3.  RULES


    This chapter's intent is to be a complete list of the special rules under which Plynck runs.
    In general, the three AD&D 3.0 books, Players Handbook (PHB), Dungeon Master's Guide (DMG), and Monster Manual (MM-I) provide the basic rules for running.  This chapter will discuss some 'fixes' to some of those rules; some enhancements / additions / expansions to them; and some limitations.  The latter will be accompanied with the reasoning behind imposing those limits.

     Contents of this chapter.
3.1 Limitations
3.2 Skills
3.3 Feats
3.4 Weapon Training
3.5 Armor
3.6 Supplies
3.7 Encounters
3.8 House Rules



3.1  Limitations

    There's already been a discussion on why we're only using the 3.0 sourcebooks.  And now there are going to be more limitations?  Why is that?
    Part of it is to speed the game up.  If you don't have to search through fifteen (I'm exaggerating) different books to find the writeup on the spell (or feat, or melee action) you want to use, then the game will go faster.  In particular, each round will go faster, so the time between a person's previous and current actions won't be as long. 
    Part of it is to keep things balanced.  Even in 3.0, some of the addons were not (in my opinion) adequately game-tested.  Rather than try and determine these by imagining how they would play out, and making case by case decisions (which I so don't have time for), I will be declaring entire sets off-limits.  Note that the corollary to this is: if there is some off-limit thing you really want, and you can convince me that it is in balance with the rest of the game, it could be added in.
    Part of it is to keep the game exciting.  That may seem contradictory at first thought: I'm restricting your characters from becoming wildly (or even mildly) exotic -- and therefore the game will be more exciting?!   Well, yes: I think so.  Because if everything is a piece of cake walk over (not just a mixed but a pureed metaphor) then the game gets boring.  If every monster dies at the first blow; if every lock is automatically picked; if every treasure is maxed out; I doubt interest in a run would last beyond the first session.  In particular, this "why" means that knowledge is going to be limited.  Finding things out will be possible, but will require more effort than putting on a helm and eavesdropping.  There will be encounters for which nobody in your group has any prior knowledge that will help.  And as a corollary to this, the knowledge you do acquire will be meaningful and worthwhile.
    Part of it is because the world is not homogeneous.  Foreign parts are very different.   Perhaps they have races which don't live around here.  Perhaps they have styles of magic that only they know; or secret deities.  A completely different ecology, giving rise to entirely unknown monsters.  By placing limits on your characters, I can reserve those other possibilities for use in constructing your foes - thereby allowing me to construct them in a manner wherein I know how strong I am making them (which sorta ties back into balance).

   

3.1.1  Source Books

    The primary source book is the AD&D 3.0 Players Handbook.  If anyone doesn't have this, please tell me, and I'll hunt one down.
     Information in the AD&D 3.0 Dungeon Master's Guide is freely available for any player to read, but should not be taken as available for their character without asking first.     
     I would really like, and initially intend, to not allow the five supplemental books -- "Defenders of the Faith", "Masters of the Wild", "Song and Dance", "Sword and Fist", and "Tome and Blood" -- for use by player characters.  My reasoning is all that expressed above, plus the comparatively minor (but not ignorable) point that some players have access to these books only during gametime.  [There are some case-by-case exceptions to this, mentioned in the subsections below.]
    {March, 2023}  After all the adventurers in a group have reached 10th level or beyond, this limitation will be removed.

3.1.2  Species

    Only the seven basic species in the PHB are available for player characters: Dwarf, Elf, Gnome, Half-Elf, Half-Orc, Halfling, and Human.

3.1.3  Classes

    Only the eleven basic classes in the PHB are available for player characters: Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Druid, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Sorcerer, and Wizard.
    Multi-classing is permitted.  Furthermore (see more of this under 3.8 House Rules) there are no restrictions on multi-classing for Paladins or Monks; and no experience point awarding penalties for being 'unbalanced'.

3.1.4  Prestige Classes

    I see these as a reasonable way to grow and develope your character.  Accordingly, I don't want to do away with them, even though none of the Prestige Classes are in the PHB.  I'm not going to give a blanket permission for all Prestige Classes, however, because I do feel that some of them are unbalanced, or otherwise unsuitable to run in a character with the group. 
    At first thought, nobody is going to be able to take a Prestige Class for some while, so perhaps this is something which could be skipped over for now, and come back to later.  However, I know that some players like to plan out their character for several levels in advance - and in particular want to pick starting characteristics so as to be able to reach a desired Prestige Class as quickly as possible.  So, for those people, deciding on Prestige Classes cannot be put off.
     I am not going to go through all the Prestige Classes and write up a list of which ones are permitted.  Instead, if you are interested in a Prestige Class for your character -- either now (in anticipation of a growth path), or at some time many runs in the future -- come see me about it.  I'll likely need to go off and think about it.  And my answer is likely to be one of: "Ok, fine.",  "Sorry, no.",   or  "To allow that Prestige Class, I would change it in this way; are you still interested?"   
    Which has the interesting corollary: you could propose to me a modification of an existing Prestige Class, for your character.

3.1.5  Deities

    Only those Deities listed in the PHB are available for being worshiped by player characters.

3.1.6  Spells

     Initially, only those spells listed in the PHB are available for learning by Sorcerers, Wizards, or Bards, or for being divinely granted for Clerics, Druids, Paladins, or Rangers.
     {March, 2023}  Once characters reach 15th level, spells from the other 3.0 source books will become available to them.  The reasoning is that by this level the likelihood of any non-PHB spells being unbalanced is much lower.

    What does "initially" mean?
    For Arcane magickers - wizards, sorcerers, bards - it means that access to other styles of magic can become available by long study -- we're talking years, not days, here -- in order to get their mind around an entirely foreign way of thinking about magic.  After that, every spell in that style is potentially available to them.  For wizards, they can now read those scrolls with understanding, learn those spells from mages who already know them, add them to their spell book.  Sorcerers and Bards, by learning this different discpline of magic, will have opened their minds for the possibility of becomming intuitively in touch with spells from this new style, in addition to the spells they already had the potential for.
     For Divine magickers - clerics, druids, paladins, and rangers - their magic is granted to them from their Deity.   And thus their way of gaining access to new styles is quite different.  Bascially their Deity can grant them understanding of a new style, and corresponding full access to the spells of that style; but there is no means whereby a character (player or non-player) can learn to have such understanding and access.  Deities will sometimes grant such understanding as a reward for actions of which they highly approve, or for the completion of a quest they have tapped the character for.
      "Other styles of magic" are unlikely to be encountered on this continent.  These might include such differences as "spell points" instead of "spell slots" for determining a spell user's remaining available magic.

3.1.7  Weapons

    Initially, only those weapons listed in the PHB are available.  All others are exotic -- even if the source book lists them as simple or martial -- and require the same types of learning as PHB exotic weapons, in order to be used without large penalties.  See also the enhanced Weapon Training opportunities, below.
     {March, 2023}  At 10th level, weapons from the five supplemental source books become available.  At 15th level, weapons from all 3.0 source books become available.

3.1.8  Knowledge

    "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy."
    Put a different way, not only is the world stranger than you know, it is stranger than you can know. 

     Knowledge is going to be harder to obtain than previously.   This will affect everything from individual encounters (where your characters might, for example, not be as aware as previous groups were of particular weaknesses of the monster you're fighting - or even what the monster is) to languages to maps to why some person or group are doing things that don't make any sense.  As noted earlier, the world is very large, and is not homogeneous at all.  So foreigners will know things your characters don't, and can't easily find out.  Contrariwise: your group will know things that the foreigners don't, and don't know how to deal with.
     As a corollary, items that relate directly to knowledge -- maps, books, and the like -- are very valuable.  Or very pricy, if your group is trying to buy one.
     Nor will magic automatically and effortlessly overcome this.  For example, Comprehend Languages will not let someone understand any language (reguardless of what the PHB says), but rather only a "local" subset of all languages (easy rule of thumb: if the character can recognize the language, then Comprehend Languages will let her understand it).  Nor will SpellCraft always tell anything about an observed spell or a discovered magic item: the character must have some basic grounding in order to obtain additional information.
    Likewise, some magic items will be less than universal in how good they are a discovering knowledge.  For these, if such an item becomes available to the group (through loot, rewards, shopping, etc.), then along with it will come a description of how it works in Plynck, whenever that differs from the DMG. 
    For encounters, I really like what the Monster Manual IV had done with explicitly laying out which knowledge rolls are applicable, and what information various thresholds of rolls mean the character has.  I am going to try to set that system up for monsters from the other three Manuals as well. 
   
    A final word.  This is the least easy to define, most likely to need tweaking of the changes for Plynck.  I am much more interested in arriving at a level which maximizes the enjoyment of playing [and no: that level is not a full revelation of everything;-], than I am in "a foolish consistency".  And  so if I start out one way, and then decide it needs to change, it will change.  (But not retroactively.)

3.2  Skills


    First off, the existing AD&D 3.0 Skill methodology is still in effect.  Meaning that the easiest way to improve your character's skill set is to wait for each leveling-up, take the earned skill points, and use them to buy ranks (class skill) or half-ranks (cross-class skill).  All the existing rules about how many skill points are accumulated each level, based on class (rising-class if the character is multi-classed), and intelligence, and race (human or not) still apply. 
    All of the existing synergies between different skills, and between races, or classes, or feats, or equipment, and skills, still apply.  [There is a list of such synergies on the megapipe, but not the cox, frp website.]
    Gaining skill points by leveling-up does not require any time, money, or finding an instructor.

    One rule change: anyone who invests enough skill points (ten) to acquire five ranks in a skill, can thereafter treat that skill as being a class skill, instead of a cross-class skill.

    A second rule change: the maximum number of additional languages which a character can learn, beyond their starting out set, is four times their INT bonus.

    The major new aspect to Skills is the ability to learn some skills outside of the leveling-up process.  In particular, there will be a list of named skills for which this activity is possible.  Associated with each named skill will be one (or more) of the 3.0 set of Skills -- although for many of them the associated Skill will be either Craft or Profession. 
     There will be an entire section of the "Tables" chapter on these named skills.  For each named skill, there will be a name (duh), a description, a list of minimum Ability stats needed to learn the skill, whether this is a strenuous skill or not (see below), a list of prerequesite other named skills which must have already been learned, and time and gold piece costs for the learning. 

    For example, Master Jeweler: cuts gems exquisitly, creates fine jewelry; requires minimum INT 14, DEX 16, and STR 10; non-strenuous; prereqs are Geologist and Jeweler; requires  four years and 2,736gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in Appraise.
    Geologist, in turn: knows about land and what lies under it; requires minimum INT 12 and STR 10; strenuous; prereq is Miner; requires five months and 48.75gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in Knowledge::Dungeoneering.
    Miner: digs holes in dirt, or chips through rock, twice as fast as normal people; requires STR 18; strenuous; no prereqs; requires one month and 4.55gp to learn; and provides a skill rank in Knowledge::Dungeoneering.
    Jeweler: cuts gems finely, sets gems in art objects; requires minimum INT 12; DEX 14; STR 10; non-strenuous; prereqs are Lapidary and Goldsmith; requires seventeen months and 185.25gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in Appraise.
    Lapidary: cuts gems adequately, polishes from rough; requires minimum INT 12 and DEX 14; non-strenuous; no prereqs; requires seven months and 68.20gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in both Appraise.
    Goldsmith: makes (non-magical) rings, armbands, goblets, etc.; requires minimum INT 10, DEX 12, and STR 10; non-strenuous; prereq is Metalworker; requires seven months and 68.20gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in Appraise.
    (Finally) Metalworker: makes simple metal objects (nails, hinges, etc); requires minimum DEX 8 and STR 8; no prereqs; requires four months and 28.60gp to learn; and provides skill ranks in Craft::Weaponworker..

    Some "base" skills are prereqs for a large number of "higher" skills.  Metalworker is one of these

    As you can see, learning skills outside of leveling-up is by no means a freebie.  Your character must have both time and money, as well as other per-skill requirements.  For examples, no learning to sail in the desert; no learning to mountainclimb on the prairire.  Also, unlike leveling-up, your character must have an instructor for this learning (although that was probably inherently obvious from there being a cost). 
    And since your character is part of a group, finding time for learning skills is likely to require a general agreement among all the members to take a break from adventuring for some weeks or months.  [No rule about it, but I suspect that any skill requiring years to learn will necessitate that character retiring from the group (and pursuing a career in that skill development path].
   
    Training for a skill takes up one watch per day.  Characters may spend at most two watches per day on training.  It is not possible to half the time of training by doubling up and using both watches on the same skill.  [There are other loophole-closing rules which will be detailed in the "Tables" chapter section on Skill Learning.]  A character may take training in at most one strenuous skill a day; so training can be of one strenuous and one non-strenuous, or of two non-strenuous, or of course of just one skill at a time.  All language learning is non-strenuous.  All Weapons Training (see below) is strenuous.   All other skills will have that condition spelled out in their descriptions.
     When learning a named skill, the associated skill ranks acquired (if any) are listed in the descriptions.  If the associated skill is a class skill, then full ranks are earned; if it is a cross-class skill, then half-ranks are earned.  Note, however, that there is a further difference from leveling-up skill points.  When leveling-up, the definition of class versus cross-class depends entirely on what class is being taken at this level.  When learning named skills, the definition of class versus cross-class is based on the entirity of the character's history.   Thus, even if the character has not added a level to one, of a multiple of multi-classes, for several levels, any associated skill of a named skill, which was a class skill for that long-ago class, is still considered a class skill for the learned skill rank earning.
    For example, if a character took first level as Barbarian, and then seven levels as Fighter, and then learned the named skill Equine Trainer, he would earn a rank in Ride as a class skill, even though that is not a class skill for Fighters, and his most recent Barbarian leveling-up was seven character levels previously.

    In addition to gaining ranks or half-ranks in the associated skills, learning a named skill has the additional usefulness or advantage of permitting the character to attempt some actions that are simply impossible without specialized training.  Navigating a ship, for example, requires so much more than Intuit Direction. 

3.3  Feats

     For the most part, there are no changes to the way Feats work.
     With a very few exceptions (described below), Feats can only be learned according to the appropriate leveling-up schedule for your character's class and race.
     The Feats available for learning are, initially, limited to those in the PHB.  As your group encounters other cultures, it will become possible to select from additional Feats as well.   As a prerequisite for this, your character will be required to spend some immersion time in that culture, to make those Feats available for selecting from, at her next leveling-up.  Details on this will vary from culture to culture.

     Some of the Weapon Training options, described in the next section, are integrated with those Feats that are directly related to plusses to hit or damage.  Accordingly, those Weapon Trainings will earn the character a new Feat, without expending any leveling-up slots.  Note that this applies to neither all Feats, nor to all Weapon Trainings.

     {March, 2023} At 15th level, any feat in any 3.0 source book will be available to the character.  Feats in foreign cultures, which will not be listed in any 3.0 source book, remain under case-by-case restrictions.
    

3.4  Weapon Training

     In a matter deliberately parallel to named skill learning, characters may take Weapon Training by expending time and money, and after finding an appropriate instructor.  There is an entire section in the "Tables"  chapter detailing the time and cost for training for each separate weapon.
    Because a character will need to find an instructor for training in a weapon, the list of available weapons in the PHB is the least restrictive of the limitations placed on excluding other source books.  Any weapon from one of the other 3.0 source books can be learned by a character: either by using the Exotic Weapon Proficiency Feat for that weapon, or by finding an instructor (and the time and money) and taking Weapon Training for that weapon.
    Basically, a weapon in which a character has no proficiency is termed Unfamiliar, and incurs a -4 ToHit penalty if used.  Weapon Training allows a character to raise their skill with a weapon in steps, as follows:
        Unfamiliar:  -4    --  no training whatsoever (also no Feat proficiency)
        Familiar:     -2
        Trained:      -1
        Skilled:         0    --  character gains Exotic Weapon Proficiency Feat with that weapon
        Expert:       +1    --  character gains Weapon Focus Feat with that weapon
        Master:      +2
    Again, basically, taking Weapon Training requires finding an instructor, and then having the money to pay for the training, and the time to take it.  The Weapons section of the "Tables" chapter lists the time and money costs for each level of training for each weapon.
     To be an instructor for the Familiar, Trained and Skilled levels, a character (player or non-player) must have the Tutor named-skill, and be at least Expert in the weapon.  To be an instructor for the Expert or Master levels, they must have the Tutor named-skill, and be Master in the weapon.
    Training for a skill takes up one watch per day.  Characters may spend at most two watches per day on training.  It is not possible to half the time of training by doubling up and using both watches on the same skill.  [There are other loophole-closing rules which will be detailed in the "Tables" chapter's section on Weapon Training.]  A character may take training in at most one strenuous skill a day.  All Weapons Training is strenuous.   Therefore, a character may take Weapon Training for only one weapon at a time.

3.5  Protection  (Armor Class = AC)

    These are all the ways by which a character can improve their chances of NOT being inflicted (hit) with physical damage.

3.5.1    Body Base Protection Level

    Everyone has a basic protection lvel of 10.  There is no way to increase this.  On the other hand, there is no way in which it can be decreased, either.

3.5.2    Physical Armor

    Each suit of armor has a PHB defined physical AC, of type "armor", based on the type of armor being worn.  These do not stack: if you wear leather armor under plate mail, only the plate mail, as the higher AC of the worn armors, will provide protection.  Furthermore, magical sources of Armor -- for example Bracers of Armor or the Mage Armor spell -- do not stack with physical armor or with each other.  AC from armor does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.3    Physical Shield

    Each shield has a PHB defined physical AC, of type "force", based on the type of shield.  These do not stack: if you wear two shields, only one of them - the type with better AC - will provide protection.  Furthermore, magical sources of Force -- for example a Force Shield ring -- do not stack with physical shields or with each other.  AC from shields does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.4    Dexterity

    A character's Dexterity (DEX) will aid in their protection.  As a first approximation, every two points of DEX over the baseline of 10 will provide one more point of AC.  If the character's DEX has been artificially enhanced through magic, or a temporarily spell, or a device, then the total DEX will, potentially, be available for use in enhancing AC.  Obviously, a temporary spell or an activated-for-a-time device will only impart their additional DEX, and thus their potential additional AC, for the duration of that spell or activation.  It is possible to have multiple sources for increasing DEX.  All of those sources do stack; and thus so do their effect on AC.  The drawback is that most armors and shields, and some other items of gear, impart a hard limit on what is available as the Maximum Bonus From Dexterity.  The numbers, kinds, and degrees of improvement of DEX do not affect this limit, and cannot provide any workaround to circumvent it.  AC from DEX does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.5    Natural Armor

    This type of protection will not be available to most characters.  In general, Natural Armor is a physical attribute of the species of character, although there are some spells and magical items which will mimic it.  Each species, each spell, and each magical item, will have a fixed amount of additional AC provided by that Natural Armor.  These do not stack: if a character of a species which has Natural Armor acquires a magical item which also conveys Natural Armor, only the largest of the two ACs will provide protection.  AC from Natural Armor does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.6    Haste

    The "Haste" spell imparts an automatic +4 to AC, for so long as it is in effect.  Most Haste effects come from spells or the activation of items, either of which is activated-for-a-time, and the associated AC is only added during that time.  Haste cannot stack: if someone casts a Haste spell on you, and you also activate Boots of Haste, there is no increase to the amount of activities you can accomplish during a round.  And, there is no increase to the Haste-associated +4 to AC.  AC from Haste does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.7    Deflection Bonus

    This is the type of AC which is infused into magical armor and magical shields.  As such it does stack with the physical ACs of armor and shields.  There are other magical sources of Deflection, spells and items -- e.g., Rings of Protection -- which do not stack with the Deflection from magical armor or shields.  However, the Deflection bonus from magical armor and the Deflection bonus from magical shields _do_ stack with each other.  Thus only the largest of Armor+Shield Deflection bonus, or some other single source of Deflection bonus, will provide protection.  AC from Deflection does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.8    Dodge Bonus

    This type of protection is never available from spells or magical items, but only from Feats, or Special Abilities, or rare species-specific attributes.  If a character has more than one source of Dodge bounus AC improvments, all of those sources _do_ stack with each other.  Also, AC from Dodge does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.9    Luck Bonus

    A Luck bonus is almost always imparted from a device, and is always active.  It contributes a +1 to AC for every +1 of Luck it has.  If a character has multiple sources of Luck bonuses, they do not stack, and only the largest improvement to Luck will apply.  As such, only the largest Luck bonus will affect the character's AC.  Ac from Luck does stack with all other kinds of AC.

3.5.10    Miscellaneous Others

    Other kinds of protection, for example a shield of Arrow Deflection, are not directly related to AC, and _do_ always stack with anything.

3.6  Supplies

3.6.1  "L. L. Beanstalk"

    There is an entry, under "Tables", ;isting all of the supplies that are reasonably likely to be available in Plynck, which are not listed in the PHB.  As with the PHB's tables, supplemental information on an item is provided where appropriate.

3.6.2  Purchasing Limitations by Locale

    It should come as no surprise that the availability of supplies is directly related to the size of the community.  In a Thorp, your group would be lucky to find enough surplus to purchase a single meal; a Village likely has an inn where everyone can stay, with stabling for the horses, plus food and ale; there aren't likely to be any magic stores in anything smaller than a Large City.  And so forth.

    As a rule of thumb, consult the following table for the economic likelihood of items, or services, in given price ranges being obtainable.  Which is not to say that everything in that price range is available in every community of that size; but rather that anything in that price range is highly unlikely to be found in any smaller community.

COMMUNITY
 POPULATION (adult)
 COST RANGE  (gp)
 MAX TOTAL EXCH. (gp)
Thorp
 20 - 80
 0 - 40
 50
Hamlet
 81 - 400
 Thorp and 40 - 100
 200
Village
 401 - 900
 Hamlet and 100 - 200
 900
Small Town
 901 - 2,000
 Village and 200 - 800
 8,000
Large Town
 2,001 - 5,000
 Small Town and 800 - 3,000
 30,000
Small City
 5,001 - 25,000
 Large Town and 3,000 - 10,000
 100,000
Medium City
 25,001 - 125,000
 Small City and 10,000 - 25,000
 500,000
Large City
 125,001 - 625,000
 Medium City and 25,000 - 50,000
 1,000,000
Metropolis 625,001+ Large City and 50,000 - 75,000 4,000,000

    The final column reflects the idea that not only is there a limit to how expensive an item can be found an any given size community, there is also a limit on just how much can be purchased, reguardless of individual price.  For example, a light horse (75gp) might be available in a Hamlet, but such a locale is simply to small to have enough surplus to let three of them (total 225gp) be sold.  [Of course, for outrageous prices, people can be talked around into all sorts of deals.]

3.7  Encounters

3.7.1  Partial and Full Round Actions

     There is a "Run-time Rule Tables" entry in the "Tables" chapter which lists every action and defines how long that action takes. 
     I am abandoning, as needlessly incomprehensible, the divisions of actions into "named lengths", with complex rules on top of that of how these can be mixed together.  Instead, each action will be defined as taking up so many tenths of a round.  Each round, each character may partake of any number of (legal) actions, so long as their total times do not exceed ten tenths. 
     This guarantees that this new table of times will not be entirely consistent with what AD&D was doing; an inconsistency which bothers me not one bit.
     I intend to make up cheat-sheet cards, for everyone to have, for using while getting used to this new methodology.  [I am hoping that after the first few encounters, the times for each character's most common actions will become memorized by the players, and the cheat-sheets will only need to be referenced for unusual activities.]

3.7.2  Criticals & Bloopers

     Criticals work as in the PHB: each weapon has a potential critical range; feats, magic, and weapon enhancements can increase that range (temporarily or permanently); each potential critical requires a confirming roll; each successful critical has a damage multiplier, as specified in the weapons tables.

     It is possible to roll a potential critical, and still not hit the foe.  In which case the attack wasn't a critical, or perhaps even a hit.  It is possible for a foe to be so protected, that a Natural-20, with all the current plusses ToHit, is still beyond a character's ability to hit.  However, it is always possible to hit. 
    If an attack roll of a Natural-20 is made, but is not sufficent to hit the foe, then this roll cannot be a potential critical, but it is a hit.
     Note that the critical range for the weapon does not matter, this only applies to Natural-20s.
     Note that even though the foe has been hit, it still may not take any damage.

    Bloopers work in a similar manner. 
    Each character has a potential blooper range.  Initially, normally, and perhaps always, that range will be "1" on a 1d20.  However, fair warning: there are curses, spells, cursed weapons, and other ways by which a character may, temporarily or permanently, experience an increased blooper range.
    Each potential blooper requires a confirming roll: a successful hit means that the blooper was only a miss (see exception below).
    In addition, magical weapons provide augmented protection against bloopering.  If a character using a magical weapon rolls a potential blooper, and then a confirmation of that blooper, there is still one additional check to be made.  If the character can make a saving roll: 1d20 plus DEX plus the weapon's ToHit magical plusses, versus DC 15, then this was only a miss, and not a blooper.

    There is a "Run-time Rule Tables" entry in the "Tables" chapter showing the possible bloopers.

     It is possible to become sufficiently buffed up, that even a roll of "1" is sufficient to hit a foe.  Even so, rolling a "1" is always a potential blooper.  And rolling a second "1" on the confirming roll means that it is a blooper, even though the confirming roll would actually hit the foe.
    On the other hand, if the confirming roll is not a "1", then the initial attack roll of "1" is turned into a miss.  Most emphatically it is not a hit.

3.7.3  Attacks of Opportunity

    There is a "Run-time Rule Tables" entry in the "Tables" chapter table showing all of the actions which a character can undertake during a round.  Included is a column which shows which of those can invite an Attack of Opportunity - either by you on them, or by them on you.

3.7.4  Fatigue

      Characters require eight hours of sleep per day [four hours of meditation for Elves].  Characters who receive less than this are less effective for the next day: they subtract a calculated number from all rolls for the entire day.  To calculate this number, subtract the hours of effective sleep from 7 [3 for Elves].  (Losing one hour of sleep over one night can be ignored.)
    Sleep loss is cumulative.  Any hours less than the required, from the previous night, are subtracted from the effective sleep for the current night.  Thus, while 7 hours does not incur a penalty over a single night, 7 hours each for several nights in a row will incur increasingly larger penalties. 
    Sleep loss can be compensated for easily: just sleep longer.  Note, however, that there is an effective limit to this: no more than four hours of accumulated sleep loss may be compensated for in a single session; that is, getting more than twelve effective hours of sleep in one day will not be helpful.
    An encounter which occurs while a character is asleep (not already on watch), and in which the character is awakened, removes one effective hour from that day's sleep. 
    Wearing various kinds of armor while sleeping also cause losses in effective sleep: wearing no armor or light armour incurs no penalty; wearing medium armor while sleeping increases the necessary minimum to nine hours; wearing heavy armor while sleeping increases the necessary minimum to ten hours.  A common workaround is to purchase a second set of armor, light, for sleeping in; the alternatives are to either spend time doning armor during a night-time encounter, or else suffer rapidly accumulating penalties.
    Note that the Endurance Feat has been enhanced to help both with the number of hours of sleep necessary, and also what armor can be slept in without penalty.

    Fatigue can also be caused by disease, poisons, spells, and exceeding your character's endurance limits.

    Fatigue is tracked by cumulative minuses -- one for each accumulated hour of missed sleep; and varying amounts for other causes.  These minuese apply to every roll that a character makes: saves, attacks, damage, skills, spell casting, everything.  [It is possible to accumulate so much Fatigue, that, for example, damage rolls from smaller dice are modified into negative numbers.  This is not permitted.  The final value -- die roll and all positive and negative modifications, is never less that one.]
     Magic users, both arcane and divine, who are suffering from fatigue must roll higher than their Fatigue Level on a 1d20 -- no modifiers -- or else their spell is used up, but has no effect.

     The Endurance Feat is expanded to also allow a charcter to treat seven hours (three for elves), instead of the normal eight hours (four for elves), as a full night's sleep.  For purposes of sleeping only, a character with the Endurance Feat may treat Medium Armor as if it were Light.   For purposes of sleeping only, a character with the Endurance Feat may treat Heavy Armor as if it were Medium.  [Anyone trying to be clever and combine those last two sentences will be dumped in a lake, in their full armor, and sardonically asked how long they can tread water.]  The Endurance Feat is now available as a Fighter bonus feat.

3.8  House Rules

3.8.1  Reroll "1"s on Hit Die Rolls

    Any roll of a "1" for a leveling-up Hit Die should be rerolled.

     {March, 2023}  Upon leveling up, a character may select to _not_ roll a Hit Die, but instead take "X-1" new hit points (where "X" is the maximum possible for their Hit Die).
     [Taking the "X-1" leveling-up hit points, instead of rolling, obviously makes this earlier rule inapplicable.]

3.8.2  Coins Weigh 1/100 of a Pound

     Because decimalization is a wonderful advance (especially over roman numerals), all coins now weigh 1/100 of a pound.  Items weighing less than a pound will sometimes be listed by Gold Piece Weight (gpw).

3.8.3  Ten Skill Points in Cross-Class Skill Turns it into Class Skill

     Any character who invests ten skill points (five ranks) in a cross-class skill, will thereafter have that as a class skill. 
     Note: if the character is multi-classed, and has this skill as a class skill for one class, and a cross-class skill for the other, it is the investment of ten skill points, not the obtaining of five ranks, which determines when the change goes into effect.

3.8.4  Maximum on Number of Learnable Languages

    Beyond the languages they know starting out, a character can learn only as many additional languages as four times their INT bonus.

3.8.5  No Experience Point Penalty for Multi-Classing

    This rule rescinds the AD&D rule which states that multi-classed characters must keep all of their classes "balanced" with each other, or else suffer an experience point penalty.

3.8.6  Paladins and Monks Can Multi-Class

    This rule rescinds the AD&D rule which states that if a Paladin or a Monk takes a level in another class, they may never thereafter take another level in Paladin or Monk, respectfully.
     Note: this does not remove any other restrictions on multi-classing.   For example, since a Paladin must be lawful, and a Bard must be neutral or chaotic, a Paladin-Bard multiclass is illegal.

3.8.7  Legal to Advance more than One Level per Encounter

    This rule rescinds the AD&D rule which states that no matter how many experinece points are earned in an encounter, a character may only go up one level.  
    [Go ahead: dream about this rule being relevant for your character...]

3.8.8  There's Always a Chance to Hit

    If a Natural-20, and all current plusses ToHit, are insufficient to strike a foe, and a Natural-20 is rolled, this is a Potential Hit.  A second Natural-20 must be rolled to confirm it as a hit.  Such a confirmed hit will not be a critical.

3.8.9 Bloopers Require Confirmation Roll

    If a Natural-1 is rolled, this is a Potential Blooper.  A second ToHit roll must be made, and if the second roll would have struck the foe, then the Natural-1 is only a miss, not a blooper.   See also the next two subsections.

3.8.10  There's Always a Chance to Miss

     If a Natural-1, and all current plusses ToHit, are sufficient to strike a foe, and a Natural-1 is rolled, this is still a Potential Blooper.  A second Natural-1 must be rolled to confirm it as a blooper (but see also next subsection).  If the Potential Blooper is not confirmed as a blooper, then the strike is a miss.

3.8.11  Bloopers with Magic Weapons Require Dex Roll

    If the character is striking with a magical weapon, and a Natural-1 is rolled for a Potential Blooper, and a second ToHit roll confirms that it is a blooper, then a third roll is needed to see if the magical ability of the weapon can avert the blooper.  Roll a 1d20, and add the magical weapon's plusses ToHit, and the character's DEX bonus, and if this beats a DC 15, then the strike was only a miss, and not a blooper.

3.8.12  Multiple Attacks of Opportunity

    Combatants with the Combat Reflexes Feat can AoO on the same one opponent more than once, provided that the opponent has given the combatent more than one different kind of AoO opportunity.   Moving out of a (different) threatened square twice is only one kind.  Moving out of one threatened square, and then casting a spell while in a different threatened square, however, would be two different kinds, and thus could allow two separate AoOs.

3.8.13  Touch Spells on Allies

    Touch spells on allies, even those involved in combat, do not require ToHit rolls.

3.8.14  Healing of Subdual Damage

    Healing of lethal (hitpoint) damage automatically does a simultaneous and parallel healing of nonlethal (subdual) damage.  Thus if Thrax was down 54 hp and also had 38 subdual points, and Verry cast a Cure Critical for 32, Thrax would then be only 22 hp down, and with 6 subdual points.

3.8.15  Race Weapons

    Any weapon in the PHB (p. 99) which has a racial component to its name (e.g., "Urgrosh, dwarven") is a Martial weapon, instead of an Exotic weapon, for all members of that race, reguardless of class. 
    Note that for some classes, this endows a character of that race with automatic proficiency in the weapon; for other classes, use of the weapon would still require Feats for Weapon Training to avoid minuses.

3.8.16    Healing Spells & Potions

    Healing spells and potions which provide healing of the formula, "xd8", may be applied as if they had been rolled such as to result in x*8-1.