Rules and References from Frog God Games

Welcome to Frog God Games/Necromancer Games’ House Rules (aka the Lost Lands System Reference Document 1.0). This is a series of house rules that have been used in the Lost Lands for over 35 years. If applied, these rules significantly decrease the power level of play, and make the game much more difficult. We (and the author in particular) pride ourselves on a tough but fair game. Players who survive in my adventures have bragging rights few can match. Players who survive and thrive in my campaign itself are truly men (and yes, Jillian, women) of steel.

Several optional rules have been used for years in my actual campaign. Keep in mind these rules are not for everyone, as my home game is much grittier low fantasy than many other campaigns. Likewise, these rules fit well with OD&D, and with modern games such as 3.5, Pathfinder, and 5.1. The real key here is that advancement in my campaign is slow. Characters and monsters, even high level ones, are vulnerable and can be killed. Players in my game who have reached 6th or 7th level are PROUD of their accomplishment. Several areas for which I have house rules, and that have been in place in my Lost Lands campaign for 3 ½ decades include:

• Experience Points
• Stat Generation
• Attributes and Bonuses
• Table Dice Rolls
• Damage Rolls and The Value of Magic Weapons
• Hit Points vs. Rolls to Hit
• Travel and Getting Lost
• Food and Water
• Surprise, Initiative and Melee Order and

Spellcasting in Combat
• Hit Points, Death and Dying
• Doing Things Rather than Rolling Dice

Each GM must assess for himself how implementation of these rules could affect his campaign. They are not for everyone, but those of you who want the challenge and feel of my home campaign may wish to give these a try and see how well they fit you.