Distance in AD&D

It often gets a little glazed over by DMs & players and who can blame them? 1″=10 yards, 1″=10 feet, 1/3rd inside or 1:10 or 1:20… Lets take a closer look at what distance REALLY says. 

On Page 39 of the PHB (Easley cover 1980, #2010) is the section on distance. The paragraph starts off telling us that distances are 1/3 with respect to converting spell and missile range from outdoors to indoors. but wait – it gets confusing…

OK – that first part makes a little sense. Our friend Gary Gygax was a table-top war gamer. So measuring things like range and spell effect with inches is just how things were done. It sounds like going from outdoors to indoors the scale drops from 1″=a yard to 1″= a foot. (1/3) but it doesn’t. He goes on to justify the ruling by telling us that outdoor ranges are much extended by arching arrows and missiles up to achieve the distance. BUT… we then talk about 1″=10 feet underground and 1″=10 yards outdoors. So the 1/3 ratio is true – yes, but the wording is just confusing as all get out. It’s ok Gary, we still love you and the game.

Gary may have been grasping at explainable straws in the text making measuring the table for minis still work in both situations. This is a game, and we accept his explanation and move on.

Magic and Spells

Here’s where a potential curve ball comes into play. Spells and magic need to match range with archers and the like to make the game work. So outdoors spell ranges are also 1″=10 yards. With ALL CAPS there are warnings that spells and magic should only use this scale for range and not area effect. Then, Gary’s favorite hobby jumps into play again and we are given the confusing caveat that area effect is to be amplified if the mini ratio is 1:10 or 1:20. This is possibly one of the more confusing statements made in the section if you aren’t a war gamer.

What is being alluded to is if your 1 wizard mini on the table represents 10 or 20 wizards, then area effect is converted from feet to yards. (If I understand it correctly) A 3″ fireball would then cover 30 yards.

Made to fit the game

This is, what I feel, the key phrase of the entire rule set here. The text acknowledges, in not so many words, that these rules are likely not really true-to-life, but they fit the game. THAT is the key. Movement has some other tweaks that change in various situations and the PHB tells us that the DM has that. It’s a similar situation in that movement outdoors is typically less hindered than carefully exploring the dungeons of the world.

Sum it up

Which is what most of us do when we sit down at the table to game. 1″ = 10 yards above ground, or 10 feet below, indoors, and sometimes in town. Like the old Goldbox video game sets, DMs often switch to indoor rules and measures during encounters, then back to yards when travel resumes. This is typically the ‘house rule’ on the situation for AD&D. Unless, of course, the party is leading an army and there is a table set up for mass combat. 5E tackles the rules on this differently, but there are many years of play-testing in between. Both systems are viable and work within the confines of each game respectively.

I hope this closer look has helped clear up some of the mystery around distance in AD&D.  Those movements and ranges in inches make sense if you remember that DMs and players came to the game with minis and were measuring with rulers for combat. Some still do in new and old systems.

As always, enjoy the game, roll the dice and role your play!

~Lloyd M

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From Monopoly to 5E Dungeons & Dragons House rules happen and power-gamers emerge. It happened to me, and I started to lose control somewhere along the line, until I tried this tweak to my games.

Adding in new classes, abilities, non-weapon proficiencies, bonuses and what not can create an unusual imbalance in AD&D games. An imbalance where monsters that are evenly matched for players get wiped out fast. Power gamers end up pulling away from regular classes in the amount of damage they do, speed of attacks and more. Every battle becomes one or two players and no one else gets an action before the enemy is slain. At face value, this seems good for players, but it can quickly sap the fun out of one of the core components of the game.

Super Heroes

For example, we had a group with two warriors who got lucky on their rolls and both had 18 (xx) strength and good dexterity. We had some 2E house rules in play, and they had specialization and various other bonuses to attacks. These two warriors would clean out a battle in one or two rounds.

I instinctively ratcheted up the level of monsters they would face. While the two warriors were ready for the challenge, the rest of the party was not. I soon found myself throwing encounters that were incredibly deadly for most of the party, and mildly challenging for the two warriors. As a DM I was nearly killing my heroes to challenge two.

I would watch the wizard and thief yawn and drift off to check their phones while the warriors took the battle out in a couple of rounds. I wasn’t sure how to fix this. Also, I didn’t want to pull back our agreed upon house-rules of specialization and a few other 2E cross-over rules we wanted to add.

It all came down to Hit points

After some trial and error, I realized that losing the weaker classes was only happening because they were being left out of ROLL playing. The battle was over too quickly, often before they even got to contribute to the conflict. Players need to roll dice sometimes!

I yanked my monster HD from a d8 to a d10 and things started to happen. Monsters lasted a little longer, without having higher level abilities that would wipe out players instantly.

I realize this was a scenario of my creation. The extra damage and bonuses piled on to a couple lucky stat rolls created my perfect storm to injure my game. As an old school player, I would have been happy with less damage dealt, and monsters with fewer HP. The players didn’t realize that monsters now had a d10, and rarely a d12 HD, but their excitement of dealing out higher damage was the reward.

Lesson Learned

In later games I began to temper my additions to the game like specialization, even DOUBLE specialization, and all the other things that can warp party balance. Along came 5E and I immediately noticed that creature HP and HD were now independent of their DC (Level) rating. I must not have been the only DM to have faced this issue.

So if you are facing the problem of a couple of heroes knocking out the battle before others get to roll, it might be as simple as assuming your monsters have a d10 for Hit Dice.

What are some of the ways you have had to balance out your games on the fly?

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Some new players to AD&D are intimidated by playing the elven race. At first glance there are a lot of mechanics, rules, and restrictions to keep in line. Let’s take a closer look at the elf and warm those new gamers up to the idea.

Everyone Thinks They Know Elves

One of the struggles I met with elves, was that various players at various tables had different visions of what an elf looks like and how they behave. That led to a narrow pathway (and a different one) at some tables.Those notions inadvertently get pressed onto new players at the table. This could be due to various sources of inspiration and reading. Of course, the DM has final say, but most experienced DMs find the new player with new inspirations refreshing. It was one of the difficult obstacles I personally faced when initially playing an elf. Applying my vision to how I thought my character should act, despite other player’s attempted mandates, eventually shone through.

To be an Elf

Don’t be afraid of the fair elf, there are many sources of inspiration to call upon. Try it a few times, you might even love it. The core of elf mechanics are easy enough to find. I found them in the AD&D Players Handbook (Easley cover) Page 16.

The PHB (Players HandBook) directs us to the Monster Manual (pg 39) for details on elves. There it introduces various sub-races which are not options for player characters (Until Unearthed Arcana). Aquatic, Drow, Gray, and Wood Elf. It does list the Half-Elf, which is a player character option and has its own entry.

For new players, the level limits can be pushed out of the initial equation. Yes they play a factor in the long-term role, but how many characters in AD&D really press past 7th, 10, or 11th? Even more rare is a multi-class character pressing beyond these limits.Page 14 outlines level limits if you think they will have an effect on your level 1 elf decision.

The Benefits

Elves have numerous benefits and are very strong characters early in the game.

• 90% resistance to sleep & charm spells (Before the saving throw)
• +1 to hit with any bow that isn’t a crossbow (before dex bonuses)
• +1 to hit  with short or longswords
• Start the game speaking 8 languages or more!
• Infravision to 60′
• Detect secret or concealed doors easily
• Good chance to surprise if you are 90′ away from non-elves or with halflings.
• +1 to initial Dexterity score
• A wide range of multi-class options

The tough break is a -1 to initial Constitution score.

New players shouldn’t be intimidated by all these bonuses and mechanics. some quick notes detailed in the few paragraphs of the book will keep these things in check. Many of these adjustments the DM likely is aware of as well.

Elves are woodland creatures, that much everyone can agree on. They are a bit mysterious, but are generally good folk. For all the assumptions more weathered gamers make about the AD&D elf, there are very few social details about them in the core books. Most of the descriptions are physical.

Our Friend Gary Gygax describes them this way:

Elves are slim of build and pale complected. Their hair is dark and their eyes are green. Their garb is typically pastel and of blue, green or violet (But often covered with a greenish gray cloak). The lifespan of these creatures is a dozen centuries long.

Rest assured, in AD&D adventuring life, it’s not likely to last anywhere near 1200 years.

The Solution

The solution to being intimidated by playing an elf is to throw all caution to the wind and dive in head first. If you keep a few things in mind, it will be a fun and rewarding experience.

• Elves are woodland creatures.
• They are generally Chaotic Good.
• Elves have time (12 centuries).
• They are generally dexterous.

These basic elements are standard at most game tables and are reinforced in the core books. Every race and class in the game is ready for every level of gamer and is ready to accept your imagination and vision.

Try an elf if you are new, revisit them is you aren’t.

Tell us about your favorite elves in the comments below.

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It’s often forgotten, overlooked, and unused. It might be time to revisit the Dungeon Masters guide and kick it back into your game.

Our friend Gary Gygax explains it as:

The ability to see radiation above violet in the normal visible spectrum.

It’s not of much use underground where radiation gets shielded, but an undead hunter above ground can see to 100 yards clearly and 300 dimly. This odd ability is glazed over heavily. It may be applied to a number of night hunter races or undead to plague your players.

Ruining Ultravision

Ultra vision is ruined by radiating magical weapons (Which is pretty common in AD&D). Of course when the weapons are out, you are ruining infravision with light. Players are also advertising to ALL that they are holding a valuable magical item in the open.

For the DM

If you consider your undead or some breeds of kobolds having ultravision, they can see just fine at night, through fog, darkness, and many other situations. They may hunt the quarry of the party as if it were open daylight. They may see through things that would block infravision. The heroes at your table are likely unaware of this often forgotten AD&D ability.

Turn to page 56 of the AD&D DMG to revisit this ability and sprinkle it in when least expected for some unusual encounters!

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Dwarves in AD&D

The race has been a staple since the conception of the game, and they have a firm hold on our hearts.

Along with the straight-forward things about height, weight, social interactions and where they come from, there are numerous game mechanics attached to Dwarves, some are plain, some are a little confusing.

Here at Fail Squad Games we embrace screwing up and learning from it – so let’s take a closer look at the Dwarf.

The race of dwarves typically dwells in hilly or mountainous regions. For details of the race in general the reader is refered to Advanced Dungeons and Dragons Monster Manual. As player characters both dwarves, and their cousins “The mountain dwarves” can be considered.

Why the sub-races weren’t immediately identified more clearly for PCs as was with halflings is anyone’s guess.

The Mechanics of Dwarves

We looked at level and statistic limits on races in previous posts so a good deal of that is glazed over here. To sum up, dwarves may Multi-class, and have limits for all classes but Thief.

Player characters cannot be Clerics, Druids, Paladins, Rangers, Magic Users, or Monks at all. (Unearthed Arcana changed a number of these)

Dwarves are non-magical by nature and hearty when it comes to poisons and toxins. They have the very powerful benefit of gaining a +1 to those saves for every 3.5 points of constitution.

They begin the game knowing SIX languages!

• Dwarven
• Gnome
• Goblin
• Kobold
• Orc
• Common

But may only ever learn two more throughout their adventuring career.

To further advance their benefits in the game mechanics, They have:

• Infravision (See in the dark) to 60′,
• Detect grades and slopes.
• Detect New construction
• Detect traps involving stonework.
• Detect sliding and shifting walls
• Determine approximate depth
• +1 to hit half-orcs, goblins, hobgoblins, and orcs
• Giant classes are at -4 to hit Dwarves
• +1 to initial Constitution score (although a -1 to CHR)

This makes dwarves ideal adventuring partners underground and anywhere.

How to screw it up

Most of the time that I have personally screwed up being a dwarf has been in forgetting all the various abilities granted to the race while in the heart of an adventure. The Monster manual is a little more help on the clan society of the dwarves.

If you keep the numbers and benefits above in mind, you’ll do just fine. There are a lot to remember though.

Who are the dwarves?

To me personally, I think of them as stubborn to change, slow to make friends, but the most loyal once there. I think of curmudgeonly, gruff, hard workers who pride themselves on craftsmanship and patience, but have a lust for gold and practice a conservative hoarding of wealth.

This view changes a bit more when it comes to Tolkein and other inspirations for the race. What doesn’t change is their comfort under the mountains and mining the tunnels. This is a universally agreed upon trait of the dwarf, as is their love of ale.

Adding a dwarf as any class to an adventuring party is a definite asset. typically they show up as Fighter / Thieves and excel at the combination.

It might be time to revisit the dwarf if you haven’t played one for a while. Who are some of your favorites?

Comment below.

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Just a fighter?

It’s time to take a closer look at the AD&D warrior. Anyone can just pick up a stick and whack a goblin – right?

There is far more depth to this standard class than many gamers give credit. It’s not always a mindless brute with a club.

What is a Fighter?

A fighter in AD&D is just what the name suggests, a “Physical Conflict Resolution Specialist“. Fighters primary requisite is strength, there is no doubt. These are hardy adventurers who pick up the blade to make their way in the world.

Fighters specialize in arms and armor, and unfortunately sometimes get viewed as – boring to play.

A Closer Look

The Fighter requires a minimum of 9 Strength, and less known, is the required minimum of a 7 Constitution. Fighters enjoy a d10 per level in Hit points plus any constitution bonuses up to level 9 (after that it’s 3 hp /level). Only fighters with a constitution of 17 or better enjoy additional bonuses to hit points.

Fighters have the best attack table in the game, hands down.

They specialize in weapons and armor, there are no weapons, armor or shields barred from use for the warriors of the world.

At ninth level, the simple fighter may become a lord by building a castle or hold and clearing an area of 20-50 miles of foul beasts. (I assume our friend Gary Gygax meant enemies of the local land and people since fighters are allowed any alignment). This attracts a body of men-at-arms and mercenaries.

They may then collect 7 SP per month, per inhabitant of the freehold! This doesn’t sound like a lot, but keep gathering a following, and it’s income you don’t need to adventure for.

The Most Common

The Fighter is the most common character in the game, it’s really what the game was centered on during its’ inception. It’s likely been played by every gamer at least once or twice. The fighter is uncomplicated with spells, extra sneaking abilities, or extra tables. Therefore, gets thought of as “Vanilla”.

The Human fighter probably gets the worst reputation of all as being the most boring to play. Rethink this role by considering inspiration such as Conan the Barbarian, Tarzan, Ancient Gladiators, The Apache defenders, Samurai, Vikings, Musketeers, Spartans, Mongol Horsemen, and hundreds of others throughout history and you begin to see that the warrior is as diverse as your imagination.

The Uncommon

Allow your mind to step outside of a battered peasant from England in your game for a moment. Attach a little bit of real world history to the game world and the fighter gets exciting. Historically, Traders traveled the Silk Roads that spread from Java, to China, India, Persia, Arabia, Somalia (Africa), to Egypt and Europe. Each of those lands had fearsome warriors. There are probably more real-world examples of incredible fighters than any of the other classes. You are not bound by just the white picket fence of standard RPGs. ROLE play that sucker!

Consider the Somali warrior in service to the Sultan in the Adal Empire. They were fearsome in battle, and not considered nearly enough in classic RPGs. This is only one small possibility that keeps the vanilla fighter from being a piece of background scenery.

The Heroes!

Fighters are the classic “Hero” of adventures. They are give two sub-classes right from the get-go in AD&D (Paladin and Ranger). The pure fighter though, deserves some attention, and some imaginative application of historical examples.

Human Fighter? YES thank you! It means anything from a wild Neanderthal, to a silver-tongued swashbuckler. The fighter is likely the most diverse and powerful class in the game. Grab it by the codpiece and roleplay the hell out of it!!

What are some of your favorite warriors throughout history that might inspire gamers?

pop it in the comments below

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This look at assassination isn’t exactly a look at the class of Assassin (Which is yet to come) but about the act of assassination.

Recently we took a closer look at Half-orcs, who are unlimited in levels of assassin. Things get ‘ugly’ fast.

Both the Half-orc and Assassin class often get overlooked at the AD&D 1E table. You may not realize how deadly things can get!

We will look at the assassin class properly later, but right now a little peek at the act and how it is used in the game… and how the Fail Squad Crew often glazed over and screwed this up.

How it works

An assassin operates as a sub-class of thief, so they can sneak, hide and do all that. they have fewer weapon restrictions and get the use of shields and POISON.

So a thief can sneak up on a victim and get backstab capability, but they ALSO have roughly a 50% chance of out-right KILLING their victim. That’s right – no save. d-e-a-d dead. If that misses, well, that poison bit comes into play, and backstab still counts!

On top of all this, the assassination XP bonuses are pretty generous for an XP table that moves quickly.

What’s more, is it doesn’t need to be officially ‘sneaking up’ in the dark. The victim may simply be unaware, drunk, overly trusting, drugged…. Sometimes danger is right in front of you!

What’s the drawback?

This comes with the heavy drawback of an evil requirement. Most DMs start right off the top of their games saying, “Just no evil characters”. It may be up to us to relax the ‘no evil’ ruling a little bit and accept that an evil character CAN operate within a party of PCs. Issues may arise if you have a Paladin on-board, so sometimes it doesn’t work.

Getting caught can be a messy business in town and require some side-role play that doesn’t involve the entire party. In a dungeon setting though, this becomes more workable.

Assassination and the DM

The part I often forgot as a DM is that assassination houses exist. If a hit is out on a player character or an NPC you have a pretty good chance of ending up with a DEAD victim. It can also be a plot device or focus point.

Trying to clear out an assassin guild sounds like a great quest for a paladin. Friends cheer, the tavern is a buzz with helpful citizens hoping to aid the holy knight rid their city of the scourge! Helpful folks, who seem like friends, working for the guild, who get a backstab and 50% chance of killing the victim – is suddenly a little unnerving.

Less scrupulous players or NPCs can hire assassins, the fees exist in the books.

This DM will stop over-looking this deadly act in AD&D, and start considering how it fits into the campaign world. For good or evil, the art of killing is there, and deserves a little respect from us.

I admit to forgetting how deadly the class was intended until I saw the table again.

This table exists in the AD&D DMG Easley cover Page 75. This table becomes the assassins friend whenever they get the drop on a victim, BEFORE there is a roll for poison and backstab damage!

So bust out those assassins again on BOTH sides of the screen and make the night deadly!

Tell us about your favorite assassin in the comments below!

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A Visit with Half-Orcs

Today we take a closer look at half-orcs of AD&D, where they come from and how they get used.

Often considered rude, crude, obnoxious and brimming with muscle… well, ok, those rumors might be true. Half-orcs are a favorite of gamers looking to hack and slash their way through situations when that thinking stuff gets in the way.

Our Friend Gary Gygax describes them as such:

Orcs are fecund and create many cross-breeds, most of the offspring of such being typically orcish. However, some one-tenth of orc-human mongrels are sufficiently non-orcish to pass for human.

Being Orcish

The Players Handbook (AD&D 1E Easley cover Pg 17) refers to the monster manual ORC heading for details of the core race. These are the days when orcs resembled pigs in many respects. They had pinkish snouts, piggy ears, and bristles. They are prone to violence and fighting at any moment, and breed with anything (ANYTHING). The Monster Manual suggests or-goblins, orc-hobgoblins, and orc-humans. They cannot interbreed with elves, but one has to wonder what else orcs have bred with!

The general race is Lawful Evil, but the player character types are of the upper 10% of those spawned from orc and human mixing.

The Limitations

Half-orcs may pose a challenge for some if you stick with racial level limits in the rules as written. They only progress to level 4 as clerics, 10 as fighter, 8 as thief, but are allowed various combinations. One of the more interesting is Assassin(U)/Cleric(4). In these combinations, half-orcs are only restricted by the lesser class when it comes to armor use.

The curse of multiclass follows in that, even after attaining level 4 in cleric, the character must split their XP for the rest of their career.

Half-orcs, because of their lineage, are assumed crude unlikable bullies. It’s almost true, in that a -2 penalty is imposed on half-orc Charisma, which could only be a maximum of 12. This is in regards to other races however, and 12 isn’t terrible.

Most DMs will apply some social stigma for players who bear obvious orc characteristics, and rightly so in many human or partly fey settlements.

The Benefits

+1 bonuses to Strength and Constitution is a tempting offer for a fighter. Unlimited in assassin levels may be important IF, as a player, you can contain yourself to operate within a party setting. For the long haul campaign this might be tempting.

Infravision to 60′? Yes please. Without that pesky orcish -1 in sunlight.

Combination of classes, especially fighter/assassin offers a powerful character. The attack table of a warrior, with the backstab and the 50/50 assassination table rolls makes a deadly creature that also offers interesting role play opportunities.

Thanks for the Half-orc

Dave Sutherland made a derpy looking dude peeking out from behind the other races for the PLayers Handbook. A million people laughed at the expression on his face, but we knew the potential that was lay hidden under that drawing!

What are some of your favorite Half-Orc Heroes?

Comment below

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Fail Squad Games Gamers have been screwing this up for a long time. It ‘s time to take a closer look at race.

Character Races

One of the beautiful things about AD&D was the mechanical balance. Many newer gamers don’t care for the restrictions, but it is these restrictions that keeps much of the strategy and cooperation in the game. Unfortunately, it’s the Racial limits and restrictions that often get house ruled, glazed over, or forgotten.

Another thing of beauty regarding the AD&D books is they walk a player through character creation chronologically and logically. First came the Stats, and now choose a race, then a class.

What is race?

Let’s take a look at what race is in game terms. Unlike our real world which defines this by skin color, AD&D uses a clearer distinction, and perhaps a more proper one.

After a player has determined the abilities of their character, it is then time to decide of what racial stock the character is to be. For purposes of the game the racial stocks are limited to the following: dwarven, elven, gnome,half-elven, halfling, half-orc, and human.

In later books a wider selection would be allowed, and in Unearthed Arcana  (Considered AD&D 1.5) many restrictions were eased. Your DM should decide if they are going to use UA and Dungeoneer’s Survival Guide when starting a game.

Racial Restrictions

The races have various bonuses and restrictions, but through it all Gygax kept a tight rein on them. Humans were the most common creature throughout fantasy hero stories, and there had to be a reason. Humans are versatile, adaptable, and quick to embrace change. This is reflected in the charts that follow the race selection section of the AD&D Player’s Handbook (Easley Cover) Page 13. (click on the image for full size view)

Many of these restrictions and reasons for them are peppered throughout the text, they are simply summed up conveniently on Page 13. Let’s take a look at the story we are being told and how it often gets mis-used or house-ruled.

Classes in CAPS are major classes (Fighter, Magicuser, Cleric, Thief (Monk). lowercase classes are sub-classes. The letters in the parenthesis are alignment restrictions. This table has A LOT of information coming at you all at once. Yes or No indicates if it is allowed.

Table II

Classes in CAPS are major classes (Fighter, Magicuser, Cleric, Thief (Monk). lowercase classes are sub-classes. A number indicates the greatest level that character can attain, U is unlimited, and (Where we screwed things up), numbers in a parenthesis means that is the maximum level possible but it is ONLY allowed for NPCs. 

That’s right, Humans clearly dominate the ‘known world’ in religion (and other professions). There were no Dwarf, Elf, Gnome Clerics that were player characters. No Halfling Clerics. Half-orcs can only reach level 4 and half-elves level 5 in Cleric, while humans are unlimited in their holy power across the board.

Furthermore, many of these maximum limits are only the maximum if the character has an exceptional prime requisite.

To House Rule or Not?

The question comes up quickly, “Well if this is the case, why the hell would I play a non-human race?”

That may have been exactly Gary Gygax’s point. Humans have a bonus and a benefit; unlimited power.

But frequently complaining players and DMs desperate for a happy table, acquiesce and over-rule racial level limits and others.

Has anyone tried the game enforcing the rules as written? It seems like a broken and restricted thing, but it retains a firm balance. Let’s not forget there are half-orc bonuses, infravision and more. Yes they may be limited to level 4 cleric, but they can be a Fighter/Cleric. A level 8 half-elven wizard is still a being of power in the game, if it is not heavily adjusted.

I have found myself DMming games that had power rapidly spinning out of my control and I didn’t know why. Much of it was because I allowed these balancing restrictions to be lifted. The end result at mid to higher levels was the game stopped being fun.

The Fail Squad Games advice would likely be to house rule these limits with caution, and try the game with them for a while before discussing alterations with the group. Allow an opportunity to re-visit the house-rule later if you feel it slipping out of control and want to rescind it.

Racial Table III

There is a third racial table that follows and it illustrates the limits and minimum stats required to play the various races. Much of this was covered in previous articles on Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, Charisma, and Comeliness.

Which race is best?

I think this is where our friend Gary Gygax succeeds every time. It’s the one you want to play! AD&D has a definite game strategy and mechanic balance. A successful party has at least one of each class, and perhaps an extra race sprinkled in on occasion.  With Modules like Tomb of Horrors, living forever was never guaranteed, and chances are, you would get to play another character pretty soon anyway.

Do you house rule racial level and ability limits?

comment below.

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Possibly one of the more wide ranging stats that AD&D uses, but the one with the least misuse. It still may harbor a surprise or two, so let’s take a closer look.

Previously we looked at Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and now it’s time for the “dump stat” or is it a dump stat?

Our Friend Gary Gygax described Charisma for AD&D this way (1E AD&D Players Handbook Easley Cover Page 13):

Charisma is the measure of the character’s combined physical attractiveness, persuasiveness, and personal magnetism.

The paragraph goes on to acknowledge that characters can be charismatic but not physically attractive. So again Gary knew he was summing up various aspects of a person into one stat block. Indeed later on in Unearthed Arcana, the Comeliness stat was added. This was used to describe a characters physical attractiveness.

The charisma table sets racial and class limits on the numbers.

• 5 or lower, the character can ONLY be an Assassin

If this doesn’t inspire you for a villain of the most vile traits imaginable… I don’t know what would.

• 8 is the minimum for an Elf character
• 12 is the best a half-orc can hope for
• 15 is the bare minimum for a Druid
• 16 is the maximum for a dwarf
• 17 (as many are aware) is the minimum required for the natural leadership role of Paladin

So how do you screw this up?

The Henchmen aspect of Charisma often gets confused. It is NOT the number of workers, servants, or people in the characters employ. Henchmen are Non-player-characters who serve as permanent retainers.

Another mistake we often make with Charisma is to assume it is what we call a “Dump Stat”. Which is, all the other stats that affect hitting and dodging were attended to, then whatever was left over was ‘dumped’ into Charisma. It was not considered an essential piece of the game.

This should be a clue to DMs. This becomes a center stage ability if you USE it as intended. Getting clues from townsfolk, allowing parlay in the dungeon, an investigation section of your quests suddenly make your players rue dumping their worst number into the CHR. block.

Many Old School players often blend this stat into simple physical appeal. indeed that is PART of the stat, but not all of it. a Goblin can be a charming sort, especially to other goblins.

Which brings us to the notes below the Charisma table. The racial maximums on Charisma ONLY apply to those of different races. A Dwarf with an 18 charisma still has an 18 charisma as far as all the dwarves are concerned. The humans and other races will only perceive it as a 16. This exception also applies to half-orcs.

Have you used Charisma as a Dump stat? Did you need to house-rule it?
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Also see the articles on Strength, Intelligence, Wisdom, Dexterity, Constitution, and Charisma.

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