d100 - What Do Those Rations Consist of Anyway?

Adventurers often find themselves with loudly growling bellies. The clever ones make sure that they’ve brought along some Rations for this occasion, but we rarely really delve into what those portable foodstuffs might actually be. Other than vague acknowledgements nodding in the directions of Pemmican and Hard Tack, it seldom gets the detail it’s due.

Foodways can convey a lot about a Culture or Place, and it struck me that a bundle of provisions might sometimes come with a little something extra. Something that could serve as a potential problem-solving Tool or give those Rations a little extra utility behind munching or Monster bribing.

So here are a Hundred ideas to make those Meals more Meaningful. Most are representative of the “Standard” Ration variety, as Iron Rations might deserve separate ministrations. Until then, I’m sure some of these could be re-skinned with a focus on how they’re stored and the preservation methods used.

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 Waterskins, Canteens, or Flasks

Another table in my series on adding a bit of Magic to some of the more mundane items that Adventurers might cross paths with (more under the [magic items] label). For whatever reason, I always tend to envision Water/Wineskins as more akin to a Bota rather than their larger counterparts, but I suppose most of the entries might be adaptable for various other means of transporting Liquids.

d100 - Magical Bags, Backpacks, Pouches, or Purses

Continuing my series on less traditional Magical Items, this table deals primarily with personal Containers. Backpacks, Sacks, and those ubiquitous Belt Pouches are pretty common accoutrements, though I’m sure these special features could be applied to other things with a little creative ingenuity.

d100 - Magical Ropes & Restraints

Here are a Hundred ideas for tying some Magical Effects to your Ropes, Restraints, Cables, and Cordage of all kinds. Sometimes the even most mundane piece of Equipment deserves a little dressing up 😊

d100 - Magical Hats & Helms

Another Random Table in my Series of Magic Items, this one focuses on Magical Helms, Hats, and other Assorted Headgear. It was a little tricky to try and insure that they could apply to all sorts of Head Coverings!

d100 - Atypical Scrolls of Protection & Assorted Aegides

Those Scrolls of Protection are a type of Magic Item that fills me with fond memories. Being usable by anyone (provided they can read them aloud), they really scratch a particular itch for me: They provide the ability to put Magic and Wonder in the hands of Classes that don’t normally have the capability to tangibly access this aspect of play. An athaumic Fighter, unfurling that fluttering page of parchment to have that chance to harness some Magic occasionally is a very fun thing. I also enjoy how they generally serve as timely “bacon-savers” of the highest degree: They are an excellent example of a specific Tool, that when used in the proper circumstances, can really make a world of difference.

Sadly, the standard safeguards provided, while eminently useful, are still somewhat limited in scope in terms of what they protect against: enigmatic Elementals, leering Lycanthropes, the ubiquitous Undead, and of course the extremely handy Protection from Magic. I’ve always enjoyed sprinkling in a few more interesting and somewhat more situationally convenient ones in Hoards here and there.

Along with a Hundred new and novel circumstances, substances, or adversaries to ward against, I’ve included some Scroll Descriptions that could easily be used with other, more conventional Spell Scrolls. Given the accessible nature of Scrolls of Protection, I suppose that quite a few of my Scroll Substitutions could also be just as applicable for these as well since they are generally “single-use” items and might invoke a more “Protective Talisman” feel.

The general Rules for employment, area, and effect for them still apply (though some of these might require a bit of creative interpretation from time to time...that’s part of the fun!). These Magic Items are an excellent example of one of the few occasions I find things like “Usage Die” to be more suitable than the standard method. Rather than the Referee rolling to establish a “set” Duration in Secret, the tension of rolling every Turn to witness that defensive “Forcefield” flicker and fade is much more unpredictable and fun. The d8 or d6 is probably as high as I’d go most of the time, but for some of the things these protect against I’d potentially consider a Check taking place every Hour, or even every Day to occasionally make them truly marvelous and memorable.

d100 - Flaws & Foibles for More Fickle Magic

Drawbacks and Complications for Magic are something I’m fairly fond of using in my games. A useful item, with an inconvenient defect is more memorable, just as a Cursed item with just enough usefulness to hang onto can also be more fun than metagame conceits that keep it in player hands.

It is always appealing to me when one of these snags ends up being a boon with the proper creative application. Just like how my Unconventional Potions and some of my other Magic Item posts end up embellishing these creations with features that might just be a perfect key for a lock yet unknown, some of these entries might end up working in a similar fashion.

Here is a list of a hundred of these sorts of impediments and imperfections. You could even use them to garb Spells themselves, Familiars, Magic Item Creation, or other wonderous things with a little bit of creative adjustment.

d100 – Magical Cloaks & Capes

Nearly necessary for the necks of dashing Heroes or concealing nefarious Ne’er-do-wells, the ubiquitous Cloak receives some specific attention in the Magic Item tables of most versions of these games. Some of these garments quite interesting and intriguing (those fashioned from what I assume to be Displacing Beast Hide, the one “Of The Bat”, etc.) but the most common seem to just simply possess only protective properties or were woven by delicate Elfin hands to predictable effect.

Since my Magic Item posts appear to be pretty popular, I decided to give these accessories a little more attention.

See also: Magic Blades, Magic Shields, Magic Bows, Magic Footwear for more Random Tables along these lines.

d100 - Scroll Substitutions or Strange Spell Stores

Dramatically unfurling that rolled up piece of parchment or paper to intone the Magic Words ensnared in sigils on the surface is a very lovely and iconic mental image for me. But sometimes I like to house these “single-serving Spells” in other, less traditional actions and items. These might be especially useful for Magical Traditions that encode their dweomers in ways that are not dependent on literacy or pulped wood, or just atypical treasures placed for a slight change of pace.

Standard Scroll rules would apply for these. I would personally still stick with my favorite Creation Rules from Holmes (100 gp and 1 week per Spell Level, halve time or cost with the appropriate Reagents/Ingredients).

Here’s a Hundred alternatives to consider in the place of that voluted vellum. Perhaps every caster learns a different method from their Mentor, as a sort of signature? These might also mesh nicely with my One Hundred Spellbook Surrogates & Ritual Research table.

d100 - Modern Pocket Finds

Just a quick table that I was reminded of today going through my folders. I believe I whipped this up for another Referee in need quite some time ago, but after giving it another gander and thought it might be of use to others.

Kind of a contemporary counterpart to my Random Impedimenta. Might also be useful for post-apocalyptic games or ones set in slightly older historical periods, as there is a whiff of anachronism in some of these. These days most of my tables are geared toward Fantasy, but even in that context I’ll admit to sometimes sprinkling in the occasional item from this as an intriguing/puzzling out-of-place artifact or a teaspoon dosage of gonzo. I always endeavor to render the trinket via a description rather than name it though in these situations 😊

d100 - Starting Equipment: Backstories & Seeds

Musing the other day about Randomizing the Players’ Starting Equipment (why would this Magic User have a suit of Chainmail Armor?) got me thinking: What if some of a Character’s Initial Gear could serve as a bit of double duty somehow? It would be fun if one of the items they began play with had a little History, or even maybe an Adventure Hook/Rumor/bit of Mystery to pursue right out of the gate. As a big proponent of a more Sandbox-style of play, one can never have enough seeds to broadcast into those initially fallow fields in hopes that something sprouts, so naturally I felt another table was in order 😊.

At first, I had contemplated dividing this up into categories like Weapons/Armor/Tools and such, but gradually started leaning toward attempting to make the entries at least somewhat applicable to all (as you never know what the players will decide to spend that 3d6 x 100 on or select from my Quick Equipment & Encumbrance Sheet). Some Referees perform this Shopping portion of Character Generation in play, and not all of these may be appropriate with that method, but there could be some inspiration found below for roleplaying cues I suppose.

Gut-feeling tells me that these would likely work best with the more durable pieces of gear on the Adventure Equipment list of your choice but it might lead to interesting situations to attach something like this to a consumable like a single Torch or Arrow. Could lead to a tough choice down the road eventually.

I do have an additional d100 for Equipment here, but this list doesn’t include the “bread and butter” of Arms and Armor. Updated: with Perchance generator below.