New Player Guide to the AD&D Clubhouse
Welcome to our Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (AD&D) campaign, a return to the roots of tabletop role-playing as a strategic war game steeped in social dynamics, player responsibility, and a richly interconnected world. This guide covers the essential rules, expectations, and lore to help you thrive in our clubhouse-style campaign. Prepare to engage in a challenging, rewarding experience where your choices shape the world, your character’s fate, and your character as a man.
1. The Clubhouse Culture
AD&D, as envisioned by Gary Gygax, emphasizes not just gameplay but also social skills, responsibility, and camaraderie. Our campaign embraces this tradition:
- Be a Good Club Member: Respect your fellow players and Dungeon Master (DM). Avoid distracting others, practice good etiquette and hygiene, exercise regularly, and contribute to a positive gaming environment by being a good winner and loser.
- Strive for Improvement: As a player or DM, push yourself to improve your strategic thinking, physical health, role-playing, and engagement with the game world.
- Social Dynamics Matter: Your behavior at the table—both in-character and out-of-character—impacts your player grade (see below) and your standing in the clubhouse.
The clubhouse format supports large play groups with multiple DMs operating in a shared game world, or milieu. Your character can move between DMs’ campaigns via Gate spells, ensuring flexibility and continuity. Expect a mix of players at each session, from new faces to returning veterans.
2. The Game World and Lore
Our campaign is set in a dynamic, conflict-driven world shaped by the War for the Cosmos, where factions vie for dominance based on their moral and ethical outlooks. The world draws heavily from Appendix N of the AD&D Dungeon Master’s Guide, which you’re encouraged to read for inspiration (see Recommended Reading below).
The Alignment System
AD&D uses a 9-point alignment system, combining two axes: Good vs. Neutral vs. Evil and Lawful vs. Neutral vs. Chaotic. Your alignment defines your character’s motivations and actions, and you’ll be graded on how well you adhere to it.
Good vs. Neutral vs. Evil (The Divine Axis)
Three gods govern this axis:
- Therin, Goddess of Good: The Platinum Dragon, embodiment of the Sun, and a beacon of hope. Her followers champion selflessness and protection of the innocent.
- Nerzul, God of Evil: The Moon, The Five-Headed Dragon, and King of Death. His followers revel in cruelty, power, and destruction.
- Ky’Thanos, Old One of Neutrality: The Star-Spawn, apathetic to mortal struggles. He feeds the land withblood and rain, caring little for human concerns. His followers are druids, cultists, and pagans.
Lawful vs. Neutral vs. Chaotic (The Mortal Axis)
This axis reflects your character’s relationship with the laws of man:
- Lawful: You serve your liege lord, Sir BedaveireIronhawke, upholding his laws and promoting societal stability. You’re an upstanding citizen.
- Neutral: You prioritize your own interests. You may follow laws for convenience but aren’t bound by them. You might face fines or arrests but generally navigate society pragmatically.
- Chaotic: You serve only yourself, rejecting external authority. This doesn’t mean random chaos or senseless violence (that’s for Evil characters). Chaotic characters are selfish, guided by personal goals over societal rules.
The War for the Cosmos
The campaign revolves around the War for the Cosmos, where players’ actions—driven by their alignment—shape the world’s political, social, and magical landscape. You’ll submit secret orders to the DM during downtime to advance your goals, whether that’s undermining rivals, forging alliances, or pursuing personal power. These orders are proactive; passive orders filled with questions or orders that require extensive back and forth clarification may be ignored or changed to push the world’s narrative forward.
Races and Role-Playing
Races in this campaign are deeply tied to the milieu and Appendix N inspirations. They aren’t just cosmetic choices—each comes with cultural baggage and role-playing challenges:
- Elves: Alien and otherworldly, inspired by The King of Elfland’s Daughter. They operate on logic foreign to humans, tied to the Land of Fairy. Role-playing an elf requires embracing their enigmatic nature.
- Dwarves: Stoic yet protective, inspired by Three Hearts and Three Lions. They’re not just short humans—they have a unique worldview and grudges (e.g., hatred of orcs).
- Halflings: Lazy, comfort-loving humanoids who avoid trouble when possible.
- Other Races: Racial tensions (e.g., orcs vs. dwarves) are strictly enforced. Choose your race carefully, as it impacts your role-playing grade.
Recommended Reading (Appendix N)
To better understand the world and your character’s role, read Appendix N literature. New players can begin here:
- Conan the Barbarian (Robert E. Howard): For fighters and thieves.
- Three Hearts and Three Lions (Poul Anderson): For paladins, dwarves, and elves.
- The King of Elfland’s Daughter (Lord Dunsany): For elves, goblinoids, and the Land of Fairy.
- The Dying Earth (Jack Vance): For magic-users, to understand the spellcasting and magic user’s jealous nature.
The clubhouse doubles as a book club—reading these works enhances your role-playing and grading.
3. Core Rules and Mechanics
AD&D is a war game where strategy, resource management, and player choice drive success. Below are the key mechanics you need to know.
Character Creation and Classes
- Multiple Player Characters (PCs): You’re encouraged and sometimes will be forced to have more than one PC. This lets you engage with different factions, alignments, and strategies while one PC is occupied (e.g., training or downtime activities).
- Class XP Thresholds: Each class has unique XP requirements:
- Thieves level up quickly, requiring less XP.
- Magic-Users level slowly, needing more XP per level than others.
- Other classes (e.g., fighters, clerics) fall between these extremes.
- Role-Playing Your Class: Your class dictates your role in the party (e.g., fighters lead combat, thieves scout and steal, and fight secondarily, clerics are 2nd line fighters that cast support spells, and magic users avoid melee and cast encounter altering spells). You’re graded on how well you fulfill this role.
Experience Points (XP) and Gold
- Earning XP: XP comes primarily from recovering gold (1GP=1XP) and magic items from dangerous places, with a small amount from killing monsters. You’ll often have enough XP to level up but lack the gold to pay for training.
- Gold Scarcity: Gold is the lifeblood of progression. Training to level up costs 1,500 gp per level per week, and the number of weeks depends on your player grade (see below). You’ll need to adventure to acquire enough gold, often at great risk.
Example: A level 1 magic-user with 2,250 XP (the cap for level 1) has only 2,000 gp. With a Superior grade (2 weeks of training), they need 3,000 gp (1,500 gp × 2 weeks) to reach level 2. They must adventure for more gold without earning additional XP until they train.
Player Grading
The DM grades each player after every session based on:
- Alignment Adherence: How well you embody your chosen alignment (e.g., Lawful Good characters uphold Sir Bedaveire’s laws and Therin’s virtues).
- Class Role: How effectively you fulfill your class’s role in the party.
- Racial Role-Playing: How well you reflect your race’s cultural traits.
- Social Conduct: Your behavior at the table—etiquette, hygiene, focus, and respect for others.
Grades and Training Length:
- Exceptional (1 week, 1 point): The best grade, awarded to only one player per session. Reflects elite role-playing and strategy.
- Superior (2 weeks, 2 points): Strong performance, no deviation from expectations.
- Fair (3 weeks, 3 points): Average, with noticeable deviations from expectations.
- Poor (4 weeks, 4 points): Significant failures in role-playing or conduct.
When you have enough XP to level up, your training time is determined by the average of your grades for that level. For example, if you received two Superior (2) and one Fair (3), your average is 2.33, so 2 weeks and 2 days of training (3,500 gp for a level 2 character).
After Action Reports (AARs)
After each session, the DM writes an After ActionReport detailing:
- Session events.
- Players involved.
- XP and gold earned.
- Player grades.
AARs are written with a playful, teasing tone, often poking fun at players’ mistakes to encourage improvement. Don’t take it personally—it’s part of the clubhouse culture to push you to be a better war-gamer. Iron sharpens iron.
Braunstein Philosophy (PvP)
AD&D is a war game with a fog of war that keeps PC’s plans hidden. Players can:
- Submit secret orders to the DM to pursue hidden agendas (e.g., spying, sabotage, or alliances).
- Engage in player vs. player (PvP) actions, including lying, cheating, stealing, or fighting, based on alignment and goals.
- Work together in dungeons for survival but not necessarily as allies. Trust is earned, not assumed.
-Some PCs cannot be worked with. When it is revealed that they are your alignment enemies, any cooperation with them will result in down-grades. Your character is an independent agent in conflict with other PCs whose actions are hidden from everyone except the dungeon master. You will need allies, but who can you trust?
Time Management and the Game Calendar
The campaign uses the 1:1 Time calendar as detailed by Gary Gygax in the DMG to track time for fairness, especially in PvP and downtime activities:
- If a PC is training (e.g., 2 weeks for a magic-user leveling to 2), they’re unavailable for other actions during that time.
- You can play a different PC during this period, exploring new factions or alignments.
- Strategic time management is key. For example:
- A magic-user spending 2 weeks crafting spell scrolls gains extra spells but misses adventuring.
- A thief adventuring during that time earns XP and gold but forgoes burglary.
Safe Havens and Session End
- You must return to a haven (e.g., a town) by the end of each session. Towns are free of monsters, making them “safe” (though other players may pose threats).
Combat and Survival
- You die at -10 hit points, giving you a chance to retreat or be saved.
- Invest in your character’s goals and personality. They’re not disposable, and their survival depends on smart play.
4. Strategic Play and the War Game
AD&D is a war game where player choice matters. To succeed:
- Be Proactive: Submit actionable secret orders to advance your agenda. Passive orders may be ignored or reshaped by the DM.
- Balance Resources: Gold is always scarce. Prioritize between training, crafting, or buying upgrades.
- Leverage Multiple PCs: Use different PCs to engage with various factions or strategies, maximizing your influence in the War for the Cosmos.
- Think Tactically: Elite players use time and resources to outmaneuver others, whether through PvP or cooperative play.
-The DM will award generous treasure—gold, magic items, and more—but it’s never enough. You’ll always need more to achieve your goals.
5. Getting Started
a. Create Your First PC:
- Choose a class, race, and alignment.
- Read relevant Appendix N works to inform your role-playing.
- Discuss your character concept with the DM to ensure it fits the milieu.
- One push-up per word of back story.
b. Prepare for Role-Playing:
- Understand your alignment, class, and racial obligations.
- Be ready to submit secret orders and engage in PvP or alliances.
c. Join a Session:
- Sessions are flexible, with varying players each time.
- Coordinate with the DM to schedule your PC’s activities on the calendar.
d. Embrace the Clubhouse:
- Be a good club member—bring enthusiasm, respect, and a willingness to be greater than you were yesterday.
- Expect constructive criticism in AARs and use it to improve.
6. Final Notes
The Clubhouse is more than just a D&D campaign. It is about strategy, role-playing, and pushing yourself to be a better war-gamer and man. The War for the Cosmos, player grading, and clubhouse culture create a dynamic, competitive environment where your choices shape the world. Dive into the lore, embrace your character’s goals, and prepare for a game where trust is fragile, treasure is scarce, and every decision counts.
Welcome to the Clubhouse.