26 January 2010

B/X D&D thief house rule

Just an idea for a house rule for B/X Dungeons & Dragons. Apply a thief’s dexterity adjustment to their level to determine their thief skills. So, a 1st level thief with an 18 dexterity would use the 4th level row of the thief skills table.

The idea is generally like the “Dexterity Table II” from AD&D (PHB p. 12), but in a simpler, more B/X-style form.

Is it crazy?

6 comments:

Jayson said...

I like the sound of it. I suppose you could argue that it would encourage stat inflation, but I doubt the average player is going to want a low-DEX thief anyway.

Give it a playtest!

So, would a thief with an 8 DEX be stuck with 1st-level thief skills until 3rd level? :)

Robert said...

Thanks for the comment, Jayson.

Yeah, that’s exactly how I was thinking of handling a low-dex thief—if it ever came up.

cr0m said...

I like it, but then I play a 1st level Thief with a 14 Dex.

Thieves in B/X certainly need help though.

Matthew James Stanham said...

Sounds okay to me; places a bit of emphasis on dexterity, but not problematically. I might limit it to 13+ = +1 level or 13-17 = +1, 18 = +2, but hard to say for sure.

JB said...

How does dexterity help with hearing noise??
; )

Robert said...

Heh! Didn't think of that.