Combat stuff

Barnett’s Critical hit rule

On a natural 20 several things happen

1 Unless there is a ‘DM over rule’ the player has hit.

2 Damage is MAXIMUM damage of the weapon plus a damage roll then add all your bonus
numbers.

Example

Player with a +3 dagger (1D4 damage) and +3 strength bonus hit a troll.

Player rolls a natural 20 so it’s a hit and a critical.

Player rolls ‘2’ on a D4 as the daggers damage.

Step one: The dagger deals MAXIMUM damage. That’s 4 for the weapon PLUS 3 for the magical
bonus PLUS 3 for the strength bonus of the player. For a total of 10 damage.

Step two: Resolve the damage for the dagger normally, player rolled a ‘2’for the dagger and add the
+3 magical bonus and the +3 strength bonus for a total of 8.

Add the MAXIMUM damage and the normal damage together.

10 + 8 = 18

So, a total of 18 damage was delivered.

Paul’s design notes about the critical hit.

This was added about 17 years ago to my gaming. Not by me I might add but another Dm who I liked a
lot. We took it through all versions of our D&D. It means that a player who gets a natural 20 critical hit
feels good. Now, after using the system for years it has some ‘quirks’ and I thought I would note them
here.

What about monsters you can’t hit like a ghost or things that need special weapons?

I still let them hit, even if it means I need to think on my feet as a DM. For instance, I might decide that
they fail to do any damage, or they might only distract the target. If it was a ghost I would have it lost its
ghost like body and reform into flesh for a second and look quite surprised it was hit before reacting.

Some of the best moments come when the players do something impossible. The point being that the
roll means ‘something’ happened. If damage is impractical or impossible them give them some other
moment.

This the same for monsters do they get this massive damage increase?
I say this is a DM’s choice, if the monster will just auto kill the players you can just replace it with a
number you like or allow the monster to do some great action or effect to make the combat harder.
DM’s should use good judgement in line with the style of game they are playing.

Isn’t this going to explode the damage curve?

Yep, it can catch the DM flat when the players get three in one combat, but hey that’s gaming. I find that
if they get a great roll its best to let them have the moment.

What about abilities or weapons that allow critical hits on numbers below a 20?

I don’t give them out, if you do then I would say that only the natural 20 gets this rule, other numbers
get the standard double damage rule.

What if I want to change the rule, say only the damage dice roll is maximum and you only apply the
item of player stat bonus once?

Go right ahead, it’s a house rule not an immutable law.

One of my players has is using this rule and gaming the system, the damage they are doing is now
ridiculous.

Have a good think about the group you want and the game style you want to play. Talk, debate, listen
and adjust. If that’s not working then don’t use the rule. I would also suggest getting the ground rules for
fair play sorted out with your group for the rest of your adventuring time.

Spells and magic items and all that jazz

My game world is God heavy, they are like the Greek gods, they appear, talk, interact and mess with
people. As a result, faith is not what you believe, but what you actually experience. It’s as real as fire or
hunger. I wanted to have a simple system to decide if the Gods wanted to play. I needed something
simple and something that wouldn’t just be abused. Over the years its mutated into a reactive and
proactive system. Sometimes the players call on the Gods help, other times as the DM I have a look to
see if the Gods care. As ever I freely overrule as the situation needs.

Barnett’s ‘Cleric Advantage’ rule

Basics of the concept

You gain advantage rolls when you do things your God has within their realm. So, if you follow Naria the
Goddess of healing then all your healing dice are at advantage. Follow Demin the God of luck then get
advantage on anything that’s lucky.

Isn’t this very powerful?

Yep sure is, but then in my world the Gods turn up all the time. And if a Cleric fails to live up to the Gods
realm then punishment happens. It’s a serious business to act on behalf on a God that likes to teleport
around and be visible to the players.
Barnett’s ‘Calling on your God for aid’ rule
At any time, a player can seek their God to respond to them

DM decides if the check can even happen. If the check can happen then it’s the level of the player
character as a % chance. Or 15% whichever is higher.

Who can do this, any character or any class?

Yes, its about having faith, not about being a cleric.

What happens if the player makes the roll?

Depends on the situation, was the call worthwhile? Is the player following the God well? How much
danger are the players in? Once the roll is successful I allow all manner of boosts, benefits, God
interactions, heck if tis warranted I will have the God appear, or perhaps send an Avatar. Look its divine
attention, sometimes they notice and just give you a bonus or instant success. BUT, however it happens,
it should be clear to all that its happening BECAUSE the God paid attention.

My player keep using this all the time, its ruining the game.

Punish them, you trifle with the Gods at your own risk. If they players are gaming the system, game
them back. Also try to educate them.

Are there other ways to use this idea?

Sometimes if the players are doing badly and they just miss a roll I will offer them a chance to see if the
God pays attention.

Example;

In one adventure the Human Thief Henrick Half-hand had just missed opening a lock to a tomb, Henrick
followed Demin and had been role playing well. So I decided to offer the player the chance to see if
Demin had been paying attention. Henrick gladly accepted the offer, rolled the dice but it failed. Never
mind, sometimes you don’t get the breaks.

This can be a good way to show the Gods being proactive rather than just having the players

Barnett’s ‘Magic items as treasure cards’ system

I have a set of cards that have the treasure items on them. I create several decks of cards, one deck is
generic magic items suitable for the party. I then have a pile for each character, these are items that I
think the player might like or will help develop the player and lastly, I have a pile of cards for wonderous
or ‘plot driven’ magical items.

When sorting out the adventure for the night I use these piles to create the treasure pile for the
adventure. As rooms are looted and treasure discovered I take cards from the piles to create the
treasure the party have discovered.
Sometimes when it feels right I offer the party a hand of cards and allow them to select several as the
treasure.

The cards have the item explanation and a picture on one side, the other side has the details that the
player will learn if and when they get the item identified.

The cards list what the item can do, the experience award for keeping the item and the money value if
they want to sell it.

Don’t you need a lot of cards?

Yep, I bought a load from pathfinder and just used them.

Do you give out a lot of treasure?

Yep, I am low power magic item positive. Lots of treasure cards, lots of things with charges and one-off
uses.

Why do you give an experience point reward with the item?

I allow the player to credit it to their experience point total if they keep the item. I actually use it to
rebalance experience rewards for players how are dropping behind.

Why do you give the value in gold for selling it?

Because I don’t run the sort of adventure where you have to take things back to town and negotiate
with NPC merchants. So, things like training, buying and selling and researching, happens ‘between’
adventure sessions. The party can just go, we don’t want this so we sell it. I take the card back, they get
the money credited to them.

Won’t this give the players a lot of gold?

It can do, that’s why I have my training cost system, it’s a mini economy sink that people can at least
understand. More on that later.

Leveling, gold, encumbrance and travel time

stuff
MY game world is a series of adventures and session, my goal is to have sessions self-contained. I like to
start, encounter and end in a single session. That’s a tall order and means you need to plan the
adventurers accordingly. However, the advantage is that my games survive long breaks as there is no
overhang. Its not for everyone and it can lead to some cut down adventures. The following rules are
used to make that system work a little more smoothly.

Barnett’s ‘Experience you need to level’ system

I like D&D around levels 4-10. I think that’s the sweet spot so I like players to stay around that level. But I
also want to reward them and figure out how to give them progress. The first thing I needed to tackle
was the leveling system. With these problems in mind I did something rather drastic, its really just an
excuse to keep the players grinding in the sweet spot area.

Each time you level your experience points are reset to ZERO in value.

You need to reach the amount of experience for the next level.

When you cross that amount you can level.

You can level for free from levels 1 to 4. From level 5onwards you need to pay gold.

The amount of gold you pay is 10% of the experience needed for you level.

Leveling is instant as long as you have enough experience and if needed the money to pay for
training.

Leveling can only happen at the END of an adventure session.

Example

Fred the fighter is level 3. At the end of the adventure session he has a total of 2,975 experience. That’s
enough to level.

As he is moving from level 3 to level 4 he can level up immediately, because he is still below level 5 the
training is free.

Fred is now a level 4 fighter and has zero experience. He will need to gain 6,501 to become level 5.
When he makes the change from level 4 to 5 he will have to pay for training. The training will be 10% of
the experience need, in this case 650 gold.

When I level I go back to zero experience points?

Yes, which means you take MUCH longer to grind through the levels. That’s the point of the system.

And all experience after I hit what I need to level is lost?

Yes, which means sometimes it sucks. It also means you have a different attitude to treasure, as you
don’t need the experience points.

Leveling will take MUCH longer!

Yes, that’s why I give out treasure and spot rewards, remember my goal was to get players to hang
around in levels 4-10.

When I pay I instantly get trained, even if I am in the middle of a desert and alone?

Yep, I realize it’s a bit mad. The payment is just a way to have an economy sink, it provokes the players
to talk to each other and have party gold.

Won’t this mean that every now and then I start an adventure almost at my next level and ALL the
experience I get is worthless?

Yes, and as a DM I usually allow a player who is near to leveling at the end of a session to ‘round up’. Its
not there as a punishment, its there as a way to control the leveling speed.
Why do you force the leveling at the end of a session?

My adventures are usually self-contained and happen in one session and I find leveling mid game eats
away at the play time. I find this solution is the one that fits my gaming well.

Barnett’s ‘Gaining experience during the game’ system

Players gain experience points during the game usually for completing sections of the adventure.

I will often say, that brings the room to a conclusion, the party get X amount of experience and each
player who did something notable or cool will also get a reward.

I also allow the players to offer up a ‘player reward’ to other players for interesting role play or even for
just doing something that made the people at the table happy. Having players nominate other players
for a reward gives a force feedback loop to the good will of the party.

How do you know how much to award during the adventure?

I do a little house keeping at the start of an adventure, what level are they, how much experience are
they at. I can see the level table. And I do some basic math, then I note it down on a bit of paper. Whats
a low, medium, high and exceptional reward to offer to the players for good play.

It can sound like a lot of book keeping and maybe it is, these days it mostly is stored in my long term
instant access memory so I do it almost automatically.

Barnett’s ‘encumbrance’ system

Unless there is a blinding obvious reason why you should care, assume the players just cope with
encumbrance. I don’t care about gold carried, unless it makes great story sense, things like a dead giant
or huge brass statue, brittle wine jugs or an oil painting in a brass frame for example. I don’t care about
equipment, unless the players are being stupid and insisting on carrying lots of items. I find that players
given some trust with a good natured Dm will self-regulate well.

But gold is heavy and takes up space?

Yeah, I assume its gems, letters of barter and other such concepts to work around that in my head. I am
not running an economy simulator or a survival computer game. I just assume it all works.

Barnett’s ‘restricted races’ rule

I banned a load of races because my world didn’t need them. You can do what you want. I just found it
easier not to have some of the wackier stuff.

Barnett’s ‘Restricted spells and powers’ rule

I like the adventure to be challenging, I like fighters to fight and casters to cast. However, I am not in
favor or everyone being able to do everything, nor am I found of ways to bypass standard problems. My
solution was to out right ban special abilities and spells that I thought made my game world less difficult
and wonderous.

This means that low level, high effect spells are thin on the ground and spells that bypass natural
problems are almost impossible to get. You can’t just fly or teleport or instantly heal everyone or do
mass damage instantly around you. You still get the spells you expect, fireball and lightning bolt and all
that good stuff. I went through the spell lists and crossed out everything I didn’t want the players to be
able to cast at will. Same with the special abilities, things like ‘misty step’ or being able to summon your
weapon o your hand maybe cool, but boy do they make challenges like getting around or being unarmed
almost worthless.

The spells can still be found and used, I just put them on items and limit the uses. One of the best ways
to do this was to limit light spells, its amazing how much you get back when players can’t see. Of course,
I had to limit the night vision and under dark vision for the races for balance.

Now this idea is not for everyone and some players will HATE it. So feel free to discard this idea. The
spell list is here in case you where interested as well as a list of all the special abilities and races I culled.