---
title: "HOSR Core Rules: Adventuring"
description:
date_pub: 2023-04-26T23:02:00-04:00
section: rules
content_type: feature
short_code: rha
---
[[toc]]
### Health, Damage and Dying
Starting HP is based class and race. 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** 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.
#### Healing
- After each long rest (8+ hours of sleep), regain 1 _hit die (HD)_ worth of HP.
- Once per day, during a short rest (10 minutes), eat a ration to regain 1 HD worth of HP.
### Knowledge & Languages
**Identifying (Magic) Items** - Spellcasters get INT check
**Medical Treatment** - INT check, success restores ability to move and fight (after nearly dying).
- Can't be used on oneself.
**Secret Languages** - Some orders and guilds (especially those that engage in illegal / immoral acts) may teach their members secret or otherwise coded language.
### Perception Checks
Generally, perception can be checked by rolling highest of INT or WIS.
| 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]
### Encumbrance
PCs can carry a number of "Important Items" equal to their strength (to a minimum of 10).
- Leather armor counts as 1 item, chain-mail counts as 2 items, plate counts as 3 items.
- 2-handed weapons count as 2 items.
- 1000 coins or 100 gems count as 1 item.
Carrying more items than allowed can be done, but movement is halved (or worse).
### 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.
### 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
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's gone far enough or combat has completed, the (dungeon) turn or (wilderness) watch ends.
- Dungeon: 120'
- Wilderness: 12 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 monster, social encounter, or some other random interaction.
2. **Signs** - 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**
#### 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]
#### 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'.
#### Other Hazards
- **Falling** - Fall damage is 1d6 / 10'.
- **Swimming** - Characters are assumed to be able to swim at 1/2 their movement speed.
### 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.
### Legal Information
> This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.