Delving Deeper House Rules

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The Delving Deeper Rulebook

Click HERE to get the very inexpensive paperback copy of version 4 from Lulu.

Click HERE to get the free pdfs of version 4.

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Chris C's House Rules for Delving Deeper

Last Update July 19, 2015 – page numbers in parentheses [volume:page]

Determination of Abilities [1:7]: roll 3d6 six times and arrange as desired.

Languages [1:8]: Options are – centaur, cyclops, demon, djinn, dragon, dwarf, efreet, elf, giant, gnoll, gnome, goblin, halfling, hobgoblin, kobold, lizardman, medusa, nixie, ogre, old common, orc, pixie, titan, treant, troll.

Thieves [1:16]: In play. Note the weapon limitations.

Changing Class [1:16]: Dual-class characters may use the weapons of the less restrictive class, but are limited to the armor of the more restrictive class at all times [exception: Fighter/Magic-User elves can wear magic armor].

Interpretation of Spells [1:26]: When wording is open to interpretation, GM will err on the side of powering down the spell. Consult with GM when choosing spells.

Non-Combat Tasks [2:11]: When not specified otherwise, roll 3d6 under attribute score. If the task is easy or difficult, roll 4d6 and drop the highest for easy or roll 4d6 and drop the lowest for difficult.

Melee Combat [2:14]: Fighting with two one-handed weapons gives you +1 to hit. Using a two-handed melee weapon does 1d6+1 damage.

Missile Combat [2:16]: All missile weapons [even bows] make only one attack per round. However, bows get +1 to hit for rate of shot; crossbows do 1d6+1 damage for penetration power.

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Converting Your Existing Ephemera Character from Swords & Wizardry to Delving Deeper

I want to avoid nerfing anybody's character in the conversion, so follow the steps below to transfer your existing S&W character to DD as painlessly as possible.

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ABILITY SCORES

Make the following adjustments to ability scores to keep your modifiers/languages known/etc. as close as possible to what you currently have under S&W.

If your S&W STR, DEX, or CON was 13 or 14, bump it up to 15 in DD. Otherwise, keep it as is. Make a note of your new modifiers under DD.

If your INT was 8 or more, under S&W, convert it as follows under DD: An S&W 8 or 9 becomes 11; an S&W 10-11 becomes 12; an S&W 12 becomes 13. Everything else converts directly. This might increase your languages known, so consult the INT table in the rules (note that "languages known" indicates the total number of languages you know in DD: common + alignment + extras).

WIS and CHR scores convert directly without adjustment.

Read carefully the ability descriptions on DD. Some of these work differently from what you may be accustomed to; e.g. STR bonuses apply to damage but not to hit, WIS gives you a boost to your prime req. for purposes of determining XP bonuses, etc.

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XP

These convert directly, no adjustment required.

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HIT POINTS

Roll the number of HD (d6 for all classes) indicated for your class and level, and include any CON modifier you might have. Compare the new DD hp result with your old S&W hp total. Keep the higher of the two for your DD character.

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MAGIC-USERS

There is no longer a "percent chance to know" so you now have all first-level M-U spells in your spell book and are able to use them, along with spells on any scrolls your character has acquired. Take a look at the spell descriptions in DD – there are some that don't exist in S&W, and there are some that work slightly differently.

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FIGHTERS

The only thing that should change at your current level is the way multiple attacks work. See the Fighter description in the rules.

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DWARVES

Note your race abilities. DD gives you some additional ones (including languages) that you don't have under S&W. See the Dwarf description in the rules.

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