting with axes or swords) and Armored combatants as dismounted knights or condottiere (who would logically be wearing plate and fighting either with heavier weapons or with greater panache) - to save space, and knowing a fighter in melee will usually not qualify as a Light troop (which tend to be unarmored peasant levies or missile troops not intended for melee), no calculations were included for Light troop damage.

Second, the Fighting Capability matrix provides +1 or -1 modifiers to the character's "counts as:" e.g. - a Champion, fighter level 7, fights as "Superhero - 1." The only reference I could find in Chainmail in the Mass Combat section pertaining to bonuses was that "Men armed with a pike or halbard add an extra die" (Chainmail, p. 40) - as such, where "Man + 1" is present in the table, I assumed that the character would modify the dice pool to which they were entitled by 1: essentially, where a Heavy Foot strikes another Heavy Foot, they roll 1 die per man, connecting on a 6 - a character identified as "Man + 1" in the table above would instead roll 2 dice.

Bonuses to rolls make more sense in the context of the Man to Man or Fantasy Combat tables - but regarding modification of the dice pools, it seems to work, too - as the math goes... horribly wrong if you apply the modifier to the dice roll, itself - such that the aforementioned Champion, if a -1 is applied to the dice they roll to attack, actually deals less damage per round in combat than several levels below him. This does not work in some of the other tables - that is, for example, a Magic User fights as "Man + 1" at level 2 and "2 Men" at level 3 - but that's beside the purpose of the table. If you want the +1 to apply only in Man to Man or Fantasy Combat? Do that instead (and tell me how it goes!).

Battles, by Adolf Ehrhardt, retrieved from OldBookIllustrations.com.

But what about defense? A character advancing from Normal Man to Hero to Super Hero, as described above, can expect to be hit less frequently. Consider the following, wherein the probability of a character at each Chainmail tier, based on their troop type, is likely to take at least one hit from an adversary or set of adversaries, based on troop type, attacking with a given number of dice:

	as Normal Man			as Hero			as Super Hero
Light Opponent	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light	Armored	Heavy	Light
1	0.00%	0.00%	16.67%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	16.67%	30.56%	51.77%	0.00%	0.00%	0.08%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
8	30.56%	51.77%	76.74%	0.00%	0.08%	3.07%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
12	51.77%	66.51%	88.78%	0.08%	0.87%	12.52%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%
Heavy Opponent
1	0.00%	16.67%	33.33%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	30.56%	51.77%	80.25%	0.00%	0.08%	1.23%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
8	51.77%	76.74%	96.10%	0.08%	3.07%	25.86%	0.00%	0.00%	0.02%
12	66.51%	88.78%	99.23%	0.87%	12.52%	60.69%	0.00%	0.02%	1.88%
Armored Opponent
1	16.67%	33.33%	50.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
4	51.77%	80.25%	93.75%	0.08%	1.23%	6.25%	0.00%	0.00%	6.25%
8	76.74%	96.10%	99.61%	3.07%	25.86%	63.67%	0.00%	0.02%	63.67%
12	88.78%	99.23%	99.98%	12.52%	60.69%	92.70%	0.02%	1.88%	92.70%

The above assumes nothing regarding bonuses to dice and is tiered to the RAW character levels: that is, it does not assume the potential ruling that a Swordsman - fighting as 3 men - would take 3 simultaneous hits to deal damage and, noting the 0% chance hits per round, there exists in Chainmail the condition that a troop type can be invulnerable to other unit types: namely, Heavy Foot troops gain an attack die every other man attacking - so, 2 men would roll 1 attack die - against Armored Foot troops: a number which increases even more for Light Foot or when fighting against mounted opponents. A Hero in Chainmail is only wounded if four concurrent hits are struck in a round: meaning that either another Hero must attack them and get lucky or a group comprised of at least four dice worth of men are required to deal damage to them.

Regardless of house rules and potentialities, again, this illustrates that - as the character levels, they become less likely to be damaged by opponents of lower level unless severely outnumbered: in addition, when fighting against opponents of equivalent level, a character's armor is the prime determinant to damage taken. And, of course, if a combatant is fighting against an opponent of tier higher than themselves - e.g. a Heavy opponent fighting as 6 men against a Normal Man - armor helps, but its impact is blunted by an increased likelihood to receive hits.

Notably, "0%" appears in abundance as a character reaches the tier of Super Hero in combat - at which point, two Super Heroes in equivalent kit appear unable to hurt each other in mass combat. Although this is more so a result of rounding in the table - the Super Hero can roll all 6s on the 8 dice in their attack, inflicting a hit on another Super Hero one in 1,679,616 turns -  but more appropriately: that's the point at which the Referee should break out the Man to Man or Fantasy Combat tables instead!

In Conclusion

The Battle of St. James at Clavijo, by Martin Schongauer,
retrieved from the National Gallery of Art.

Chainmail fighters - and truthfully, all combatants - are more capable at higher level in melee than are their corresponding counterparts in the Alternate Combat System. Additionally, the inclusion of Hit Points in the Little Brown Books, working in tandem with the Chainmail rules, provides more durability - but not extreme durability - to player characters: something that will allow the player to get more invested in the character as they advance in power.

I encourage everyone to try Chainmail at least once in this context, as it will satisfy your concern for the verisimilitude problem that the ACS introduces while at the same time effectively balancing your Fighting Men: improving their effectiveness in melee smoothly and more effectively than patches coming in from future editions.

Thanks for reading!

Citations and Fair Use Disclaimer

Quotations and rules from the following copyrighted works are included herein for illustrative and educational purposes and remain the intellectual property of the copyright holder - as of October 2020, Wizards of the Coast LLC. Neither the author nor Clerics Wear Ringmail lay claim to the verbiage nor mechanics quoted but instead encourage the reader to engage with and enjoy the product referenced for their intended purpose.

Arneson, D., & Gygax, G. (1974). Dungeons & Dragons Book I: Men & Magic. Lake Geneva, WI: Tactical Studies Rules.

Cook, D., & Marsh, S. (1981). Dungeons & Dragons: Fantasy Adventure Game Expert Set. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Hobbies Inc.

Gygax, G., & Perren, J. (1979). Chainmail: Rules for Medieval Miniatures, 3rd Edition. Lake Geneva, WI: TSR Rules.

Double Trouble

Two weapon fighting, or dual wielding, is a common trope in modern fantasy - ingrained by future editions, but absent from the original Basic line; likewise missing from many a retro-clone. Commonly house-ruled, commonly back-ported, and commonly discussed - here are my rules for fighting with two weapons in a B/X-compatible game. This rule is designed for two-weapon fighters to provide versatility to the character at the cost of maximum effect: a parrying dagger will never be as effective as a kite shield; nor will a side sword empower you to strike as heavily as hefting a mighty zweihander.

Dual-Wielding, or Fighting with Two Weapons

When fighting with two weapons, a character may choose to fight in one of two positions: an offensive position (or, striking) or a defensive position (or, parrying).

• When striking, a character is presumed to be attacking with both weapons: using one to feint and then the other to strike; using one to trip or engage the shield while looking for an opportunity with the other; or perhaps even coming down with both in haymaker swings. A character so positioned gains a +1 bonus to hit on their attacks.
  
  
• When parrying, a character is presumed to be attacking with one weapon, but using the other to distract, to parry, or perhaps to ward off opponents, keeping distance between the two of them, such that they become more difficult to hit. A character so positioned gains a +1 bonus to their Armor Class against melee attacks only.
  

A character which is surprised should benefit from neither during the surprise round, adopting a position, or stance, in the first combat round in which they are aware of their adversaries.

Note, a "bonus" of +1 in any sense should benefit the character to whom the bonus is applied. Specifically, when using descending armor class, a +1 bonus to armor class will, numerically, reduce the armor class value by 1 point: making the beneficiary more difficult to hit.

Optionally, when fighting with two weapons of mismatched size - that is, say, a sword dealing d8 and a dagger dealing d4 - the referee may rule that, on a hit exactly matching the armor class of the target, damage is dealt using the off-hand weapon. So, for the character with the sword and dagger striking an adversary of AC 6, a successful hit on AC 5, 4, 3, or so on would deal 1-8 damage; whereas a successful hit on an AC of 6, explicitly, would instead deal 1-4 - potentially making an exception if striking an adversary against whom a natural 20 is required to hit.

Optionally, when a character in an offensive stance scores a critical hit - that is, rolls a natural 20 on the attack roll or otherwise performs in a manner determined by the referee to constitute a critical success - the referee may allow the player to roll the damage dice of both weapons, either summing the result or taking the better of the two, depending on the referee's situational jurisprudence.

Optionally, when a character in a defensive stance is hit in melee exactly on their AC, the referee may allow them to disarm themselves of or to damage or destroy their off-hand weapon in order to negate the hit. So, for a character with an AC of 5 that is parrying against an Ogre, if the Ogre rolls to hit AC 6, 7, or so on, the character is safe; however if the Ogre rolls to hit AC 5, the referee may allow the player to declare that the force of the blow sends their parrying arm into the stone floor, snapping it in half - but dealing no damage to the character. Were the Ogre to hit AC 4, 3, or so on, the parrying character would be hit normally.

Why have "stances" as opposed to static bonuses? The objective is to produce versatility, not to grant an advantage. It is intended to be no more powerful, nor less powerful, than sword-and-board versus great-axe approach. By forcing a decision between two options, slightly less powerful than similar options that do not allow for the decision to be made, it grants different advantages under different circumstances: which is neutral, in terms of benefit to drawback.To grant static bonuses would, in my opinion, make the ability objectively better.

Why a to-hit bonus? There should be consequences of wielding two weapons. If it's all fluff, that is - your character has no changes, mechanically, to the game when fighting with two weapons - then they have no incentive to do it over using a two handed weapon. This is fine for some referees who don't want dual-wielding in their games, citing style or historical reasoning - for them, I say (though the historical reasoning is flawed) ignore this suggested ruling. For me, though, I want to include it - and for other referees who enjoy a bit of variety, a bit of agency, and a bit of cinematic verisimilitude over gritty realism, rule away!

To answer the question, however, the purpose for the bonus is to increase mean damage output: but not to increase mean damage output so much as a two-handed weapon would provide. When fighting with two weapons, thus, a bonus to the attack roll will offer a moderate increase to damage. Assuming standard THAC0 ranges or attack matrices, the chance of scoring a hit against various armor values are as follows, where the first percentage is wearing the armor, only and the second percentage is wearing the armor and carrying a shield:

		Chance To Hit
Ftr. Tier	THAC0	Clothing		Leather		Mail		Plate
1-3	19	55%	50%	45%	40%	35%	30%	25%	20%
4-6	17	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%	40%	35%	30%
7-9	14	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%	50%	45%
10-12	12	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%	60%	55%
13-15	10	95%	95%	90%	85%	80%	75%	70%	65%

This will afford damage per round of combat as follows, assuming variable damage for weapons, again with the first damage per round value equating to the damage per round against that armor exclusively and the second equating to damage per round against that armor plus shield:

		Damage per Round, D4
Ftr. Tier	THAC0	Clothing		Leather		Mail		Plate
1-3	19	1.375	1.25	1.125	1	0.875	0.75	0.625	0.5
4-6	17	1.625	1.5	1.375	1.25	1.125	1	0.875	0.75
7-9	14	2	1.875	1.75	1.625	1.5	1.375	1.25	1.125
10-12	12	2.25	2.125	2	1.875	1.75	1.625	1.5	1.375
13-15	10	2.375	2.375	2.25	2.125	2	1.875	1.75	1.625
		Damage per Round, D6
1-3	19	1.925	1.75	1.575	1.4	1.225	1.05	0.875	0.7
4-6	17	2.275	2.1	1.925	1.75	1.575	1.4	1.225	1.05
7-9	14	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275	2.1	1.925	1.75	1.575
10-12	12	3.15	2.975	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275	2.1	1.925
13-15	10	3.325	3.325	3.15	2.975	2.8	2.625	2.45	2.275
		Damage per Round, D8
1-3	19	2.475	2.25	2.025	1.8	1.575	1.35	1.125	0.9
4-6	17	2.925	2.7	2.475	2.25	2.025	1.8	1.575	1.35
7-9	14	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925	2.7	2.475	2.25	2.025
10-12	12	4.05	3.825	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925	2.7	2.475
13-15	10	4.275	4.275	4.05	3.825	3.6	3.375	3.15	2.925
		Damage per Round, D10
1-3	19	3.025	2.75	2.475	2.2	1.925	1.65	1.375	1.1
4-6	17	3.575	3.3	3.025	2.75	2.475	2.2	1.925	1.65
7-9	14	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575	3.3	3.025	2.75	2.475
10-12	12	4.95	4.675	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575	3.3	3.025
13-15	10	5.225	5.225	4.95	4.675	4.4	4.125	3.85	3.575

The above excludes the mismatched weapons provision for the one-in-twenty chance of altered damage range for a hit; as that makes for much more complex to calculate math.

Thus, a level 4 (tier two) character striking a target with chainmail armor will - wielding a one handed sword that deals d8 damage - inflict an average of 2.025 damage per round or - wielding a two-handed sword that deals d10 damage - inflict an average of 2.475 damage per round: a net difference of 0.45 damage per round: or about 18%. Knowing, however, that shields separate armor class by 1 point and that each tier of armor is separated by two points, this provides us a linear progression: to compare how much damage you would have with a +1 bonus to hit, you can shift your gaze left one cell in the above tables. So, comparing a level 4 (tier two) character striking a target with chainmail, again, will still inflict an average of 2.475 damage per round using a two-handed sword, but using a one-handed sword at a +1 bonus to hit will instead inflict an average of 2.25 damage per round - the equivalent of striking leather armor with a shield - cutting the delta in half to 0.225 damage: or about 9%.

Using a d6 weapon, the difference compared to a two-handed sword is slightly less profound: 1.575 damage per round versus 1.75 damage per round with a +1 bonus to hit, compared to 2.475 damage per round with a two-handed sword, a 0.9 (~36%) and 0.725 (~29%) difference in damage output: or, about 7% improvement in the difference between the two. However, if you instead compare the d6 weapon against a d8 weapon - say, a two-handed battle axe - the change looks more familiar: 1.575 improves to 1.75 versus the two-handed axe at 2.025: 0.45 damage delta per round versus 0.275 damage delta per round: a difference of 0.175, or about 9%.

At each level of die progression, this is consistent, with +1 bonuses to hit resulting in an improvement to the damage per round as follows:

	Pct. Damage Delta per +1
Ftr. Tier	Clothing		Leather		Mail		Plate
1-3	9.09%	10.00%	11.11%	12.50%	14.29%	16.67%	20.00%	25.00%
4-6	7.69%	8.33%	9.09%	10.00%	11.11%	12.50%	14.29%	16.67%
7-9	6.25%	6.67%	7.14%	7.69%	8.33%	9.09%	10.00%	11.11%
10-12	5.56%	5.88%	6.25%	6.67%	7.14%	7.69%	8.33%	9.09%
13-15	5.26%	0.00%	5.56%	5.88%	6.25%	6.67%	7.14%	7.69%

Interestingly, the value of the +1 is higher at lower levels versus higher AC and is lower at higher levels, in general, but also lower relatively at higher levels: an interesting data point being that no improvement at all occurs between a top-tier fighter striking a character with clothing only versus clothing and a shield, highlighted in italics: a phenomenon occurring because the fighter has, at that point, to roll a 2+ to hit clothing or clothing and shield, so a bonus to hit offers no benefit. But this is in scope for a different discussion.

Dice d6 and d8 being the most common among one-handed weapons, comparing d6 or d8 at a +1 bonus to each other and versus d10 results in the following breakdown, where the number represents the difference between damage per round of the higher die (the two-handed weapon) versus the lower die at plus one (the one handed weapon being used while two-weapon fighting):

Ftr. Tier	Net Damage: D6 at +1 vs D8 at +0
1-3	-0.325	-0.275	-0.225	-0.175	-0.125	-0.075	-0.025	0.025
4-6	-0.425	-0.375	-0.325	-0.275	-0.225	-0.175	-0.125	-0.075
7-9	-0.575	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425	-0.375	-0.325	-0.275	-0.225
10-12	-0.675	-0.625	-0.575	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425	-0.375	-0.325
13-15	-0.95	-0.725	-0.675	-0.625	-0.575	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425
	Net Damage: D6 at +1 vs D10 at +0
1-3	-0.825	-0.725	-0.625	-0.525	-0.425	-0.325	-0.225	-0.125
4-6	-1.025	-0.925	-0.825	-0.725	-0.625	-0.525	-0.425	-0.325
7-9	-1.325	-1.225	-1.125	-1.025	-0.925	-0.825	-0.725	-0.625
10-12	-1.525	-1.425	-1.325	-1.225	-1.125	-1.025	-0.925	-0.825
13-15	-1.9	-1.625	-1.525	-1.425	-1.325	-1.225	-1.125	-1.025
	Net Damage: D8 at +1 vs D10 at +0
1-3	-0.275	-0.225	-0.175	-0.125	-0.075	-0.025	0.025	0.075
4-6	-0.375	-0.325	-0.275	-0.225	-0.175	-0.125	-0.075	-0.025
7-9	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425	-0.375	-0.325	-0.275	-0.225	-0.175
10-12	-0.625	-0.575	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425	-0.375	-0.325	-0.275
13-15	-0.95	-0.675	-0.625	-0.575	-0.525	-0.475	-0.425	-0.375

Again, some interesting data points occur, where tier-1 fighters will deal more damage per round to an extremely high AC, highlighted in italics - but again, speculation for another time, as without doubt, we are commonly sick of looking at tables by now.

Why not simply attack twice? Attacking twice is the de-facto standard for most two-weapon rules. Commonly, to mitigate the damage increase, there is a corresponding accuracy penalty: -4 in some systems, -2 in others, or sometimes mixed penalties based on whether you're attacking with the primary hand or the off hand. However - in all cases - extra attacks slow down play. Rolling two attacks, adjudicating two damage rolls, it takes twice as long on a player's turn: a problem that gets exponentially more noticeable later, if working in a system that grants extra attacks based on level progression. Although you can mathematically make rolling two attacks add up, average out, the same way this rule does - in the interest of keeping the game as sleek and streamlined as possible, I try to eschew extra rolls if I don't need them.

Why the "parry" AC? The objective of the rule is to produce a middle ground. A two-weapon fighter should, as explained above, inflict more damage than a fighter with one weapon but less damage than a fighter with a large two-handed weapon. Similarly and conversely, a two-weapon fighter should have better defense than a fighter with a large two-handed weapon but worse defense than a fighter with a shield. This is reflected in the parry action, the defensive stance: a defensive boost at the cost of the offense, but not so useful as having a shield would be.

To support this, consider the table above indicating likelihood of hitting based on level and armor. Inverting the perspective, this can likewise be used as an indicator for getting hit. That is, if you are wearing chainmail, a low level (tier-1) attacker will deal ~14.29% damage less to you per round if you don a shield as well. This amounts to about the following, in terms of damage per round less than a character would have taken, per -1 to a character's armor class:

	d4	d6	d8	d10
Dmg. Delta:	-0.125	-0.175	-0.225	-0.275

As such, a character with 10 hit points wearing leather armor will, if attacked by a tier-1 attacker using a 1d8 weapon, drop on the 5th round of combat: having taken 2.025 damage per round. This same character, if using a shield (or gaining equivalent bonus to AC in melee by fighting defensively with two weapons) would drop to the same opponent instead on the 6th round of combat: having taken an average of 1.8 damage per round, instead: the result of the opponent rolling more misses.

On a smaller weapon, this is proportionally less pronounced: the same character being attacked by the same tier-1 attacker using a 1d6 weapon instead of 1d8 would drop on the 7th round of combat, taking 1.575 damage per round; compared to dropping on the 8th round of combat after taking 1.4 damage per round on average. With a larger weapon, 1d10, the character would drop on the 5th and 6th rounds, respectively: same as a 1d8 weapon, to a tier-1 attacker.

Parrying offers the same protection of a shield in melee only - but to maintain the balance - leaves the two-weapon fighter vulnerable to missile attacks.

How about Shields Shall Be Sundered? Up to you: if you want to allow a two-weapon fighter in a parry stance to sunder his weapon to avoid a hit? Run it! And tell me how it goes!

May the dice smile on your ventures!

Public domain art lovingly pilfered from OldBookIllustrations.com in October of 2020 and adapted for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.

The Sulak: Lurkers in the Dark

"Hanging these things is so much harder these days," she says, retrieving a bronze clasp from the two dozen in her bowl. She reaches upwards to pin the strip up to smoke.

"You are carrying more these days. The little one isn't getting any smaller!" He stuffs another bundle of straw into the kiln; having left his torc on the flat, sparing it his sweat. A child coos softly in a sling, softly sleeping, rocking suspended from over her shoulder. She retrieves another one of her sixteen bronze clasps.

"He is; he needs to get tall enough to hang them himself!" She stretches her back as he steps out of the smoke-hut, walking to the moist bundles, kept distant to protect the kindling. 'He will one day wear a torc like yours,' she thinks, 'Where did you leave that thing?' putting down the clasp she had been holding back among the twelve in her bowl. 'Did it fall beneath the kiln?'

Bending down, peering under the kiln...

A rat! A horned rat's head the size of her own - snapping; leaping out - sandy fur and a curved knife leading furious eyes!

The front door explodes open. Screaming.

The back door slinks. Closes.

Under the outhouse, a short - but thick - body splats into the muck; its satchel clanking, metal against metal inside. Two rat-faces in the darkness watching. "You were careless," their language - shrill and grating - yet a whisper, "You should have killed them!"

The slinking rat face snaps its teeth; snarls. Its helmet slinks to one side. 

It extends a claw. The two fat rats reach down and hoist it - and its satchel - onto a ledge. The three start into the tunnel - west. "See what you've gotten," chittering in the growing dark, "When we have gotten back in the Underway. When we are back in the Underway..."

They Make their Home in the Crags

The Sulak are small in stature - no larger than a child - but mothers use them to scare their children into being careful in new places: and many a Caanish will sleep at mooring rather than enter an unfamiliar town for fear that they might be lurking. They are thick set, with almost feline features, sandy colored fur resembling that of a rock hyrax, and knees that bend backward. They make their home in dark places - hiding in cracks and crevices - guardians of an underway hidden in the rocky badlands allowing them to sneak into and out of land-bound communities.

In dark places, in places where a man might be vulnerable - there, the Sulak wait: their eyes on his coin, their eyes on his jewelry - with prejudice, they will claw and hoard: returning to where ever it was they came from, having crippled their target and made off with more that glitters.

Encountering the Sulak

Sulak are light of foot and preternaturally quiet. They lurk in dark places, in rocky places, and in infrequent corners - avoiding direct sunlight (it makes them sleepy).

Sulak
Armor Class:	7	No. Appearing:	1-8 (8-64)
Hit Dice:	1-1	Save As:	Normal Man
Move:	90' (30')	Morale:	8
Attacks:	1 weapon	Treasure Type:	Q (C)
Damage:	1-6 or by weapon	Alignment:	Chaotic
Frequency:	Common	Chance In Lair:	10%

Sulak are between 33 and 39 inches in height, tending to weigh around 40 pounds. Their fur protects them somewhat - though they rely on stealth for the majority of their safeguards. Preferred weapons tend to be ranged - crossbows, thrown weapons - but in a close fight, they are known to carry kris-styled daggers.

As a whole, the Sulak tend to be greedy - they take more than they need, they steal from those who have more and those who have less, and they hoard what they have behind traps, locks, and other deterrents. They prefer to sneak around rather than engage in a fight - but if they do, they will engage on terms as unfair to their adversaries as they are capable of arranging. After all, you can't eat your stolen tart if you're gutted in the stealing.

Backbite - the Sulak, knowing their size limitations, work diligently to avoid a fair fight. Representing this affinity, a Sulak which attacks from surprise deals double damage and, when withdrawing from a melee, may roll a Save vs Death to move at their full speed. Additionally, pads in their feet make them preternaturally quiet when the move - increasing their chance to surprise an enemy to 4-in-6.

Cave Climbers - the Sulak are expert climbers and benefit from the Thief's Climb Sheer Surfaces skill, of level according to their hit die. Additionally, they benefit from infravision out to 60 feet.

Spoiler Alert!

The Deeper Lore section contains some notes to help a GM (me) to run the Sulak in a way consistent with the archetype they are supposed to fill and some of the inspirations behind their creation. If you play in (or want to play in!) a game GM'ed by me, beyond this point will ruin some of the mystery for you for both Sulak and for most of the sentient races: having some impact in the game world that isn't immediately available outside of player character discoveries.

Deeper Lore

Being called a "lurker" by the Caanish is somewhat of a mistaken understanding - in that they don't tend to lurk and wait for a human to ambush. Instead, they are most commonly encountered by accident: when they are in the middle of some other misdeed.

The natural life span of a Sulak is much shorter than that of a Human: reaching full maturity at 6 years and rarely living past 30. They reproduce in litters of 3-12 and, though they do care for their young - said young being seen as an extension, property in a sense, of the parent - the survivability is lower than other races. Sulak are untrustworthy and routinely betray one another in pursuit of personal gain. Their loyalties are based on blood - so, a sibling or offspring is closer than a cousin or clan-mate, which is in turn closer than a non-clan colleague in simple proximity or association: but at the end of the day, the individual Sulak is still number one.

The Sulak are a Vice Race - an embodiment of Greed. They are thus conniving and covetous, moderately impatient - always looking for ways to obtain more for themselves and their own. They are natural thieves and will avoid conflict, if possible, unless their odds are totally overwhelming and said conflict would serve their interests more quickly than stealth. The Chaos Seed of the Sulak was bestowed by the Rabisu - a semi-corporeal demon which feeds on the life-blood of living beings as a vampire to survive and a peer of the Akhkhazu in the celestial order, but bound to the Peccata Clamantia of Fraud, or Defrauding. They were charged with the corruption of mankind by a Lord of Chaos, Namar - who seeds plague where he steps.

A Sulak may, as a Vice Race, be redeemed - unbeknownst to the larger world, as usual. If such redeeming occurs, the Sulak - regardless of its own life-stage (youth, adulthood, decrepitude, etc.) it will return as a Human of the same age. Thus, a Sulak of an established adult age - say, 9 - will morph into a mere child.

 

Public domain artwork respectfully pilfered from OldBookIllustrations.com on or about 9/23/2020 and edited for thematic use. Attributions in alt text.

Ooze and Fire: a Dungeon of Fourth Level

Scale: 10 ft.
Click here for a PDF version of this adventure!

X - Entrance

A spiral staircase leads into this room from above. Entrances to W1 and E1 are barred barriers that appear to be carved from stone. Doors in both are locked. Door to N1 is stuck. Two Giant Weasels (X42) are rooting around in a pile of wooden crates to the south. Inside one of the crates is a lockbox containing 94 platinum pieces. 

 Under the crates is a floor-grate, three by six feet, akin to a street drain: it can be removed by the strong or dedicated to gain access to H1: into which it’s an eight foot drop to a moist stone floor.

West Wing

W1 - The Humming Hall

The walls of this hallway have solid-color pieces hanging on the walls, each around 8 by 10 feet. Characters walking through this hall hear music faintly playing somewhere in the dark - but will not be able to tell from where it originates. The door to N2 is locked. The door to W2 is not.
 

W2 - Control Room

Doors to W1 and W7 are not locked. The barrier to W4 and W3, like the exits from X, is made of worked stone: barred, such that a character can see through. The doors have no handle and no hinge: sliding down into the floor in order to open.

In the center of the room, there is a raised platform - two inches off the ground - that has a fixed lectern projecting from it. There are two holes in the top of the lectern. If a player stands on the platform, it sinks down - two inches below the ground level - causing two knobs to rise out of the holes in the lectern. If a knob is turned, a clunking noise can be heard and a corresponding door opens: when the south knob is turned, the door to W3 opens; when the north knob is turned, the door to W4 opens. The knob can be turned back the other way, closing the door again, but only after the corresponding door has fully opened. If the player leaves the lectern without applying a counterbalance, it will rise again - concealing the knobs and closing the doors, regardless of configuration.
 

W3 - South Cell

This circular room has a drain in the center - five feet diameter, removable by a strong or determined party - partly made of iron. It has been corroded and eaten by four Rust Monsters (B41) who are sniffing about the room. The bars to W2 cannot be corroded, being stone; but the monsters can see anyone who enters W2. Also visible in this room is a low trough which appears to be filled with specie - 400 gold pieces, 1,500 electrum pieces, and 2,000 silver pieces, to be exact. Beneath the drain is an 8 foot drop into the Maze section.
 

W4 - North Cell

This room has a low trough, broken on one side, with nothing in it. An off-putting stain marks the floor on the eastern side of the room. The door to W5 is locked; the door to W2 can only be opened from W2.
 

W5 - Scriptoriulum

Dusty furniture - a card table, chair, and stool - stand unused in this small space. An Ochre Jelly (B40) is under the table.

W6 - Burned Tiles   The doors to W5 and W8 are locked; the door to W7 is not.

The north-east and north-west angled walls in this space have inset mosaics in them depicting figures in armor. Age and what appears to be fire damage makes it hard to make out the subjects.

 W7 - The Torch Room

The doors out of this room are not locked. In the inset in the center-east, there are two amphora, three feet tall each, that have faux flora in them: specifically, five foot sticks with black-purple material at the top resembling 2 feet of Wisteria.

The material is flammable and will function as a torch - but requires two hands to carry safely.
 

W8 - Blocks and Cobble

The floor in this room is comprised of uneven blocks that shift slightly when stepped upon; it does not constitute difficult terrain, but a character without boots might have discomfort walking across quickly due to the edges. Around the perimeters except door thresholds, protruding six inches from the wall, is a clean and even baseboard.

The door to W6 is not locked. 

 

The door to N7 is stuck - obviously so - as the base of it seems flush with the floor: the blocks having crammed up against it. If the door is opened, the blocks in W8 fall through, dropping anyone inside into a 10 foot pit with fungus growing at the bottom - a character may save, at referee discretion, to avoid the fall. Any character that does fall takes 1d6 damage from the fall - but then must also, due to spores, Save vs Poison or grow dizzy - suffering -2 to any checks made requiring visual focus or manual dexterity for the next 1d4 turns.

The trap will not reset on its own.

 

North Wing

N1 - North Hall

The floor of this room has a concentric square - roughly five feet wide by five feet less than the length of the room, north to south - made of burnished marble. Doors to N2 and N3 are stuck, but not locked; doors to N4 and N5 are locked; the door to N7 is unlocked and not stuck. Six Hellhounds (X33) are patrolling southbound.

The secret door to N6, if exposed to flame, slides open smoothly and effortlessly.
 

N2 - West Globe

The inside of this room is spherical, less five feet from the radius of the room: that is, on the ceiling is a concave, circular shape above a matching concave, circular indentation on the floor, the perimeter of which rings the room, five feel from the walls. There are four sconces for torches - only one has a torch in it, and it has long since burned out - on the corners where cardinal directions meet: north-east, north-west, south-east, and south-west. The hemisphere in the floor is slick to the touch.
 

N3 - East Globe

The inside of this room is likewise spherical, less five feet from the radius of the room, as is N2. Likewise, there are four sconces. Hidden in the hemisphere in the ceiling is a single Gray Ooze (B36). Lying in the hemisphere on the floor is a half-eaten humanoid, dead, slumped over a chest. Inside the chest - which is locked - can be found 1,000 silver pieces and a porcelain figurine worth 200 gold pieces.
 

N4 - Shrine of the Star

This space is claustrophobic - the ceiling only six feet high. In the west corner is a small votive space in which there is a bowl with a dried Alstroemeria flower, with six iron spikes arranged in a circle around it, pointing outward like a star.
 

N5 - Shrine of Growing

This space seems claustrophobic at first, the ceiling being only six feet high at the door. However, if a character steps into the space, they find it to be larger than it appeared - from an outside observer, they appear to be shrinking as they enter: such that the five foot space could be treated as 25 feet deep.

A similar votive table to N4 sits on the far corner: with a bowl - upturned, such that it serves as a convex protrusion from the table - surrounded by four silver spikes, upturned, point facing the ceiling. Beneath the bowl is a dried Bellflower. The table appears to be 3 feet off the ground from the door, but is 15 feet off the floor when a character stands directly next to it. The silver spikes are six inches long, but if retrieved, shrink as they are removed - such that they are the size of thimbles - worth around 6 silver pieces - when removed from the space.

Time is likewise dilated when a party is in this room. For each turn the party takes, 5 turns pass outside the room. This becomes evident to an outside observer on a successful Save vs Spells, as the movements are not quite right for characters inside the room.
 

N6 - Shrine of the Statue

This space is very tight - the ceiling is six feet off the ground, but requiring a step down - six inches - to enter. In the far corner is a stone pyramid, three feet tall, the top of which cut off into a step - above it is a cylinder, hanging down, a plug into which is being held up by a golden statue, perched on the stone pyramid step. The statue is worth 1,200 gold pieces - weighing 400 coins - but if removed, the seal falls with it and a torrent of acid spills into the room, filling the room and spilling out 2d6 feet into N1 under the door. The acid deals 1d6 damage per round a character is exposed to it - plus 1d4 damage per round for 1d4 rounds after, unless neutralized.
 

N7 - The Hemisphere

The ceiling for this large space is concave - like the top of a globe from the inside - beyond a five foot wall, as a cylinder, from the floor. There are five bands - as latitude - that slowly spin, with adjacent bands spinning the opposite direction. In the center is a candelabra - 25 feet off the ground - which is enchanted with magical flames that burn cold and will never go out; emitting light as a lantern. The door to N1 is not locked; the door to W8 is stuck.

 

East Wing

E1 - East Hall

This hallway is lined with aged heraldry on the walls. An odd smell can be detected, stronger as the party approaches room E5. 

 

The door to N3 is locked; the door to E2 is not.

 

E2 - Fountain Foyer

In the center of this room is a small fountain - a gray-green algae covering the water and slowly colonizing the stone. Around it is a circular rug - a circle cut in the center such that the stone fountain, and a stone floor, is haloed on the floor. No doors are locked. If the characters reach into the water, the algae is harmless, they will find a handle. When pulled, this hidden handle will open the door to H16.

E3 - Ring Basin

On the diagonal walls to this room - that is, on the northern side, the walls facing north-east and north-west, respectively - have triangular windows in them, six inches deep. 

 

There are stone statues - ovaloid, eight inches tall - suspended in the space by a small granite column. In the base of each are small basins full of copper rings: approximately 150 of them total, worth approximately 15 silver pieces if melted down.
 

E4 - Bone Room

The northern five foot alcove in this room is full of bones, some of which are partially dissolved. In the south-east corner is a barrel with 6 torches and 4 pints of oil. 

 

The secret door to H14 will open smooth and effortlessly if exposed to flame.
 

E5 - The Chessboard

The floor of this room is covered in a square tile grid of alternating colors, black and dingy white, about three feet to the side. The the room thus, being 20 feet deep and 40 feet wide, will be 7 tiles deep and 14 tiles wide. The black tiles give off a dim light, enough to see by - as a candle. Flanking the room's entrance are two statues of horses, rearing.

On the northern wall in the 7th and 8th tiles, east to west, are two thrones on which a regal male and female statue sit. The throne seat is six feet off the ground, the figure extending an additional four feet in height.

• The male statue wears a cloak in-lined with platinum threads - when worn, it grants +2 to all Saving Throws and +1 to Armor Class - and carries a sword. The sword is decorative - counts as silvered, but suffers a -1 penalty to hit, as it's made of combat-inappropriate metals which are worth 250 gold pieces to a collector. The figure wears a helmet on which a single red gemstone is embedded: if pried loose, this gem is worth 600 gold pieces.
  
  
• The female statue wears a broach - platinum inlaid - worth 400 gold pieces as well as a tiara worth 600 gold pieces and a Ring of Spell Storing. The ring is on a finger which connects back to the statue, however: presenting a challenge as to how it may be removed.

Characters walking into the room must move according to the permitted movement of a Knight from a game of chess. The exception to this rule - characters under the influence of a Divine spell, such as Bless, may instead move diagonally, as a Bishop. The tile on which a character is presently standing - if black - ceases to emit light; if white - starts to: again, at lumens equivalent to a candle. Any character which missteps, not conforming to the movement prescribed, is subjected to a negative consequence:

• If miss-stepping into a white space, the character is affected by a blast of cold - 2d8 damage. A successful Save vs Dragon's Breath is allowed for half effect.
  
  
• If miss-stepping into a black space, the character is affected by a noxious cloud. The character must Save vs Poison - on a success, they vomit profusely, taking 1d8 damage; on a failure, they pass unconscious for 1d4 hours after having suffered the first effect. An ally may minister to them creatively to try to wake them.

Monstrous Mini-Maze

M1 - Reading Nook

A stone table and stool - both acid-washed - sit by an empty candle holder, propped in the corner at this end of the maze hall. An Ochre Jelly (B40) is lurking behind.
 

M2 - Urn Junction

Six Hellhounds (X33) have overturned two of five large urns at this junction. The urns are largely empty, though there is an odd stale smell that escapes if they are opened.
 

M3 - Storage Rack

Around this corner are stains on the floor. An empty weapon rack is beset by four Rust Monsters (B41) who are rather cramped in the space.
 

M4 - The Ribbon Room

Wide white ribbons of varying length hang from slits in the ceiling through this alcove. They are surprisingly sturdy and can be tied together as rope, but must be cut down in order to be of use.
 

M5 - The Prize of the Maze

A small chest is chained to the floor at the end of this narrow. The lock and three of the chains have been eroded off; the chest is empty.
 

M6 - Former Denizen

A skeleton in an alien cuirass and helmet has been shot with six silver arrows here. It is crumpled on the floor, sitting against the east wall with its arms crossed: one hand pointing north; the other pointing south.

Hidden Wing

H1 - Hidden Foyer

There is an eight foot drop from the secret entrance in X to the floor in this room. None of the doors adjoining this room are locked.
 

H2 - Blade Idol

In the center of this room is a pedestal on which stands a chrome idol, the value of which is 400 gold pieces. Circling it are several hanging bladed apparati - slowly rotating on a track recessed into the ceiling. The closer a character gets to the idol, the more quickly the blades spin - requiring a successful Dexterity check - or save, at referee discretion, to bypass.

The door to H1 is not locked.
 

H3 - Wash Closet

The door to H3 is operated, from the inside, by a simple latch; from the outside, there is a slider hidden in the stone of the wall, seven feet off the floor which, if slid, will allow the door to glide open effortlessly.

Inside is a single skeleton, facing down, an empty washbasin, and a pile of dusty and faded robes, once purple with red trim.
 

H4 - The Slick

This room is ringed by three steps, taking it down three feet from all the doors. The floor is wet and slick with algae. 

 

The double door to H10 is barred from the other side; the other two doors are not locked.
 

H5 - The Crushing Atrium

The doors to this room open inward; neither of them are locked. There are a couple old polearms, two helmets, and a decayed leather hauberk on the floor. The polearms and leather are thin enough not to warrant concern - but the helmets appear to have been crushed. There are two large rollers on both the east and west walls, inlaid to a groove in the wall. There are several points of light shining down from the ceiling onto the floor.

If a character enters the light at all - such that the beam is broken and part or all of it can no longer reach the floor - there is a grinding sound and the floor starts to roll upwards: preventing the doors from opening. It will take 2d4 rounds to roll flush with the ceiling - not wholly so, but within a few inches: entirely close enough to crush and kill anything larger than a rat that is in the room.

After reaching the ceiling, the trap lingers for a few seconds before rolling back into place, resetting after a further 2d4 rounds.
 

H6 - Center Stage

In the center of this octagonal room is an equilateral octagon, raised off the floor by about a foot. On each of the corners is a post, wood, from which hang tattered cloth - as though curtains once hung here. A couple still string between the posts, but not many.

The doors on the west corners are embedded in stone grates - which can be seen through, similar to the exits to X, and are locked. 

 

The door north is not locked; the door to H11 is stuck.
 

H7 - Bishop's Tomb

A crypt occupies this space behind a door with no hinges nor handle. In the east and west corners are braziers - long unlit - and in the center, a covered sarcophagus: square in shape, rather than rectangular. Atop the lid is a supine statue of a handsome knight; inside is a skeleton, malformed, such that it has no pelvis and has four arms instead of two arms and two legs. Its skull is slightly oblong, but still humanoid. It is buried with a helmet - decorative, but of no more value than a standard helmet - and a sword, likewise decorative, which grants a +1 bonus to Initiative when wielded. It will sell for double the price of a normal sword.
 

H8 - Guardian Tomb

Three sarcophagi occupy this space - rectangular, all three, as a normal coffin might be. On the first, a carving of a woman in armor; the second, a carving of a man likewise in armor - bearing a mace; the third, a carving that is slight of frame, but has since been defaced, such that its original nature is lost. The center sarcophagus' head is slightly south of the others, such that they are arranged in formation. Between each pair is a brazier, long unlit. Inside each sarcophagus is naught more than bones and dust.

If any of the sarcophagi are opened, three Wraiths (X42) form - emerging from the sarcophagi individually, regardless of which one is opened. If a brazier is lit, the Wraiths each suffer a cumulative -1 penalty on To Hit rolls (so, -2 if both braziers are lit) and become strike-able with non-magical weapons: albeit with a 50% chance of total miss (rolled before or after the player's to-hit roll, depending on the generosity of the referee) if using a normal weapon due to partial corporeality.
 

H9 - Tapestry Room The east wall of this room has two large tapestries in it: one to the north, depicting a cavalryman with a purple plume and red trappings about his heraldry, hanging; one to the south, depicting a countryside township overshadowed by a tower bearing a purple and red flag, having come loose and piled on the floor.    Bugs scramble out of the fallen tapestry, if disturbed.

H10 - Flower Hall

Along the west wall of this room is a set of plants growing. In the center of the east wall is a relief statue of a star with a face; from its eyes and mouth emanate light, shining on the plants. If the light is broken - that part or all of it cannot reach the plants, the flowering part of the plants whip, throwing poisoned spurs at anyone between them and the light source. A Save vs Wands avoids: if hit, a target suffers 1 point of damage and must Save vs Poison or die. A crafty character can harvest poison spurs - the effect and risk of which is at the discretion of the referee.

There is a bar across the double door to the north. The door to the south is locked.
 

H11 - Forgotten Guard Station

The door to H10 is locked; the door to H12 is not; the door to H6 is stuck. Standing guard in this room are two skeletons wearing chainmail armor and armed with a spear and shield. The skeletons are not animate nor undead - just regular skeletons standing there. Their bones have been vitrified, shimmering with a glassy sheen.
 

H12 - The Unguent Altar

In the northern alcove of this hallway can be seen an end table with a cloth across it. Also sitting are three poultices which, if applied to a victim of poison, will allow a re-roll of a failed Save vs Poisons, as well as a lantern, unlit, with six hours worth of oil in it.
 

H13 - Scriptorium Proper

Two rows of illuminator benches and easels run north to south in this room. Between them can be found illumination supplies - that is, rare colored pigments, application media, etc. - worth 500 gold pieces. In addition, against the west wall, near the north corner, is a relief statue of the moon, as a face. In its mouth flickers a pink gemstone before several neatly stacked rows of gold coins flanked by several small piles of sand.

Whenever light passes through the pink gemstone - as it would have to in order to illuminate the gold coins - it refracts an odd radiation on the other side such that any organic matter coming into contact with said light is subject to a disintegration effect. Non-metallic items must save or be destroyed; living material - such as a player - will immediately take 1d6 damage and must Save vs Spells: on a failure the point of exposure, such as a hand reaching for coins, is destroyed - turning to sand. If no light is passing through the gem, the effect does not occur.

There are 600 gold pieces inside the face of the moon's mouth. The gemstone - sans effect - is worth a further 1,000 gold pieces if sold due to its odd color and large, oblong cut.
 

H14 - Entry at Waking

The secret door to E4 is obvious and easy to open from this side. In the south-west corner of the room, the ceiling is very low - only four feet - but if a character climbs under, they will come to the entrance of H15 and a four foot drop to a junction allowing passage to H4 and H5. The first time a character enters this space, they feel an odd "buzzing" feeling in this room that will cause hair on the arm or leg to stand on end, as goose-pimples. A character having spent time in this room will find, later, that any non-magical food-type items in their possession (rations, herbs, unguents, etc.) have increased in size by one-half, but their flavor is now slightly distasteful. There is no change to the effect of the item - so, if a character had 5 days rations, leaving the room, they will now have 7 - apart from, as mentioned, the flavor.
 

H15 - Dome of the Magician

Four narrow and short passages lead to a junction, above which is an ovaloid hole in the ceiling. Climbing through this hole reveals the larger ovaloid chamber - wherein statues depicting figures in armor face the center from cardinal directions and four additional statues wearing robes face outward from the non-cardinal directions. 

 

 

The ceiling is embossed with a relief carving of the vernal firmament as it was approximately 1,200 years in the past, however if any spell with a defined duration is cast in this room, its duration is doubled for this instance only. Spells with one-off effects, or permanent effects, have those effects instead increased by 20% if cast expressly in this room.

Two Owlbear (B40) have taken up residence in the space.

H16 - Evening Entry

A Carrion Crawler (B32) is scuttling around this otherwise empty room. The secret door to E2 is obvious and easy to open from this direction. To the south, the ceiling is dramatically low - four feet only - but at the entrance to H15, drops four feet at the junction leading to H4 and H5.

Public domain art respectfully pilfered from the National Gallery of Art and from ReusableArt.com on the week of October 4th, 2020, and adapted for thematic use. Attribution in alt text.