Gamemastering

Players: Do not read

Generic Guidelines

Large Battles

It is far easier to just count up all damage dealt by player characters and add it to total HD damage inflicted. Then, reduce some (exceed damage etc.) and the result, divided by creature HD, is creature skilled. Likewise, when they attack back, simply decide number of attacks falling to group and then roll to-hit. All hits are then divided randomly.

When handling a very large battle, fast battle system is recommended, but swapping between it and normal combat is a good idea.

Attack Types

For many attacks, attack type is needed to be known. Use damage types in system as guidelines if the type is not given. For example, a cauldron of melted lead is most probably some physical damage and then some fire damage.

Sometimes there is need to know is the weapon blunt, piercing or cutting, or is it made of metal or something else. Again, as a gamemaster you must use your judgement, based on the situation and common sense - a sword is usually cutting while spear is always piercing. A spiked mace is mainly blunt weapon while warhammer is either piercing or blunt - usually blunt. Similarily most weapons are usually made of metals (iron or steel), unless it is a bow or quarterstaff or some strange magical weapon like Obsidian Axe.

Wishes

Players may gain wishes from some items, and they should be handled very carefully.

1. too greedy wish gives less than reasonable one.
2. badly worded wish may give unpredictable results.

Roll a die for any other than very reasonable wish, and more greedy wish will 'fail' more easily and give something much reduced in value.

Quite reasonable wishes are:

• Almost any magical item, or a few one-use magic items.
• Any multiattribute (not the same twice)
• 1 health level or magic point
• Any permanent resistance, except physical.
• Teleportation with a small group to any place.
• Any spell effect.

Death

When a creature dies, his spirit starts to wander the area near the dying place. At the time of the dying and during each following sunrise (or equivalent), roll a final death roll for creature, adding +2 dice for each day. If the roll succeeds, the Death itself arrives and takes the spirit away, and the creature cannot be resurrected nor reincarnated anymore. Please note that some creatures cause permanent death regardless of any rebirth counters.

Final death: a creature cannot be held away from Death's domain infinitely. Each time the creature dies and during each sunrise, roll a d6 for each rebirth counter on creature, adding 2 dice for each day spent dead. Reroll any dice that comes as '1', and if any rerolled dice again come up as '1', the Death arrives and the creature cannot be resurrected anymore. Otherwise, the spirit stays for a while. Note that characters may be able to negotiate the Death to keep away once, but that's an absolute limit!

Converting Creatures from AD&D

It is impossible to have all the AD&D monsters converted and sometimes new creatures are needed when using edd2 with old AD&D modules. Here is some guidelines to do quick conversion:

• HD is usually 1:1, but sometimes edd2 monsters are stronger, especially to reflect high armor class. If the original monster only has hit points, divide them by 4.5 to get HD. High armor class creatures usually have HD improved, to reflect limited armor system.
• Attack damage is usually con verted from average damage (4.5 to 1 damage). Extra attacks are usually given to those with good THAC0, to reflect that they usually hit more often. So, an add creature with one attack of 4-40 damage and THAC0 of 10 can have 2 (or 3) attacks each of damage 5 in edd2!
• +1 save per 6 HD (or almost)
• Armor is about 2 for those with very bad AC (7 or worse), 3 for those lower number, 4 for around AC 0 and 5 reserved for those in negative scale (-3 or so or better). This is only a generic guideline. Held armor is usually 1 point worse, unless it is a very slow or big creature. Similarily a very fast creature can have held armor 2 points worse.
• ...

Feel free to modify monsters to what they should be! As you may easily notice, many creature in edd2 differ to those in add. Some of them are more like Nethack versions, some are just upgraded or streamlined.

Special Powers and Effects

Curses

Curses are usually vulnerability to some attack type (not physical, except a small sub-class!), stupidity or some more non-instant curse, like allergies or something like 'your first born son will be a total imbecile', 'your hair will fall down and you'll become bald', 'windows will break near you', 'you can never have a baby', 'your eyes will become yellow', 'you will womit frogs when lying' or 'your breath will be foul smelling'.

Even normal vulnerability curses must be phrased appropriately, like 'you will become sick and cannot endure diseases' (vulnerability to disease) etc. If the target has innate immunity or resistance, the curse will lessen them by one until vulnerability is caused; it does not affect attributes granted by items or enchantments.

Cursed Items

Curses in worn items usually prevent removal of the item. In addition, cursed fragile items tend to break, weapons to become dull or magical items to have unpredictable results.

Cursed items usually stop to work if benefictal normally. In addition, they cannot be removed without exceed force, and the wearer may try to prevent that.

Note that swords or wands or other items not actually worn never stick to user, nor does many cursed items until their curse has appeared - so putting a ring into a finger and then trying to remove it is not always a secure way to check it.

Polymorph

Polymorph is caused by a spell or similar effect, like polymorph potion. It is usually targeted at a creature, which then assumes a new form, usually temporarily.

New random form: if the new form is not anyway controlled, it is quite probably very similar to that original, and HD or level will stay quite same. When polymorphing, there is always danger of permanent polymorph into a bit different original creature. Always roll a d6, consulting this table:

1	Original (stats, sex and appearance may change, permanent)
2	A very similar creature of the same type
3	Same type (humanoid, giant humanoid, animal, undead etc.)
4-5	Some common creature (common humanoids and animals)
6	Exotic (any creature possible to polymorph into)

New chosen form: When a polymorph is tried to chosen creature type, the change of success depends mainly on how close the target form is from the original. If the desired form is very different and especially of much higher level or HD, the shapeshift will transform creature into something smaller or simply modify him or her as with result 1 in table above.

Transformation Itself

During transformation, no items appear or disappear. If the creature had any torso armor, it will probably break if creature transforms into something larger. Gauntlets and boots are quite probably only pushed out of too large extremes, but bracers may break, too.

If creature had some hard metal armor without any joints to break, the transformation may become quite a mess, and at least painful.

Unless the polymorph is permanent into a stupid creaturew, the subject retains all mental attributes, skill, saves and innate resistances if bought with experience or from deities. Resistances from the race are lost.

Health level maximum is average of the creature and that of the new form, and current health levels are proportional to that. As with permanent pomymorph, only physical powers are usable, innate powers need training and learning, and are always different when again shapeshifted. Armor, combat levels and attacks equal to a new form.

When the creature returns to original form, health levels are calculated proportionally as before.

Defensive Magic

In addition to normal magic, there exist lots of arcane and powerful anti-magic. These powerful enchantments usually require magic users of very high level (20+) and long rituals. These effects cannot be dispelled or negated normally. Typical effects are:

• Limited Mystical aura (a bit like Mystic Aura) to prevent teleportation within area and into it. Any teleport attempts to area result in other areas close by
• Full Mystical Aura. As above, but also prevents teleportation out of the area like Mystic Aura spell.
• Magically reinforced walls which cannot be Digged or similarily affected. Extreme physical force might still work
• Modifications to all spell-casting, like making it always hard, using double the magic points and so on

Usually a creature with vbery high magic level or which has created the effect can ignore it. Thus a Palace of a Demon Prince with mystical aura does not prevent the Demon Prince from teleporting.

Special Innate Powers

These powers are similar to spells and miracles but only appear in certain monster powers. As a gamemaster you can allow them to be added to spell repertuare or miracles if so desired.