Experience
How XP is gained can be a divisive issue. In AD&D it can be part of the way that classes are balanced, in that a Thief needs far fewer XP to reach 3rd level than, say, a Wizard does. This therefore assumes that characters earn XP at roughly the same rate. For Pangea I award XP, on the whole, as calculated from the DMG tables. There are a few noticeable differences, which I outline here:
Fighters gain 100 XP per HD of creature they defeat in battle. If they're part of a group, that value is divided by the number of participants. Note that a defeated enemy isn't necessarily killed - a captured, surrendered or fleeing foe counts.
Only Thieves gain XP by obtaining treasure. All PCs, however, can gain XP (at 1/GP) by spending money on useful and appropriate causes. For bards and rogue-types this might be buying equipment, gaining contacts and carousing. For mage-types it could be spell research, alchemy and gathering arcane materials; warriors could pay for training and better equipment, and religious types pay tithes. Barbaric types should squander their gains on wine and women.
It's not usually necessary to play through this spending, unless you want to. The intention is to encourage players not to hoard money, and possibly spur future plotlines. I'm usually very open to player suggestions for spending treasure; as long as the money leaves their grasp for a purpose that seems in character, I'm happy.
Any character with a Primary Attribute less than 10 gets +10% to all XP earned. Note that this is the opposite of the peculiar 2nd Ed. ruling.
Awards will also be made for witnessing rare sights and exploring legendary areas. For example, seeing a dragon fly overhead might be worth 200 XP; visiting Lost Breakness Isle could be 500 XP, and meeting the Devil In Iron 1000 XP. These awards will encourage a spirit of exploration and adventure, I hope.
These can be further modified, if desired. Bards probably ought to earn double XP for witnessing legendary events and the like. Priests should gain extra XP for battling their faith's enemies or engaging in pilgrimages to hidden shrines.
Perception
I've never been satisfied with using something like Intelligence when a roll is needed to see if a character notices something important, so here's some rules for a new attribute - Perception. It's good for an all-purpose 'spot' roll, and can also be applied to determine if illusions can be seen through.
| Perception |
Secret Doors |
Spot Hidden |
Surprise |
| 3 |
-1 |
+3 |
-2 |
| 4 |
-1 |
+2 |
-1 |
| 5-6 |
-1 |
+1 |
-1 |
| 7-12 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| 13-14 |
0 |
-1 |
0 |
| 15-16 |
+1 |
-2 |
+1 |
| 17 |
+1 |
-3 |
+2 |
| 18 |
+2 |
-4 |
+2 |
The modifiers for the Perception stat refer to:
- Secret Doors
- modifier to normal chance for race
- Spot Hidden
- modifier to opposing chances to Pick Pockets, Hide In Shadows and Move Silently
- Surprise
- modifier to usual 2 in 10 chance of being surprised
Thief Skills
I've included the standard Thief skills under the general list of Non-Weapon Proficiencies. Thieves, Bards and Rangers automatically get them at Trained levels; other classes are not allowed to do so. This tends to mean that rogue-types get better chances to succeed than before, which is all to the good as far as I am concerned. Below are a set of situational modifiers to these chances.
Circumstantial Modifiers
Climb Walls
- Lots of handholds
- +4
- Rope
- +5
- Mountaineering Prof
- +2
- No Armour (thief)
- +1
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -1
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -2
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -3
- Splint, Banded
- -4
- Plate
- -5
Find / Remove Traps
- Complexity
- Varies from +3 to -5
- Time
- Each extra 10 minutes +1
Hide in Shadows
- Guard's Spot Hidden
- See Perception
- Pitch black
- Automatic
- Darker than torchlight
- +2
- Torchlight, Light spell
- -
- Well-lit
- -2
- Daylight, Continual Light spell
- -4
- No Armour (thief)
- +1
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -1
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -2
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -3
Move Silently
- Noisy surface
- -3
- Guard's Spot Hidden
- See Perception
- No Armour (thief)
- +1
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -1
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -2
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -4
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -5
Open Locks
- Complexity
- Varies from +3 to -5
- Time
- Each extra 10 minutes +1
Pick Pockets
- No Armour (thief)
- +1
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -1
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -2
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -3
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -4
Critical Failures for Thieves and non-Thieves
- Find / Remove Traps
- Roll of 20
- Pick Pockets
- Roll of 20 - diff. between Thief's lvl and target's.