NOTE: An updated version of this is available here.
Hello again OSR
blog-sphere,
I've been running
more Basic D&D pick-up games lately to acquaint my players
with the beautiful simplicity of the 0e Systems. We're having quite a
bit of fun.
I thought I would
share something that has been very useful in our games. As I'm sure
many of you know, the portion of Character Generation that can take
the longest amount of time, irrespective of system, is the purchasing
of equipment. Even with multiple copies of the equipment lists and
calculators, the process still adds quite a bit of time onto the
process of character creation. With player death being a relatively
common occurrence, the need to generate new characters on the fly
quickly is also important.
Inspired by the genius of the “
Ye Fast Pack” at the
end of
B4 – The Lost City,
Jeff's
Merry Merwik’s Prepackaged Provisions
and another pick-and-choose Equipment system I can't seem to find
right now, I wanted something that provided a little more customization, while
still keeping the process quick and on a single sheet.
Some Thoughts and
Elaborations:
My players typically
just end up using this sheet to track most of their basic equipped
items by highlighting or marking the items they choose. This
eliminates the need to transfer items to their Character Sheet,
which cuts down on even more character generation time.
Although
I'll always have a soft spot for using coins (cns) as the weight
measurement for character encumbrance, we're currently using a
slightly modified version of Raggi's
LotFP
system to track gear in "slots" rather than strictly by
weight. The column containing a number or fraction next to each item
represents it's encumbrance. The values are very general, and I've
tried to take into account how bulky an item is or how carefully
packed it must be to be stored safely.
Players seem to start
with a little bit less equipment and currency than if they would
have rolled their 3d6 x 10 and went shopping at “Bloodbath &
Beyonde.” I'm fine with this, as I tend to start my adventurers a
little more pauper-ish. I suppose some extra Miscellaneous picks
could make up the balance.
The Random
Impedimenta table is available in a previous post (it's my intention
to convert it to PDF, as I always like to have a printed copy for
pick-up games).
Some combinations of
equipment are impossible to acquire initially, while other entries
are repeated throughout. This is by design and tends to lead to
interesting player choice's for their equipment. Platemail armor is
too expensive to show up on the Armor list.
We currently do not
limit weapon or armor use by
Class as all weapons do damage based on
Class HD. Only Fighters, Clerics, Elfs and Dwarfs are trained to use
heavier armor. Thieves, Magic-Users and Goblins may have penalties
to Thief Skills or have issues retaining spells. (We're using
Untimely's
Spell Retention house rule)
The Scrolls present
in the Weapon Columns are usually randomly determined (for spell and
level). The Magic-User Scroll could also be for a spell already
present in the caster's Spellbook that the caster had the foresight
to scribe prior to adventuring. I allow Clerics to call miracles
from Scrolls even if they do not possess any spell casting ability.
Suggestions or
Constructive Criticisms? Questions? Let me know in the comments. I'd
also like to know how it works out for you if you end up getting any
mileage out of it.