Shadowdark: Headless Horseman

Headless Horseman for Shadowdark RPG

The Headless Horseman is a despicable and cursed traitor who haunts the highways and byways.

AC 13 (leather), HD 5 (27), ATK 1 greataxe +4 (1d8/1d10), MV near, S +2, D +2, C +3, I +1, W +1, Ch -2, AL C

Greater Undead. Immune to morale checks. Only damaged by silver or magic sources.

Hell-Born Steed. The Horseman's MV is Far when riding it.

Terrifying. When a creature first sees the Horseman they have Disadvantage on all attacks, checks or spells cast while he is in sight unless they pass a Hard WIS check.

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Shadowdark: Death Knight

I've recently discovered the Shadowdark RPG and I've really been taken by it.

Art by Kyle Enochs

Death Knight for Shadowdark RPG

Death Knights serve dark gods who have allowed them to defeat oblivion for their very soul.

AC 16 (enchanted plate mail), HD 8 (48), ATK 3 greatsword +8 (1d12+2) or 1 spell +4, MV near, S +4, D +0, C +2, I +0, W +2, Ch +0, AL L

Dark Templar. Tier 2 cleric. They know Holy Weapon, Shield of Faith, Blind/Deafen, and Smite.

Death's Embrace. 1/day can ignore the effects of a spell cast upon them.

Greater Undead. Immune to morale checks. Only damaged by silver or magical sources. 

Marshal the Dead. The death knight and all undead that are Near it have Advantage against being turned.

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BXRP: Conflict Resolution

As I work on BXRP I'm torn on which combat system I want to use. I've been planning to use the system where a Character's Chance to Hit is rolled and if it is successful their target's Armor Class would then be rolled as well. If the AC roll was also successful, the highest roll would win, unless Critical were involved (rolling doubles). However, in using BX DnD as an engine I keep thinking about letting a target's AC be the base chance to hit and modify it with a the Attackers Chance to Hit--essentially using the Ascending AC system that has been in place since DnD 3E.

I do think that which ever way that I go I will present the alternate version in an Appendix.

At the moment I think the latter approach is winning since it sticks with a foundational piece of modern BX retroclones, but I like the attack vs. defense element that BRP's D100 system employs.

If you have a strong opinion either way then please share it with me.

BXRP: Armor Class & Thief Class

Armor Class

Armor	AC	Cost (gp)	Weight (Coins)
Leather	60%	20	200
Chainmail	70%	40	400
Plate mail	80%	60	500
Shield	5%	10	100

Thief 

Requirements: None

Prime requisite: DEX

Hit Dice: 1d4

Maximum level: 14

Armour: Leather, no shields

Weapons: Any

Languages: Alignment, Common

Thieves are adventurers who live by their skills of deception and stealth. Their range of unique skills makes them very handy companions in adventures. However, thieves are not always to be trusted.

Back-Stab

When attacking an unaware opponent from behind, a thief receives a +20% bonus to hit and doubles any damage dealt.

Combat

Because of their need for stealth and free movement, thieves cannot wear armor heavier than leather and cannot use shields. They can use any weapon.

Read Languages

A thief of 4th level or higher can read non-magical text in any language (including dead languages and basic codes) with 80% probability. If the roll does not succeed, the thief may not try to read that particular text again until they reach a higher level of experience.

Scroll Use

A thief of 10th level or higher can cast arcane spells from scrolls. There is a 10% chance of error: the spell does not function as expected and creates an unusual or deleterious effect.

Thief Skills

Thieves can use the following skills, with the chance of success shown opposite:

• Climb sheer surfaces (CS): A roll is required for each 100’ to be climbed. If the roll fails, the thief falls at the halfway point, suffering falling damage.
• Find or remove treasure traps (TR): A roll is required to find a treasure trap and then another to remove it. This may be attempted only once per trap.
• Hear noise (HN): In a quiet environment (e.g. not in combat), a thief may attempt to listen at a door or to hear the sounds of something (e.g. a wandering monster) approaching.
• Hide in shadows (HS): Requires the thief to be motionless—attacking or moving while hiding is not possible.
• Move silently (MS): A thief may attempt to sneak past enemies unnoticed.
• Open locks (OL): Requires thieves’ tools. A thief can only try this skill once per lock. If the roll fails, the thief may not try the same lock again before gaining an experience level.
• Pick pockets (PP): If the victim is above 5th level, the thief’s roll is penalized by 5% for every level above 5th. A roll of 100% is always a failure. A roll of less than half the percentage required for success means that the attempted theft is noticed. The referee should determine the reaction of the victim.

Thief Skills Chance of Success

Level	CS	TR	HN	HS	MS	OL	PP
1	87	10	35	10	20	15	20
2	88	15	35	15	25	20	25
3	89	20	50	20	30	25	30
4	90	25	50	25	35	30	35
5	91	30	50	30	40	35	40
6	92	40	50	36	45	45	45
7	93	50	70	45	55	55	55
8	94	60	70	55	65	65	65
9	95	70	70	65	75	75	75
10	96	80	70	75	85	85	85
11	97	90	85	85	95	95	95
12	98	95	85	90	96	96	105
13	99	97	85	95	98	97	115
14	99	99	85	99	99	99	125

All skills are rolled on d%, with a result of less than or equal to the listed percentage indicating success. Thief Skills allow for extraordinary feats such as climbing a sheer surface instead of merely climbing or hiding within a shadow instead of ducking into an alley. If the action is something that any creature could try then the Thief gets to roll the appropriate Skill first and then may try the general test if their first roll was a failure.

Player Knowledge

The referee should roll for hide in shadows and move silently on the player’s behalf, as the thief always believes the attempt to be successful. If the roll fails, the referee knows that the thief has been noticed and should determine enemies’ actions appropriately.

After Reaching 9th Level

A thief can establish a thief den, attracting 2d6 apprentices of 1st level. These thieves will serve the character with some reliability; however, should any be arrested or killed, the PC will not be able to attract apprentices to replace them. A successful thief might use these followers to start a Thieves’ Guild.

				Saving Throws
Level	XP	HD	CTH	D	W	P	B	S
1	0	1d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
2	1,200	2d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
3	2,400	3d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
4	4,800	4d4	55%	40%	35%	40%	25%	30%
5	9,600	5d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
6	20,000	6d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
7	40,000	7d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
8	80,000	8d4	65%	45%	40%	50%	35%	40%
9	160,000	9d4	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
10	280,000	9d4+2*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
11	400,000	9d4+4*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
12	520,000	9d4+6*	80%	55%	50%	60%	45%	55%
13	640,000	9d4+8*	90%	65%	60%	70%	55%	65%
14	760,000	9d4+10*	90%	65%	60%	70%	55%	65%

• Modifiers from CON no longer apply.

CTH: Chance to hit, STR Modifier applies to Melee attacks and DEX Modifier applies to Ranged attacks.

D: Death / poison; W: Wands; P: Paralysis / petrify; B: Breath attacks; S: Spells / rods / staves.