Random Starting Equipment Charts

Buying gear for a starting character in old school D&D is often the most time-consuming step. For some players this is a favorite ritual. Should I go for that silver dagger this time or a mining pick and a bag of caltrops? Do I really need that lantern?

For others it's just a pain in the rear. The following random gear charts (revised from a year ago) are geared to the latter--or to the former who are crunched for time.

Note that I have integrated these charts with the chargen charts from the other day for a nice full package. You'll notice that the longer version, for instance, allows extra goodies and rolls dependent on your character's family background. The PDF of this version can be downloaded here.

Chart B: Equipment

Armor (Roll d8)

Cleric, +1 to roll

Fighter +2

Thief, Druid: leather automatically

Magic User, Illusionist, Monk: no roll

1,2,3	Leather armor **
4	Studded leather *
5, 6	Scale mail
7,8,9	Chain mail
10	Splint or banded mail
11	Plate mail

* 1 extra roll on weapon or shield chart

** 2 extra rolls on weapon or shield chart

Basic Game Armor Chart (Rolld6)

1,2	Leather
3,4,5,6	Chain mail

Shield (Roll 1d6 only if extra roll indicated)

1,2,3	Small Shield
4,5,6	Large Shield

Melee Weapon (Roll 1d6)

Clerics, Magic Users, Illusionists hand weapon only

1,2	Hand weapon (dagger, hand axe, short sword, mace, morningstar, staff, spear)
3,4	Medium weapon (long sword, battle axe, rapier, scimitar)
5	Polearm (polearm, pike)
6	Two-handed weapon (two-handed axe, two-handed sword, bastard sword)
7	Quality weapon of choice (+1 damage)

Missile Weapon (Roll 1d6)

Magic Users and Clerics sling only

1	Sling/Darts
2	Thrown (Hand axe, spear, javelin)
3	Light Crossbow
4	Short Bow
5	Heavy Crossbow
6	Long Bow
7	Pick any two

(one free batch of ammo assumed)

Adventure Packs (Pick one)

All packs come with backpack, two small sacks, bedroll, water skin, tinderbox, and one week of iron rations

Pack A (10 oil flasks, lantern, shovel, two caltrops, whistle)

Pack B (10 torches, 10 pieces of chalk/charcoal, blank scroll, mirror, crowbar)

Pack C (five torches, five oil flasks, 60 ft. rope, grappling hook, wooden pole)

Mount (Roll 1d6)

1,2	None
3	Mule
4	Pony
5,6	Light riding horse
7	Light warhorse

(saddles and other riding gear assumed)

Class-based equipment

Fighter, Ranger, Paladin: extra weapon roll, 10 gp starting

Cleric, Druid: holy symbol, 10 gp

Thief: Thieves tools, 5 gp

Magic-User, Illusionist, spellbook, 5 gp

Monk, 2 gp

Extra cash (Roll d6)

1	10 gold pieces
2,3	15 gp
4	20 gp
5	30 gp
6	40 gp
7	80 gp

The Deodand: a Monster of Vancian Splendor

Of all the influences on my own campaign perhaps no other author has held such a powerful place in my imagination than Jack Vance. Whether it's the fairy-tale medieval picaresque of Lyonesse, the somewhat melancholy pulp fantasy of the Dying Earth, or the vast array of lesser known but equally evocative space opera worlds, I can't read more than a few pages without reaching for my brainstorm notebook to jot down a new idea for an NPC, locale, absurd encounter, or just an elusive weird fantasy tone/theme to weave into a session.

Invariably some of my favorite scenes revolve around witty, deadly exchanges between the protagonist and a harm-intending creature. The crafty deodand is a particular favorite, so I present him as a monster to spring on your unwitting players.

Deodand

No. Enc.: 1 (1-3)

Alignment: Chaotic (Evil)

Movement: 90 (30)

Armor Class: 6

Hit Dice: 4

Attacks: 3 (2 claws, 1 bite)

Damage: 1d4, 1d4, 1d8

Save: F4

Morale: 7

Deodands are intelligent, man-eating humanoids rumored to be borne of a sorcerous experiment that combined a human with a wolverine and basilisk. Deodands appear as handsome, muscular men with dull charcoal-black skin, long sharp fangs, and slitted golden or white eyes. The typical deodand prefers to wear a leather harness with bits of velvet or other rich clothes attached. There is a 30% chance that the harness is adorned with ornamental gems worth 100-400 gp.

The solitary deodand prefers to ambush his prey by stealth and will hide in shadows and move silently at a 60% chance. If caught unobserved he will surprise an unwitting party on a 1-4 roll on a d6.

Though vicious and unremitting in his desire to eat other humanoids, the deodand is also particularly interested in maintaining his own skin. If obviously overpowered or reduced to less than 1/3 hit points he will beg and plead for his life, often offering to guide a party. Adventurers should remain vigilant however if they take the creature up on any offer, as the deodand may attempt to subtly lead them into danger.

Adding a Little Yummy Crunch to Your Old School D&D Character Generation

A little over a year ago I experimented with several versions of a character generator that would allow a player to get up and running with in about 10-15 minutes with a fully statted-out, equipped character with a kooky backstory. Two versions of the generator (which was based off of a heavily-modified version from a Paul Jaquays article in the The Dungeoneer.)were ultimately published: one for Basic Fantasy RPG and another for Castles and Crusades.

In the midst of all that tinkering the mini-game nature of the backstory charts made be hanker for mixing some Traveller-flavored chocolate in my D&D peanut butter. The rub being that I didn't want to go full hog and dump the marvelously simple D&D way, so I agonized a bit over how to make a hybrid that kept the core while added a little more fun crunch.

Long story short it took me over a year (hey, I do have a real life), but here is my first stab. The PDF version can be downloaded here. I will likely be adding something like the Traveller mustering out tables to help speed up starting money and equipment.

As always any and all feedback or criticism is greatly welcomed.

[Editor's Note: due to the ridiculous amount of space the tables were taking up, I have cut them from the blog page. If you'd like to take a gander, mosey over to that download link above and get you a copy of the PDF file.]

Righteous Battle Scenes from Eastern Europe

One of the surprising joys of my brief stint in the 90s as a teacher back in the Slavic motherland was being able to catch tons and tons of old Czech and Polish films. Some of them featured these truly epic battle scenes. A personal favorite is the trilogy of films on the Hussite rebellion and wars from the Czech director Otakar Vavra.

Now here's some inspiration for the end game of a campaign, no?

LotFP Weird Fantasy Skype Game, Anyone?

I've been poring over my new copy of the Lamentations of the Flame Princess WF game (the free rules can be downloaded here) and finding it to be an interesting, quirky, horror-inflected take on OD&D or B/X-like rules.

I have already stolen a number of nifty ideas for house rules in my own Labyrinth Lord tabletop and Skype campaigns. Still I'm interested in seeing how the whole package rolls when played straight.

Anyone else out there interested in playing a Skype game using this rule set?

The nitty gritty:

1. The game will start as a mini-campaign i.e. with a short shelf life of say 3-6 sessions. (If it really rocks maybe we'll extend this.)

2. Play will center around the exploration of a limited sandbox campaign area with Vance, Lovecraftian and dark fantasy mish-mash overtones. (Umm...sound familiar, Hill Cantons players?)

3. Sessions will be at least twice a month, most likely every other week.

4. Play will start around 6-8 pm Central U.S. time on weekdays (more flexible on a weekend).

5. We will use Skype for audio; Dragonsfoot chatrooms for the dice roller, and Dabbleboard for maps. All somewhat luddite-friendly to use.

The Feral Dwarf: New LL or B/X Class

Feral Dwarf

Requirements: CON 9

Prime Requisite: STR

Hit Dice: 1d8

Maximum Level: 12

A new class from my compendium. Special thanks to Scott Moberly as co-creator.

Feral dwarves are the deep-dwelling, untamed, neanderthal-like cousins of the more common dwarf. Their skin ranges from deep tan to light brown, and bright eyes which are almost never blue, with brown, black, or gray hair and ruddy cheeks. They are slightly taller and more wiry than their more domesticated cousins (ranging up to 4'6 and 140 pounds on the average).

Feral dwarves speak dwarvish, gnome, goblin, kobold, orcish, common, and their alignment language, but cannot learn more than two additional languages regardless of their intelligence.

Because of their background as miners and underground dwellers, they can detect by concentration within 10' any grade or slope or new construction (1-4 on a d6), sliding or shifting walls or rooms (1-4), and large stonework-type traps such as pits and dead falls (1-3). They can also detect with concentration depth under ground (1-3). They also have 60 foot infravision.

Because they are unfamiliar with new-fangled civilized weaponry and armor, feral dwarves tend to choose simple weapons such as spears, hammers, axes, clubs, and javelins (though once in civilized environs they can employ any weapon they choose). Because of their unfamiliarity and lack of comfort with heavy armor they can only wear leather, padded, studded leather, hide/fur, scale, or chain armor.

Feral dwarves also receive a +1 to hit orcs, half-orcs, goblins, and hobgoblins, due to an extended racial animosity.

Coming from a living in the remote hills and being somewhat crude in nature, feral dwarves have the ability to throw small boulders effectively in combat . They gain a +1 to hit on this and damage is 1d4 plus any STR modifiers. If they have an advantage in terrain latitude over 20 feet (i.e they are on a hill) they gain +2 to hit and +2 to damage on top of their STR modifier if applicable.

Some feral dwarves specialize in a primitive polished flint mallet. This wicked hammer inflicts 1d4+1 damage and on a roll of a natural 20 can knock its opponent unconscious/stun for 1d6 rounds.

Living on the primitive edge is a hard life, thus feral dwarves gain the ability to forage for food and water in hilly and mountainous environments. At 1st level this ability they can do so successfully is at 30 percent. This improves at 3% per each additional level. They also have the ability to start a fire in any environment without the use of flint and steel at the same levels of success as their foraging skills.

Example: Craggo Uthuk is a third-level feral dwarf. Craggo can successfully scavenge for food and start fires in the Big Rock Candy Mountains at a chance of 36%.

Despite these differences, feral dwarves fight and save on the same tables as the Dwarf race/class.

When a feral dwarf reaches 9th level he becomes a clan chieftain and can attract followers once he has found a suitable cavern.

Optional rule: Feral dwarves do not receive starting money as other characters. Instead they start with a flint mallet, hide/fur armor, and 10-40 gp of simple equipment (food, torches, bedrolls, etc). In addition they start with a small horde of raw gemstones, 1d6 gems worth 10 gp a piece and 1d4 worth 20 gp.

Feral Dwarf Level Progression

Experience	Level	Hit Dice (1d8)
0	1	1
2187	2	2
4375	3	3
8751	4	4
17501	5	5
35001	6	6
70001	7	7
140001	8	8
280001	9	9
400001	10	+3 hp only
540001	11	+6 hp only
660001	12	+9 hp only