Your thoughts on starting this game up. It is your game ... Please discuss as a group.

Use the Mystara setting or not. I have most of the gazetteers, which basically include assorted additional rules, maps, country details. Karamekos, not sure of the spelling at the moment. It has all terrain types. I would probably use a generic setting that can be expanded as needed somewhere in Karamekos.

Rolling PCs, abilities would be rolled in order: Strength, Con, Dex, IQ, Wisdom, Charisma & Comliness. Yes, Comliness is not normally used (Unearthed Arcana, AD&D), but it could be useful in some (social) or other situations. Any ability lower than 8 can be adjusted to an 8. Or re-rolled. Max HP to start with. I have my own one page character sheet, basically RP info on one side, combat info on the back side.

Use skills or not ?? I believe these add flavor to a PC. But you can decide. Most would start with 4 skills taken from a (greatly) abbreviated list. A high Wisdom or IQ may allow for an additional 1 or 2 skills.

Need the BECMI rules ?? Probably not, details can matter though. B/X has some changes which would have to be examined. I have B/X, but none of the follow on 3rd party Companion books that expanded the initial 2 books. Someone mentioned a free set of clone rules, I will look into them. This is not 5th edition nor the complications of 3rd.

I usually check in every night, later on. I am in the EST time zone.

Hey all! Looking forward to this game.

Just for the record, I have all the BECMI box sets, the RC, and PDF versions of all of them, so even when I'm not near the books, I have the books.

I don't mind Mystara, but I never really got into the GAZ series as a kid. We'd been playing for so long by the time they came out that the information in them didn't mesh with how we'd developed our campaign just using the Expert Set and Isle of Dread information, so we never used most of it.

I'd be happy with a homebrew world, to be honest.

IMO, skills aren't really necessary. Part of what I like about Classic D&D in many forms is just how easy it is to play, without lots of finicky stuff like that. It's not a deal breaker if everyone else wants them. I just prefer to keep it simple and get to adventuring!

DM: Is weapon mastery in play?

Thoughts on adding skills to your PC. Most will start with 4 skills of your choice. A higher IQ gains additional languages & skills.

  13-15 = gain one language & 2 additional skills
  16-17 = gain 2 languages & 3 additional skills
  18 = gain 3 languages & 4 additional skills


Starting Social Standing, taken from Karameikos gazetteer. This is a percentage roll. Optional, to you want to use it ??


Weapon Mastery = I was going to use it in a generic sense, each mastery level gives you various bonuses. Many of the maneuvers (if you will) can be taken as skills instead.

Mystara is fine. I don't know it all that well, just some placenames.


Yes, rolling in order. I prefer 3d6 straight, at least so long as players whose characters die can come back in immediately with a new character.


Prefer not to use skills, especially if it's going to mean that spellcasters have even more advantages over fighters.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 14:42, Sun 23 July 2023.

In reply to Vrigori (msg # 4):

Birahu, you missed the 'A' DM. Thank you for adding me, greetings all.

06:31, Today: Birhu rolled 7 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 2,3,2.  comliness.

06:30, Today: Birhu rolled 16 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 4,6,6.  cha.

06:30, Today: Birhu rolled 12 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 2,5,5.  wisdom.

06:30, Today: Birhu rolled 12 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 6,3,{1}3.  int.

06:30, Today: Birhu rolled 12 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 5,4,3.  con.

06:29, Today: Birhu rolled 12 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 5,2,5.  dex.

06:29, Today: Birhu rolled 16 using 3d6, rerolling ones with rolls of 6,5,5.  strength

I rolled that 7 for comeliness and just laughed at how good the other rolls were!

Hi - Arandyl the elf here. I notice we cannot edit character sheets. My scores are below. Skills or no skills, matters not to me, but I do prefer a homebrewed world, sandbox style.  Glad to be a part of the game and look forward to the roleplay.

21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 13 using 3d6.  COM.
21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 13 using 3d6.  CHA.
21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 10 using 3d6.  WIS.
21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 10 using 3d6.  IQ.
21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 8 using 3d6.  CON.
21:33, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 14 using 3d6.  DEX.
21:32, Yesterday: Arandyl rolled 13 using 3d6.  STR.

In reply to Arandyl (msg # 7):

I have no sheet at all. Needless to say, I can't edit either! ;-)

Birahu

Vrigori is apparently a somewhat attractive thief, but below average on most other things. I don't expect him to last very long.

If starting gold is just 3d6x10, I'll roll that and finish him up.

In reply to Vrigori (msg # 9):

We're 3rd level? Or first level? If 3rd, what can we get for 40 gold, and how did we survive to get to 3rd?

Still don't have a sheet.

Birahu
This message was last edited by the player at 21:02, Sun 23 July 2023.

In reply to Vrigori (msg # 9):

Ah, you used your description box for your temporary character sheet, why didn't I do that? Hmmm, I'll put it there tomorrow if I have to. I have a 16 charisma and a 16 strength. What uses charisma in BECMI? Do they even have sorcerer?

Vrig, is your character even runnable? You're a -2 with your stats!
This message was last edited by the player at 22:45, Sun 23 July 2023.

In reply to Birhu (msg # 11):

Oh my God, Charisma is vital! It determines how many henchmen you can hire, and their morale!

Use some of your starting gold to hire a few spearmen to guard your back!

In reply to Birhu (msg # 11):

That depends what you mean by "runnable."

I will try to post a sample PC sheet.

You may opt to re-roll your PCs if they are less than Peasant material ... Or role play them & grow the hard way ...

Only 1 vote for no Mystara setting. OK, a free form setting. Any other discussion ?? Setting ?? Skills ??

What do the stats of "peasant material" look like?

What happens if a character dies? If it's "you don't get to play for days or weeks until it makes sense for a new character to come in" then I'd want to reroll, and also play the game very, very safe.

If it's "you come in immediately with a replacement" then it doesn't matter what my character's stats are.

I expect were between those two extremes, but where?

And is everyone down for the way BECMI is "supposed" to be played? Things like not everyone directly fighting the monsters, and fights generally being things to avoid, and getting XP from obtaining wealth? It's very different from the more recent editions, in which combat is more like a sport everyone is expect to be able to participate in. I like that approach, but it's not the BECMI approach, I don't think.

(It was the approach I used when I first started playing, but I didn't understand the game back then.)
This message was last edited by the player at 01:20, Mon 24 July 2023.

A good point I need to bring up.

I don't remember if I saw a Commoner stats somewhere or not. I will assume average of 7 in everything. Comeliness rolled separately.

Dead is dead. But a replacement PC should arrive as soon as can be worked in. Same level as everyone else. Re-roll stats.

I tend towards the Milestone approach over XP. BECMI has each PC type achieving levels with different XP totals ...

That's a feature of the edition, not a bug. If I'm playing an Elf, and another player is playing a Thief, and we go up levels at the same time, it's really not fair. The Thief should be level 3 before I hit level 2.

A big part of the challenge for us as players should be the risk/reward decisions of what dungeons/dangerous areas we want to explore, based on how strong the monsters are and how much treasure we stand to gain.

Just everyone gaining a level after a successful "mission" or whatever makes all that irrelevant.

Right, give or take high prime requisites.


Agreed. Milestone levelling only started to make sense and be fair once everyone was leveling at the same rate, which I think started in 3rd Edition.

If we're not using the normal XP rules from the book, then that's something we need to be careful about.

I understand your point. It would be more than 1 mission per level. However, feel free to discuss & vote. XP would mean awarding for gameplay besides killing everything in sight or encountered. I would like to move away from killing everything. XP for GP is possible ~ but carrying off everything not nailed down means encumbrance ... And the locale will change once you depart ... New tenants could move in.