Grrrrreetings, Shield Wall!
I didn’t see that one coming. I really didn’t. I had sworn off Index Card RPG a while ago because I hated its equipment=powers approach. And suddenly, out of the blue, I’m interested in it again. For my players, I’d like to keep the traditional Original D&D structure, though.
So I wrote
Indexcardified (O)D&D 
- Roll stats , 3d6 in a row. Switch two stats, if you like.
- Write down stat modifiers . These modifiers are the only numbers you’ll need.
Score Modifier
3-5 −2
6-8 −1
9-12 0
13-15 +1
16-18 +2
19-21 +3
22-24 +4 - Determine class, restrictions and hit points for 2nd level and up :
– Fighters: all armors, all weapons, all attacks +1, hit points d8 per level.
– Thieves: only light armor, light weapons, attacks +(level x 0,66), hit points d6 per level.
– Wizards: no armor, dagger only, attacks +(level/2), hit points d4 per level.
All classes start with 10hp. - For attacks and stat checks : ref determines ONE target number for everything that’s in a situation/room. Do not differentiate between different opponents. Characters for whom any given task is EASY: subtract 3 from the target. Characters for whom any task is HARD: add 3 to the target.
Rolling d20+mod equal to or higher than the target is a success. -
Weapon damage :
Unarmed 1d4 (only fighters can kill opponents unarmed)
Daggers 1d4; Swords 1d8; Zweihänder 1d10
Spears 1d6; Polearms 1d8; Lances 1d8 (double damage when used mounted)
Hand Axes 1d6; Battle Axes 1d8; Halberds 1d10
Maces/Clubs 1d6; Morning Stars 1d8; Flails 1d8 (ignore shields/attacks are EASY against shields)
Guns 1d8 -
Effort : Effort is like rolling damage, but for non-combat tasks.
Manual work: 1d4
Spell Effect: 1d8 for damage
Ultimate Effort: add 1d12 to damage/work if you roll a nat20
For instance: climbing up that 30′ foot rope while the archers are shooting at you? That’s worth 20 hit points. Your character gets a d4, and a +3 because he is a really good climber. If you do enough 1d4+3 “damage” to the task, you have climbed the rope successfully. -
Timers : to add tension, set a die to a number (usually between 1 and 6).
Determine whether that timer goes down by 1 either every round (each time another character does something) or every turn (each time the character does something). When the timer is reduced to zero, the bad thing happens. -
Monster hit points : 10hp are called a “heart”. Each monster has one or multiple hearts. If a monster has less than 10hp, determine the number of successful attacks required to kill it, no damage roll required.
For instance: an orc might require 1 hit before it’s killed.