d100 – Sentient Swords

Random Rolls on the Treasure Tables often produce Magical Swords. This is especially common with the Flat Distribution in some of the earlier presentations. Sometimes they might even result in the temptation to place a Sword with a Special Purpose or Intelligence. These Swords often have a slew of additional abilities and some can even communicate via various Languages. I usually assign a Sentient Sword a number from 1-20 (more talkative ones receive a lower number) when this number is rolled on a die in Play, it can serve as a reminder to me to make a comment or quip if appropriate.

The same rules for making NPCs Memorable generally apply to these Treasures. Should a Sword be Sentient, I do like to dress them up a little further by applying a Personality and it is often hard for me to resist adding a few pertinent Powers. They do say that all Magic Swords deserve Names, but I feel that the ones that the Players can communicate with deserve this doubly so at least.

Here's a table of a hundred Swordbound Souls. While lately I’ve been cleaving a little closer to only applying this quality to Magic Swords exclusively, it is often nice to graft them onto other Weapons as well (a Snarky Dagger or Belligerent Battle Axe can be a nice change of pace!)

d100 - Encounter Activities: Rival Adventuring Parties

A little while back now, I completed some Random Tables that were focused on each of the Monsters listed in B/X and OSE. When I was working on these, I made a quick list of Monsters that appeared in their section, and used this as my baseline, but I had neglected to give a generous gander to those Encounter Tables, leading to a glaring omission: The Rival NPC Adventuring Party.

When these show up in your Dungeons/Adventures it can often lead to surprising situations. On their own they work a little bit like an Opposed or Neutral Faction: Players know that they’re in direct competition for any Glory or Gold that might be found nearby. Sometimes those lovely Rivalries develop, but they can also serve as a way to swell Ranks as erstwhile Allies, or even as a pool of replacement Player Characters if necessary. So here are a Hundred Activities that those Rival Adventuring Parties might find themselves getting up to. As always, strategic substitutions of a few Nouns can make a given entry a bit more bespoken to the given situation.

d00 – Peculiar Portals & Distinctive Doors

Sometimes, those “Special” Results on the sainted Stocking Table might leave a Referee a bit at a Loss. There are only so many Statues, Pools, or other features one can sprinkle about. One option I sometimes like to consider is using this as a cue to add in a Strange or Unusual Door.

I am pretty comfortable with injecting a bit of humor and whimsy into my Dungeons on occasion for a slight break in Tension, and this table began with a few ideas I cribbed from a Tunnels & Trolls Dungeon that I dug. Every Door in that Dungeon had something to say it seemed! While that might be a bit excessive for most Mythic Underworlds, here are a few ideas for that can be used to make these Thresholds of Exploration a bit more interactive. Some are a bit more akin to Puzzles, other might benefit from a quick Reaction Roll to determine their Disposition to the Party, etc. I love presenting the Players with Opportunities to talk to things, so many of these Doors can Speak or have their own Personalities. There are an awful lot of Rules about interacting with Doors in these games after all!

d100 – Unconventional Shields & Bizarre Bucklers

Quick Table with some examples of non-standard shields and other off-hand protection. Inspired by a post from Rise Up Comus, here are a hundred ideas to make those more memorable. Most are a bit more on the Mundane side, but I couldn’t help but have a few that emitted a bit more Wonder. There’s always this Magic Shields Table as well though if you’d like to embellish them a bit more.

d100 – Magical Bludgeons

Finally decided to complete another Magical Weapon table, this time focusing on the Blunt ones to compliment the one I did on Swords. I find myself using that one for Daggers and Knives sometimes as well. While those cruder Clubs don’t seem to be too popular and may seldom be brandished in the hands of Characters, maybe some of these options might convince a Player to reconsider. Of course, these could easily work with most other Weapons that fall under those Cleric Restrictions.

d100 - Mercenary Minutiae & Sellsword Specifics

Eventually, games might reach a point at which the Players will seek out Mercenaries to assist them with achieving certain goals/aspirations. For when this occurs, I wanted to provide a few Resources for generating those Mercenary Companies, so I set about alloying a few existing tables, and even ended up hammering out a new one.

These will all eventually make their way into a “Mercenary Company Generator” I’m working on, but for the time being the newly minted Table is below. I have many thoughts on how to use Mercenaries in these games, but I’ll likely save those for a separate and more dedicated post.

d100 - Magical Axes

Another Random Table devoted to those marvelous Magical Items. This time we have One Hundred Magical Axes. Just like with my other magic item tables, these can be used to embellish that bog-standard bonus in order to make for a more intriguing and wonderous weapon should it be needed. As always, feel free to season some of these to taste in terms of potency, duration, or frequency of use.