Advanced Dungeons & Dragons - Simple Q&A

[Yora]

Those threads are very popular in the 3rd and 4th edition forums, so why not do one here as well for AD&D?

Please number your questions as Q# and mark your answers with A#, so people can easily see what answers reply to which questions. I think the two editions of AD&D are similar enough not not require separate threads. If a question is specific to one edition, include that in your post.

Q1: Are the critical hits in AD&D?

[hamlet]

A#1: It depends on which version of AD&D you're talking about and the DM. In 1st edition AD&D, they were not really a part of the rules, but were a frequent house rule. They first showed up in Dragon Magazine and were a bit convoluted.

In 2nd edition AD&D, they were an optional rule and there were various flavors of them throughout the run of the edition ranging from "double damage on a natural 20" all the way to the powers and options books which included extensive charts and rules on when a hit was actually a critical hit and which die you were to roll on which chart etc. Most folks favored "double damage on a natural 20."

[Thrudd]

Q1: Are the critical hits in AD&D?

A1: None in 1e. Optional rules for them in 2e, a few different variations presented in DMG and Combat & Tactics Supplement.
The simple option is double damage on a natural 20. Another version is getting an extra attack on a natural 20. The Combat & Tactics version is more complex, the roll must be natural 18+ and must hit by at least 5. The target must make a save vs. death or suffer a specific injury. There is a series of tables for determining specific critical hit locations and different wound status depending on weapon type and target type.

I think each question should include which edition, since often the answers will be different despite the games' similarities.

[Jay R]

Q1: Are the critical hits in AD&D?

A1: My group always used the Critical Hits and Fumbles table from Dragon #39.

[Yora]

Q2: How do touch spells work? If a cleric casts reverse cure light wounds, he has to make an attack roll to touch the target, which then does not get a saving throw. What if the attack roll fails? Can the cleric try again as much as he likes?

[hamlet]

Q2: How do touch spells work? If a cleric casts reverse cure light wounds, he has to make an attack roll to touch the target, which then does not get a saving throw. What if the attack roll fails? Can the cleric try again as much as he likes?

A2 That depends on GM adjudication. I've seen it played both ways, actually where the spell remains until it is successfully employed or until the cleric casts a different spell and that if you miss on the attack roll, the spell is wasted. Something to ask the DM about.

Personally, I've ruled it both ways myself, depending on the tone of the campaign. Dark and gritty type of campaign generally means that it'll be wasted. More superhero style? Might be a bit more persistent.

[JadedDM]

Q2: How do touch spells work? If a cleric casts reverse cure light wounds, he has to make an attack roll to touch the target, which then does not get a saving throw. What if the attack roll fails? Can the cleric try again as much as he likes?

In 2E, specifically, the rules state, "When a touch spell is cast, it normally remains effective only for that round. However, certain spells do specify special conditions or durations. Be sure to check each spell description carefully."

So, using Cause Light Wounds, for instance, if you miss the attack roll, the spell fizzles because the description does not specify otherwise.

[Yora]

Q3: What does it mean when a character is 0th level? What abilities does he get? AS&SH has even 0th level thieves and wizards. Is there such a thing in AD&D? Level 0 fighters appear in the THAC0 tables.

Q4: Does anyone know how many HD a 2nd level kuo-toa cleric or a 3rd level frost giant has? Both examples appear frequently, but to my knowledge there never where any rules for it. Has anyone heard something different?

[hamlet]

Q3: What does it mean when a character is 0th level? What abilities does he get? AS&SH has even 0th level thieves and wizards. Is there such a thing in AD&D? Level 0 fighters appear in the THAC0 tables.

A3 A 0th level character/NPC is, really, just the rank and file denizens of the world. Basically, it's Bob down the street. He's just Bob and no matter how well he might please his wife come romance time (sorry, USA joke), he's not gonna really get any better than he is. They typically have only a single roll of the HD and, at least in 2nd edition, might actually have just a set number of hp ranging from 1 to 10, probably closer somewhere to 4 or 5 depending on what job they hold.

There are, really, not any 0th level thieves or wizards. Or at least there aren't any real rules for it except for some rather arcane rules for 0th level PC's that cropped up here and there back in the day. Not worth the effort. Could a 0 level NPC have thief skills? Sure! As the DM, you just assigned him appropriate skills and off you went.

That's kind of the beauty of AD&D. If Bob of Enzite needs to be the absolute best blacksmith in the world, the DM can simply state that he is and . . .well . . . that's it. Nobody's gonna match Bob in hammering out horseshoes and plowshares.

Q4: Does anyone know how many HD a 2nd level kuo-toa cleric or a 3rd level frost giant has? Both examples appear frequently, but to my knowledge there never where any rules for it. Has anyone heard something different?

A4: OK, proviso: I'm answering based on my understanding here, I'm not aware if there's a definite answer in the rules to this one.

That said . . .

There are not, to my knowledge, hard and fast rules on how this works. I can see it working a couple of ways.

1. A Kuo Toa that's a 2nd level cleric could simply be a standard Kuo Toa that happens to have the abilities of a 2nd level cleric (spell casting, turning/controlling undead, etc) but not the extra HD. There are rules on figuring out how that works out in terms of XP in all the DMG's out there.

2. It could mean that it's a standard Kuo Toa with 2 HD added on top of his normal and the powers of the cleric added in. In which case he'll be worth more XP and be more powerful.

As for Kuo Toa, I think that it's actually specified how it works, at least in the 2nd edition MM, but I'd have to actually look and I can't right now.

[Thrudd]

Q4: Does anyone know how many HD a 2nd level kuo-toa cleric or a 3rd level frost giant has? Both examples appear frequently, but to my knowledge there never where any rules for it. Has anyone heard something different?

A4: This is not clearly explained anywhere, it is true. The way I read it is that the minimum HD any creature has it what is indicated by the monster entry in the book, and any class levels at or below that level to not add any HD (though it will increase the XP award for the creature because of special class abilities). Class levels above the normal HD for the base creature add HD appropriately. Levels are only mentioned when the creature has class abilities: it's never just a 2nd level kuo toa, it's always a 2nd level kuo toa cleric, assassin, whatever.

examples - A 3rd level frost giant shaman has the normal 10HD for frost giants, but can cast 1st and 2nd level cleric spells from the shaman list.
A 2nd level kuo toa assassin has 2HD like all kuo toa, with appropriate thief and assassin abilities.

Also note, in the adventures where you see this sort of thing (GDQ, mainly), they say things like "Frost Giant Jarl fights as a Fire Giant" when they want to make a stronger Frost Giant, rather than saying he is a "level 2 frost giant chieftain" or "level 11 frost giant". Since the maximum level of shaman or witch doctor for any creature is 7th, there will never be a giant with extra HD from class levels.

Kuo Toa and Drow, on the other hand, are almost always found with class levels exceeding that of the base monster entry. I believe this is because they were designed specifically for the GDQ modules as threats for high level characters. There are very few other types of monsters written this way, with class levels and HD advancement, Githyanki and Githzerai are the only others I can think of right now, also very high level threats.

[1eGuy]

Q1: Are the critical hits in AD&D?

In 1e, a 20 hits an opposing AC 5 steps better than it "should".

Q2: How do touch spells work? If a cleric casts reverse cure light wounds, he has to make an attack roll to touch the target, which then does not get a saving throw. What if the attack roll fails? Can the cleric try again as much as he likes?

Not specified in 1e; normally played that the attack roll is the victim's save and if it misses the spell is lost. Also, attacking something that is not affected by the spell such as undead and werewolves, the spell is wasted in any event.

Q3: What does it mean when a character is 0th level? What abilities does he get? AS&SH has even 0th level thieves and wizards. Is there such a thing in AD&D? Level 0 fighters appear in the THAC0 tables.

Ability scores are restricted to 6-15 and hit points are normally in the range of 1-7, but may be less. Attack ability is 1 less than a 1st level fighter. Town guards and other men-at-arms are 0-level, while clerks and merchants are technically even lower level, although no one cares enough to worry about that, usually.

Q4: Does anyone know how many HD a 2nd level kuo-toa cleric or a 3rd level frost giant has? Both examples appear frequently, but to my knowledge there never where any rules for it. Has anyone heard something different?

The rules are in D&DG (L&L). Each level of shaman above 1st (clerical) grants 1d4 hp and every two levels add one HD for the purposes of attacking ability.

Each level of witch doctor (cleric/magic user) adds 1d4+1 per level after 1st while levels are equal. Once cleric exceeds magic user, only 1d4 is gained per level.

A 2nd level kuo-toa cleric would have 2d8+1d4 hp and fight as 3HD monsters. A 3rd level frost giant shaman would have (10d8+1d4)+2d4 hp and fight as a 11HD or 12HD monster in 1e, depending on how the DM interprets the standard d4hp bonus all frost giants have.

[Storm_Of_Snow]

Q3: What does it mean when a character is 0th level? What abilities does he get? AS&SH has even 0th level thieves and wizards. Is there such a thing in AD&D? Level 0 fighters appear in the THAC0 tables.

You've kind of answered your own question with the last sentence - level 0 characters have no appreciable combat skills. They might be ok in a bar fight, they might even train once a week or so with a spear or a bow as part of a local militia, but against a trained soldier or watchman who either trains or uses their weapons every day, when there's a very real chance of death or dismemberment, they'd be in trouble and most likely surrender or flee.

Whilst belligerent races like Orcs and Goblins, and the average semi-trained quasi-professional adventurer, are yet another step beyond.

For skills and abilities, it would really depend on what the DM thinks they should have - an Oliver Twist-type NPC operating for the local thieves guild might have the equivalent of, say, level 5 thieves skills for pick pocket and climb walls, but be level 0 otherwise. A blacksmith may have higher hit points, a slightly better armour class (heavy leather blacksmiths apron) and possibly a +1 to hit (he checks each weapon he makes is ok before handing it over the buyer, so he's slightly more proficient than the average person, but not up to the level of someone who trains on a regular basis). A mayors clerk may be conversant in several languages, especially if they're on the border with another land or a lot of foreign trade passes through the town. And so on.

[2E Phoinex]

They might be ok in a bar fight, they might even train once a week or so with a spear or a bow as part of a local militia, but against a trained soldier or watchman who either trains or uses their weapons every day, when there's a very real chance of death or dismemberment, they'd be in trouble and most likely surrender or flee.

Still, isn't the game flooded with 0th level soldiers and watchmen? The impression I've gotten from the rules is that an army of even 1st or 2nd level fighters should be considered an elite group indeed.

[Rhynn]

Still, isn't the game flooded with 0th level soldiers and watchmen? The impression I've gotten from the rules is that an army of even 1st or 2nd level fighters should be considered an elite group indeed.

Yes. Most watchmen, guards, and even professional warriors are "0-level men" (who use that 0-level fighter attack row). This includes, for instance, all those mercenaries you can hire (1E DMG page 30, 2E DMG somewhere in there).

AD&D 1E DMG, page 30: "Note that regular soldiers are 0 level men-at-arms with 4-7 hit points each." Serjeants are 1st-level fighters, lieutenants are 2nd-3rd level fighters, and captains are 5th-8th level fighters.

[1eGuy]

Still, isn't the game flooded with 0th level soldiers and watchmen? The impression I've gotten from the rules is that an army of even 1st or 2nd level fighters should be considered an elite group indeed.

That's right, and a 9th level fighter will attack and probably kill 9 of them per round. High level fighters are one-(wo)man-armies in 1e when set against normal soldiers.

[Yora]

Q5: The Wilderness Survival Guide mentions that a character who does not eat or drink gets the distressed condition. There it says distressed characters doing hard work get exhausted instead of fatigued if they fail a check. Are Fatigue and Exhaustion defined terms in AD&D, as they are in 3rd edition, or is that line merely flavor text?

[D+1]

A1: In 1E, only if you want them to be. Dragon was hardly the first place where the idea was suggested nor the only place a system could be found. Arduin Grimoire had the most notorious examples of critical hit tables long before anything appeared in Dragon. 2E rules was much the same, though official options were available. I'd note that the attack matrices in 1E, though they do allow a 20 to hit armor classes 5 places higher than the die roll alone would indicate, is not really equivalent to a "critical hit" - which has always been represented as the opportunity to do GREATER than normal damage. The "repeated 20's" on the 1E combat matrix was done deliberately to prevent high AC opponents from being "hit proof" - PC's would almost always stand a chance to hit. A 1st level fighter can thus hit AC-5 without any other bonuses. Add in a few plusses for strength, dex, or magic and he can hit anything in the MM (which does not present any monster with an AC better than -8).

A2: As noted, it isn't detailed so the DM is free to run it as he sees fit. IMO, in 1E in particular, however, there shouldn't be much reason to make it any harder to succeed with a touch spell than it already is. Just completing the spell means the caster has to be in melee range of a target which subjects the caster to much greater vulnerability just successfully casting at all. 2E combat rules are a bit more forgiving for casters but they are still at a disadvantage casting touch spells at all, much less if you add on requirements "to hit" a victim.

A3: DMG index says "See Also, 'Inhabitants, Typical'" when you look up "Zero Level Characters" On p.88 it gives notes on "Typical Inhabitants" and says "The bulk of hte people met... will be average folk, with no profession as adventurers know it, and no special abilities for clericism, fighting, magic, or theivery. They are simply typical, normal people (as you define typical and normal for the milieu, of course)." Hit points and to-hit adjustments then are given for such people based on sex and level of physcial activity of their general lives. From sedentary female having 1-3hp and -3 to-hit up to laboring males with 2-7hp and no to-hit adjustment beyond attacking as "0-level" on the combat matrix.

A5: Those terms should be defined by WSG as that is a WSG rule. Effects and conditions are not otherwise universally defined in AD&D and actually can even vary a lot, depending upon the spell description or whatever. "Fatigued", ofr example, doesn't have a definition. The spell or other game effect should explain what "fatigued" means for the character in that case, or refer you to some other effect that did define it (which may not be the same as every other reference to being "fatigued"). Wilderness Survival Guide (and Dungeoneer's SG) may perhaps be an indication of the idea that such terms SHOULD have definitions that apply across the game, but it isn't going to say, "This rule now supersedes any previous explanation of what it means to be "fatigued". It applies to THAT rule rule in THAT instance. As always with AD&D - the DM gets to decide differently.

[Thrudd]

Q5: The Wilderness Survival Guide mentions that a character who does not eat or drink gets the distressed condition. There it says distressed characters doing hard work get exhausted instead of fatigued if they fail a check. Are Fatigue and Exhaustion defined terms in AD&D, as they are in 3rd edition, or is that line merely flavor text?

A5- as mentioned, the terms are defined in the WSG. It is on page 88, near the end of the book. A better organized book might have put this at the beginning, but that's 1e TSR for you. Fatigued means you get -2 on all abilities, attack rolls and saving throws until you can rest uninterrupted for 2 hours. Exhausted gives you an additional -2 from everything, and you must rest uninterrupted for one hour and pass a con check in order to become fatigued again.

[Yora]

Q6: Do you detect anything if you cast detect magic on a doppelganger?

[Thrudd]

Q6: Do you detect anything if you cast detect magic on a doppelganger?

A6: According to the MM, Dopplegangers are of "muteable form" and "actually forms itself into the likeness of the clothing and equipment of the imitated creature as well as the physical features thereof."

So, this version would not be using a magical effect, I would say no. Same for creatures with breath weapons or gaze attacks or special ability to turn invisible...

[hamlet]

A6: No, the dopplegangers' abilities are not magical, but biological. Detect magic is of no assistance there.

Best to create "doppleganger check passwords" for the group.

Of course, said dopplegangers do have ESP after all . . . which was part of the original joke.

[neonchameleon]

A3 A 0th level character/NPC is, really, just the rank and file denizens of the world. Basically, it's Bob down the street. He's just Bob and no matter how well he might please his wife come romance time (sorry, USA joke), he's not gonna really get any better than he is.

Clarification on A5. It's normally the case that a L0 character is a commoner and not going to become great. However there are exceptions. I think there's a canon L0 king (who can therefore be knocked over - but fear the court). There is also the Cavalier class from Unearthed Arcana which sometimes started at level -1.