For this series of posts I will be using the free PDF of the
Labyrinth Lord rules that can be found Here at Goblinoid Games
This is the nineteenth part of a series, here are the links to the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th,
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th parts
5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th parts
Treasure
This time I get to go over almost every bit of treasure you can get from a strictly vanilla game. I am of course leaving magic weapons for next week as I want to go into more depth when I talk about the intelligent swords because I think they are cool. Anyway the first few pages of the treasure section is filled with the tables on how to generate it.
The different levels of loot prosperity is called the Hoard Class going from I to XXII (1 - 22) and is split into two different sections. From I to VII is small hoards which is supposed to represent things like individuals and from VIII to XXII is Larger Hoards which is for lairs. One important thing to note between the two sides is that only the larger hoards have any decent chance to have magic items. In fact if not for VI and VII you would not even see magical things till the larger. Even with this VI only has a 3% chance and VII a 7% chance so while it is there it is quite unlikely. To put this into perspective I did a quick search and you best shot at a VI class monster is the Giant Carnivorous Fly which is 2HD and appears in groups of 1d6 so you might get lucky and only have to fight one of them. The next best chance is probably A panther which while it is a 4HD monster they only show up alone or in a pair. This mind you is for a 3% chance that they might have a magic item on them. Of course I think this sounds about right actually. Its a little disconcerting in my 3.5 campaign where we kill some random goblins and find 3 or so scrolls and a potion or two on them. Now if you want magic to be really common then I guess that is fine but while magic may be common in a world or not I myself still prefer that magical items are not so common.
Now on to an interesting little quirk of the earlier days of D&D. Basically the first thing the book says about magic items is that they are not labeled and only 15th level or above Magic Users can identify them and that even then it takes weeks. Of course you can identify the items through triel and error but you won't just receive a potion of cure light wounds, you'll get a mysterious magic elixir. Now it might just be my background in Roguelikes but this appeals to me. Of course it does not say anything about finding another of the same thing later in the book but I would atleast run the low level potions and scrolls like Roguelikes do where once you know what one is you know that all the rest of the same ones are though I may do something like having all cure light wound potions made by clerics from the same church looking the same instead of all of them. This could be quite interesting as it would provide a bit more depth to the world as the potions from the fire god temple smell slightly of aloe while the ones made by the nature gods clerics have an earthy flavor and all it would take is just already knowing what gods there are and how many different magical paths/magic colleges there are and you can add the flavor quickly.
Now for the magical toys a party can find while adventuring. As like with the monster entry I can't really go through and talk about each piece I will once again be cherry picking some of the iconic ones along with some that I just adore and talking about them some.
Potion of Treasure Finding: An interesting potions that for 5d4 rounds lets a person detect in which direction treasure is where treasure is defined as valuables with a value equal to or greater then 50 gold or 100 gems. Of course like most such sensing magics it is blocked by lead so you can still protect any really important hoard of treasure while also giving you an excellent way to trap a party in their own greed. You don't even really need to actively make traps to do so as generally where there is a lot of treasure there is also a lot of monsters such as a lair.
Ring of Invisibility: Once each turn the ring lets the user become invisible as the spell. A nice affect and honestly you just have to have a specific inscription appear on it when placed in a fire and you will have the party looking over their shoulders every time its used.
Wand of Magic Missiles: I prefer this version of the wand more then later editions where they connect the power to the level of the person who made it. In this version the wand can fire 1 or 2 missiles a round at the users choice and each missile uses a charge. Quite useful at any level as in LL Magic Missile does 1d6+1 a missile and never misses so it can be used for some reliable damage while not being overpowered.
Bag of Holding: This is the one magic item that if I could have any magic item from D&D (barring anything providing a wish as that is cheating) I would choose without a second thought. I love it. Now in LL there is only one size of the bag so I would have to go with 3.5 for mine but then again 10'x5'x3' is nothing to sneeze at nor is being able to hold up to 1000lb while only ever weighing at max 60lbs.
Decanter of Endless Water: Basicly what it says on the tin. A flask with a never ending supply of water in it. It has 3 different settings with the highest one being at the level that you get knocked down when holding it if not braced and the stream kills small creatures. Basically if your ever on a rowboat forget the paddles, you have a jet boat on your hands.
Gauntlets of Orge Power: These are not the newer version that only gives a boost to strength, what these do is make your strength 18. That means that if your strength is at 18 or above these things do not make you stronger and in fact can make you weaker. Of course there are some side benefits, the first is you can lift 100lbs more and the second is that you can punch for 1d4 damage but for an already strong character this means less to them. What this all added together means is that these are gloves for the weak. That 8 Strength wizard you have that needs someone to carry his books? Well now he can not only carry his books he can carry your books as well. An interesting item that in later editions is ruined by turning the neat ability into a straight +2 to strength and making them no different from any other stat boosting item.
The different levels of loot prosperity is called the Hoard Class going from I to XXII (1 - 22) and is split into two different sections. From I to VII is small hoards which is supposed to represent things like individuals and from VIII to XXII is Larger Hoards which is for lairs. One important thing to note between the two sides is that only the larger hoards have any decent chance to have magic items. In fact if not for VI and VII you would not even see magical things till the larger. Even with this VI only has a 3% chance and VII a 7% chance so while it is there it is quite unlikely. To put this into perspective I did a quick search and you best shot at a VI class monster is the Giant Carnivorous Fly which is 2HD and appears in groups of 1d6 so you might get lucky and only have to fight one of them. The next best chance is probably A panther which while it is a 4HD monster they only show up alone or in a pair. This mind you is for a 3% chance that they might have a magic item on them. Of course I think this sounds about right actually. Its a little disconcerting in my 3.5 campaign where we kill some random goblins and find 3 or so scrolls and a potion or two on them. Now if you want magic to be really common then I guess that is fine but while magic may be common in a world or not I myself still prefer that magical items are not so common.
Now on to an interesting little quirk of the earlier days of D&D. Basically the first thing the book says about magic items is that they are not labeled and only 15th level or above Magic Users can identify them and that even then it takes weeks. Of course you can identify the items through triel and error but you won't just receive a potion of cure light wounds, you'll get a mysterious magic elixir. Now it might just be my background in Roguelikes but this appeals to me. Of course it does not say anything about finding another of the same thing later in the book but I would atleast run the low level potions and scrolls like Roguelikes do where once you know what one is you know that all the rest of the same ones are though I may do something like having all cure light wound potions made by clerics from the same church looking the same instead of all of them. This could be quite interesting as it would provide a bit more depth to the world as the potions from the fire god temple smell slightly of aloe while the ones made by the nature gods clerics have an earthy flavor and all it would take is just already knowing what gods there are and how many different magical paths/magic colleges there are and you can add the flavor quickly.
Now for the magical toys a party can find while adventuring. As like with the monster entry I can't really go through and talk about each piece I will once again be cherry picking some of the iconic ones along with some that I just adore and talking about them some.
Potion of Treasure Finding: An interesting potions that for 5d4 rounds lets a person detect in which direction treasure is where treasure is defined as valuables with a value equal to or greater then 50 gold or 100 gems. Of course like most such sensing magics it is blocked by lead so you can still protect any really important hoard of treasure while also giving you an excellent way to trap a party in their own greed. You don't even really need to actively make traps to do so as generally where there is a lot of treasure there is also a lot of monsters such as a lair.
Ring of Invisibility: Once each turn the ring lets the user become invisible as the spell. A nice affect and honestly you just have to have a specific inscription appear on it when placed in a fire and you will have the party looking over their shoulders every time its used.
Wand of Magic Missiles: I prefer this version of the wand more then later editions where they connect the power to the level of the person who made it. In this version the wand can fire 1 or 2 missiles a round at the users choice and each missile uses a charge. Quite useful at any level as in LL Magic Missile does 1d6+1 a missile and never misses so it can be used for some reliable damage while not being overpowered.
Bag of Holding: This is the one magic item that if I could have any magic item from D&D (barring anything providing a wish as that is cheating) I would choose without a second thought. I love it. Now in LL there is only one size of the bag so I would have to go with 3.5 for mine but then again 10'x5'x3' is nothing to sneeze at nor is being able to hold up to 1000lb while only ever weighing at max 60lbs.
Decanter of Endless Water: Basicly what it says on the tin. A flask with a never ending supply of water in it. It has 3 different settings with the highest one being at the level that you get knocked down when holding it if not braced and the stream kills small creatures. Basically if your ever on a rowboat forget the paddles, you have a jet boat on your hands.
Gauntlets of Orge Power: These are not the newer version that only gives a boost to strength, what these do is make your strength 18. That means that if your strength is at 18 or above these things do not make you stronger and in fact can make you weaker. Of course there are some side benefits, the first is you can lift 100lbs more and the second is that you can punch for 1d4 damage but for an already strong character this means less to them. What this all added together means is that these are gloves for the weak. That 8 Strength wizard you have that needs someone to carry his books? Well now he can not only carry his books he can carry your books as well. An interesting item that in later editions is ruined by turning the neat ability into a straight +2 to strength and making them no different from any other stat boosting item.
Labyrinth Lord rules that can be found Here at Goblinoid Games
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