--- title: 'HOSR Core Rules: Adventuring' description: date_pub: 2023-04-26T23:02:00-04:00 section: rules content_type: feature short_code: uha --- [[toc]] ### Ability Checks Simple tasks are assumed to succeed. If the task is dangerous or complicated, roll the dice for an Ability Check. - For most checks, roll a 20-sided die (d20) **at or over** the specified Difficulty Class (DC) for that ability. - For harder tasks, add 1-4 to the DC before the die is thrown.
| Ability
Score | Roll
Bonus | Base DC | | ^^ | ^^ | ^^ | | :-: | :-: | :-: | | 18 | +3 | 6 | | 17 | +2 | 6 | | 16 | +2 | 7 | | 15 | +1 | 7 | | 14 | +1 | 8 | | 13 | +1 | 9 | | 12 | +0 | 9 | | 11 | +0 | 10 | | 10 | +0 | 11 | | 9 | +0 | 12 | | 8 | -1 | 12 | | 7 | -1 | 13 | | 6 | -1 | 14 | | 5 | -2 | 14 | | 4 | -2 | 15 | | 3 | -3 | 15 | [Ability Check Roll Bonus and DC]
- Some results are special: - A natural 20 represents a critical success: the check automatically succeeds, and often includes a bonus for the roller. - A natural 1 is a critical failure: the check automatically fails, and the attempt often causes an additional complication or challenge for the roller. ### Exploration Procedure The general steps to take when exploring (dungeon, wilderness, etc.) 1. **Setup**: Referee describes the situation 2. **Marching Order**: Party determines general exploration process, including direction of travel and speed. 3. **Complication Check**: Referee rolls the complication die to see what effect it has. 4. **Actions / Responses / Complications**: Party declares actions, referee describes the results (and any complications). 5. **End Turn / Watch**: When the party has gone far enough or combat has completed, the (dungeon) turn or (wilderness) watch ends. - Dungeon: 240' - Wilderness: 6 miles 6. **Repeat**: Return to step 2 and repeat until the adventuring ends. #### Complication Check Roll 1d6, ignoring results of 4+ for the first 4 turns in a session (or since they last occurred). 1. **Encounter**: Wandering creature, social encounter, or some other random interaction. 2. **Signs / Portents**: Indications of possible encounter nearby - could be a clue, monster tracks, etc. 3. **Locality**: Some environmental or external event that affects the PCs - water rises, the assassin gets closer to the target, doors lock behind the party, etc. 4. **Exhaustion**: Take a rest turn (short rest) or (additional) -1 to all rolls until you do. 5. **Light Source**: Torches go out, lanterns go out every third time. 6. **No Complications** #### Darkness - -4 to attack when unable to see - Candles light 10' radius - Torches / lanterns light 30' radius #### Infravision - Can see heat tones, even in the dark. - Usually works to 60'. #### Listening at Doors Spend a minute listening at a door to have a base 1-in-6 chance of hearing a noise. - Referee makes this roll. #### Opening Doors - Locked Doors can be picked or broken. - Picking a lock takes 1d6 minutes. - Stuck Doors can be unstuck or broken. - Doors always break on a 1. Failure can affect stealth / surprise.
| STR | Unstick | Break | | :---: | :-----: | :----: | | 3-8 | --- | 1-in-6 | | 9-12 | 2-in-6 | 1-in-6 | | 13-15 | 3-in-6 | 2-in-6 | | 16-17 | 4-in-6 | 3-in-6 | | 18+ | 5-in-6 | 4-in-6 | [Forcing Door Chances]
##### Exhaustion - Exhausted creatures attack and deal damage at -2, and get -2 to their AC. - Exhaustion can be cleared by resting for 30 minutes (3 turns). #### Other Hazards - Fall damage is 1d6 / 10'. #### Swimming - Creatures are assumed to be able to swim at 1/2 their normal movement speed. - Unless the creature is just floating, a STR or CON check is required every turn (10 minutes). - For creatures carrying heavy loads or wearing metal armor, this check is required very combat round (10 seconds). - Failing this check results in a loss of 1 HP, and the check must be immediately attempted again. - The third failure indicates the creature begins **drowning**``. #### Drowning - Each combat round, a drowning creature must **Save vs Death** or take 1d8 drowning damage. - When a drowning creature is rescued, it becomes exhausted. - Once the exhaustion clears, the creature gains back any HP lost to drowning. #### Urban Navigation To navigate to a location in a busting city, make a Reaction Roll (2d6) + CHA mod + INT mod. - Modify roll in friendly, dangerous, or especially alien areas. - Navigation time includes time spent reading maps and getting directions, as well as any eating or rest stops needed along the way. - Roll random encounter checks each hour
| Roll | Result | Time Spent | | :--: | :-------: | :--------------------: | | 2 | Failure | Waste day searching | | 3-5 | Wandering | Arrive after 2d4 hours | | 6-8 | Success | Arrive after 1d6 hours | | 9-11 | Fortunate | Arrive after 1d4 hours | | 12+ | Direct | Arrive after 1 hour | [Urban Exploration Results]
#### Wilderness Exploration - Distances and non-magical ranges are tripled (yards rather than feet). - Areas of breath weapons and spell effects are still measured in feet. **Flight** - Unless stated otherwise, flight distance is double that of overland travel. - Flight speed is not affected by terrain. - Winged beasts may be used as **mounts**, carrying riders or cargo based on the mount's HD: - 3 HD: May carry a creature 1/2 the size of a humanoid. - 6 HD: May carry a creature the size of a humanoid. - 12 HD: May carry a large creature (ex: horse) - 24 HD: May carry a huge animal (ex: elephant) **Overland Travel** - The distance in miles that a character can travel overland in a day (16 hours) under normal conditions (and clear terrain) can be determined by multiplying their base movement rate by .6 (or 3/5). - 10' / round => 6 miles / day - 20' / round => 12 miles / day - 30' / round => 18 miles / day - 40' / round = 24 miles / day - Some terrain affects overland speed while traveling through it: - Maintain roads: Increase speed by 50%. - Hilly, wooded, or desert terrain: Decrease speed by 33%. - Swampy, mountainous, or jungle terrain: Decrease speed by 50%. - Characters engaged in a forced march can increase their travel speed by 50%, but must rest for a full day or suffer exhaustion (-1 to all rolls). - Characters must rest 1 day for every 6 days traveling or suffer exhaustion (-1 to all rolls, cumulative for each additional day without rest). **Sight** Characters can usually see 3 miles around (in clear terrain). - Range of sight may vary based on terrain (ex: less in wooded area, more on an overlook). ### Encounter Procedure 1. **Check Stealth**: Referee rolls for stealth, if applicable. - Each side that's being relatively stealthy (quiet, douses torches, etc.) has a base 2-in-6 chance of not being spotted. - Parties carrying an active light source typically can not have stealth. - If only one side has stealth, they may usually make a free attack (or can pass unnoticed). - If all sides have stealth, they miss each other. 2. **Determine Distance**: Referee determines how far away the characters are from the encounter. - Often determined by the nature of the encounter itself, but may be determined randomly: - Dungeon: 2d6 x 10' - Wilderness: 4d6 x 10 yards (or 1d4 x 10 yards if either side is surprised). 3. **Roll Initiative**: Each side that has stealth rolls 1d20, highest roll moves first. 4. **Choose Actions**: Each side decides how they will respond in initiative order, and the encounter proceeds. - Players decide how their characters will act. - Creature actions are often determined by the nature of the encounter itself, but may be determined randomly. - If creature / NPC reaction isn't obvious, roll 2d6 (+ CHA modifier, if someone tries to communicate).
| 2d6 | Result | | :-: | :---------: | | 2- | Attack! | | 3 | Hateful | | 4 | Leery | | 5 | Rude | | 6 | Aloof | | 7 | Uncertain | | 8 | Confused | | 9 | Indifferent | | 10 | Cordial | | 11 | Amiable | | 12+ | Friendly! | [Reaction Table]
| CHA | Mod | | :---: | :-: | | 3 | -3 | | 4-5 | -2 | | 6-8 | -1 | | 9-12 | +0 | | 13-15 | +1 | | 16-17 | +2 | | 18+ | +3 | [Charisma Modifier]
5. **End Turn**: Once the encounter has played out, the turn ends. - Each encounter is assumed to take at least one full turn to complete. - This includes time to regroup, bind wounds, clean weapons, rest, etc. #### Typical Actions While any action is possible, the following actions are the most common: - **Combat**: If a side attacks, casts a spell, or makes a tactical movement, [combat](./combat.html) begins. - **Evasion**: If a side decides to flee, another side may decide to pursue. - **Talk**: One side may attempt to communicate with the other(s). #### Evasion Any side that wishes to avoid an encounter may attempt to flee. - Only possible before combat begins. - Each opposing side declares whether or not they want to pursue. - Players decide freely if they wish to pursue fleeing creatures. - Referee decides whether creatures pursue fleeing PCs (based on circumstances or roll). - If all opposing sides decide not to pursue, the evasion attempt automatically succeeds and the encounter is avoided. - If an opposing side decides to pursue, the chance of evading depends on the surrounding environment. ### Advancement As the adventures continue, treasure is acquired and creatures are vanquished, all adding to the PCs XP total. - Each standard coin worth of treasure gained is worth 1 XP, and each creature has an XP value awarded for beating them (one way or another). - The total XP are then divided amongst the PCs and any hirelings they have (at 1/2 share per hireling). - Players running multiple characters gets a full share for their first PC and a half-share for the second, although they choose how to distribute the points. - Referees may increase the derived value arbitrarily. - Once a PC acquires enough XP, they go up to the next level in their class. #### Upon Gaining a Level When a PC increases their level, the following actions may be performed: - Roll a hit die (based on the PC's class), and add it to their maximum hit points. - 1s and 2s may be re-rolled. - Alternatively, roll the next die step down and add 2. - Their player may pick one of the PC's abilities, and roll 3d6. - If the resulting roll is higher than the ability score, increase the score by 1. - Check the PC's [class](/classes/index.html) and [race](/races/index.html) to see if any new abilities are gained. ### Encumbrance Characters can carry a number of "Important Items", based on their Strength (STR). - Items can be carried **At Ready** or **Packed**. - "At Ready" items may be grabbed and used without delay. - Packing or unpacking items takes 1 turn. - Characters can carry a number of at-ready items up to their Strength (STR), to a minimum of 7. - Additionally, characters may carry a number of packed items up to their Strength (STR), to a minimum of 7. - Leather armor counts as 1 item, mail counts as 2 items, plate counts as 3 items. - 2-handed weapons count as 2 items. - 100 coins or gems count as 1 item. - Carrying more ready or packed items than allowed can be done, but movement is halved (or worse). - Carrying more than twice the allowed number of ready or packed items reduces movement to 0. ### Health, Damage and Dying The state of a character's health is determined by their number of hit points (HP). - Starting HP is usually determined by class and level. - The type of Hit Dice to throw is determined by class - The number of Hit Dice to throw is determined by level. - Re-roll any 1s or 2s. - Modify the rolled value of each die by CON as below:
| CON | Mod | | :---: | :-: | | 3 | -3 | | 4-5 | -2 | | 6-8 | -1 | | 9-12 | +0 | | 13-15 | +1 | | 16-17 | +2 | | 18+ | +3 | [Constitution Modifier]
- When damage is taken, HP is lost. #### Dying - Monsters and NPCs usually die at 0 HP. - PCs at 0 HP (or lower) make a **Saving Throw vs Death** at the end of each round of combat. - On success, stabilize at 1 HP (no need to continue saving vs death), but can't fight and can only move 1/2 speed until treated or healed. - On fail, lose 1 HP to blood loss and try again next round. - At -(level) HP (or lower), save or die. - PCs should never die from a single bad roll, but two bad rolls is enough. #### Healing - After each long rest (8+ hours of sleep), regain 1 _hit die (HD)_ worth of HP. - Once per day, take a short rest (10 minutes) and eat a ration to regain 1 HD worth of HP. - Certain potions of healing can also be used: - Drinking a healing potion restores up to 1d6+1 HP. - Imbibing a potion of greater healing restores up to 2d6+2 HP. - Quaffing a potion of supreme healing restores up to 3d8+3 HP. ### Knowledge **Identifying (Magic) Items**: Spellcasters get INT check. **Medical Treatment**: INT check, success stabilizes dying characters and restores their ability to move and fight. - Can't be used on oneself. ### Languages - Anyone who speaks a language can understand other related lanuages (ex: dialects) with a successful INT check. - Some orders and guilds (especially those that engage in illegal / immoral acts) may teach their members secret or otherwise coded language. - The following lists of languages are not all-inclusive. #### Alignment Languages Assumed to shared by all (intelligent) members of a given alignment. - **Chaotic**: Alignment language of chaos. - **Lawful**: Alignment language of law. - **Neutral**: Alignment language of neutrality. #### Class Languages Most class languages are secret, known only to members of their class, and often include coded terms and/or physical motions (hand waves, knocks, etc.). - **Assassin's Cant**: Secret (and coded) language known to all thieves. - Dialects are based on different guilds. - **Corsair's Cant**: Secret (and coded) language spoken by all Corsairs. - Dialects are based on different ship / locations. - **Druidic**: Secret language spoken by all Druids. - **Thieves' Cant**: Secret (and coded) language known to all thieves. - Dialects are based on different guilds. #### Racial Languages - **Aerian**: Native language of air elementals, dialect of elemental. - **Angelic**: Native language of angels (law elements), dialect of both lawful and elemental. - **Aquon**: Native language of water elementals, dialect of elemental. - **Demonic**: Native language of demons (chaos elements), dialect of both chaotic and elemental. - **Doppleganger**: Native language of dopplegangers. - **Draconic**: Native language of most intelligent reptilian races (kobolds, troglodytes, lizardfolk, dragons, dracokin, etc.). - **Duncommon**: Native language of those that dwell deep underground and other dark places (Drow, Medusa, etc.). - **Dwarfish**: Native language of dwarves. - **Elemental**: Spoken by all elementals, each subtype has their own dialect. - **Elvish**: Native language of elves, dialect of faerie. - **Faerie**: Native language of the fae, usually divided into 2 dialects: - **High Faerie** Spoken in the ruling courts of the Faewolde. - **Low Faerie**: Spoken everywhere else in the Faewolde. - **Farspeak**: Language of the far realms. - **Gargoyle**: Native language of gargoyles. - **Giant**: Native language of giants. - **Goblinoid**: Native language of most intelligent goblinoid races (boggarts, bugbears, goblins, hobgoblins, etc.) - **Gnollish**: Native language of gnolls. - **Gnomish**: Native language of gnomes. - **Greyok**: Native language of several intelligent mammalian animalkin races (Elekin, Hippokin, Rhinokin, Taurokin). - **Halfling**: Native language of halflings. - **Orcish**: Native language of ogres and orcs. - **Pyrean**: Native language of fire elementals, dialect of elemental. - **Strallan**: Native language of the Stral and official language of the Stral Empire. - **Terrun**: Native language of earth elementals, dialect of elemental.
| INT | Spoken Languages | Read? | | :---: | :--------------: | :---: | | 3 | Native (broken) | No | | 4-5 | Native | No | | 6-8 | Native | Basic | | 9-12 | Native | Yes | | 13-15 | Native + 1 | Yes | | 16-17 | Native + 2 | Yes | | 18+ | Native + 3 | Yes | [Languages Known]
### Perception Checks Generally, perception can be checked by rolling highest of INT or WIS. ### Size A creature's size is usually defined by one of the following categories based on its height and/or weight:
| Size | Max Height | Control Radius | | :--------: | :--------: | :------------: | | Tiny | 2' | 2.5' | | Small | 4' | 5' | | Medium | 8' | 5' | | Large | 16' | 10' | | Huge | 32' | 15' | | Gargantuan | 32'+ | 20'+ | [Creature Sizes]
### Time Time is often represented at different scales: - A combat round is 10 seconds long. - An exploration turn takes 10 minutes. - A watch takes 4 hours. - A long rest takes 8 hours. !!!include(license/wotc-cc-by.md)!!!