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Coinage: Mostly a re-flavouring of the bland terminology.
Crossbows: Unnerfing the crossbow.
Guides & Maps How Not to Get Lost.
Poison: Making Poison more than just "oops yer dead".
Spell Points: Modernizing magic!
Wands & Staves: Spell point storage solutions!
There are various coins in the realm, some minted by the government, some from older kingdoms, some circulated only amongst monstrous races. Some are acceptable tender, some are utterly worthless.
| Coin | Name & Notes |
|---|---|
| pp | "kroner", only for nobles. |
| ep | "marks", value varies, always melted down. From Old Kingdom. * |
| gp | "thalers", used for rare large value purchases. |
| sp | "hacksilver", accepted everywhere, always by merchants, weighed, not counted |
| cp | "commons", used by everyone daily for minor purchases |
Other coinages, not generally accepted | |
| rp | rock/stone coins, used by goblins and similar races. Worth roughly 2cp. |
| lp | leather coins, used by lizardmen and similar races. Worth 1/2-5sp depending whose skin is it made from... |
| wp | wooden coins, used by kobolds. Scrip used amongst kobolds particularly, and allied races. Roughly 1cp. |
*Electrum: a highly variable mixture of gold and silver. The value can vary considerably, and separation is non-trivial. The value paid can therefore vary considerably!
DM notes
Separating silver and gold from electrum is a non-trivial process involving a lot of highly skilled labour and alchemy. It's not enough to just melt the electrum down; it's an intensive and drawn out process. Usually only larger settlements would have the forges, alchemists, smiths and reagents/acids to perform the separation. At best, refining results in 10–20% of the total value lost.| % gold / % silver | Name & Notes |
|---|---|
| <20% gold | basically silver with pretensions |
| 20% gold / 80% silver | “Poor electrum” |
| 30% gold / 70% silver | common low-grade |
| 40% gold / 60% silver | typical Old Kingdom standard |
| 50% gold / 50% silver | high-grade, prized |
| 60% gold / 40% silver | rare, often ceremonial |
| >70% gold | usually just called "bad gold" |
Which is why most merchants don’t refine — they discount instead. “I’ll take the risk — and charge you for it.”
Honest City Merchant: 20–30% total loss, includes refining + modest profit
Rural / Small Town: 30–40% total loss (fewer facilities, higher losses)
Shady / Desperate Situation: 40–50%, “take it or leave it”, especially if players are armed, foreign, or desperate
Appraise Skill:
Success → player knows if they’re in the right ballpark/rank
Failure → merchant nudges the ratio down a rank “for safety”
Critical success → player spots unusually high gold content, rank increased
Leather coins: Whose skin is it made from...?
shed skin from lizardman = 1sp,
hunted skin = 2sp, could be human...
from an ancestor = 5sp - does not leave tribe, leaving tribe isn't just stealing, it's war!
Historically:
Crossbows required less trainingAD&D ignores most of that.
Delivered similar or higher kinetic energy
Could penetrate armor better than bows
Were deadly in mass use
Heavy crossbows were slow... but not that slow
Why AD&D Made Crossbows Weak
2E is built around heroic medieval fantasy, not historical realism.
The designers wanted:
Elves = best archers → longbows must dominate.They intentionally nerfed crossbows to reinforce class and racial flavor, not realism. So: Bows = heroic, skilled, fast, high damage; Crossbows = “peasant gear”, low skill, low power. This is design choice, not physics.
Fighters = iconic bow users.
Crossbows = simple peasant weapons, something a town guard uses incompetently.
New rules:
Heavy Crossbow
ROF 1/1 (one per round)
Damage 1d8+1
Ignores 2 points of target AC vs metal armor (ie., +2 to hit against metal armoured targets)
Range stays the same
Light Crossbow
ROF 2/1 (same as bow)
Damage 1d6
Easier to fire prone or in cramped spaces (ie., entirely possible! Bows require two hands and space to draw)
Hand Crossbow
ROF 2/1
Damage 1d4
Concealable
This matches history AND gives crossbows a reason to exist.
Travel in the wilderness is not without its' risks. Generally, you'll know roughly where you're going, but, some places can be harder to come across than others.
Guides: are non-combat and will bring you directly to one place and are unlikely to get lost. They'll give you a roughly 25% quicker journey time, usually.
Maps: will give you an indication of where you might find places within a certain region.
As a rough rule:
Travel in a completely alien area (sea, desert, etc.): navigation and similiar checks are made with disadvantage
Travel in an unknown area (plains, forests, ie., most of Britannia): simple navigation checks apply
Travel with a map of an area: navigation and similiar checks are made with advantage.
The RAW rule is poison has a save, and damage/death is applied after an onset time.
New Poison rule: Damage is calculated as before, and after the onset time, poison damage is applied at 10% per round thereafter. "Death" is application of the characters Maximum Hit Points.
Examples:
Character suffers 7 points of poison damage - they lose 7hp at a rate of 1hp/r for 7 rounds. If they suffer 21 points of damage, they lose 2hp/r for ten rounds, and 1hp in the eleventh round.
Character has 20hp out of a maximum 35hp, a failed save means death. They suffer a loss of 3hp/r for eleven rounds, and 2hp in the twelvth round.
Notes: Rapid healing can reduce the likelihood of a fatal result - this is intentional. Note also that a character at 0hp is downed and making death saves, and will lose 1 point of CON on revival, and they are also still poisoned! It's not enough to merely stabilize a poisoned character. If nothing is done, then at -10hp, the character is DEAD, regardless of death saves.
The RAW rule is magic spells are memorized and only memorized spells can be cast.
New Spell Point rule: Spell Point System. A wizard’s daily spell allotment may instead be expressed as spell points. Each memorized spell contributes a number of spell points equal to its spell level: 1st-level spells are worth 1 point, 2nd-level spells are worth 2 points, and so forth, up to 9 points for a 9th-level spell. The total spell point pool available to a wizard is the sum of all spell points derived from the spells normally available at that level of experience. (Specialist wizards add a number of spell points equal to their casting level.)
Example: A fifth level mage may cast 4 1st level spells, 2 2nd level spells and 1 3rd level spell, which must be memorized spells, per day. In spell points, this is 4x1 + 2x2 + 1x3 = 11 spell points. The mage may cast any known spell of any level, so long as the mage has enough spell points remaining.
Intelligence Modifier to Spell Points: A wizard’s total daily spell point pool is modified by Intelligence. Apply the appropriate modifier from the table below to the wizard’s total spell points after determining the base spell point pool for that level of experience. A wizard with an Intelligence score of 0 is incapable of spellcasting. Note: Negative modifiers may not reduce a wizard’s spell point pool below zero; although a spell point pool of zero means no spells can be cast!
| Intelligence Score | Spell Point Modifier |
|---|---|
| 0 | No spellcasting possible |
| 1 | -5 |
| 2 | -4 |
| 3 | -3 |
| 4–5 | -2 |
| 6–8 | -1 |
| 9–12 | -- |
| 13–15 | +1 |
| 16–17 | +2 |
| 18 | +3 |
| 19 | +4 |
| 20 | +5 |
| 21 | +6 |
| 22 | +7 |
| 23 | +8 |
| 24 | +9 |
| 25 | +10 |
Note that wands and staves may further modify a wizards' Spell Point total.
Wands and staves are essential pieces of kit for the adventuring mage. They act as "batteries"; a mage may transfer spell points into a wand for storage and use at a later date, thus greatly increasing their spell casting abilities.
Wand/Staff Charging: A wand can be charged once per day, during preparation or rest. The mage may transfer up to 1/2 their caster level in SP per day, until the wand reaches its maximum capacity.
Charging Cost: Charging is mentally taxing but safe. Each charging session costs only the transferred SP with no risks involved, but, charging requires quiet, physical contact with the wand or staff, and uninterrupted concentration (10 minutes).
| Wand Material | Capacity & Notes |
|---|---|
| Wood | 6 SP - any wood. Bleeds 1SP/day. Typical cheap starter kit. |
| Greatwood | 8 SP - From a mighty Greatwood tree (rare). |
| Silverwood | 10 SP - From the mystical Silverwood tree (very rare). |
Staves: Double all material costs, double capacity +50%
Using a Wand: When casting a spell, the caster may draw SP from the wand instead of themselves. Note: Either the SP comes from the caster, or the wand/staff, not both.
Restrictions: The spell must be one the caster knows. The caster level is their own, and casting time unchanged.
Crafting a Wand
Requirements: To craft a wand, the creator must be a mage capable of casting spells, know at least one spell of 2nd level or higher, and have access to basic arcane tools.
Time: Wand: 7 uninterrupted days. Staff: 21 uninterrupted days. This is dedicated work, not adventuring downtime!
Arcane Investment: During crafting, the mage must permanently invest 1 spell point per 2 SP of capacity (minimum 3 spell points invested). This SP returns only if the wand is destroyed.
Monetary Costs: Wand: 50 gp per SP of capacity. Staff: 100 gp per SP of capacity.
Skill Check: Roll once at completion. Failure = botched, capacity is reduced by 1 SP. Critical failure reduces capacity by 1D4 SP. Success = capacity is unaffected. Exact success increases capacity by 1 SP. Critical success increases capacity by 1D4 SP (The invested spell points is unchanged, only how many spell points the wand can hold is changed).
End Caps: A wand or staff isn't much use without end caps. These are additional to the above costs. Each cap takes 5 coins of material (except for gems). Note that two matching endcaps are required.
Iron: Cheap and readily available. -1 to capacity. Good for an apprentice mage on a budget.
Silver: The baseline choice, no penalty/bonus.
Gold: +1 bonus to capacity.
Gems: +1 bonus per 1,000gp value, maximum +5 bonus. The exact gem doesn't matter, but they must match.
Each end cap may provide no more than +5/10 (wand/staff) SP. Each cap provides their penalty/bonus per cap, with double effect for staves, so the maximum bonus is +10 SP per wand, max +20 SP per staff. Note that a gem cap requires a master jeweler to craft.
Other Wand/Staff types: There are other wand/staff types that exist. Crafting these would require extra-ordinary quests in their own right, but they do give the mage incredible power. With great risks, comes great rewards - but, power does not come cheap!
Using Anothers' Wand/Staff: Using anothers' wand/staff is entirely possible, however there are a few caveats: firstly and most obviously, since a mage has invested their power in the wand/staff, they are unlikely in the extreme to willingly part with it. Secondly, a wand/staff is not only a considerably powerful item, but also a very individual item. Bragging about possessing the great wizard Wazoos' wand probably isn't a very good idea!
Wand/Staff Destruction: Breaking a wand/staff results in a magical explosion, 1d6 damage per SP (capped at 20d6). At zero spell points, there is no explosion, which gives a mage a chance to recover invested SP from creating the wand/staff if they have an "empty" wand. It's also a good reason why mages might be captured instead of fought to the death, and can expect to survive captivity.
A magical discharge occurs if a wand or staff is deliberately broken or shattered by damage or otherwise destroyed while holding any stored spell points. A mage may threaten to sunder their wand/staff during combat. This applies whether the wand/staff is charged or partially charged, wielded or unattended.
Upon destruction, there is an explosion of raw magical force, inflicting 1d6 damage per stored SP, up to a maximum of 20d6. This affects everything in a 10 ft radius for wands, 20 ft radius for staves, Save vs Spell for half damage.
Spell Point Recovery - If the original creator of the wand/staff is within the blast radius, conscious, and the wand/staff is at zero spell points, they may attempt to reclaim invested SP. This requires an INT check; success means full recovery of invested SP; failure means only half the invested SP are recovered; a critical failure means no invested SP are recovered.
Some obvious consequences are that mages are usually offered terms to surrender, as killing a wizard with a staff is a very bad idea. Also, taking a wand from a mage isn't just theft, it's hostage-taking, and breaking an opponents' wand/staff is, at the very least, an act of war.