Post by aldarron on Aug 1, 2010 9:33:56 GMT -6
Arneson's 1986 Garbage Pits of despair is an interesting little gem for lots of reasons, one of them being that while on the whole it was written in compliance with the BECMI rules, it has its Arnesonian quirks, some of which seem little changed from the early '70's. Here are some things I noticed:
War Hammer +1 against all opponents, additional plus one against undead; permanent spell effect: Decieve.
Pole Axe +3 strength against all non-magical opponents; permanent spell effect: Defend.
2-handed flaming sword (sword of legend) 25% bonus, 8 Ego, 9 Intelligence. Primary powers – Detect Metal, Find Secret Doors, and Find Traps; Extraordinary power – Teleportation.
Staff of Lightning Bolts – effects an area 60 feet long, starting at 0 to 300 feet from user. Victims must make a saving throw or take 6d6 points of damage. There is a 5% chance per use of malfunction. User must roll successfully against intelligence to repair.
Wand of Fireballs – Contains 6 charges. Recharges in three minutes provided the owner is at rest. The wand will recharge 5 times total. The fireballs range 0-100 feet and do 2d6 damage. Victims who make their saving throws take no damage. There is a 15% chance per use the wand will malfunction. The user must forsake all other activity and must roll successfully against intelligence to repair.
Arrow counts for Archers are always noted (10-30), same with slingers (20 stones), and crossbowmen (40 bolts).
Percentile based tracking skill noted for one of the fighters (Long Bill Jordan).
NPC’s always have their ability scores listed.
Armor is described and helmets are noted, including weather or not they have cowls.
The Dragon, like AiF Dragons, has a mixture of animal like features.
Fatigue rule: movement reduced by 1/3, -1 on Strength and Dexterity.
Comments:
Magic Weapons seem to come in three stripes
1) Common with only a normal bonus
2) Rare with a bonus to strength in one case and an extra
bonus against specific creatures and one “permanent spell
effect”
3) Extraordinary swords – these swords seem very much like
the ones he describes in First Fantasy campaign. The one listed
is also interesting because it gives an unspecified (?) 25%
bonus.
For starters, it’s also interesting that he seems to be tracking ammo for shooters, using percentile based skills, rolling against ability scores, and making variant magic items, based on his old standby’s of fireball and lightning bolts.
War Hammer +1 against all opponents, additional plus one against undead; permanent spell effect: Decieve.
Pole Axe +3 strength against all non-magical opponents; permanent spell effect: Defend.
2-handed flaming sword (sword of legend) 25% bonus, 8 Ego, 9 Intelligence. Primary powers – Detect Metal, Find Secret Doors, and Find Traps; Extraordinary power – Teleportation.
Staff of Lightning Bolts – effects an area 60 feet long, starting at 0 to 300 feet from user. Victims must make a saving throw or take 6d6 points of damage. There is a 5% chance per use of malfunction. User must roll successfully against intelligence to repair.
Wand of Fireballs – Contains 6 charges. Recharges in three minutes provided the owner is at rest. The wand will recharge 5 times total. The fireballs range 0-100 feet and do 2d6 damage. Victims who make their saving throws take no damage. There is a 15% chance per use the wand will malfunction. The user must forsake all other activity and must roll successfully against intelligence to repair.
Arrow counts for Archers are always noted (10-30), same with slingers (20 stones), and crossbowmen (40 bolts).
Percentile based tracking skill noted for one of the fighters (Long Bill Jordan).
NPC’s always have their ability scores listed.
Armor is described and helmets are noted, including weather or not they have cowls.
The Dragon, like AiF Dragons, has a mixture of animal like features.
Fatigue rule: movement reduced by 1/3, -1 on Strength and Dexterity.
Comments:
Magic Weapons seem to come in three stripes
1) Common with only a normal bonus
2) Rare with a bonus to strength in one case and an extra
bonus against specific creatures and one “permanent spell
effect”
3) Extraordinary swords – these swords seem very much like
the ones he describes in First Fantasy campaign. The one listed
is also interesting because it gives an unspecified (?) 25%
bonus.
For starters, it’s also interesting that he seems to be tracking ammo for shooters, using percentile based skills, rolling against ability scores, and making variant magic items, based on his old standby’s of fireball and lightning bolts.
