Editable Chainmail M2M Tables

This is going to be a short one.

In my last post I shared some statistics about the man-to-man tables in Chainmail. Here's a link to my calculations, with separate sheets for the numbers as presented in the book and another to play around with (Raw and Mod, respectively). To edit your own version, go to "File" then "Make a copy". Have fun!

On Chainmail's Man-to-Man Tables

On and off I've been working on Láncvért, a supplement for Kazamaták és Kompániák that integrates most subsystems found in Chainmail into the KéK framework in a much less confusing way than the original (at least that's my hope).

One of the many interesting bits in Chainmail is the man-to-man combat system (the one that was supposed to be used with OD&D according to the rulebook, although apparently even the designers disagreed). It's a fairly simple 2d6 table where you check the attacker's weapon and the defender's armour to see your target number; if you meet or exceed your target, the defender is killed (or dealt one die of damage in D&D terms).

Below you can check the table (colour-coded for our convenience); I also added averages (and rounded averages) for each weapon and armour category as well:

The bell curve can be a little counter-intuitive, so I also included a handy chart with percentages. Don't be confused by the colours; I decided to swap them so that red means "hard to kill" instead of "meagre defence" here:

We can already see some interesting things here. For some reason, the spear seems to be the worst weapon in terms of stopping power. Two-handed swords vastly outperform all other weapons (including the mounted lance!), followed by the flail and the morning star.

Leather armour is virtually the same as no armour (it only makes a difference against a dagger or a sword). Shields, however, are really good. In fact, if you have to choose between picking up mail armour or a shield, you should go with the latter.

I also made some more detailed comparisons between various armour types:

Curiously, mail armour makes you more susceptible to being killed against a number of weapons (possibly because the manoeuvrability you sacrifice is greater than the protection of the extra armour that the weapons in particular can bash through — at least that's my theory).

Shields, if we look at them closely, always improve protection, except in one case: against a halberd and paired with leather armour.

There are more rules that go into this subsystem, of course, but this is the main engine. I quite like the extra differentiation between weapons, but I'm not convinced about the specifics. Further testing needs to be conducted until I find a happy middle ground.

Kazamaták és Kompániák - Spells for MUs and Elves

As promised way back, here are the spells in KéK available for Magic-Users and Elves (albeit in an abbreviated form).

Kazamaták és Kompániák - Advanced Classes

The second edition of the Hungarian retro-clone, Kamazaták és Kompániák is imminent, and even though it won't be available in English, I've decided to make certain key elements of it available for an international audience - partially because if I ever decide to run something B/X-like in English, I'll most certainly pick KéK over OSE (after years of extensive playtesting and fine-tuning, I just prefer it to B/X).

Below you will find the six "advanced" classes for the Hungarian retro-clone, Kamazaták és Kompániák (abbreviated, for it is but a reference work) - next time we look at the spell lists for magic-using classes (and as before, the devil's in the details).

Kazamaták és Kompániák - Basic Classes

The second edition of the Hungarian retro-clone, Kamazaták és Kompániák (Dungeons & Companies) is imminent, and even though it won't be published in English (as there are already enough B/X-like games), I've decided to make certain key elements of it available for an international audience - partially because if I ever decide to run something B/X-like in English, I'll most certainly pick KéK over OSE (after years of extensive playtesting and fine-tuning, I just prefer it to B/X).

Below you will find the seven basic classes (abbreviated, for it is but a reference work) - next time we look at the "advanced" classes (described as "classes for wilderness and city campaigns" in KéK), and finally, spell lists for both "basic" and "advanced" classes (and as before, the devil's in the details).

A few notes:

• Level limit is 6 by default (for player characters at least).
• Attack rolls are 1d20 + attacker's to-hit bonuses + defenders's AC vs. 20.
• Morale and hireling rules are roughly as in B/X (see either Echoes from Fomalhaut #01 or Castle Xyntillan for details).
• On D6 rolls (such as class abilities or random encounter rolls) it is assumed that high rolls favour the party, while low rolls hinder them.
• XP is awareded for defeating enemies (based on HD and special abilities), recovering teasure (1 XP per 1 gp), and carousing (1 XP per 1 gp).
• Spellcasting requires memorisation.
• The default mode of play is dungeon exploration, and hit points are rerolled at the beginning of each expedition.
• Small weapons deal 1d4 damage, one-handed weapons 1d6, and two-handed weapons 1d8.
• Helmets may be sacrificed to negate a mortal blow (a variant of shields shall be splintered).