A fun new 2e (and older) site

Monstrous Party explored the art of the Second Edition D&D Monstrous Manual in a fun and idiosyncratic style.

As a lot of the monsters have shown up in other editions, even folks who are not into or have never played 2e will find something to laugh about.

A word of caution though, more than a few swear words are used here and there and while its work safe (its 2e era art and therefor sanitized for your protection) if your office is touchy about language, its NSFW.

L0 Characters Variant HP system

One of the better under appreciated rules in 2e was the alternate hit points for L0 characters. Rather than a standard d6 or a measly d4 ala B/X , NPC's got hit point based on their lifestyle.

I found this suited my vague ideas of verisimilitude better and added a tiny bit of boost where needed.

You'll notice below than Men at Arms have more than 1 hit die. This is intentional as it prevents fighter bonus attacks (I use doubling ala 2e) from being used against them.

My version of the chart with average HP in brackets looked something like this

D3 (2) small children

D4 (3) Highly Sedentary People (scholars, some seniors etc)

D6 (4) Regular Folks (merchants etc)

D8 (5) Laborers (including blacksmiths and farmers and the like)

D8+1 (6) Men at Arms (these are the regular folks with combat training and gear that make up most Medieval armies , not full time professional soldiers who are Fighters)