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.
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.
| Perception |
Find Traps |
Secret Doors |
Spot Hidden |
Surprise |
Hear Noise |
| 3 |
-10% |
-2 |
0% |
+2 |
-10% |
| 4 |
-8% |
-1 |
0% |
+1 |
-7% |
| 5-6 |
-5% |
-1 |
5% |
+1 |
-5% |
| 7-9 |
0 |
0 |
7% |
0 |
0 |
| 10-11 |
0 |
0 |
10% |
0 |
0 |
| 12 |
+2% |
0 |
10% |
0 |
0 |
| 13-14 |
+5% |
0 |
12% |
0 |
+3% |
| 15 |
+7% |
+1 |
15% |
-1 |
+5% |
| 16 |
+10% |
+1 |
15% |
-1 |
+7% |
| 17 |
+12% |
+1 |
17% |
-1 |
+10% |
| 18 |
+15% |
+2 |
20% |
-2 |
+12% |
The modifiers for the Perception stat refer to:
- Find Traps
- modifiers for Thieves and non-Thieves (see below)
- Secret Doors
- modifier to normal chance for race
- Spot Hidden
- chance to find hidden things, and also a penalty on opposing chances to Pick Pockets, Hide In Shadows and Move Silently
- Surprise
- modifier to usual 2 in 10 chance of being surprised
- Hear Noise
- modifier for Thieves and non-Thieves (see below)
Thief Abilities (and Abilities for non-Thieves)
A Thief's skills and abilities are very dependent on their surroundings and circumstances; a list of modifiers follow. There are also some modest chances for non-Thieves to try their hand at some of these abilities; it's possible, but not something to rely on...
Base Abilities for non-Thieves
| Ability | Base Chance | Race Modifier |
|---|
| Pick Pockets* | 10% | Elf, Hobbit +5%, Half-elf +10% |
|---|
| Open Locks | 10% | Elf, Half-elf -5%, Dwarf +5% |
|---|
| Find/Remove Traps* | 5% | Gnome, Hobbit +5%, Dwarf +10% |
|---|
| Move Silently* | 10% | Elf, Gnome +5%, Hobbit +10% |
|---|
| Hide In Shadows* | 10% | Hobbit +5%, Dwarf -5% |
|---|
| Hear Noise* | 15% | Elf, Hobbit +5%, Gnome +10% |
|---|
| Climb Walls | 40% | Gnome, Hobbit -15%, Dwarf -10% |
|---|
| Read Languages | 0% | - |
|---|
* The Perception stats of the character and possible witnesses may affect the chance of success.
Circumstantial Modifiers
The following modifiers apply to everyone, Thieves and non-Thieves:
Climb Walls
- Lots of handholds
- +40%
- Rope
- +55%
- Mountaineering NW Prof
- +20%
- No Armour (thief)
- +10%
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -10%
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -30%
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -40%
- Splint, Banded
- -50%
- Plate
- -70%
Move Silently
- Witnesses' Spot Hidden
- See Perception
- Noisy surface
- -30%
- No Armour (thief)
- +10%
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -10%
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -20%
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -60%
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -80%
Pick Pockets
- Victim's Spot Hidden
- See Perception
- No Armour (thief)
- +5%
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -5%
- Studded, Padded, Hide
- -30%
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -50%
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -70%
Hide in Shadows
- Witnesses' Spot Hidden
- See Perception
- Pitch black
- Automatic
- Darker than torchlight
- +20%
- Torchlight
- -
- Well-lit
- -25%
- Daylight, Continual Light
- -65%
- No Armour (thief)
- +5%
- Leather (non-thieves)
- -5%
- Chain, Ring, Scale
- -20%
- Plate, Splint, Banded
- -30%
Critical Failures for Thieves and non-Thieves
- Find / Remove Traps
- Roll of 96-00%
- Pick Pockets
- Roll of 100 - (3 x Victim's Level - Thief's Level)%