Grognardling DM Swords & Wizardry: Whitebox house rules.

Anything in this document that contradicts supersedes whats already in the S&W:WB
rulebook.

Getting Started

Universal Attribute Bonus
3-6 Low (-1)
7-14 Average
15-18 High (+1)

Strenght: affects melee attack and damage, and thrown weapon damage. It also affects opening
doors and most things related to physical might. It also modifies your carrying capacity. If 15 or
more, gives you 5 % XP bonus if you are a fighter.
Intelligence: affects your chances of successfully casting magic user spells. If 15 or more, it
gives an additional spell every level, and gives you 5 % XP bonus if you are a magic user.
Modifies saving throws vs illusions.
Wisdom: affects your chances of successfully casting clerical spells. If 15 or more, it gives you
one additional spell every level, even at first level, and gives you a 5 % bonus XP if you are a
cleric and 5 % XP if you are of any other class (clerics get 10 %). Modifies saving throws vs
madness or mind control.
Constitution: affects your hit points, and saving throws regarding endurance and physical
resistance.
Dexterity: affects ranged attacks, but not damage. It also modifies your armor class and saving
throws regarding quickness and reflexes. 11 or more allows you to effectively wield two
weapons at once.
Charisma: modifies both your hirelings loyalty, the reaction of some monsters when trying to
parlay or negotiate, and the max number of henchmen and followers you can have.

Hit Points
When rolling for hit points, if a fighter gets a 1, he gets to re-roll, but only once. Dwarven
fighters get to re-roll if they get a 1 or a 2, but only once, as well (if re-rolling a 2 they get a 1,
they keep the 2).

Hit points are not re-rolled at every level.

Starting Money
Roll 3d6 x 10. This is what you get, in silver pieces. 1 gold piece is worth 10 silver pieces, and 1
silver piece is worth 5 copper pieces. Silver is the most common currency.

Classes
The Cleric
Weapon and armor restriction: Most clerics can only use blunt weapons, but if the player
wishes he can restrict his cleric to only one type of weapon (scythes for a death-god
worshipping cleric, for example).
Spell Casting: Explained in Magic chapter.

The Fighter
Hit Points: Fighters get to re roll the first 1 they get when rolling for hit points. Dwarves get to
re-roll a 1 or a 2.

The Magic User
Weapon and armor restriction: Magic users may wear armor, but it only gives them half as
much AC bonuses, and it also gives them a chance to automatically miss their spell casting rolls
(chance is equal to AC bonus in a d6). Elves ignore this penalty when donning magic armor.
Magic users may only wield daggers and staves.
Spell Casting: Explained in Magic chapter.

Races

The Elf
Elves do not multiclass, they got to pick one class at character creation.

The Halfling
Deadly Accuracy with missiles: halflings dont benefit from this.
Saving throw: +2 against magic.

Items and Equipment

As explained, most stuff is valued in silver pieces. 1 gold piece = 10 silver piece = 50 copper
piece.

Equipment weight
Instead of counting pound per pound, an abstract system is used. An normal level of
miscellaneous equipment is assumed to weight of this abstract weight units (1 load).

Backpack (30-pound capacity) 5 sp
Barrel 2 sp
Bedroll 2 sp
Bell 10 sp
Bottle, glass 1 sp
Candle 2 cp
Canvas (per square yard) 1 sp
Case (map or scroll) 3 sp
Chain (10 feet) 30 sp
Chalk, 1 piece 1 sp
Chest 2 sp
Crowbar 3 sp
Fishing net (25 square feet) 5 sp
Flask, leather 2 cp
Flint & steel 5 sp
Garlic, charmed 10 sp
Grappling hook 3 sp
Hammer 2 sp
Holy symbol, wooden 2 sp
Holy symbol, silver 25 sp
Holy water (flask) 25 sp
Ink (1-ounce bottle) 2 sp
Ladder (10 foot) 5 sp
Lamp, bronze 1 sp
Lantern, bullseye 12 sp
Lantern, hooded 9 sp
Lock 20+sp
Manacles 15 sp
Mirror, small steel 20 sp
Musical instrument 5+sp
Oil, lamp (1 pint) 2 sp
Parchment (sheet) 2 sp
Pole (10 foot) 1 sp
Pot, iron 5 sp
Rations, trail (per day) 1 sp
Rations, dried (per day) 3 sp
Rope, hemp (50 feet) 1 sp
Rope, silk (50 feet) 10 sp
Sack (3/4 load capacity) 1 sp
Sack (1 and load capacity) 2 sp
Shovel 3 sp
Signal whistle 2 sp
Spellbook, blank 100 sp
Spike, iron x 10 1 sp
Tent 20 sp
Torch x 5 1 sp
Waterskin 1 sp
Wolfsbane 10 sp

The basic adventurers kit can be bought at character generation. It costs 10 sp and includes: 5
torches, a waterskin, a bedroll, two leather flasks, a back pack, 2 trail rations, a capacity sack,
and 50 of hemp rope.

Melee Weapons

Axe, battle 2d6 pick best load 7 sp
Axe, hand 1d6 load 3 sp
Club 1d6 load -
Dagger 1d6 load per 3 3 sp
Flail 1d6 load 8 sp
Mace 1d6 load 5 sp
Morning Star 1d6 load 6 sp
Polearm (bardiche, halberd, etc.) 2d6 pick best load 7 sp
Spear 1d6 load 3 sp
Staff 1d6 load 1 sp
Sword, long 1d6 load 10 sp
Sword, short 1d6 load 8 sp
Sword, two handed 2d6 pick best load 15 sp
Warhammer 1d6 load 5 sp

Missile weapons (dmg, shots per round, range, weight, cost)
Arrows (20) 5 sp
Arrow, silver 5 sp
Axe, hand 1d6 1 10 ft 3 sp
Bolt, crossbow (30) 5 sp
Bow, long 1d6 2 70 ft 40 sp
Bow, short 1d6 2 50 ft 25 sp
Case (30 bolt capacity) 5 sp
Crossbow, heavy 2d6 pick best 1/2 80 ft 25 sp
Crossbow, light 1d6 1 60 ft 15 sp
Pouch (20 stone capacity) 1 sp
Quiver (20 arrow capacity) 5 sp
Sling 1d6 1 30 ft 2 sp
Javelin 1d6 1 20 ft 2 sp
Stones (20) 1d6 1 sp

Armor (AC bonus, weight, cost)
Leather +2 1 load 25 sp
Chainmail +4 2 load 50 sp
Plate Mail +6 3 load 120 sp
Shield +1 (+2 vs missiles) load 10 sp

Playing the Game
Movement rate
1 to 3 load Normal movement 40 ft combat mov. 1 hex per hour (overland)
3 to 4 load movement 30 ft combat mov. hex per hour (overland)
4 to 6 load movement 20 ft combat mov. hex per hour (overland)
6 to 8 load movement 10 ft combat mov hex per hour (overland)

Combat
Initiative
1. Both sides roll 1d6 for initiative, high roll wins.
2. Winning side fires missiles, cast spells
3. Loosing side fires missiles, cast spells
4. Both sides move
5. Archers who didnt fire, or those who held their turn, if not engaged, may fire again.
Same for spellcasters who held their turn.
6. Melee.

Specific Situations

Melee
When wading into close combat you have three different options. Wield a one handed weapon
(1d6 damage, modified by strength) and use a shield (+1 AC, +2 against missiles when actively
defending against them, AND after suffering a successful attack, you can decide to sacrifice
your shield and avoid 1d6 of damage); you can wield a two handed weapon (pick the highest
result of a 2d6 when dealing damage, modified by your strength); or, if you have 11 or more
Dexterity, wield a one handed weapon in each hand and gain a +1 to your attack rolls (again,
damage modified by your strength). A spear can be wielded with one hand or two handed, when
wielded two handed it works like to separate one handed weapons.

Critical hits and fumbles
A natural 1 on an attack roll is always a fumble. A natural 20 lets you roll an additional d6 for
damage and discard the lowest.

Damage and Death
You die when you reach minus-level hit points. That is, a 1
st
level character dies at -1, a 2
nd

level character at -2, and so on. At 0 you are unconscious.

Healing
1 day of rest equals 1hp+ constitution modifier.

Binding Wounds
After a fight or some other injury-inducing event, you can restore 1d4+level hit points by
resting one full turn. You can re-roll and take the best result if you rest to turns in a row after the
first. You can continue to re-roll and take the best result if you keep resting double the time you
rested on the last try (so, 1 turn, 2 turns, 4 turns, 8 turns). You can only recover hit points lost
during that last particular event.

Spell casting
In order to cast a spell, you need to roll 1d6 x character level and get a 6 (this is called a
success) for each level the spell has. For example, to cast a second level spell, you need to get
two successes. If you didnt achieve the required number of successes in the first turn, you can
keep rolling each turn and accumulate successes until the goal is reached, at which moment the
spell takes effect.

There are a couple of modifiers to spell casting rolls, but the most common are:
For magic user spells +1 if you have 15+ intelligence, +2 if you have 18
For clerical spells, +1 if you have 15+ wisdom, +2 if you have 18
+1 if making a ritual, which take time and resources
-1 for each spell that you keep active that requires your concentration
-1 for spells of higher level than the caster
+1 if the caster has his thing in his power (his attuned staff for a magic user, for
example, or his holy symbol, in the case of a cleric)

You can try to cast spells of higher level than your own, but it may take you a lot of time, and if
not successful, can be quite dangerous. You can also abandon the spell casting attempt, but this
means that spell wont take effect, obviously, and in addition to suffering any damage that you
should have sustained in the case you had kept going (if you rolled more natural 1 than your
level, for example) you will suffer 1d3 damage x level of the spell you were trying to cast.
Damage by cancelling a spell casting attempt never outright kills a character, but it will leave
him lying unconscious on the floor, and hit points lost this way must be recovered by the usual
means.

If you are injured while casting a spell, it automatically fizzles and you suffer the consequences
(like damage for any natural 1 in excess of your level rolled so far, for example), in addition to
the damage taken for cancelling a spell casting attempt.

Taking damage by miscasting a spell
You receive 1d6 of damage when:
Casting a spell or counter spell having a higher level that the casters
For every natural 1 rolled in a spell casting or counter casting attempt, in excess of the
casters level.
For any failed attempt to cast a counter spell.

As long as you are casting a spell of your level or less, you can never be directly killed by the
damage inflicted by miscasting, though it might leave you debilitated enough to be easily killed
by something else. Still, any hit points lost by miscasting must be recovered by the usual means.
Casting a spell of a higher level than yours, even successfully, will result in 1d6 of lethal
damage, and every natural 1 rolled in excess of your level will result additional d6 of lethal
damage. These same rules apply when counter casting spells.

Clerics take damage the same way as magic-users. Additionally, whatever spell the cleric was
trying to cast when suffering damage will be forbidden to them for 1d6 days per spell level, but
only in the same general circumstances it was trying to be cast. For example, if a cleric healed a
wounded companion by asking his deity for aid, and he suffered damage while doing it, it might
mean his deity frowns upon his actions, and thus will prohibit the cleric from healing that same
person, maybe in that general area, for some time.

Counter Spells
A counter spell is a spell that negates the effects of another spell. You dont need to know the
spell that the enemy is casting in order to counter it. To counter a spell, you need to make a spell
casting roll and beat the level of the spell you intend to counter. If you do not achieve this in the
turn the enemy spell is being casted, its effects will take place (and keep going, probably)
until/if you manage to achieve the required number of successes. Magic users can only counter
magic users, and the same rule goes for clerics.

There are also rules for cooperative spell casting, creating new spells, learning new spells,
and enchanting stuff.