Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!
Today is Part 56 of my series of looks at OD&D, 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.**
Let us start off today with Magical Items' Saving Throws.
So Magical Items (other than Helms) are assumed to be fine if the wearer /user is not killed. The Saving Throws are listed below for the magic items that get a Saving Throw. Now here is the part that most are not aware of, "Those items not listed should be assumed automatically destroyed." So what does that include? First off all mundane items are destroyed without exception, if the user is struck by Fire or Lightning (Dragon or Spell) and this includes when the user makes his Saving Throw. Non-magical items are toast on these occasions. Only the magic items listed below get Saving Throws. So Cloak, Boots, Gauntlet, Belts, Potions, Scrolls and such are toast when the user is struck by Fire or Lightning (Dragon or Spell), because they do not get a Saving Throw. But look what else does not get a Saving Throw - most Rings and most Miscellaneous Magic (oops there went that Bag of Holding and now everything in it is permanently in another dimension).
So these two Staves and these two Wands get Saving Throws, but other Staves and Wands do not. Since most referees create new magic items (As I added Rods for instance), it is advised to add anything that you want to have a Saving Throw to this table. Maybe you want more magic items to get a Saving Throw that just what is listed here, maybe you want all Staves to get a Saving Throw or you want certain Miscellaneous Magic to get a Saving Throw, add it to this table so you do not forget.
Only two Rings get a Saving Throw; however, Armor, Shields and Weapons do get Saving Throws. You will note that Fighting Men are generally better off when hit with Magical Fire or Magical Lightning than Magic-Users or Clerics. Clerics are better off than Magic-Users, since Cleric may have Armor, Shield of Weapons. IMO this is one of the ways that the Playing Field was leveled between High Level Magic Types and High Level Fighting-Men.
And then of course we have our footnotes with some additional penalties to the Saving Throws.
I really enjoy Artifacts and I put them IMC every now and then. These are all unique and one of a kind items. Now they give examples of some of the hazards of trying to use an Artifact. First all Artifacts have an alignment to either Law or Chaos. Though even more rare, there are a few Neutral Artifacts. So they give examples of what happens when someone of the wrong alignment handles and Artifact. I just rolled 1d6 to see which one of the above happened. Note if you lose Energy Levels equal to or greater than the Energy Levels you have then you are dead.
I am not listing any items at this time, although I might later on. I may use them and I do not want any existing or future players to know the details. I can tell you that I am fond of Mirrors.OK, here is one that I can tell you about since it has already appeared and is on the record already. I put in a Magic Mirror that you had to speak according to formula when you asked the Magic Mirror something. Everyone knows this formula:
Magic Mirror on the Wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?
(Yes it is Magic Mirror not Mirror, Mirror)
Or if it was a handheld mirror you would say something a little different. But it needs to rhyme. My players said something along the lines of:
Magic Mirror on the Wall
Thou who are wisest of them all
Where are riches flowing like a stream
Let me see them, fulfill our dream
The Magic Mirror promptly transported them to the 37th level of the dungeon to where a waterfall had a cascade of coins and gems and a stream flowing away from it carrying the riches away.
This I believe is excellent advice since these items are very, very powerful and very, very dangerous.
Tomorrow we will finish up this book.
Today is Part 56 of my series of looks at OD&D, 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.**
Let us start off today with Magical Items' Saving Throws.
So Magical Items (other than Helms) are assumed to be fine if the wearer /user is not killed. The Saving Throws are listed below for the magic items that get a Saving Throw. Now here is the part that most are not aware of, "Those items not listed should be assumed automatically destroyed." So what does that include? First off all mundane items are destroyed without exception, if the user is struck by Fire or Lightning (Dragon or Spell) and this includes when the user makes his Saving Throw. Non-magical items are toast on these occasions. Only the magic items listed below get Saving Throws. So Cloak, Boots, Gauntlet, Belts, Potions, Scrolls and such are toast when the user is struck by Fire or Lightning (Dragon or Spell), because they do not get a Saving Throw. But look what else does not get a Saving Throw - most Rings and most Miscellaneous Magic (oops there went that Bag of Holding and now everything in it is permanently in another dimension).
So these two Staves and these two Wands get Saving Throws, but other Staves and Wands do not. Since most referees create new magic items (As I added Rods for instance), it is advised to add anything that you want to have a Saving Throw to this table. Maybe you want more magic items to get a Saving Throw that just what is listed here, maybe you want all Staves to get a Saving Throw or you want certain Miscellaneous Magic to get a Saving Throw, add it to this table so you do not forget.
Only two Rings get a Saving Throw; however, Armor, Shields and Weapons do get Saving Throws. You will note that Fighting Men are generally better off when hit with Magical Fire or Magical Lightning than Magic-Users or Clerics. Clerics are better off than Magic-Users, since Cleric may have Armor, Shield of Weapons. IMO this is one of the ways that the Playing Field was leveled between High Level Magic Types and High Level Fighting-Men.
And then of course we have our footnotes with some additional penalties to the Saving Throws.
I really enjoy Artifacts and I put them IMC every now and then. These are all unique and one of a kind items. Now they give examples of some of the hazards of trying to use an Artifact. First all Artifacts have an alignment to either Law or Chaos. Though even more rare, there are a few Neutral Artifacts. So they give examples of what happens when someone of the wrong alignment handles and Artifact. I just rolled 1d6 to see which one of the above happened. Note if you lose Energy Levels equal to or greater than the Energy Levels you have then you are dead.
I am not listing any items at this time, although I might later on. I may use them and I do not want any existing or future players to know the details. I can tell you that I am fond of Mirrors.OK, here is one that I can tell you about since it has already appeared and is on the record already. I put in a Magic Mirror that you had to speak according to formula when you asked the Magic Mirror something. Everyone knows this formula:
Magic Mirror on the Wall,
Who is the fairest of them all?
(Yes it is Magic Mirror not Mirror, Mirror)
Or if it was a handheld mirror you would say something a little different. But it needs to rhyme. My players said something along the lines of:
Magic Mirror on the Wall
Thou who are wisest of them all
Where are riches flowing like a stream
Let me see them, fulfill our dream
The Magic Mirror promptly transported them to the 37th level of the dungeon to where a waterfall had a cascade of coins and gems and a stream flowing away from it carrying the riches away.
This I believe is excellent advice since these items are very, very powerful and very, very dangerous.
Tomorrow we will finish up this book.
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