Homebrewing Lamentations of the Flame Princess

Hello Dear Readers! As I sit here this fine December afternoon hoping my stomach doesn’t void yet again, I decided I would write a quick blog post explaining some of the house rules for my Lamentations of Elemental Evil campaign.

Yes, Dear Readers, I have some kind of stomach bug. I am feeling much better compared to a few hours ago. Thus, I figured I would give writing a chance. I was going to write about The Walking Dead RPG, but that game is such a disappointment that I think it needs a video. My in-person gaming group is going to play it, so I will be able to give you guys an in-depth analysis. Stay tuned! I would anticipate the video in early to mid-January.

Okay, so my Lamentations of the Flame Princess campaign was originally going to be Rules as Written. I wanted to introduce new players to the system that I absolutely adore. However, as with any campaign that you run, house rules start to happen. They happen for a ton of reasons—the most frequent reason is to accommodate your table’s gaming preferences and style of play.

If you’ve been watching any of my LotFP videos—one-shots, mini-campaigns, or Lamentations of Elemental Evil—you can see that LotFP is very gritty. This is due to, in part, the niche protection Lotfp affords the character classes. In BECMI, for example, even your wizard eventually gets a little better with melee and missile combat, but not in LotFP. That is reserved for the fighter and the fighter only. This makes the survivability of many of the other classes dependent upon the existence of a fighter, a competent cleric healing fallen PCs, or maybe a magic user willing to do the unthinkable to overcome whatever obstacle the PCs are currently facing.

Thus, I incorporated a rule I picked up from one of the players in my Lamentations of Elemental Evil Campaign—a very good Referee in his own right. He allows players to “Shatter a Shield” to avoid all damage taken by an attack or series of attacks from a single source. I like this rule because it provides a player with a specific choice: take the damage or lose a shield. It embraces the cost-benefit analysis that OSR play should engender.

I’ve included two additional fighter stances. Two-weapon fighting and shield bash. Basically, when you roll to hit with two weapons (that must be minor or small weapons, or rapier and minor weapon (dagger)), you roll two dice for damage and keep the higher result. Shield bash allows you to forego your shield bonus to do an additional point of damage each round. I’ve allowed dwarves to use the shield bash as a fighter maneuver.

I included this to expand options for players to play fighters and dwarves. If you’ve read my blog post about player options, you will understand why. I like the simplicity of LotFP, but I think fighters should have a bit more. Thus, rather than make two attack rolls, you make one, then roll two dice for damage. The idea is that you are likely to do a bit more damage when dual-wielding. Fighter options are also the reason why I also included a cleave feature where fighters and dwarves get an additional attack against creatures of 1 HD or less equal to their character level. This allows fighters to be particularly badass and to offset the problems the other character classes have with melee.

Another option I am giving to all PCs is the ability to assist in a skill check. This is limited to a maximum of +1 to the roll. It is also highly dependent upon context. Thus, opening doors can involve two PCs, thus increasing the chance to open the door. In contrast, picking a lock is a solitary skill. No amount of helping is going to grant a +1. In fact, you’re likely to be in the way!

Recently, I’ve been doing a lot of thinking about the Bushcraft skill. I’ve been expanding on its uses, especially with my Pathfinder class. An idea I am incorporating is a type of reward for the player who can max out his bushcraft. So, Ambushes occur when a group is well-hidden, thus giving them a chance to surprise on 1-4 out of 6 (as opposed to 1-2 out of 6). I decided that the following will apply: If your bushcraft is at a 6, the chance of being surprised from ambush is reduced by 1 when outdoors. (3 in 6) If your architecture is at a 6, your chance of being surprised by an ambush is reduced by 1 when indoors. (3 in 6) If your search is a 6, your chance of being surprised by an ambush is reduced by 1 indoors or outdoors. (3 in 6). This only applies to the point man. So, if the master bushcraft (or architect, or search) PC is in the back, the surprise will still happen on 1-4 in 6. I think this gives elf players that “heightened senses” thing, it also gives dwarves a bit of an edge underground as well.

Obviously, if you’ve been watching, I’ve expanded on character classes to fit the game world. They are being play-tested. You can find lizardmen here, hobgoblins here, and the pathfinder here. I’ve also given my players the option to use “backgrounds” to round out their LotFP character. The basic gist of backgrounds can be found here.

I’ve also included the luck skill, Chirurgeon, and an occult skill to give the players a few more options for skill choices. The luck skill is especially handy as it increases a character’s survivability. Chirurgeon is a medicine-type skill that has that same cost-benefit analysis. If you roll a 6, you critically fail, which could kill the patient! On a success, the target gains 1d3 HP back. The occult skill is just to allow non-magic users a chance to figure something out and, maybe, cast a spell from a scroll. On a roll of a 6, something goes horribly wrong.

Anyway, that’s all I have for now, Dear Readers. I hope this gives you some insight into how I house-rule my games. Thanks for reading!