Confessions of a Wee Tim'rous Bushi

Here’s a guideline I've been working on for XP to be awarded per session in 1st edition AD&D. Before we continue, please note that this guideline is not a milestone system by another name. Rather, I've introduced it into my own Greyhawk campaign in order to provide:  (1) a baseline against which I can check whether the XP actually being awarded in an adventure, in accordance with the DMG, is commensurate with the challenges being faced and the desired rate of advancement; and/or  (2) a recommended XP to be awarded per session to ensure a graduated rate of advancement based on the average party level. Here, average party level is worked out by adding the levels of all party members; e.g., a party of seven characters, consisting of three level 5s, two level 6s, one level 7 and one level 8 would have an average level of 6 ((5+5+5+6+6+7+8=42)/7= average level of 6). As a rule of thumb, I'd treat multi-classed characters as being one level higher than their highest level....

Anyone who is familiar with the 1st edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons will know that there is much more to the combat round than first meets the eye.  Those coming to AD&D from original or basic versions of the game won't easily grock the game's combat, nor will those coming from later editions. This is largely, but not solely, due to the disordered presentation of the rules. I don't intend to get into the minutiae of AD&D combat here, but if you're interested, a comprehensive reordering of the rules (with references) can be found at: https://idiscepolidellamanticora.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/addict.pdf In this post, I'd like to take a look at the simple d6 initiative mechanic with reference to OSRIC (which in my opinion is a remarkable revision/reiteration of the 1st edition rules (and too often unfairly maligned)). Most older editions of, or variations on, D&D simply require each side to roll a d6 to determine the order of initiative, with t...