Hacking Stormbringer

The following are working notes on hacking first edition Stormbringer to fit more comfortably with certain classic D&D core concepts--and the second Domain Game incubator-campaign coming down the pike in the next couple weeks (update on that later today).

Big shiny red, skull-boned sticker qualifier first: this is an intellectual exercise and one possible verdict by the end of the weekend might very well be that it's plain easier to stick with straight classic D&D. Good old, reliable Blue Party.

But in the meantime I do love me a kit-bashing challenge, so off we go.

Goals

I want to model the hardwired upward cycle of old school D&D: exploration leads to booty which leads to personal power growth--and back again. 

Secondly, I want to model Domain Game and campaign specific goals of exploration, expansion, and social advancement. And I want a system that models all this to be easily quantifiable with points and leveled progression.

Sound familiar?

Experience Point Awards

One experience point is earned for each adventure-acquired Large Bronze piece (roughly 1/20 of a D&D gold piece) spent in any off-season activity.

Ten experience points are earned per mile of wilderness actively explored or per hour of an adventure site. Award can be modified by the degree of adversity faced (half for little, double for highly dangerous).

One hundred experience points are earned for each square mile of newly-cleared or conquered land acquired. One hundred experience points are also earned for each opponent level beaten in combat (more on that also later).

Adventurer Level Progression

Level	Exp.	Extra HP	Improvement Checks	POW Checks
1	0	0	0	0
2	10000	+1	5	1
3	20000	+1	5	1
4	40000	+1	5	2
5	80000	+1	6	2
6	160000	+1	6	2
7	320000	+1	6	2
8	640000	+1	6	2
9	1200000	+1	6	3
10	3600000	0	7	3
11	4800000	0	7	3
12	6000000	0	7	3
13	7200000	0	7	3
14	8400000	0	7	3

My mind is stilling racing with a number of open questions. Do the numbers balance overall; is progress to slow or too quick? Do the awards build the right mechanical incentives? Does that even matter?

If I continue with this route, follow-up posts will tackle how this system will fit with the off-season activities of Hill Cantons: Borderlands Chapter 6 and the social advancement rules of Chapter 8.

Off-season activities will provide players an outlet for : 1. spending treasure (and thus gaining experience as above); 2. gaining income or other game advantage (knowledge, political power, children, etc.); and 3. gaining extra improvement checks between levels.