Celebrating 2020 - The Year of Blackmoor - 50th Anniversary of Blackmoor and of Role-Playing!
Today is Part 60 (Part C) of my series on OD&D, with The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures Vol. 3.
**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 continue with looking at Treasure for the Dungeon:
First, do you see anything odd about this table? Something that is way different from the Treasure for Wilderness Lairs? Yeah, no Copper. Did any of you know that OD&D was not designed to have tons of Copper in Dungeons? Now when I went on the Silver Standard, Copper appeared in Dungeons Treasure because now it had value. But initially that was no Copper.
Now see that uptick for the quantity of Gems/Jewelry that kicks in at the 8th level where you switch from a d6 to a d12, everything is increasing the deeper you go and that gives it a little extra kick.
The other thing that struck me as odd about this table is that it only went to Level Beneath Surface of 13 or more. So I reworked this table with the following level indicators:
Level Beneath the Surface: 1, 2-4, 5-7, 7-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-37, 38-45, 46-55, 56 or more. I have revised this about 9 times over the years and I added Copper when I went on the Silver Standard and then Platinum and Electrum. Since them I have added other precious or rare metals. If you go deep enough the Magic columns gets split into a Column for each of the Categories for Magic that we looked at Back in Book 2, Monsters and Treasure.
Here are a couple of links to the riches of the Romanov royal family - Murder of the Imperial Family - List of Valuables Taken by Yurovsky from the Romanovs and Murder of the Imperial Family - List of Imperial Jewels found in Tobolsk 1933 and take special note that for the latter of these two it says:
Of course when I went to the Silver Standard, I made this to be Copper always present, Silver 50% of the time, Gold 10% of the time (very small quantities to begin with and more as you go deeper). Then other precious metals start to show up in small quantities.
One of the things I use are armed and armored statues that come to life when certain things are touched as a "guard" in the areas of "Unguarded Treasure." There are often wards that give alarm in remote locations. You never know how many monsters are on their way.
The extent to which I do this depends on how long it has been since the players were last there.
I think subtle changes are good, with only rarely some major change, again I go with keeping the players off balance.
The smallest dungeon level I have ever designed covered nine(9) sheets of paper, so I have never been one to stop at the edge of the paper. I like to create dungeons so large that the players have to realize that you literally cannot search every room unless you bring a large army with you and no one wants to do that. Sometimes the players try and fail to reach the edge. So they do triage and decide what an area may have been used for and is that area likely to have treasure. So they search where it makes sense to search. Of course they do try to sweep areas and not leave monsters behind them.
Again this depends on how long it has been since they were there. It also matters what the current state of occupancy is and how powerful the controlling faction is at present.
This is not really one that I have ever done much of, but you are welcome to give it a shot.
Split levels and sub-levels should be used liberally IMO. The dungeon should be complex and confusing. Now if you know the layout, it is just big, but if you do not know the layout, then confusing.
Just keep building and extending your dungeons, they should never end or they should connect to other things which connect to other things and so on and so on. You do not just complete a Dungeon!
Tomorrow we will start looking at Movement and Time in the Underworld.
Today is Part 60 (Part C) of my series on OD&D, with The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures Vol. 3.
**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 continue with looking at Treasure for the Dungeon:
First, do you see anything odd about this table? Something that is way different from the Treasure for Wilderness Lairs? Yeah, no Copper. Did any of you know that OD&D was not designed to have tons of Copper in Dungeons? Now when I went on the Silver Standard, Copper appeared in Dungeons Treasure because now it had value. But initially that was no Copper.
Now see that uptick for the quantity of Gems/Jewelry that kicks in at the 8th level where you switch from a d6 to a d12, everything is increasing the deeper you go and that gives it a little extra kick.
The other thing that struck me as odd about this table is that it only went to Level Beneath Surface of 13 or more. So I reworked this table with the following level indicators:
Level Beneath the Surface: 1, 2-4, 5-7, 7-11, 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, 21-25, 26-30, 31-37, 38-45, 46-55, 56 or more. I have revised this about 9 times over the years and I added Copper when I went on the Silver Standard and then Platinum and Electrum. Since them I have added other precious or rare metals. If you go deep enough the Magic columns gets split into a Column for each of the Categories for Magic that we looked at Back in Book 2, Monsters and Treasure.
Here are a couple of links to the riches of the Romanov royal family - Murder of the Imperial Family - List of Valuables Taken by Yurovsky from the Romanovs and Murder of the Imperial Family - List of Imperial Jewels found in Tobolsk 1933 and take special note that for the latter of these two it says:
This list will be of interest to those who are interested in the life of the Imperial family in capivity and their ultimate fate. They represent a small but critical fraction of the possessions of the family in exile.A "small but critical fraction of the possessions", a small fraction. So in 1975 my deepest dungeons had magnificent treasures, but a few years ago when I read about the Romanov family riches it inspired me to dig deeper and fashion some fantastic treasures plus the magic. It makes you wonder how large the treasure hoards of rulers over the centuries may have been.
Of course when I went to the Silver Standard, I made this to be Copper always present, Silver 50% of the time, Gold 10% of the time (very small quantities to begin with and more as you go deeper). Then other precious metals start to show up in small quantities.
One of the things I use are armed and armored statues that come to life when certain things are touched as a "guard" in the areas of "Unguarded Treasure." There are often wards that give alarm in remote locations. You never know how many monsters are on their way.
The extent to which I do this depends on how long it has been since the players were last there.
I think subtle changes are good, with only rarely some major change, again I go with keeping the players off balance.
The smallest dungeon level I have ever designed covered nine(9) sheets of paper, so I have never been one to stop at the edge of the paper. I like to create dungeons so large that the players have to realize that you literally cannot search every room unless you bring a large army with you and no one wants to do that. Sometimes the players try and fail to reach the edge. So they do triage and decide what an area may have been used for and is that area likely to have treasure. So they search where it makes sense to search. Of course they do try to sweep areas and not leave monsters behind them.
Again this depends on how long it has been since they were there. It also matters what the current state of occupancy is and how powerful the controlling faction is at present.
This is not really one that I have ever done much of, but you are welcome to give it a shot.
Split levels and sub-levels should be used liberally IMO. The dungeon should be complex and confusing. Now if you know the layout, it is just big, but if you do not know the layout, then confusing.
Just keep building and extending your dungeons, they should never end or they should connect to other things which connect to other things and so on and so on. You do not just complete a Dungeon!
Tomorrow we will start looking at Movement and Time in the Underworld.
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