Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!
Today is Part 53 of my series of looks at OD&D starting with Monsters & Treasure Volume 2.
**For those coming in, in the middle of this series I am giving you my take on OD&D during my first exposure starting in Sept of 1975. For this first part it is just the first three books of the original woodgrain box set and prior to obtaining the Greyhawk, Blackmoor and later Supplements.**
Today we will finish up with Staves and take a brief look at Rods:
If a Magic-User wants to engage in melee, this is the Staff he wants to own.
Most players would rather have their character hit with almost anything other than this.
A well-named Staff and one of the most versatile. The "Final Strike" with either this staff or the next one I have seen carried out by players in the game twice during those early years.
The most powerful and most versatile Staff, that every Magic-User wants to have. Note that it has ALL of the capabilities of a Staff of Power plus all of these additional powers. This is the first appearance of Webs as a spell in the game. Webs are very powerful with even Giants requiring two Turns (20 melee rounds) to break free. That makes Webs the spell of choice when facing hostile Giants. Casting it and dropping it over them - a strong magical sticky net.
IMC a Wand is about 1/2 inch by 1 inch by 24-32 inches long. A Rod is typically 3/4 inch diameter and 36 to 48 inch long. A staff is an inch to an inch and a half in diameter and 6-7 feet long. All staves are can be used effectively as a quarterstaff.
Wands are typically made of Willow, Hazel, Rowan and Ash. Rods are often made of Yew, Chestnut, Hawthorn and Cherry. Staves are mostly made of Blackthorn, Black Walnut, Black Oak and Ironwood; except for a Staff of Healing, it is made of Willow.
Next a little about Rods, why Rods you say? Well, they were in The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer. Then you have heard of dowsing rods and divining rods. Rods were slowly introduced, we had a couple that first year, and a couple more the second year. Most were added in the third year, so they will be covered more thoroughly when I discuss years two through four at a later time.
So Rods are used for all sorts of Detection Magic, being an upgrade from Wands of this type. They are used for finding Water and for finding veins of all types of metals in mine-able quantities and more. They also are used for Warding Spells. Some rods are dissemble into four parts that are placed at the four cardinal points around an encampment to Ward the encampment and their are different types of increasing power. These Rods of Warding were very popular and were considered a must for any adventuring party traveling deep into the Wilderness.
Tomorrow we will look at Miscellaneous Magic.
Today is Part 53 of my series of looks at OD&D starting with Monsters & Treasure Volume 2.
**For those coming in, in the middle of this series I am giving you my take on OD&D during my first exposure starting in Sept of 1975. For this first part it is just the first three books of the original woodgrain box set and prior to obtaining the Greyhawk, Blackmoor and later Supplements.**
Today we will finish up with Staves and take a brief look at Rods:
If a Magic-User wants to engage in melee, this is the Staff he wants to own.
Most players would rather have their character hit with almost anything other than this.
A well-named Staff and one of the most versatile. The "Final Strike" with either this staff or the next one I have seen carried out by players in the game twice during those early years.
The most powerful and most versatile Staff, that every Magic-User wants to have. Note that it has ALL of the capabilities of a Staff of Power plus all of these additional powers. This is the first appearance of Webs as a spell in the game. Webs are very powerful with even Giants requiring two Turns (20 melee rounds) to break free. That makes Webs the spell of choice when facing hostile Giants. Casting it and dropping it over them - a strong magical sticky net.
IMC a Wand is about 1/2 inch by 1 inch by 24-32 inches long. A Rod is typically 3/4 inch diameter and 36 to 48 inch long. A staff is an inch to an inch and a half in diameter and 6-7 feet long. All staves are can be used effectively as a quarterstaff.
Wands are typically made of Willow, Hazel, Rowan and Ash. Rods are often made of Yew, Chestnut, Hawthorn and Cherry. Staves are mostly made of Blackthorn, Black Walnut, Black Oak and Ironwood; except for a Staff of Healing, it is made of Willow.
Next a little about Rods, why Rods you say? Well, they were in The Iliad and The Odyssey by Homer. Then you have heard of dowsing rods and divining rods. Rods were slowly introduced, we had a couple that first year, and a couple more the second year. Most were added in the third year, so they will be covered more thoroughly when I discuss years two through four at a later time.
So Rods are used for all sorts of Detection Magic, being an upgrade from Wands of this type. They are used for finding Water and for finding veins of all types of metals in mine-able quantities and more. They also are used for Warding Spells. Some rods are dissemble into four parts that are placed at the four cardinal points around an encampment to Ward the encampment and their are different types of increasing power. These Rods of Warding were very popular and were considered a must for any adventuring party traveling deep into the Wilderness.
Tomorrow we will look at Miscellaneous Magic.
No comments:
Post a Comment