Some Swords & Wizardry House-Rules

I love Swords & Wizardry to death, but I do have some house rules for it. Here's what I currently do with the rules when I run it.

Section 1: Ability Scores

Personally, I prefer the Ability Score modifiers as presented in B/X D&D. As such, here’s my chart.

Score	Modifier
3	-3
4-5	-2
6-8	-1
9-12	0
13-15	+1
16-17	+2
18	+3

Section 2: The Thief

I know some gamers don’t like including Thieves in S&W, or in OD&D. I kinda like them. I like having a class that’s not devoted to spells or swords, and if that means having specialskills that allow players to disarm traps and pick locks, hey, why not? I’ve kitbashed my own Thief class together from the several ones I’ve seen online.

Hit Dice: d6

Prime Requisite: Dexterity 13+ (5% XP bonus)

Attacks as: Cleric

Weapons: Thieves may use any one-handed weapon, as well as bows

Armor: Thieves can wear only leather armor

Starting at 1^st level, thieves have access to a special suite of skills. Other characters may attempt to use these skills, but they may only use the base chance for success. Further, only thieves may use their ability score modifiers with the skills. A levels 3, 5, 7 and 9, thieves get 3 skill points to distribute amongst their skills. For every time a skill point is distributed into a skill, the base chance to succeed is improved by 1. No skill can be rated better than 5+. A thief with a skill of 5+ is considered to have utterly mastered that skill.

To attempt using a thief skill, a player rolls 1d20 and adds the appropriate modifiers. If the number rolled is equal to or greater than their rating in the skill being used, they succeed.

When attacking an enemy from behind, or an enemy that has not acted yet or is unaware, a thief gets +3 to-hit and deals maximum damage.

Level	Experience	Hit Dice	Saving Throw	Skill Points
1	0	1	14	5
2	1,500	2	13	-
3	3,500	3	12	+3
4	6,500	4	11	-
5	14,00	5	10	+3
6	30,000	6	9	-
7	60,000	7	8	+3
8	110,000	8	7	-
9	165,000	9	6	+3
10	225,000	+2 hp	5	-
11	290,000	+4 hp	4	-
12	360,000	+6 hp	4	-
13	430,000	+8 hp	4	-
14	500,000	+10 hp	4	-
15	570,000	+12 hp	4	-
16	640,000	+14 hp	4	-
17	710,000	+16 hp	4	-
18	780,000	+18 hp	4	-
19	850,000	+20 hp	4	-
20	920,000	+22 hp	4	-
21+	+70,000	+2 hp/level	4	-

Thief Skills
Hide in Shadows	Move Silently	Pick Pockets	Disable Traps	Climb Walls	Hear Noise
17+	19+	16+	19+	10+	10+

Skills	Ability Modifier
Hide in Shadows	DEX
Move Silently	DEX
Pick Pockets	DEX
Disable Traps	DEX
Climb Walls	STR
Hear Noise	WIS

Section 3: Hit Points

I don't like having all HD as d6+x. As such, here's what I have for each class' Hit Die...

Class	Hit Die
Fighting-Man	d8
Cleric	d6
Magic-User	d4
Thief	d6

Further, I give 1st level characters max HP, because there's nothing more bothersome than rolling up a Fighting-Man and only having 1 HP.

Section 4: Magic

Magic-Users cast spells using Magic Points. Magic-Users have a number of Magic Points equal to 2 plus their Intelligence bonus. At each new level, they gain more Magic Points equal to their Intelligence bonus.

Magic-User spells cost a number of Magic Points equal to their level.

Otherwise, the rules of casting and knowing spells are the same, with one more exception; Magic-Users know a number of 1st level spells at character creation equal to 1 plus their Intelligence bonus.