d100 - Why Can’t You Pick This Lock?

One minor Rule has always flustered me and my Players a little bit in these older presentations: How a Thief who failed to Open a Lock was unable to “Try Again” until they had Advanced a Level. While it is very easy to understand the intention behind the conceit (we don’t want to bog down our Play with repeated tries, and the eventual/inevitable elimination of an obstacle) it did always strike me as a little bit disassociated.

So, I put together a d100 Table with some Answers to the Question of “Why” they are unable to Pick a given Lock. Some are akin to Puzzles, and maybe harmless Traps in a way, so I can see a bit of double duty in a few of these for fleshing out those Locks a little more (I also have a Table/Generator on them here: Locks & Lockpicks.) One of the primary “Excuses” we used to lean on for this was not having the appropriate Tools (to be retrieved during Downtime, potentially after putting some word out with Contacts...that might take about as long as it takes for a Level up, etc.)

Most of these entries endeavor to steer away from placing the blame on the luckless Thief themselves, which is always a little refreshing (the Thief Player and their Dice at least tried!) so you might find them useful as “Other Excuses” to strategically retrieve for those abysmally low Percentages they start out with! It’s wise to remember that defeating the Lock in this fashion is only a single method of overcoming this kind of obstacle. It usually does come with less Cost or Risk (doesn’t use up a Knock Spell, preserves the functionality of a Door/Container, doesn’t make Noise and Trigger Wandering Monster Checks like the Fighter’s Shoulder, etc.) But there is often more than one way to skin a Catoblepa in these games!

q.v. Where is the Key To This Locked Door?

d100 – From Whence Did This Monster Spawn?

Often when Referees seek out explanations for the many Foes and Fiends that can be found in the various manuals of Monsters at our disposal (or when minting our own!) we’re sometimes only given a few relatively similar and somewhat terse explanations concerning the circumstances that led them to be part of a Setting or World. Usually these tend to err on the side of the shrug-inducing “A Wizard Did It,” though sometimes we might see the occasional digression into an armchair ecological or evolutionary explanation.

I’m a firm believer that it’s sometimes fun and fruitful fodder to imagine where those Monsters might come from as this can inform a Setting in intriguing ways. This Table might be said to lean a little more into the Superstitious/Hearsay angle for these Origins, but I am fond of a more Folkloric approach in my games. Some of these might very well be the methods by which a Monster is Made, while others might be more akin to Admonishments, Fables, or those Cautionary and sometimes Frightening Tales spun for Children. Hopefully they inspire a few more unconventional angles one could consider for whatever the process might be through which a Monster comes into being.

d100 - Magic Arrows & Ammunition

Today we have another Magical Item Table, this time tackling Arrows and Ammunition (and I suppose Sling Bullets with some light re-skinning, though I haven’t given up on a separate table dedicated to those just yet.) Generally, we treat these as Single Use Items that are spent when shot, but in some games a Damage Roll of 1 or 2 means that it can be Recovered after the battle (easier to track, simply don’t mark off the expenditure of Ammunition until after Damage is rolled!) It’s possible there might be a bit of overlap with my prior Table on Magic Bows, which I purposefully neglected to review prior to populating this one.

How many Arrows or Quarrels are discovered in a Treasure Hoard? Well, the B/X Treasure tables provide a range, some sheafs are 2d6, some 3d10, and other stingier ones might only be a single d6. Particularly puissant Projectiles (such as those of Slaying) sometimes show up all by their lonesome, so I suppose this might be a bit dependent on Referee discretion. I’d be inclined to be a little more generous with the ones that are perhaps a little less reliable in terms of this Table.

d100 - Sacred Shrines & Alien Altars

Strange Shrines or other quasi-Religious Fixtures are sometimes useful for dressing up Dungeons or Wildernesses. This table has a hundred ideas for them, broadly decorative in nature on the surface. However, should you prefer to make these a bit more interactive, I often find that assigning them a Spell, usually from the Cleric List, and preferably one of the Reversible ones, can be quite fun. If attempts are made to disturb or desecrate, it might cast the Reversed Version of the Spell, targeting the intrepid interferer. If proper supplication or careful consecration takes place, perhaps the Shrine will deign to grant a boon (in the form of the Positive version of the Spell in question.)

Some common Candidates come to mind for this:

1. Cure/Cause Light Wounds
2. Light/Darkness
3. Purify/Putrefy Food & Water
4. Remove/Cause Fear
5. Bless/Blight
6. Cure/Bestow Blindness
7. Cure/Bestow Disease
8. Remove/Bestow Curse

As a lark, I recently took a stab at providing Reversed versions of all the Cleric Spells in B/X (with some BECMI Padding for symmetry) so there might also be some amusing ideas here:

In my ancient Shrines Series I mention that repurposing the Turn Undead Check can also be useful for this function: The Cleric (perhaps more familiar with such things than other Classes) may be able to make a Turn Undead roll (target = level of the Spell) to successfully activate or deduce the function of a given Shrine/Altar. Failure could trigger consequences of course.

d100 – Carousing Events for Sophisticated Soirées & Refined Revelry

Here’s a quick companion to my more rustic and less “up-market” prior Carousing Consequences & Complications Table, with this one focusing a little more on the slightly more stuffy and formal occasions the Player Characters may find themselves invited to or even reuqired to attend. Potentially useful in the later Domain Tiers as well, alongside some of my recent tables for Stronghold Benefits and Castle Hassles.

d100 - Monster Smells & Olfactory Tells

When Telegraphing or Foreshadowing Encounters, sometimes other senses can be employed. Thinking about this led to another fun Table that had my imagination working overtime! I tried not to consult my prior Three Hundred Smells Table for this one, but I’m quite certain there might be a bit of overlap here and potentially with my Spoor & Sign or Tracks & Traces by Type Table as well.

Naturally, since our musty Monster Manuals don’t come in spectacular “Scratch & Sniff” these are all fanciful speculation and conjecture. I suppose that’s a good thing too, as I’m not sure I’d really like to experience a Troglodyte’s signature Stench ability!

d100 – Priesthood Penances & Cleric Contrition

Deity Disfavor is a Class Feature that doesn’t receive a ton of attention. One can infer a few potential concrete triggers for this from the Class Description (ignoring the Prohibition Sharp/Stabbing Weapons, failing to carry a Holy Symbol...those Poor Clerics that begin Play with only 30 gold pieces!) but much of it falls to Referee interpretation on adherence to the tenants of Alignment and the Religion. Some of my Prior Tables attempt to make this a little more transparent (such as my Hundred Holy Taboos) and less of a “Gotcha!” to be sprung on the Player out of the blue, but what should happen if a Cleric falls from those good graces?

Inspired by a conversation with another Referee, I decided to put together a d100 Table of potential Penances or Acts of Contrition that might serve as some ideas for these situations. Later presentations tend to handle this with the casting of a specific Divine Spell (such as Atonement) but that does strike me as a little perfunctory. I suppose if you aren’t capable of casting it on yourself, that could lead to a little leg work.

The table is a bit of a mixture: I wanted to try and avoid things that were too Restrictive or could potentially impact Play in a severely negative way (such as a “Vow of Silence” impairing communication, etc.) but some of those surely snuck in. I also wanted to try and avoid things that were just easily elided through a Downtime Activity if at all possible. I think I was a little less successful in that goal, but that would still be up to the individual Referee. I believe that some of these entries might be more useful for fleshing out a particular Faith when portraying other members: These could be used by a Referee in Play by attaching them to another Penitent in a Player Character’s Faith, in order to telegraph those Consequences of straying out of that Favor. I should definitely try to remember add this to my Deity Generator when I get the chance!

Content Warning for a soupçon of Self-Harm/Mortification of the Flesh. Feel free to season this to Table Tastes and Player Preferences.