Gaining XP (number 2)

See part one, here.

Where Jeff Rients was not suggesting to replace gold for XP with exploration for XP, Gieljan de Vries does so in the article linked below. The change is drastic: treasures (and killings) do not count for level-up. Only special items do (physical trophies [...] stuff with a story attached).

eXPloration - XP is selling a story about a thing
by Gieljan de Vries
[...] This post is about making all XP gains about discovering sites and information, and bringing back trophies of your adventures.
IN SHORT: EXPLORE. LOOT. GET PAID.
- XP is tied to physical trophies of your adventures: the stuff with a story attached. There can be extra treasure without an XP value which is still worth money.
- You convert these trophies into money and XP by selling them to interested parties. Ask if you know any likely buyers or suggest shady contacts of your own.
- Bigger sites can involve multiple items to carry all the XP home. If the DM hasn't prepped specific items, feel free to suggest mementoes you could take with you.
- Each coin of silver earned via trophies gives you 1 XP. This assumes a silver-based economy - adjust to taste. [...]
- Just in case this needs to be said: no XP for killing random opponents or for just bringing home a haul of coins and gems. [...]

- Carousing is still a thing. I don't want it to overshadow the main XP sources, so will probably tweak the gains a bit. If the regular rate is 1 XP per silver, maybe have carousing give 1 XP per 5 silver. [...]

https://thethingswedoforxp.blogspot.com/2018/10/exploration-xp-is-selling-story-about.html

Oh well, Gieljan de Vries changed his mind towards the end of the article. Carousing is still a thing. But keeping XP tied only and exclusively to trophies (treasures in the sense of special, rare or unique items) is definitely interesting.


Another article about exploring to get XP - see how it reinforces the idea that killing and looting are not the only ways to play OSR games.
(Remember that we said that what you give XP for, will be what players will do?)

Meeting interesting and stimulating people of an ancient culture... and NOT killing them
by Zzarchov
[...] Some examples listed in Piecemeal are:
- Uncommon Locations 50xp (ie, a border fort deep in the woods)
- Rarely Visited 400xp (ie, a far off mountain monastery)
- Unseen for Years 1000xp (ie, a far off kingdom across the sea)
- Unseen for Generations 2000xp (ie, the same kingdom if the sea is infested with sea monsters)
- Of Questionable Veracity 5000xp (ie, uncovering Troy or Machu Picchu)
- Fabled Locations 10,000xp (ie, finding El Dorado or Shangri-La)
- Mythic Locations 50,000xp (ie, finding the Garden of Eden or Noah's Ark)
These are just rough guidelines if you have your own unique XP awards for various locations. [...]
https://zzarchov.blogspot.com/2009/06/meeting-interesting-and-stimulating.html


Also the next two linked articles are again from Zzarchov: the first goes back to the idea that the way XP is awarded will influence the style of your game. In this example, to encourage players to capture enemies instead of killing them (a prisoner is more valuable than a corpse), Zzarchov suggests to give more XP for capturing an opponent than for driving them away or killing them.

Murder gets boring
by Zzarchov
This one deals with the problem of wholesale slaughter of your enemies. In this particular post I'll deal with murdering opposing villains, the big villain or at least the stalwart dark lieutenant. Many GM's are frustrated that they cannot have a recurring villain because PC's will not stop until they murder them. [...]
Piecemeal deals with this in the following manner. When you drive off (force to flee, abandon plans or the like) or kill a villain, your party gets experience points equal to 10% of the villain's experience point total. If you can capture an enemy villain you gain experience points equal to 25% of the villain's experience point total, even if you later execute the villain after a "fair" trial (or sacrifice on a dark altar if your evil) [...]
This creates an incentive to not ALWAYS murder, without making it mandatory. While taking prisoners is more valuable it is also more dangerous. [...]
http://zzarchov.blogspot.com/2009/06/murder-gets-boring.html

The last article goes back to the root of changing the way you award XP if indeed you desire a slightly different style of play, or want to introduce more variety. Zzarchov recognizes that most games do not support "high fantasy adventures" (and several, explicitly so). But if you want something other than looting dungeons, you need to change the way XP is awarded... or change the way levels are gained.

This is indeed a slightly different take on the subject: instead of telling you to reach milestones and giving a level every milestone, Zzarchov puts a sort of level cap, or better yet, a level requirement. For example, killing nameless orcs is meaningless at a certain point; if you want to level-up past your limit, you need to slay a dragon or something similar.

Adventuring should be the best option mechanically
by Zzarchov
This is a broad flaw, a lot of games that support "high adventure" really don't. The most effective route to achieving your personal goals and ambitions is to not go out and adventure. [...]
1.) Keypoints (or milestones) part of the XP system is that merely gaining XP won't let you exceed level caps. To get beyond certain levels ( Zero, Five, Ten and Fifteen) you need to accomplish feats of certain worth. No matter how many orcs you slay, you won't get past level five until you do something that raises you from Local Hero to National Hero, such as slaying a dragon, overthrowing a corrupt barony, converting a province to ones faith, robbing the royal vault, etc. [...]
http://zzarchov.blogspot.com/2009/06/adventuring-should-be-best-option.html


Design notes:
- gold for XP, traditional (low power adventurers trying to get rich)
- consider also silver for XP, treasure in silver, but prices in gold (characters are often broke)
- mission for XP
- survival (food? other? survival to horror? to monsters?) for XP
- Gain a level on a main achievement (a kill, an island)
- which brings us to explore for XP; XP granted for visiting specific places (or just for travel, I wouldn't drop the miles-per-XP of the good old MERP), for witnessing life-changing events, and so on...
- XP tied ONLY and exclusively to trophies (special, rare or unique items); no XP for killings and no XP for coins and gems

Additional thoughts:
- Your kills are your level
- Your inventory is your level
- XP for kills: what about giving XP the first time you kill a certain monster (i.e. a goblin), but only the first time? This will make players keep a note of their "first kills", which is great (I am sure this is not my idea, I must have read it somewhere...)

- XP for capturing: give more XP for a captured enemy than for a dead one
- Level caps or limitations; you cannot get past level 5, 10, 15 etc. unless you achieve something very special (which could also be translated in doing something which grants you a really popular status in-game)


Next, let's talk about gaining XP differently depending on your character's class.
Will continue here.

The Village and the Witch is now available on DriveThruRpg and in print on Lulu

The Village and the Witch is an OSR MOdule compatible with Lamentations of the Flame Princess, the Black Dogs, and other OSR adventuring games.
Editing by Sándor Gebei.

This adventure is designed for low-level characters and is intended as an encounter to run in one or two sessions, between other adventures.
This module is designed to generate a Village, a Witch, and some additional weirdness: two pages with die-drop tables to outline the village (map and content), and two pages with a series of random tables to generate a Witch and its connection to the village.
The rest of the module contains some instructions, random or less random NPCs and other weirdness, some digression about alignment and so forth.

Download:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/251586/The-Village-And-The-Witch
Print on Lulu:
http://www.lulu.com/shop/daimon-games/the-village-and-the-witch/paperback/product-23823218.html

A review can be found here: http://beyondfomalhaut.blogspot.com/2018/12/review-village-and-witch.html

This product is an independent production by Daimon Games and is not affiliated with Lamentations of the Flame Princess. Lamentations of the Flame Princess is a registered trademark owned by James Edward Raggi IV.

Gaining XP (number 1)

XP and Levels are often a subject for house-rules. One may think that the first motivation behind it is to make characters more powerful.
Sure, when I was 14 I would make new characters with my friends and start them at higher levels, or reduce the XP requirement per level to level-up faster, or award additional XP generously. We were partially feeding our hunger for power-fantasy, and partially acknowledging that it was hard to experience the higher levels of the game as often as we would experience the lower levels. There was a discrepancy between the game at low levels and the game we wanted (we were not sure about it: sometimes we would just be content being adventurers seeking treasures, but often we wanted intrigue, wars, political plots, save-the-world adventures, etc.).
So, anything that worked in giving us the higher levels faster (or from the start) would work.

But besides power-fantasies, there is a more profound motivation in deciding to tinker with the XP rules. XP is the long-term reward in the game: while you play your session, you play for the thrill and excitement of that specific adventure, to explore both that slice of the world and to explore your character.
In the long term, though, XP is the reward because it is the fuel for leveling-up, and therefore changing your character. Besides giving you more power, level-up gives you more options in play. It allows you to do things you couldn't do before, face enemies you couldn't face before, go places you couldn't go to before.
It makes your character stronger, and therefore it opens new doors.
So, if XP is what you want to acquire, anything that gives you XP is good. Is good for you as a player, even though getting that XP reward might endanger your character.
XP is a bet, it is the fuel for deciding to take risks, to push forward instead of coming back to town.
In other words, whatever comes with an XP reward attached, becomes important in the game.

OSR games stress the XP-for-gold approach. You want treasure (getting rich) not really to buy a plate armor or a castle. You want treasure to get XP and therefore to level-up and go adventuring where you have not been before.
So if you attach an XP reward to treasures, your players will try to get treasures. If instead you change the rules and give 1,000 XP x HD for every monster killed, your adventures will become fierce battles.
To sum it up: give XP for things you'd like to see characters (not players) doing.

We might open an entire discussion, here, about this being "lazy" design - players will have their characters do unreasonable things just to get XP - and about the potential for bad GMs to exploit this. Perhaps I'll do it in another post.
For now, suffice to say that XP-for-gold works well for OSR when you want to play adventurers starting poor and with scarce powers, seeking to become rich. Tomb-robbers, yes. It is a good design because it doesn't say "be mean and greedy" to get XP. You don't get XP for being greedy. You get XP for treasure and this might make you greedy.
If you get XP for blood (of monsters, or perhaps of NPCs too...) you get a violent game. You don't get XP for playing a violent character... You get XP for blood, thus your character will likely be violent.
Now, let's see a few pages about this topic.


The first article, 20 Non-Gold for XP Progression Systems by Cacklecharm, presents a list of alternatives to the traditional gold-for-XP approach. Some grant XP for example for capturing elephants (number 1), or for hunting and foraging (number 4).
The first is a peculiar example, but can be translated in "mission-for-XP". There is someone (a powerful NPC, a prince) in need of something. Bring it to them, and XP is your reward. It works similarly if you're saying that elephants will be paid by the prince 300 gp each (instead of XP).
The other example is more interesting because it exemplifies better the idea of giving a different objective to the characters, a different taste to the game. You're not playing to get rich, you're starving (or your tribe or community is starving) and you play to gather food (and face, reasonably, lots of dangers in the process).

20 Non-Gold for XP Progression Systems

by Cacklecharm

[1] The prince needs elephants for his army. Adult male elephants are worth 300 XP, Female adults are worth 200 XP, and babies are worth 50 XP each. Double XP for 'unusual' elephants (pregnant, covered in tattoos, double tusks, magical, etc.) [...]

[4] Survival. Gain +1 XP per pound of monster/animal meat made into food and +25 XP per handful of edible berries and leaves picked. [...]

http://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-non-gold-for-xp-progression-systems.html

The same article, 20 Non-Gold for XP Progression Systems by Cacklecharm, presents also a simpler approach to level-up which does not require to count the single XP points. Level-up when you reach a major achievement or milestone: when you defeat a Count of Chaos (number 2), when an island has been mapped out and colonized (number 3), when you go down a level in the megadungeon (number 19).

[2] The Evil King has 9 evil counts, tyrannically ruling over the Kingdom; The COUNTS OF CHAOS. Defeat one to get a level up; at level 10 you can finally fight the King. Good luck.

[3] Conquistadors. Travel a tropical island archipelago and level up for each island that has been mapped out, the natives pacified, and a fort built to trade back to the glorious empire. [...]

[19] Megadungeon. Each floor = 1 level up. [...]

http://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-non-gold-for-xp-progression-systems.html

Additional and fancy options: your level is equal to the HD of your biggest kill (probably suitable for shorter campaigns):

[9] You're monster hunters; and you hunt something specific. Vampires, werewolves, etc. Your level is HD of your biggest kill. [...]

http://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-non-gold-for-xp-progression-systems.html

Or your character does not really progress, but you add powerful items to your inventory:

[11] All progression is based on equipment. You get gear which gets better as you add in powerful gems into sockets, find better base loot, add enchantments and sword oils, and so on.  [...] 

http://themansegaming.blogspot.com/2018/06/20-non-gold-for-xp-progression-systems.html

While the above presents a nice list of 20 mechanical alternatives, let's now be a little more inspired. Let's quote Blade Runner and Jeff Rients: "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe." / "Part of an adventurer's soul is wrapped up in the places they've been and the wonders they've beheld."

Go read the linked article then come back here.

eXPloration

by JEFF RIENTS

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe.

Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion.

I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate.

All those moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.

Time to die.

In addition to being one of the coolest lines ever to be uttered in a movie, Roy Batty's death speech at the end of Blade Runner speaks to me about the nature of adventurers. A good adventurer isn't just a corpse count and a treasure tally. Part of an adventurer's soul is wrapped up in the places they've been and the wonders they've beheld. [...]

Get out your campaign world map [...] Now imagine which of the places on the map are the coolest to visit. What places are breath-takingly beautiful? Which locations are desolate beyond imagination? What spots on the map have no mortals seen in generations? What places surge with magical energies or reek of unholiness? [...]

Take your ideas and make a list of places from most awesome to least awesome. [...] Next think about how much you want to award pure exploration in your campaign. [...]

You can also do up special rules like "dwarves earn triple XP for any ocean voyage" or "followers of St. Salamander earn 1,000xp for praying at each of his Seven Shrines". And one could establish XP awards for non-location based wonders [...]

Now to make this all work you need to keep in mind 2 important points. First, you have to share at least some items on this list with your player group. [...]

Second, when the players accomplish one of these goals, sell it. Break out that over-the-top poetic voice and use those fifty cent words. Have word get around, with peasants in the street whispering "There goes Lucas of the Amber Blade, he's the only man to ever cross the Shimmering Desert and return!" Most players eat that stuff up. [...]

https://jrients.blogspot.com/2009/12/exploration.html

As you've seen in the article by Jeff Rients, there is more in fantasy games to do than just rob tombs and steal treasures.
More along the same lines, by HDA. The same article presents another interesting idea: make the equipment list in gold, give treasure in silver, and XP for silver. This way the characters level-up according to the treasure they find (in silver, and silver for XP) but have low buying power at the start. They remain broke and hungry, which sets the ground for great adventures.

E6: Variant Experience
by HDA
[...] XP For Exploration
- First time you enter a hex (50 xp)
- Discover a 'major' hex location (100 xp * average challenge rating of the area)
- Discover a 'minor' hex location (50 xp)
This is 'normal' experience, divided among the PCs just like treasure or monsters. [...]
[...] XP For Treasure
This is easy. Using the silver standard, 1 sp = 1 xp.
[...] NO experience awarded for magic items.

True bastard that I am, I am awarding loot & starting wealth based on a silver standard, but all items have the listed cost IN GOLD PIECES in the Pathfinder Core Rules - ie. PCs have 1/10th the buying power they should according to RAW. This way they can scoop up huge sacks of money but they're still broke and hungry for the first several levels. [...]

https://terriblesorcery.blogspot.com/2018/09/e6-variant-experience.html

Do you need a little more convincing about running adventures where combat or treasure are not the main source of XP?

adventures without violence: exploration
by satyre
The idea of adventure without violence is something which may seem a bit of an oxymoron in RPGs but which in story writing is far less difficult to conceive. Imagine a game session where violence doesn't take place; where the elements and environment are adversaries rather than a bunch of mooks or minions and a big bad behind them. The extremity of a situation can be tailored by the game master to the adventurers in question. [...]
Trail-blazing would make a simple structure for an adventure; conquering a mountain may be an adventure in it's own right. Climbing steep cliffs, rock slides, avoiding avalanches or falling off and dealing with extreme environments that can be found (hypothermia, a lack of oxygen, treacherous ice) may provide plenty of challenges and entertainment. Treasure may be found in the form of mineral wealth, animal nests or even the remains of former mountaineers. [...]

http://satyrelite.blogspot.com/2009/06/adventures-without-violence-exploration.html

This is getting very long, so let's keep the rest for another post about this subject.
Will continue here.

Alignments

LotFP does a great thing with alignments which is to take Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic, and bring them to a cosmic scale. I feel like quoting the rulebook is a must. See how it does not prescribe how to play with your character? There is no "Alignment Shapes Character" and nothing of the xp penalty or losing divine favor etc. here.

"Alignment is a character’s orientation on a cosmic scale. It has nothing to do with a character’s allegiances, personality, morality, or actions. Alignments will mostly be used to determine how a character is affected by certain magical elements in the game. The three alignments are Lawful, Neutral, and Chaotic."

Also, see how clear and to the point are these descriptions, giving a new face to law and chaos, and making neutrality a default state. Also very interesting, in terms of world-building and in terms of shaping the relationships between characters, and between characters and NPCs, are prescriptions about classes with mandatory alignment(s).

"Those who are Lawful in alignment are part of an inevitable destiny, but have no knowledge of what that destiny is and what their role will be in fulfilling it. [...]

Those who are Chaotic in alignment are touched by magic, and consider the world in terms of ebbing and flowing energy [...] Many mortals who are so aligned desperately wish they were not. [...]

Mortal beings exist as Neutral creatures, and remain so throughout their existence unless taking specific steps (often unwittingly) to align themselves otherwise. [...]

Clerics must be Lawful. Elves and Magic-Users must be Chaotic. All others are free to choose their alignment. [...]"

If you are interested in some additional considerations about the LotFP alignments system, you can see my previous post here: Some thoughts on Alignments.
https://daimon-games.blogspot.com/2018/10/some-thoughts-on-alignments.html

Now, moving away from rule books and into the world of house-rules, let's see some considerations about alignments in the next link. I don't agree with the entire article, but it's not the point. I think it helps focusing the thoughts on the topic. After a brief comparison between "Alignment Shapes Character" and "Character Shapes Alignment", there is an interesting take on "Destined Death". Note how Destined Death provides not just a gameable option, but an overview of the world you play in.

This is quite a fine example of rules shaping the fantasy world of your game.

The article also contains an interesting list of 20 possible alignments, such as Family, Home, The City, A Community, but also Law/Chaos or The Sky, or Fire... (roll a d20 at char-gen? interesting because it gives a twist to the basic concept of character you may have in your head... because it gives you something to bring at the table even when the character is brand new and therefore it has no "past").

It goes in a more traditional direction than LotFP (LotFP twists the original 3 alignments in a new way, while this article does what many house-rules do, adding options and adding flavor, often in search of a "better" version of the original system). Still, worth a read... if only for the "Destined Death" and some ideas in the 20 alignments table.

An Alignment System
by Gorinich Serpant
I greatly despise the alignment grid, I could go into detail but many others have succinctly pointed out it's myriad of issues already. I feel better about the original three option one, but grand cosmic conflicts aren't something that has grabbed me that much. [...]
Destined Death: As a character's life is intertwined with their alignment, so must their death be. This doesn't mean that you can't die in a way unrelated to your alignment, but it does mean if you do than they will become restless, and become unquiet dead until they are properly buried. This is one of the purposes of burial ceremonies. [...]

Your alignment can change and evolve if you have a significant life experience, but generally it's going to be a change in your relationship with the alignment not switching to a completely different one. It should be rare and impactful enought to be ruled on a case by case basis. [...]

https://whimsicalmountain.blogspot.com/2018/09/an-alignment-system.html

Now, I have to admit that I didn't consider the alignment something which is gameable, something to play with. Rules about alignment so far has resonated with me mostly as how creature might interact with the character, or about spells effects or even selection of spells (i.e. a list restricted to chaotic alignment only... a classic).
But now I have the LotFP approach in mind ("cosmic", rather than "moral"), and this idea of destined death. I also expanded a bit on that approach - see my previous post with Some thoughts on Alignments - https://daimon-games.blogspot.com/2018/10/some-thoughts-on-alignments.html
That post is mostly flavor, but it shows how alignments contribute to shape the world of your game.


Now, how about alignments becoming relevant according to where the characters are? Aaron Parr came up with a simple yet powerful idea: mapping hexes (locations) to specific alignments.
As you'll see in the linked article, it is also possible to expand this to magic (schools of magic are mapped with alignments, and therefore with locations). This is again quite interesting in the prospective of building your own game world: how is magic connected to alignments and your pantheon of divine powers? And extending the concept: how are Magic-Users powers and Clerics powers connected?
The article then goes on with an idea by Zak Sabbath - using numbers to map alignments to hexes.

Gameable Alignments, Final Name & Compatibility

by Sami Mobarak-Sadokierski

[...] Parr came with the idea of mapping hexes to specific alignments, if your setting assumes that the pantheon exists. This means, in a specific area of your hexcrawl a god or an aligned pantheon holds control over it (could be denoted through a coloured hex number number), determining what can be done here from a magical perspective (this was my reading of the idea). Parr did state that this would work best if the game assumes a Three way Alignment System - a system where there is a Law, Chaotic, and non-aligned alignments. [...]

Proposed by Zak Sabbath, in relation to Parr’s wish to make alignments more gameable, was that hexes with a specific number were aligned to specific deities. The example by Zak was that the Cheetah God had sway in every Hex ending in 1. This simple idea got my head spinning, for if anybody knows a bit about Numerology have an idea of where this is heading. [...]

The last idea I could think of was having alignment as attributes for player characters. These attributes could be used in a manner to give the PC’s leverage when dealing with social encounters. People, who are aligned similarly as the PC, might act favourably if the player succeeds in one of the Alignment rolls that are relevant. [...]

http://projectirregular.blogspot.com/2018/10/gameable-alignments-final-name.html

When I will analyze the twenty quick questions for your campaign setting by Jeff Rients, we will see how certain decisions about the game world could also shape your house-rules.

Some thoughts on Alignments

Some thoughts on Alignments, somehow as an expansion on the LotFP approach (a re-post from Gplus).
I apologize for the wall of text.

All humans are born Neutral: there is a certain degree of selfishness in a Neutral alignment, there is a natural amount of cowardice and common sense, a willingness to be somehow a part of the current order of things. Neutrality allows also a fair degree of sentiments and love, of empathy and piety even. Loving a partner or a family member is Neutral, and so is hating their guts. Most humans are Neutral, and so is the human society at large.

Law is mostly a philosophical stance: when humans are concerned with more than themselves, they tend to a Lawful alignment. Someone in the hierarchy of the church is reasonably Lawful, as much as someone part of a cult, or of a secret society (assuming they believe in those organizations). Lawful is anyone who strives for some sort of order or purpose larger than themselves, either in a solitary endeavor or as part of a group with a common intent. Someone rebelling against nobility not for their own gain, but for their fellow commoners, is Lawful. And Lawful are probably the officers or nobles that fight to crush the rebellion, and strive to maintain the current order. Low-ranking rebels and common soldiers, on both sides, are probably Neutral, though. Lawful is an alignment for some, not for most humans.
It is clear, then, that Lawful has no Good or Evil connotation: it is the belief in something larger, in a purpose, in some sort of order, that makes the Lawful alignment be so.

Chaos, on the other hand, is the mark of everything non-human on a human soul. Using sorcery is chaotic and living according to the most simple rules of nature is chaotic (especially when the rest of the society does not). Chaotic is by no mean Evil. Chaos instead is in touch with the mystic energy of sorcery that subverts the rational laws, Chaos is a manifestation of a force (nature) larger than the single human life. But where Law brings order and has a purpose (regardless of what it is), Chaos simply is. It is capricious, it is fundamentally alien for humans, although some humans may indeed be touched and marked by it.

There is an order in Alignments; one must strive with consistency to bring themselves from Neutral to Lawful. Therefore, lack of such commitment resolves in a default declaration of Neutrality. The Referee may insist that a Lawful character change to Neutral, if they fail to prove their commitment with enough effort. Sacrifice (and often self-sacrifice) is required to maintain a Lawful alignment.
But as much as Neutral overrides Lawful for lack of commitment, Chaotic may override both Neutral and Lawful. Technically speaking, the usage of any form of sorcery is Chaotic. A lot of Lawful organizations maintain their lawful orientation and purpose, but any of their members that make use of sorcery are Chaotic (Magic-Users, yes, but I would say this includes Clerics too).

Someone might argue that magic, when blessed by the church for example, in the form of the clerical spells, is not Chaotic.
This is up to the Referee or the group to decide: if the Referee and the group can demonstrate that the higher source of power for clerical spells is god, then Clerics may be Lawful instead of Chaotic. This has a powerful implication: god itself must be Lawful if its magic does not bring the taint of Chaos with it. But if so, why is the world such a mess, why does not Law prevail on every aspect of our lives? What is the limit of the power of god, then? And is Chaos, and its sorcery, an enemy of a Lawful god, or are these simply two different entities, or even two different faces of the same divinity?

If the Referee and the group decide instead that clerical spells receive their power from the same source as sorcery, then Clerics must be Chaotic. Magic-users, of course, are always Chaotic.
(If you use demi-humans, stick to the default: Elves are Chaotic, Dwarfs and Halflings may also be Lawful, or more likely Neutral.)
Fighters and Specialist are usually Neutral and may strive to be Lawful, but how can they obtain the taint of Chaos if they wish to be Chaotic? May a simple curse do it? A mutation?
So, Neutral is the default state for humans; Lawful is an alignment which can be obtained through proper actions and a higher goal, while Chaos is a mark, an alignment brought by the power of sorcery.

Good and Evil perhaps exist, perhaps not. In gaming terms, Good should be treated as Lawful, and Evil as Chaotic. But this association is made by the human mind only. In truth, Good and Evil exist in these terms: they are strictly a consequence of the character’s actions.
Anything that causes harm that cannot be undone, is Evil. The scope of this definition is to be argued by the Referee and the group; is eating meat enough to be defined evil? Or is murder the line not to cross? What about murder with the intent of defending oneself, or even to defend one or more other persons? And where Evil is the harm that cannot be undone, it is therefore an Alignment that may very well be placed upon a character as a consequence of their action, even if the player is unwilling.
Again, there is room for argument here, and for house-rules: once the Evil Alignment is obtained, is there room for atonement and change? Or is this mark for life? Also, may the Evil alignment be associated with another, such as Lawful-Evil (not hard to imagine), Neutral-Evil and Chaotic-Evil? I do believe so. How to treat it in game terms? To me, Evil is predominant and therefore the character should be treated as Chaotic. But if the character for example is Lawful-Evil, they should be able to enjoy the benefit of the Lawful Alignment as well.
Good, on the other hand, has the simplest definition: it fights Evil.
It does not fight Chaotic or Neutral, and if it does, it will cause harm that cannot be undone and therefore become Evil. But as long as it fights Evil, Good may be treated as Lawful Alignment.
It is clear also that without Evil, Good cannot exist. It would simply revert to Lawful or Neutral or Chaotic.

Also, I stated previously that Good should be treated as Lawful, and Evil as Chaotic, and that this association is made by the human mind only. This is true: if the game inserts for example the idea of sin - in religious terms - as what defines Chaos and Evil, and religion as Lawful and Good, another character may argue that Good can be found only in the freedom of Chaos, and that any form of Lawful order is an imposition, and therefore Evil.
I do believe characters should be treated as they believe that they should be treated. You may have a character who claims to be Good fighting another who also claims to be Good; they both are, since they fight Evil in the form of the other. And both would reasonably end up being Evil, for the damage they'll cause.
Also, if a character claims they believe in the Good freedom of Chaos, so they want to be Chaotic-Good, the Referee may test them. If the Referee finds them hesitant, or catches a glimpse of guilt, perhaps the roots of the original sin have found their way into this character's heart, and they should instead just be Neutral, or simply Chaotic if they use sorcery.

The witch about to be burned at the stake is Chaotic because she uses sorcery, most of the crowd is Neutral, even those perverted enough to enjoy such a show. The witch-hunter is probably Lawful, but as soon as he burns the first witch, he becomes Evil, or better yet, Lawful-Evil. The one who betrayed the witch, and did it for a compensation in gold, not for a higher purpose, is simply Evil - this had nothing to do with Lawful.
The party of adventurers walking into the village right now are of different Alignments: there is a Magic-User who is Chaotic, there is a Specialist who is clearly Neutral, there is a Fighter who is Lawful and fights so that no one is burned at the stake, ever. This Fighter is not Good - too many deads behind - but is actually Lawful-Evil, same as the witch-hunter; just following a different path.
There is also a Cleric, level one, first time at the table, who believes to be Good (technically, Lawful-Good). At sunset, the Cleric will probably be Lawful-Evil or dead.
The Cleric might remain Lawful-Good, yes, as long as the corpses on the square, at the end of the day, are only the ones of those who are Evil.

So, this was a personal take on the LotFP alignements system, but if you want to read some more about alignments, you can check this post of mine: Alignments.
https://daimon-games.blogspot.com/2018/11/alignments.html

Better spells at level one

First level spells are not always very powerful and often randomly determined. Having a lame spell or two forces the Magic User to be creative, but when this is paired with very low HP and just one or two spell slots to memorize them, it makes the Magic User not just quite vulnerable (which is fine) but sometimes nearly useless.
Many house-rules try to address this, by adding cantrips, additional effects, the possibility to cast more than the usual one or two spells before running out of prepared slots, or allowing to prepare more than one spell per slot, and so on.

In the first linked article, Parker adds additional effects or variants to every level one spell. These features sometimes allow delayed or special effects that make the Magic User a little more versatile in the first levels.

Spell Features
by ktrey parker
The intention is to provide a little more "Magic" to First Level Magic-Users, including up to six unusual choices for most of the standard starting spells. This should help insure that no two 1st Level Magic-Users are the same, even if they possess the same spells. It might also make the Class a little more flavorful and “exotic” for those that grouse at the limitations of low level Magic-Users or sour at the idea of Random Spell Selection when they receive perceived non-starters like the much maligned “Ventriloquism.” [...]
I imagine that it would work something like this: Once Spells are randomly determined (or selected, if you are feeling exceptionally generous) for a first level Magic-User the player may either choose or randomly roll on the Spell Features for their specific 1st level Spell (everyone receives Read Magic in most of my games).
Some Spell Features are obviously more useful than others, and no regard has been paid to imaginary beasts like game-balance, nor is there much in the way of mechanical consistency. This was intentional, as I find it keeps things weird and mystifying, just as magic should be. [...]
http://blog.d4caltrops.com/2015/01/wherein-i-start-spitting-out-spell.html

Courtney Campbell instead provides a short and useful list of cantrips (short is always useful, because it's fast to read and make choices with it!), like involuntary bodily reactions, small flames, chill, clean, etc... Cantrips are "level zero" but not necessarily weak: think of an involuntary bodily reaction when an adversary is a precarious position, or a small flame near a barrel of black powder.

On the Effects of Magic, Cantrips and Rules

by Courtney Campbell

[...] Cantrips - “Do not meddle in the affairs of Wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.”

Wizards of any sort may do any of the following at any time:

- Touch someone to cause an involuntary bodily reaction at any time on a failed saving throw vs. paralyzation. (fart, bletch, blink, nod, yawn)

- Produce a small lighter sized flame

- Chill an object smaller than 1 cubic foot to 40 degrees. 

- Clean one man-sized creature or smaller, or one 10' x 10' x 10' cube or smaller. Cleaning the cube takes the magic one turn.

- Summon one diminutive vermin or insect

- Kill one tiny vermin or insect [...]

http://hackslashmaster.blogspot.com/2014/04/on-effects-of-magic-cantrips-and-rules.html

R.J. Thompson, then, provides a similar approach to cantrips, but in a sort of "free-form" manner, with some freedom for the player (and negotiation with the GM), but some other limitations (i.e. a minor cantrip might be used many times but only if the "parent spell" was not used yet, or a slightly more powerful cantrip may be used only once).

Simple Cantrip Rules For Swords & Wizardry and OD&D
by R.J. Thompson
Cantrip is an archaic word originally meant to define a trick performed by witchery. Later it was used to mean a malicious trick or a sham. In recent years (at least since the publication of the AD&D version of "Unearthed Arcana") it has come into usage in fantasy role playing to mean a bit of minor magic. This is typically in the form of 0 level spells in D&D and it's simulacra. [...]
How are we going to make this work? Well, this takes bargaining between the referee and the player. A mage can attempt to cause a minor magical effect based upon the effect of any spell currently memorized (or known spells not expended in the case of my sorcerer class.) For example, a mage with fireball written may want to light a pipe from his finger. A witch being bothered by a would be suitor may want to make him drowsy, heading off to bed, without expending the full effect of the spell and making him not off there and then. Likewise a sorceress with telekinesis may want to cause a bell that she can see ring, or wind chimes sound, without using the full effect of her spell. Minor effects like this might be allowed without question (possibly allowing a saving throw for the chap that is getting drowsy.) [...]
http://gamersandgrognards.blogspot.com/2017/06/simple-cantrip-rules-for-swords.html


In another post I'd like also to review the inspiration of the Summon spell to grant level-one Magic Users (and maybe Clerics) access to higher powers, at a greater risk.
In a few words, I am considering to use something similar to the Summon spell, accessible at level one, to gain access to high-level spells but at a great risk. This might take the form of longer rituals, the use of sacrifices (both in terms of wealth, enchanted items, spell books and scrolls, etc.) and in general high risks, in exchange for casting once a powerful spell.

(This is just a very rough draft with no second thoughts about balance and in need of course of a more careful review)
For example, a Magic User could cast as if they were of a higher level, adding one level for each of the following:
- The sacrifice of an unwilling victim (at least an HD 1 humanoid creature)
- Taking hours for a ritual (random? chosen?)
- Sacrificing at least 1,000 sp or a loot of equivalent value
- Sacrificing an enchanted item (not cursed)

There should be some uncertainty, as in the Summon spell. Let's say the MU wants to cast Wall of Fire or Polymorph Self, which are 4th level spells, thus require the MU to be Level 7 or higher.
To do that, the MU should either have access to a spellbook with that spell (even if they cannot learn it), or perhaps they will try to cast it without the full necessary knowledge, at an additional risk.
For each "level of risk" (i.e. 1 for not knowing the spell, and 1 for each level of difference between the MU's level and necessary level), roll a d6.
Every result of 1 is a "bane".

For each aid (sacrifice, hours of ritual, 1,000 sp or enchanted item, etc.) roll a d6. Every result of 6 is a "boon". Spend boons to cancel banes, one to one. One boon, though, must be used to actually obtain the spell effect as intented.
Every bane not countered by a boon, will cause problems. Serious problems.
Maybe the Polymorph Self will last the maximum duration in turns, but the MU cannot end it before (thus losing the ability to cast other spells), or the duration might be in hours or even days (more "banes"), and again impossible to end before the time. Maybe the polymorph causes a serious weakness (Save vs Magic, success go down to half HP, failure go down to 1 HP), etc.
Wall of Fire with one or more "banes"? I can see that halway filling with fire, fast, out of control, and burning for hours, for days... Or maybe the MU hairs all burn out, and their hands become fiercely hot and damage every mundane item they get in touch with, for the next 1d6 hours or days...

This definitely requires more thoughts...

Summon spell

The Summon spell (LotFP) is simply great. It's a powerful, dangerous tool potentially available for any level-1 Magic User. It's bound to cause confusion and disaster, or save the day when everything seems to be lost. It might unleash a powerful entity that will serve the Magic User character (or at least, cause enough distraction or destruction to allow the Magic User and their companions to escape, or go unnoticed, or steal the treasure, or do whatever they were here to do...), or it might summon a pitiful creature. It might even end the world.
Yes, it is available to level-1 characters, and as Ramanan puts it: "Who thought letting first level characters cast this spell was a good idea?" James, of course, did.
The spell actually tells us also something about the world of LotFP: this is a world where a powerful entity might be evoked by a careless and clueless Magic User or cultist, and escape their control. So for any nightmarish creature that you encounter, the answer to the question:
"Where the fu** does this come from?"
is probably: "A Summon spell gone wrong."


The only thing about the spell is that it's quite long (several pages) and it involves a complex procedure to generate the summoned entity and verify if it's under control, etc.
So, if you are online, use the Summon online tool by Ramanan.

Summon
by Ramanan Sivaranjan
For use in the summoning of demon and hell spawn in the role playing game Lamentations of the Flame Princess. You can use this page to go through the motions of casting the first level Magic-User's spell Summon, as outlined on page 142 of the Rules and Magic book of the role-playing game Lamentations of the Flame Princess. [...]
http://summon.totalpartykill.ca/

There is also an excel version of the tool mentioned, but I didn't find it.
If anyone has a link to share, for the excel, please do (convenient if you have no connectivity).


In my attempt to work on a new magic system, which has all spells potentially available at level one, I did a rewriting of the Summon spell, as in the image below.
It loses a lot of the most weird combinations but makes the process much faster. The spell should be usable even without the rest of the draft of the magic system; just consider that a caster has a number of "levels" to spend on the spell which are equal to their actual level. And in the spell itself, everything is done by "spending" levels.
In other words, a level 2 Magic User could spend 2 levels, in this spell, for example to select the following effects:
- 1 level for an HD 3 demon,
- 1 level to get a +1 to the domination roll.
A level 3 Magic user could spend all 3 levels to evoke up to an HD 5 demon.
(in the draft, not presented here, here are an additional 2 pages to summon more powerful demons)

While as I said the spell loses some of its charm (and its potential to destroy the planet), it provides a nice, two pages and fast procedure to replace the more complex original Summon.
(and it gives a simple and nice overview of the "spend-levels" magic system)


In a similar way (but way before I did, in 2012), Mike Evans also wrote a shorter, faster version of the Summon spell. Go to the linked page and you will also find a version of this spell in PDF to download.

The Summoning Spell From Lamentations of the Flame Princess Vornheim Style
By Mike Evans
[...] One of my favorite parts LotFP is (and I’ve seen much praise for this) the Summon spell.  It is an interesting, dark, and unique take on what has normally been a “poof here is a griffon, eagle, blink dog, etc fighting for you” kind of spell.
The one criticism of it is that it weighs in at 6 pages (or 10 pages if you count the special summoned beings).  That is a hefty thing to sift through when you’re trying to keep the action on the game table.
I’ve seen people ask for or about a more simplified version of it out there.  Zak threw out a comment about doing in in the same vein as Vornheim.  I pondered this for a bit and was thinking of doing a die drop chart (since I love those things so fucking much), but in the end I thought, for this particular situation, it would become too convoluted…  However I did decide to still use one aspect of the die drop chart.  Roll a d4, d6, d8, d10, d12, and a d20 and consult the table and you now have you Summons.
I tried to keep this extremely simple, but still offer a wide variety of “what the fuck is that?!” type creatures and abilities.  Obviously the spell itself is inspired and hacked from LotFP.  Many of the powers are listed in the book itself, some are just my own grab from any old D&D style OSR book or my own idea. [...]
https://wrathofzombie.wordpress.com/2012/06/21/the-summoning-spell-from-lamentations-of-the-flame-princess-vornheim-style/


Curious about yet another take on the Summon spell? What if a caster at 9th level, with enough sacrifice and money and power could control in part of the spell, to determine the sort of creature to evoke?

Advanced Summon Spell for LotFP
by Justin Stewart
Arguably, one of the most popular and beloved aspects of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess Rules & Magic book is the Summon spell. I mean, come on, you've got to love a first-level spell that lets you summon a randomized monster, often vastly overpowered, that can either eat you, serve you, or straight up end the world if you screw up badly enough.
However, sometimes you want to summon something a little more specific. Sometimes, you don't just want any demon, but specifically Headsosoth the Headsucking Monstrosity from Mars. Sometimes you want to summon a demon that can possess a pet bird and use its body to spy on the local mayor, as was the case in our game last Saturday.
Here's my house rule for handling that situation.
"Advanced Summon" is not technically a separate spell. When a Magic-User reaches a high enough experience level to cast ninth-level spells, the Magic-User can choose to memorize Summon as a ninth-level spell instead of a first-level spell. This version of the spell is considered Advanced Summon. [...]
http://dragonsgonnadrag.blogspot.com/2016/04/advanced-summon-spell-for-lotfp.html