Saturday, June 12, 2010

OD&D Science Fantasy Campaign

One of my regular players and I were discussing what he likes about 4E. He liked all the new races, classes, and how things like psionics seem to have been incorporated into the system in a way that finally seems to make sense. He's also a bit bored by the standard Tolkienian races of Elves, Dwarves, Halflings etc.

I pointed out how flexible OD&D is, and it got me wondering what would happen if we came up with our own OD&D game made to to fit our specifications. We've been talking about doing a Science Fantasy game for a while and it dawned on me that this might be a way to incorporate some elements of games like 1st Edition Gamma World or Mutant Future. The campaign would be a mixture of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Flash Gordon type stuff along with Eighties adventure cartoons like Masters of the Universe and Thundarr.

This is still a work in progress, and there are a few more races I've been having trouble with: Titans and Wolf People. What sort of abilities might they have? Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I previously had a thread going on more playable races over at the OD&D Discussion Forum, but I thought I'd post them here as well. Hopefully, I'll eventually post ALL of the house rules I create for this campaign.

PLAYABLE CLASSES

Cleric
Druid
Fighter
Paladin
Ranger
Magic-User
Thief
Assassin
Psion


PLAYABLE RACES

Ancients
• Able to see into the ethereal plane (50 ft. range).
• Prophetic dreams and visions.
• +5% Bonus to Psionic Abilities.
• +1 to Hit and Damage when engaged in Hand to Hand combat.

Androids
• +1 bonus to Hit Dice.
• Immune to aging, sleep, charm, poison, and disease.
• No unconsciousness at O HP. Able to function until killed at –lvl HP.

Avians
• Able to fly at a speed of 15”.
• Ability to speak with any winged birds.
• Enhanced vision allows +2 on vision based perception checks. Avians can also see great distances.

Cat People
• Bite and Claw attacks (1D4)
• Detect invisible opponents at a base of 30% and with a +5% bonus every two levels.
• Only -2 to hit invisible opponents.
• +1 bonus to Dexterity.

Devas
• Able to see into the astral plane (50 ft. range).
• +1 Bonus vs. Infernals and infernal associated creatures.
• Immune to fear (and fear creating magical spells)
• Able to generate create Light once per day for a number of rounds equal to 3 + the Deva’s level.

Dhamphir (1/2 Vampires)
• Bite attack for 1D6 damage. They gain Temporary Hit Points equal to ½ of the damage they do up to their current Hit Points level.
• Able to transform into a wolf or bat.
• Double damage from silver weapons and fire.

Forest Folk (Elves)
• Infravision (60 ft. range).
• Find secret and hidden doors (1-4 on a D6).
• +1 to hit when using a sword or bow.
• +1 to hit vs. Orcs.
• Racial benefits when acting as Thieves.
• They speak the languages of orcs, hobgoblins, and gnolls in addition to their usual tongues.

Humans
• Humans automatically receive a +10% bonus to earned experience.
• +1 bonus to an attribute of their choice.

Infernals
• They possess a limited form of telepathy (send and receive thoughts only). Range: within sight.
• Immune to Fire and Cold damage.
• Able to create Darkness once per day for a number of rounds equal to 3 + plus the Infernal’s level.

Lizard People
• +1 to AC due to thick hide.
• Immune to poisons.
• Poisonous bite (1D4 Damage). Save vs. poison or bite deals double damage.

Merfolk
• Able to breath underwater and swim at 24”.
• AC 7 natural armor class (may be improved by Dexterity bonuses and armor).
• They speak the language of Dolphins and Whales.
• They receive a +1 Bonus to their Constitution.

Mountain Folk (Dwarves)
• They have a high level of magic resistance, and they thus add four levels when rolling saving throws against magic.
• They note slanting passages, traps, shifting walls and new construction in underground settings; and
• They are able to speak the languages of Gnomes, Kobolds and Goblins in addition to the usual tongues.

River Folk (Halflings)
• Saving throws vs. magic are (as Dwarves) four levels higher.
• +2 to hit with simple melee weapons.
• They gain racial bonuses when acting as thieves.

Shadow Folk (Drow)
• Infravision (100 ft. range)
• Able to move silently (even in armor).
• +2 bonus to all saving throws vs. magic.
• Shadow Armor receives an automatic +1 to its AC.

4 comments:

  1. Fabulous! I can't wait to see more!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds cool. I think OD&D is certainly flexible enough to handle this.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi, you may want to take a look at Terminal Space - "The aim of Terminal Space, supplement for the 1974 D&D edition, is to add a new ruleset to help transfer the game to an entire new dimension which space exploration is. Any additional materials were created with a thought on settings heavily based in Science Fiction and Science Fantasy genres than most of the materials created for OD&D so far."

    Available here: http://terminalspace.blogspot.com/

    ReplyDelete
  4. This is a great concept! I've been lagging on my own MotU campaign setting using Marvel Superheroes, so this gives me renewed enthusiasm. :)

    Looking forward to seeing more!

    ReplyDelete