Hill Cantons Compendium, Extended Dance Mix

Whine and ye shall receive.

After my last round of public wool gathering about how blog content seems to float away into the ether—and my general preference for dead plant matter media—Kenneth the Often Slain (in the Austin iteration of the Hill Cantons), did me a highly generous turn. Taking a number of non-Domain Game related posts he spliced the related content with the Hill Cantons Compendium, my previously-released compilation of quirky home-campaign variants, into one 30-page package.

Getting beyond the first page of HC setting fluff and house rules there is a truckload of other stuff that may be of value for other tinkering souls playing Classic D&D/Labyrinth Lord-style games including such things various and sundry as:

• Five variant Classic D&D/LL-compatible classes: the Mountebank, Feral Dwarf, Lankmarian White Wizard, Half-Ogre, and Black “Halflings”.
  
  
• A variant experience point system, character death, magical research and retainer/follower system.
  
  
• Variant rules for Charisma, reputation, and simple attribute checks.
  
  
• That previously much harped-on character background mini-game with quick random equipment charts.
  
  
• Simple expanded options for killing and being killed.
  
  
• New weapons and armor and some simple variant rules.
  
  
• Zero-level character generation and play rules.

In keeping with my usual personal disdain for things commercial, you can find it for free here on Lulu.

(The at-cost print version is available here.)

Zero-Level Play

Each cycle of hype and release of new old-styled, commercially-produced rpgs elicits a (mostly) silent groan from me. Seems like one can not toss the proverbial stone into the OSR blogosphere without hitting a post about LotFP Grindhouse or Dungeon Crawl Classics. Cranky contrarian thoughts aside though, its undeniable especially in DCC's case there are some intriguing ideas percolating in the minds of Goodman Games.

For one, the game looks like it is expanding gameplay “downward” (much in the way that I have been thinking about rediscovering or unlocking gameplay upward in the Domain Game) to “zero-level play,” a concept I have been interested in ever since seeing Lenard Lakofka's overly-complex system in Dragon magazine way back when. 

I really like the idea of players going down even deeper into schlubiness; exploring their own origin story at the table. Rather than just talk about it, I reworked, trimmed down and synthesized some of my own chargen subsystems as a starting point for some simple guidelines for such play for older edition D&D.

The PDF for the full zero-level system can be downloaded here. Feel free to chime in about any suggestions.

Rules for Zero-Level Play

• All characters start at zero-level “normal men” with 1d6 hit points and Neutral alignment.
  
  
• Zero-level characters can be rolled using the alternate chargen and equipment tables below (see PDF).
  
  
• Human or elven characters with INT 13 or over start with one cantrip (0-level MU spell) OR human characters with WIS 13 or over start with one orison (0 level Cleric spell). Only one such type of spell can be chosen. See this BFRPG supplement for a list of spells (or use a comparable system).
  
  
• Any character with DEX 13 or over can attempt thief skills at -4%, all others at -10%. (Hear Noise is the same as first-level.)
  
  
• A zero-level character receives no extra AC benefits from armor heavier than chain mail due to unfamiliarity with its usage. Similarly use of weapons over 1d6 in damage convey a -1 to damage.
  
  
• At the completion of the party's first successful adventure (this can span multiple sessions at the GM's discretion) and a year of training the character levels up to 1^st level. In consultation with GM, player picks class and alignment based on performance and experience in the adventure. Fighter and other warrior types receive an extra hitpoint after training, magic-users lose one from making deals with various eldritch forces. All other class abilities for 1^st level characters are assumed as normal.