2012-09-19 Determining Equipment

I’m thinking about an algorithm to randomly determine a character’s starting equipment. I usually play Labyrinth Lord but I found that I prefer the equipment list of the Moldvay edition of D&D. I will use this algorithm for the random character creation of my SVG character sheet using my Halberds and Helmets house rules (continued from the random class blog post). It was inspired by Brendan’s equipment table for OD&D.

Labyrinth Lord

random character creation

SVG character sheet

Halberds and Helmets

random class blog post

Brendan’s equipment table

→ Result in plain text

Result

Continued here: 2012-09-26 Class and Equipment Distribution.

2012-09-26 Class and Equipment Distribution

1. starting gold is 3d6×10 gold

2. buy a *backpack* and *iron rations* for a week (20 gold)

3. buy the best *armor* for up to half your remaining money

4. buy a *melee weapon* using the following rules for up to half your remaining money

5. if a cleric, buy a blunt melee weapon: war hammer, mace or club (staff)

6. or if a magic-user, buy a dagger

7. or if fighter, Str > 12, hit-points > 6 and not carrying a shield buy a two handed melee weapon: two handed sword or battle axe

8. or if fighter, Str > 8 and not carrying a shield buy a pole arm

9. or if a dwarf and not carrying a shield buy a battle axe

10. or buy a simple melee weapon: 5/6 buy a long sword, the rest will buy a short sword

11. with the remaining money set aside for weapons, buy a *ranged weapon* and ammunition

12. if elf or fighter and Dex > 8, buy a long bow

13. or if not a cleric and not a magic-user, Dex > 8, buy a short bow

14. or if not a cleric and not a magic-user, crossbow

15. or if not a magic-user, buy a sling

16. if you still have money left for weapons, buy some *throwing weapons*

17. if you own a battle axe or if you’re a dwarf, buy two hand axes

18. or if you’re a fighter, buy a spear

19. if not a cleric, buy a silver dagger

20. if not a cleric and not a magic-user, buy two daggers

21. buy a *light source*: lantern and two flasks of oil, or torches

22. if a cleric, buy a *holy symbol*

23. if a thief, buy *thieves’ tools*

24. buy *exploration gear*: rope, iron spikes and hammer, or wooden pole

25. buy a *protective measure*: holy water, wolfsbane, or mirror

26. keep the remaining gold to hire and equip retainers

+-------------------------+-------+--------------------------------+
|         Weapon          | Gold  |              Note              |
+-------------------------+-------+--------------------------------+
| Battle Axe (two handed) |     7 | two handed, break down doors   |
| Hand Axe                |     4 | throwable                      |
| Crossbow                |    30 | usable with little training,   |
|                         |       | usable while lying on the      |
|                         |       | ground                         |
| Quarrels                |    10 | check after combat             |
| Long Bow                |    40 | long range                     |
| Short Bow               |    25 | usable on horseback            |
| Arrows                  |     5 | check after combat             |
| Dagger                  |     3 | throwable, concealable         |
| Silver Dagger           |    30 | usable against lycanthropes in |
|                         |       | animal form                    |
| Short Sword             |     7 | usable in tight formation      |
| Long Sword              |    10 | usable against riders          |
| Two Handed Sword        |    15 | usable against multiple men    |
| Mace                    |     5 | blunt                          |
| Club                    |     3 | blunt                          |
| Pole Arm (two handed)   |     7 | usable from the second rank    |
|                         |       | and in tight formation         |
| Sling and Stones        |     2 | blunt                          |
| Spear                   |     3 | throwable                      |
| War Hammer              |     5 | blunt                          |
| Armor                   | Class | Gold                           |
| Leather                 |     7 |                             20 |
| Chain                   |     5 |                             40 |
| Plate                   |     3 |                             60 |
| Shield                  |    -1 |                             10 |
| Helmet                  | –     |                             10 |
| Item                    | Gold  | Note                           |
| Backpack                |     5 | required to carry other items  |
| Flask of Oil            |     2 | burns for two rounds dealing   |
|                         |       | 1d8 damage each round when     |
|                         |       | lit by a torch, a burning pool |
|                         |       | will deter animals             |
| Hammer (small)          |     2 | for stakes and spikes          |
| Holy Symbol             |    25 | required for clerics to turn   |
|                         |       | undead                         |
| Holy Water              |    25 | hurts undead like burning oil  |
| Iron Spikes             |     1 | keep doors open or shut        |
| Lantern                 |    10 | requires oil, check every hour |
| Mirror                  |     5 | useful to check for vampires   |
|                         |       | or fight a medusa              |
| Iron Ration (1 week)    |    15 | may distract monsters          |
| Rope (50’)              |     1 | heavy rope cannot be thrown    |
|                         |       | for more than a few paces      |
| Sack (large)            |     2 | required to carry treasure     |
| Thieves’ Tools          |    25 | required by thieves to open    |
|                         |       | locks                          |
| Torches                 |     1 | check every 10’, waving        |
|                         |       | torches will scare animals     |
| Wolfsbane               |    10 | keeps werewolves at bay        |
| Wooden Pole             |     1 | cheaper than a pole arm to     |
|                         |       | prod stuff                     |
+-------------------------+-------+--------------------------------+

​#RPG ​#Old School