This section gives references, citations, and justifications for OED rules. We do the research so you don’t have to.
The motivation for the Fighter Feats system is to replicate various benefits accrued to Fighters over the evolution of the O/AD&D game system. It may be of interest to note the source of inspiration for the feats we’ve selected, given below. Note that we don’t attempt to match the exact mechanics in those sources; we’ve carefully balanced the effects in the context of our OD&D-based system.
| Feat | Inspiration |
|---|---|
| Berserking | Berserkers in Vol-2, Sup-IV (Odin), Dragon #3. |
| Exceptional Strength | Fighter strength percentile in Greyhawk/AD&D PHB. |
| Great Fortitude | Paladin immunity to disease in Greyhawk/AD&D PHB. |
| Iron Will | Cavalier resistance to mental attacks in AD&D UA. |
| Mounted Combat | Cavalier mounted combat bonuses in AD&D UA. |
| Rapid Shot | Bow double attacks in Chainmail/AD&D PHB. |
| Rapid Strike | Fighter multiple attacks in AD&D PHB. |
| Survival | Barbarian survival skill in AD&D UA. |
| Toughness | Barbarian increased hit points in AD&D UA. |
| Tracking | Ranger tracking in TSR #2/AD&D PHB/UA. |
| Two Weapon Fighting | Two weapon option in AD&D DMG (parry from Chainmail). |
| Weapon Specialization | Fighter weapon specialization in AD&D UA. |
Put another way, the various O/AD&D fighter subclasses can be approximated by selection of various feats (or, of course, the player can flexibly mix-and-match to taste). The following are suggested as the first three feats for each subclass (to 12th level):
| Subclass | Feat Selections |
|---|---|
| Fighter (basic) | Exceptional strength, weapon specialization, rapid strike |
| Barbarian | Berserking, toughness, survival |
| Cavalier | Mounted combat, weapon specialization, iron will |
| Paladin | Great fortitude, iron will, rapid strike |
| Ranger | Tracking, survival, two-weapon fighting |
For real-world book costs, consider the following blog by Aidan Conti as a starting point. Cites incscriptions in some medieval books indicating manufacture & cost. One breaks down costs as about 8 s. for parchment, 29 s. forscribing, 3 s. for correcting, 1 s. illustration, 1 s. for binding; total 42 s. (Note that about 1/5 the cost is for parchment & binding; compare to costs for complete spellbooks at the end of OD&D Vol-1. Also, those books assume an entire level of spells per Vol-1, which average about 12 spells each. See AD&D Unearthed Arcana for expected size of books, etc. We assume 1st-level wizards appear with pre-existing books from their apprenticeship. Books can’t be too valuable or the main influx of money to the campaign will be new wizard PCs.)
https://aidanc.net/2014/02/05/the-price-of-a-book-in-the-middle-ages-colophons/