Arms at the Ready

(White Dwarf #31 & #33)

Lew combines the Weapon vs. AC charts with attack matrices to create a streamlined weapon table for each weapon.

 

What’s it about?

This idea addresses a common issue: many players avoid using Weapon vs. AC tables because they’re cumbersome and slow play. The dauntingly large tables often feel like more trouble than they’re worth. Lew’s solution simplifies this by letting you use your standard THAC0 for unarmored monsters and referencing his weapon handout for armored foes.

However, there are errors: the battle axe vs. AC 3 is incorrect, as is the footman’s military pick. Lew decides to stagger the non-fighter classes, grouping them in a way that doesn’t align with AD&D attack matrices. I get why he staggered them (to smooth attack progression) but its a deviation from the DMG. I'm puzzled as to why he didn't stagger the fighter levels, particularly as the DMG suggests it as an option. This gave me a reason to create my own version that closely follows the rules as written.

Anything insightful?

A clever, simple way to integrate Weapon vs. AC. There’s no excuse not to use it now.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. I even created my own Arms at the Ready sheets, adding a THAC0 entry for unarmored monsters and including details like damage, speed, length, weight, space required, and cost. I also adjusted the class lines to align with AD&D combat matrices. This is a clever idea that improves the game and deserve a spot on the "best of" list.

***

I decided to make my own Arms at the Ready sheets and include THACO (for when you are attacking monsters without armour) as well as adding in the rest of the weapon details (damage, SF, cost, enc., length, RoF etc). Should be everything you need, at least for the most commonly used weapons. Let me know if you spot any errors or if you find these useful.

Stop, Thief!!

(White Dwarf #45)

This short article by Marcus L. Rowland unpacks the thief's toolkit.

What’s it about?

Marcus examines each item in the kit, discussing its weight, size, and potential use as an improvised weapon. He assigns the entire toolkit a weight of 12.4 lbs, filling a gap in AD&D rules, and categorizes specialized tools based on their use, such as burglary tools like crowbars and trap detection tools like hand drills.

The article offers some rules for having the right tool; it increases the thief skill by a d10%. In his example a noisy floor (-5% to move silent) is negated by a thief wearing oversocks (the thief in the example rolling >5 on his d10). Simple and useful enough for players to make the effort while not overpowered. Marcus mentions rolling 00 on a check involving tools indicates a tool breaks, imposing a -5% on future checks until the tool is replaced. 

Anything insightful?

• Thieves' tools are finally given weight - 12.4 lb!
• Useful if you want to get granular.
• Rules for handling the perfect tool for the job.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. Initially, the rules for the perfect tool felt confusing as I think they are poorly explained, but it 'clicked' on a second read. They give substance to thieves tools and are simple to implement. The article is concise, fleshes out the thief and deserves a place on the ‘best of’ list.

Underestimating Druids (is a bad practice)

(Dragon #119)

Carl Sargent, co-author of The Enemy Within, explores Druids in AD&D. Is his advice worth sharing?

What’s it about?

Druids are often overlooked, seen as weaker clerics, with their strict Neutral alignment a dealbreaker for some. Carl counters this by highlighting their fast advancement, more spells and faster spell progression, and utility as backup fighters with spells like animal friendship and speak with animals. The lack of healing spells is overcome upon reaching 2nd level. They are better healers than clerics gaining cure serious wounds at 20k xp instead of 55k for clerics. 

Carl advises taking speak with animals and animal friendship early to recruit a war dog—good advice I’ve followed. He explains a reliable level 1 spell load: detect poison, detect snares and pits, faerie fire, and speak with animals. For level 2, he highlights and explains heat metal, slow poison, and charm person or mammal as standouts. Druids gain key spells much earlier than clerics: neutralize poison at 4k XP compared to 55k XP for clerics.

At level 3, Carl emphasizes the power of recruiting stronger animals like bears or lions, which can overshadow fighters. He provides thoughts on the cyclical nature of 'balance' to help work around the strict alignment restriction and justify the adventuring druid.  Finally, he highlights the druid’s high Charisma and its uses.

Any new insights?

• Druids fight - vicariously through pets, outperforming fighters from level 1 with war dogs and level 3 with bears.
• You hit those key spells faster than clerics and can heal just fine if you can make it to level 2.

Should I share this with my players? 

Yes. This is a clear, practical, well explained 'how to play a druid' guide written by someone who has clearly done so with success. It inspired me to give one a go. This makes the ‘best of’ list.

Bandits!

(Dragon #63)

Roger E. Moore and Thomas Armstrong bring us a fighter-thief hybrid with plenty of outdoors skills, available to humans, half-orcs and half-elves. Being useful outdoors is great but does the Bandit pull its weight underground?

What does a bandit get?

• Fighter Subclass. All the fighter goodies including multiple attacks. Limited to chainmail and medium weapons (no polearms or two-handed swords).
• Surprise = Best Scout. 4-in-6 chance to surprise enemies and only a 1-in-6 chance to be surprised—making them exceptional party scouts. This is their standout feature. Elves and halflings also have a 4-in-6 surprise chance but must sneak 90 feet ahead of the group and wear light armor to do so. Bandits have no restrictions on their surprise chance.
• Climbing. Can climb walls like a thief of equal level, though heavier armor imposes penalties (best check Thieves Table II in UA).

The Downside

• Outdoor skills. Abilities like hiding, trapfinding, tracking, and covering tracks are limited to outdoor use. While tracking and covering tracks have decent success rates, the others are unreliable at early levels and rarely useful in dungeon-focused games.

Why add the class? 

Even in dungeon-heavy campaigns, the Bandit excels as a scout. They will surprise your foe and prevent your group being ambushed. They are hardy enough to handle frontline combat just fine. Does the game need a sneakier, less durable, but easier-to-qualify ranger without alignment restrictions? Maybe. For now, it tentatively earns a spot on the "best of" list.

And now, the psionicist

(Dragon #78)

I’m one of the rare fans of psionics. In my current game, there’s a psionic ranger who didn’t hit the magic 100 attack power needed to psionically blast normals—a shame. The odds of being psionic and having enough power to regularly impact the game are slim. However, this class guarantees a psionic character and a chance to explore the subsystem.

What does a Psionicist get?

• Odd HP. Starts with a d10 for hit dice, decreasing to d4 by level 7. This feels like a gimmick—just use d6 throughout.
• Psionic Blast. Your psionic power points increase as you level. By level 5, you’ll likely have enough power points to mind blast normals.
• More Psionic Powers. Begin with a minor discipline, gaining additional minor, major, and even grand disciplines (at level 11) as you advance.
• Repeatable Spells. Disciplines act as reusable spells fueled by the psionicists' substantial pool of power points.
• Expanded Disciplines. Well-designed, scalable, and fun without feeling broken.

The Downside

• Can't fight & Easy to Hit. No armor or shields leaves you as vulnerable as a magic-user.
• Unclear Discipline Acquisition. The process for acquiring starting and leveling-up disciplines is not adequately described. It seems you randomly get your initial discipline but can choose new ones from level 2 onward.
• Clunky Psionic Combat. As written, psionic combat each segment is unplayable. A single combat round at the top of the turn, as suggested by Huso, is more practical. That said, psionic combat is so rare it might never come up.

Why add the class? 
The psionicist captures the 1970s zeitgeist of psionics and provides a way to fully engage with the psionics system. Be sure to read the psionics-focused Sage Advice from the same issue—it clears up much of psionics messiness. The psionicist makes the ‘best of’ list.

Lizardmen as Player Characters

(White Dwarf #26)

Lizardmen appeared as playable races in Quag Keep and TSR’s Rogues Gallery, but no official rules emerged. Roger E. Moore and Michael Brown offered their take in White Dwarf #26. Initially underwhelmed, I later saw potential.

What does a lizardman get?

• Scaly hide: Natural AC 5 (improved to 4 with a shield). OK early on but falls off quick.
• Swim speed and breath holding: Swim speed of 12’ and the ability to hold their breath for 10 minutes.
• Unarmed combat superiority: Lizardmen’s height and weight make them excellent grapplers able to dominate humanoids. You have about a 60% chance to hit with a grapple or overbear and then, thanks to height/weight, get +35 to +40% to the result against human sized foes. They will be pinned, prone and stunned in no time. You and the DM will need to be comfortable with the DMG unarmed combat rules for this ability to shine.
• Claw, Claw, Bite: Potential for solid damage but reigned in by a strength cap of 18 and any damage bonus only applying to claws. The most you'd deal with STR 18 would be 3-4, 3-4, 1-8. Hardly game breaking.

The Downside

• Level, HP & Class restrictions: Fighters only, capped at level 6 (with 18 Strength). HP rolls use d8 instead of d10.
• Ability Caps: INT, WIS, and DEX are capped at 12; CHA at 5. CON can reach 18, but they can’t have exceptional Strength, which feels punitive for a fighter. STR feels capped to nerf claw, claw, bite.
• Slow: normal movement is 6’, limiting escape options. Its comparable to fighters in plate armor but smart fighters wear banded.
• Moisture Dependency: Lizardmen must wet their skin every 24 hours or risk permanent CON loss, potentially manageable with waterskins.

Why add the race? 

D&D has hinted at playable lizardmen for years, with U2 portraying them sympathetically. Though weaker than all PHB races and unattractive to power gamers, their unarmed combat potential makes them worth considering.

Merchants

(White Dwarf #21)

A charismatic "party face" with verbal, spell-like abilities that shift focus from combat. While bards offer similar charm-related powers, they take longer to develop. Dwarves, elves, gnomes, half-elves, and halflings can be merchants.

What does the Merchant get?

• Item Discounts: At level 1, goods cost 10–40% less, which helps early on (e.g., pooling funds for armor) but has diminishing impact later unless used for major expenses like keep construction.
• Languages: High Intelligence starts with additional languages, skipping in-game learning. Useful with strict DMs.
• Pick Locks: Starts at 15%. Unlikely to be used.
• Appraise: Never miss mundane loot. Identifies valuable goods (e.g., spotting a 2,000 gp chair). Sadly it doesn’t extend to working out if an item is magic.
• Suggestion: At level 1 an 18% chance to cast suggestion 1 x level per day. Opponents with lower Intelligence suffer save penalties. Situationally powerful but unreliable.
• Command: A standout ability that turns the game on its head, usable once per day per level. At level 1 a 45% chance to halt combat within 60 feet for 1–3 rounds, enabling non violent actions like parley, retreat, or casting defensive spells.
• Charisma boost: Works like a friends spell, improving reaction adjustments for a specific race and alignment. Usable once per level per day, but requires 10 minutes of preparation, limiting spontaneity.

The Downside 

• Can’t Fight: Hit Points and combat ability of a thief. Restricted to chainmail at best and no shield. Thrown weapons only.
• Unreliable Abilities: Percentage-based mechanics make command and suggestion inconsistent early on, balancing their potential power.

Why add the class? 

Merchants fill a niche as negotiators. Their abilities scale with level, becoming more reliable mid-game. Like monks, they start weak but shine later, offering something unique and deserving a spot on a “best of” list.

My Life as a Werebear

(White Dwarf #17, re-published in Flipping and Turning #6)

The DMG (p.21) broached the idea of playing monsters, did their best to discourage it and left us to figure it out on our own. Writers for Dragon and White Dwarf were amateurs like us, though some aligned with Classic Adventure Game principles (as I understand them) more than others. Lew Pulsipher stands out as a writer with a solid grasp of the rules, and I tend to trust his articles. He wrote with authority, evoking a tone not unlike Gygax.

In this article, Lew outlines how to create Monster Classes, limiting them to the abilities listed in the Monster Manual. No 10-HD blink dogs here. Instead, the Monster Class is divided into levels, culminating in the fully realized monster. Once complete, you can’t add additional classes—you’re done.

Lew provides examples with the lammasu, werebear, stone giant, and blink dog (the latter working toward leading a pack). In the were-bear example Lew shows how to balance the immunity to normal weapons with a number of caveats and restrictions. Spellcasting monsters seem to me to have the most potential for play. Each example Monster Class feels underpowered, implying that playing one should be a challenge rather than an opportunity for powergaming.

What you don't want is an 'everyone is a monster' 5e style party. Limiting the number of monster class characters in a party to 1 sounds fine to me.

***

I took Lew's advice from his 'My Life as a Werebear' and created a playable orc for my Arden Vul game. One of the players requested an orc henchman. I think it captures the MM orc well without overshadowing the half-orc. Capped at 4 HD, I doubt anyone would want to play one as a character, but they seem fine as henchman. Their strength is grappling and overbearing - at least after a few levels - which calls back to Gygax's infamous dog-pile grapple/throat slit combat example (PHB p.105).

The Barbarian

(White Dwarf #4 for OD&D and #12 for AD&D)

Early White Dwarf predates AD&D's launch, with issues around #10 tracking its emergence. The ideas at this time feel fresh and exciting. Thanks to Attronarch who pointed out the class is compiled here. 

What does the Barbarian get?

• HP: d8+1, solid for a fighter class.
• Cleric saves (at 4 levels higher): Technically it only bumps the cleric save up a bracket but feels overpowered, giving barbarians the best saves in the game.
• Fast leveling: hits level 2 at 1,500 XP. This feels like a fair correction to the fighter’s slow progression and the cleric’s arguable over-generous XP table.
• Catch missiles: Flavor. At level 1 with 18 DEX, the chance is only 30%.
• Thief and Ranger skills: a worse chance to hide in shadows than a thief wont see it used much, climb sheer surfaces at about 80% is more impactful while ranger tracking can be fantastic or irrelevant depending on the DM.
• Sense danger: Starts at a 1-in-6 chance. Feels borderline overpowered, though it's in the the same ballpark as a paladin's detect evil. Requiring concentration could keep it in check.
• First-Attack Ferocity: The signature ability. The barbarian gets an 'alpha' strike once per combat and always on their first attack only. At level 1 it most likely means a +1 to hit and x2 damage. First-Attack Ferocity scales as they level. I looks fun though I would need to see it in play.

The Downside

• Poor armor. Levels 1–5: No armor, shields only. This gradually improves, capping at chainmail by level 11.
• +1 AC from reflexes offers little consolation—they’ll still be easy to hit.

Why add the class?

The Barbarian fills a niche in AD&D as a Conan-style, lightly armored fighter. I think there's some great ideas in here and would be happy to give the class a go.

Rogue Trader - Return to Station Anotla - Escher v Marines

Mr Papafakis arranged and GM'd a game of Rogue Trader while Tytus was in the country with his excellent Escher models.

++++ Imperial Record 1A 2019.11 +++++

Imperial propaganda held that Anotla station and its surrounds had been purged for a heretical misspelling of 'Emperor' in documents accompanying the monthly tithe. The truth was more sinister. Imperial scientists had been conducting warp experiments that had ended in catastrophe. As a result the site had been cleansed. For years the station lay dormant ... until now.

Deploying marines at the beach and Escher on the ruins outskirts

Imperial light cruiser "The Emperor's Lengthy Lance" had been monitoring the site and had picked up heavy ordinance fire. A squad of Marines were dispatched to investigate and ensure the site remained clear.

Marines deployed and avoiding the active bot at the carnage strewn ruins

As the Marines landed Clan Escher scavengers pulled up in jury-rigged street cars on the outskirts of the ruins. Hearing reports of a viscous firefight the night before that had arrived to loot what they could from the defeated.

Cyndi and her gangers arrive in their street cars

The rest of the Escher gang deploy alongside the bounty hunter Hans Olo

The Space Marines had split into two forces. Brother-Captain Janus led a five man team towards the ruins on the left. It was clear that whatever had happened recently had unfolded in the open ground before these ruins. Mangled bodies of chaotics lay strewn about and towering over them with its back to the ruins stood a smoking and sparking bot, its assault cannon swivelling in search of a target.

The assault cannon armed bot and a field of destruction. What is it guarding?

Believing the crippled bot a serious threat the Marines did their best to avoid its attention. The Contemptor class dreadnought advanced down the middle using the forest as cover while the second squad looked to situate their missile launcher in a ruined tower overlooking the site.

Battle brothers heading for the high ground

Cyndi, the Escher gangs boss, led the bulk of her gangers towards the carnage strewn ruins hoping to get behind the crippled bot. The Bounty Hunter Hans Olo took the remaining gangers around the other flank. The converted street cars slowly made their way through the trees. Both Marines and gangers were approaching the scene with caution.

Suddenly the lead battle brother in the squad closest to the carnage strewn ruin turned on this fellow brothers and opened up with his bolter. At the back of the line another marine incinerated his brothers with a burst from his flamer. Brother-Captain Janus' final words were 'Witchcraft... Chaos!" which he broadcast across the coms before collapsing in a smouldering heap. In response the Contemptor class dreadnought moved from the tree line and blasted apart a traitor marine with its twin linked bolters.

Brother-Captain Janus is incinerated by traitors

The dreadnought avenges his fallen Brother-Captain

On the other flank a chaos addled squat had emerged from the forest and into the sites of the remaining marine squad. A krak missile put an end to the miserable creatures life.

Cyndi heard the bolter fire from the other side of the ruins but didn't have line of sight to the marine on marine conflict. She sought a tunnel entrance rumoured to be within these ruins. If she could find them the payoff would be huge and her gangs prestige would skyrocket. Thoughts of riches were the last of her independent thoughts before she and half her gangers turned their weapons on her fellows. Stub gun, shotgun and heavy stubber rounds fired widely as emotionless traitors turned on loyal gangers.

Cyndi's willpower is weak and she turns on her fellow gangers. Tiffany the juve looks on.

The core of the gang had been gutted and was without leadership. Only a handful of gangers and Hans Olo remained. Another chaotic squat wandered out of the forest toting a grenade launcher, it lined up one of the street cars but took a bolter round to the head before he could fire courtesy of Hans.

The Marines were having a bad time but it was about to get worse. In extracting some measure of vengeance for the loss of Brother-Captain Janus the Contemptor had entered the damaged bots field of vision. Bot 9985987.M2. opened up with its assault cannon rupturing the dreadnoughts cooling system and causing it to detonate. Just five marines remained.

Part way through turn two. The dreadnought is down

Panicked by Cyndi's betrayal Tiffany the juve fled, jumping into the closest street car and accelerating away. Unfortunately her escape brought her into the open momentarily and Bot 9985987.M2 tore her vehicle's engine apart with a sustained burst of assault cannon fire. She leaped from the damaged vehicle and hunkered down out of sight.

Tiffany leaps into the blue street car to escape her possessed fellow gangers

The swiftness with which everything had fallen apart for the both marines and gangers was stunning. The marines entered a 'safe' looking ruin from the north while gangers picked through the opposite section. Their search flushed out a flayed skinned cultist and a massive chaos spawn. The spawn raced towards bot 998598.M2 and the building beyond while the cultist trailed behind sticking to the tree line. The marines had a choice, go after the nearby gangers or pursue the chaos spawn. Chaos, being the true enemy, was prioritised. The marines took cover in forest and bounced bolter rounds off the spawns thick blubbery hide. The idiotic creature grunted in irritation before leaping off towards the ocean never to be seen again, without a leader to provide guidance the stupid thing probably drowned. The flayed cultist made it to the outskirts of the forest but not deep enough to be concealed. He was pursued by the bounty hunter who put him down with a bolter round to the brainpan.

Chaos spawn runs at bot before stupidity kicks in and the brute wanders off to drown

The few remaining marines were conflicted in how to proceed. Clearly something else was going on and it wasn't the Escher scavengers causing it. When in doubt refer back to the mission briefing. Eliminate the enemy, no exceptions. With the dilemma solved Brother Crassius fired a krak missile into a ganger street car turning its engine bay into a smoking wreck. Hans Olo and a nearby ganger Molly returned fire. Molly, armed with a plasma pistol, had the drop on two marines and had them dead to rights but then Tytus rolled terribly and the opportunity was lost. 'Molly' didn't get another chance. A krak missile ended her while a volley of bolter fire wounded the bounty hunter. 

Cyndi and the other Escher traitors had moved deeper into the carnage strewn ruins allowing Tiffany to escape. The brave juve hooked up with a ganger pal and the pair edged their way into the forest in front of the ruins hoping to scavenge some armour or weapons from the fallen. Unfortunately their approach saw them enter a sphere of malevolent warp influence and the two juves minds were seized. Their loot forgotten, the possessed pair raised their stubbers and went out to defend the ruins.

Brother Vulcan's head up display was worrying him. It indicated that his target was an Imperial sanctioned bounty hunter. Their true foe was chaos, if anything this bounty hunter should be their ally. Brother Vulcan called out to his battle brothers to cease fire. He walked out into no mans land hailing the bounty hunter. The pair worked out a truce. Credits were transferred and an allegiance shifted. By Hans Olo's reasoning the Escher gang, his employers, were no more. A strict reading of the marine's mission brief meant that they had to 'clear' the area. As long as the bounty hunter quit the field the mission would be complete. 

Knife loving Brother Vulcan and Hans Olo 'cut' a deal

During this momentary lull in the battle bot 9985987.M2 had a system failure and shut down.

The traitorous Tiffany and her juve companion emerged from the forest and began firing stub rounds wildly at the marines. The marines returned fire downing Tiffany's companion. Hans considered helping the scrappy juves but the credits he'd been paid were too great and he never liked those gangers anyway. He left them to their fate. 

With the ganger threat neutralised the marines turned their attention to the sinister ruins that had been causing this. Brother Vulcan raised the bounty hunter again on the communicator and a new deal was struck. Hans Olo would assist them in purging the ruins for an additional payment. A sketchy plan was formed involving a vortex grenade and a street car sent on a collision course with the ruins. While both complicated and ingenious the plan was not required as a salvo of krak missiles obliterated the front of the sinister ruin and it collapsed killing all inside. 

Tiffany regained control of her mind, groggily she scooped up the chaos squat grenade launcher near her and staggered towards a still running street car. Possession of chaos tainted goods is heresy and so Brother Cassius fired a krak missile into the street car. The resulting explosion took out Tiffany - the sole remaining Escher ganger. The gang truly was no more.

Tiffany loots a grenade launcher but then dies when the car near her explodes

Hans looted a heavy webber from a slain cultist well out of sight of the marines. He furtively stuffed it under his coat and hurried from the field. All in all he'd made out very well from this contract and the webber was a nice bonus.

Hans Olo loots a heavy webber while the marines are distracted. Consider it a bonus

The surviving marines picked through the rubble uncovering the bloated body of an 'Enslaver'. It seemed that the warp entity had made it through a rift during the disastrous warp experiments at the station. It had seized control of the minds of those who came near instigating their traitorous actions.

The collapsed building is searched and the cause of the problem found. An Enslaver!

Close up with an Enslaver

+++ End Record +++

Some notes:

• The 'what's going on' element of the mission would not have worked without a GM. While we worked out it was bad to approach the sinister building we had no idea what was causing it or how to stop it. The Enslaver reveal was nice even though the model didn't see any action on the table.
• Vehicles and dreadnoughts have a bad day when on the receiving end of d10 damage weapons (assault cannons and krak missiles). They are not as tough as I thought they were.
• We roleplayed the truce between the bounty hunter Hans Olo and marines. I had a feeling that if we didn't stop fighting each other the GM would win. I'm not sure how satisfactory that outcome would have been. It certainly would have been a first.