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Unlike most games, AD&Dis
an ongoing collection of episode adventures,
each of which constitutes a session of
play.
You, as the DM, are about to embark on
a new career, that of universe maker.
You will order the universe and direct
the activities in each game,
becoming one of the elite group of campaign
referees referred to as DMs in the vernacular of AD&D.
What lies ahead will require the use of
all of your skill,
put a strain on your imagination,
bring your creativity
to the fore,
test your patience,
and exhaust your free time.
Being a DM is no matter to be taken lightly!
Your campaign requires the above from you,
and participation by your players.
To belabor an old saw, Rome wasn't built
in a day.
You are probably just learning, so take
small
steps at first.
The milieu for initial adventures
should be kept to a size commensurate with the needs of campaign participants
--
your available time as compared with the
demands of the players.
This will typically result in your giving
them a brief background,
placing them in a settlement,
and stating that they should prepare themselves
to find and explore the dungeon/ruin they know is nearby.
As background you inform them that they
are from some nearby place where they were apprentices learning their respective
professions,
that they met by chance in an inn or tavern
and resolved to journey together to seek their fortunes in the dangerous
environment,
and that,
beyond the knowledge common to the AREA
(speech, alignments, races, and the like),
they know nothing of the world.
Placing these new participants in a small
settlement means that you need do only minimal work describing the place
and its inhabitants.
Likewise, as PCs are inexperienced,
a single dungeon
|| ruins map will suffice to begin play.
After a few episodes of play,
you and your campaign participants will
be ready for expansion of the milieu.
The territory around the settlement --
likely the "home" city || town of the
adventurers,
other nearby habitations, wilderness
areas, and whatever else you determine is right for the AREA --
should be sketch-mapped,
and places likely to become settings for
play actually done in detail.
At this time it is probable that you will
have to have a large scale map of the whole continent or sub-continent
involved,
some rough outlines of the political divisions
of the place,
notes on predominant terrain
features,
indications of the distribution of creature
types,
and some plans as to what conflicts are
likely to occur.
In short,
you will have to create the social and
ecological parameters of a good part of a make-believe world.
The more painstakingly this is done,
the more "real" this creation will become.
Eventually, as PCs develop and grow powerful,
they will explore and adventure over all
of the AREA of the continent.
When such activity begins,
you must then broaden your general map
still farther so as to encompass the whole globe.
More still!
You must begin to consider seriously the
makeup of your entire multiverse --
space, planets and their satellites, parallel
worlds, the dimensions and planes.
What is there?
Why?
Can participants in the campaign get there?
How?
Will they?
Never {fear}!
By the time your campaign has grown to
such a state of sophistication,
you will be ready to handle the new demands.
Eventually, as PCs develop and grow powerful,
they will
explore and adventure over all of the
AREA of the continent. When such
activity begins, you must then broaden
your general map still farther so as
to encompass the whole globe. More still!
You must begin to consider
seriously the makeup of your entire multiverse
-- space, planets and their
satellites, parallel worlds, the dimensions
and planes. What is there? Why?
can participants in the campaign get there?
How? Will they? Never fear! By
the time your campaign has grown to such
a state of sophistication, you
will be ready to handle the new demands.
Question: How can
I spice up my D&D game?
My players, as well as myself,
are tired of going on dungeon &&
outdoor
adventures.
I don’t have any city maps
and I really don’t want to bother with them, so what else is there left
to do?
Answer: Well, you
can ask your players what they would like to do.
They probably have all kinds
of ideas. In my campaign I had a similar
problem, and now one of
my players is trying to become Pope. So, just
ask them. I am sure they
would be more than glad to help. Remember,
they are not the enemy.
They are your friends and more than likely they
will be glad to stick their
nose into the campaign and give you their
advice. It is only human
nature to do so.
<e?>
There is nothing wrong with using a prepared
setting to start a campaign,
just as long as you are totally familiar
with its precepts and they mesh with
what you envision as the ultimate direction
of your own milieu. Whatever
doesn't match, remove from the material
and substitute your own in its
place. On the other hand, there is nothing
to say you are not capable of
creating your own starting place; just
use whichever method is best suited
to your available time and more likely
to please your players. Until you
are sure of yourself, lean upon the book.
Improvisation might be fine later,
but until you are completely relaxed as
the DM, don't run the risk of trying
to "wing it" unless absolutely necessary.
Set up the hamlet or village
where the action will commence with the
player characters entering and
interacting with the local population.
Place regular people, some
"different" and unusual types, and a few
non-player characters (NPCs) in
the various dwellings and places of business.
Note vital information
particular to each. Stock the goods available
to the players. When they
arrive, you will be ready to take on the
persona of the settlement as a
whole, as well os that of each individual
therein. Be dramatic, witty,
stupid, dull, clever, dishonest tricky,
hostile, etc. as the situation demonds.
The players will quickly learn who is
who and what is going on - perhaps
at the loss of a few coins. Having handled
this, their characters will be
equipped as well as circumstances will
allow and will be ready for their
bold journey into the dangerous place
where treasure abounds and
monsters lurk.
The testing grounds for novice adventurers
must be kept to a difficulty
factor which encourages rather than discourages
players. If things are too
easy, then there is no challenge, and
boredom sets in after one or two
games. Conversely, impossible difficulty
and character deaths cause
instant loss of interest. Entrance to
and movement through the dungeon
level should be relatively easy, with
a few tricks, traps, and puzzles to
make it interesting in itself. Features
such as rooms and chambers must be
described with verve and sufficiently
detailed in content to make each
seem as if i t were strange and mysterious.
Creatures inhabiting the place
must be of strength and in numbers not
excessive compared to the odventurers'
wherewithal to deal with them. (You may,
ot this point, refer to
the sample dungeon level and partial encounter
key.)
The general idea is to develop a dungeon
of multiple levels, and the
deeper adventurers go, the more difficult
the challenges become -
fiercer monsters, more deadly traps, more
confusing mazes, and so forth.
This same concept applies to areas outdoors
as well, with more ond
terrible monsters occurring more frequently
the further one goes away
from civilization. Many variations on
dungeon and wilderness areas are
possible. One can build an underground
complex where distance away
from the entry point approximates depth,
or it can be in o mountain where
adventurers work upwards. Outdoor
adventures can be in a ruined city or a
town which seems normal but is under a
curse, or virtually anything
which you can imagine and then develop
into a playable situation for your
campaign participants.
Whatever you settle upon as a starting
point, be it your own design or one
of the many modular settings which are
commercially available,
remember to have some overall plan of
your milieu in mind. The
campaign might grow slowly, or it might
mushroom. Be prepared for
either event with more adventure areas,
and the reasons for everything
which exists and happens. This is not
to say that total and absolutely
perfect info will be needed, but a general
schema is required.
From this you can give vague hints and
ambiguous answers. It is no
exaggeration to state that the fantasy
world builds itself, almost as if the
milieu actually takes on a life and reality
of its own. This is not to say that
an occult power takes over. It is simply
that the interaction of judge and
players shapes the bare bones of the initial
creation into something far
larger. It becomes fleshed out, and adventuring
breathes life into a make
believe world. Similarly, the geography
and history you assign to the
world will suddenly begin to shape the
character of states and peoples.
Details of former events will become obvious
from mere outlines of the
past course of things. Surprisingly, as
the personalities of player characters
and non-player characters in the milieu
are bound to develop and become
almost real, the nations and states and
events of a well-conceived
AD&D
world will take on even more of their
own direction and life. What this all
boils down to is thot once the compaign
is set in motion, you will become
more of a recorder of events, while the
milieu seemingly charts its own
course!
It is of utmost importance to some DMs
to create && design
worlds which are absolutely correct according
to the laws of the scientific
realities of our own universe. These individuals
will have to look elsewhere
for direction as to how this is to be
accomplished, for this is a rule
book, not a text on any subject remotely
connected to climatology,
ecology, or any science soft or hard.
However, for those who desire only
an interesting and exciting game,
some useful info in the way of
advice can be passed along.
Climate:
Temperature, wind, and rainfall are understood reasonobly well
by most people. The distance from the
sun dictates temperature, with the
directness of the sun's rays affecting
this also. Cloud cover also is a factor,
heavy clouds trapping heat to cause a
"greenhouse effect". Elevation is a
factor, as the higher mountains
have less of an atmosphere "blanket".
Bodies of water affect temperature, as
do warm or cold currents within
them. Likewise air currents affect temperature.
Winds are determined by
rotational direction and thermals. Rainfoll
depends upon winds and
available moisture from bodies of water,
and temperatures os well. All of
the foregoing are relevant to our world,
and should be in a fantasy world,
but the various determinants need not
follow the phsical lows of the
earth. A milieu which offers differing
climates is quite desirable because
of the variety it affords DM and player
alike.
The variety of climes allows you to offer
the whole gomut of human and
monster types to adventurous Characters.
It also allows you more creativity
with civilizations, societies and cultures.
Ecology: So many
of the monsters are large predators that it is difficult to
justify their existence in proximity to
one another. Of course in dungeon
settings
it is possible to have some in stasis or magically kept alive without
hunger, but what of the
wilderness? Then too, how do the human and
humanoid populations support themselves?
The bottom of the food chain
is vegetation, cultivated grain with respect
to people and their ilk. Large
populations in relatively small land areas
must be supported by lavish
vegetation. Herd animals prospering upon
this growth will support a fair
number of predators. Consider also the
tales of many of the most fantastic
and fearsome beasts: what do dragons eat?
Humans, of course; maidens
in particular! Dragons slay a lot, but
they do not seem to eat all that much.
Ogres and giants enjoy livestock and people
too, but at least the more intelligent
sort raise their own cattle so as to guarantee
a full kettle.
When you develop your world, leave plenty
of area for cultivation, even
more for wildlife. Indicate the general
sorts of creatures inhabiting an
area, using logic with regard to natural
balance. This is not to say that you
must be textbook perfect, it is merely
a cautionary word to remind you not
to put in too many large carnivores without
any visible means of support.
Some participants in your campaign might
question the ecology -- particularly
if it does not favor their favorite player
characters. You must be
prepared to justify it. [greengineering/education]
Here are some suggestions.
Certain vegetation grows very rapidly in
the world -- roots or tubers, a
grass-like plant, or grain. One or more
of such crops support many rabbits
or herd animals or wild pigs or people
or whatever you like! The vegetation
springs up due to a nutrient in the soil
(possibly some element unknown
in the mundane world) and possibly due
to the radiation of the sun
as well (see the slight tinge of color
which is noticeably different when
compared to Sol? . . . ). A species or
two of herbivores which grow
rapidly, breed prolifically, and need
but scant nutriment is also suggested.
With these artifices and a bit of care
in placing monsters around in the
wilderness, you will probably satisfy
all but the most exacting of players and
that one probably should not be playing
fantasy games anyway!
Dungeons likewise must be balanced and
justified, or else wildly improbable
and caused by some supernatural entity
which keeps the whole
thing running -- or at least has set it
up to run until another stops it. In any
event, do not allow either the demands
of "realism" or impossible makebelieve
to spoil your milieu. Climate and ecology
are simply reminders to
use a bit of care!
The Underground Environment: Ecology
+
TYPICAL INHABITANTS
Typical Inhabitants +
SOCIAL CLASS AND RANK IN ADVANCED DUNGEONS
& DRAGONS
Social Class and
Rank in Advanced Dungeons & Dragons +
THE TOWN AND CITY SOCIAL STRUCTURE
The Town and City Social
Structure +
There is no question that the prices and
costs of the game are based on
inflationary economy, one where a sudden
influx of silver and gold has
driven everything well beyond its normal
value. The reasoning behind this
is simple. An active campaign will most
certainly bring a steady flow of
wealth into the base area, as adventurers
come from successful trips into
dungeon and wilderness. If the economy
of the area is one which more
accurately reflects that of medieval England,
let us say, where coppers and
silver coins are usual and a gold piece
remarkable, such an influx of new
money, even in copper and silver, would
cause an inflationory spiral. This
would necessitate you adjusting costs
accordingly and then upping
dungeon treasures somewhat to keep pace.
If a near-maximum is assumed,
then the economics of the area con remain
relatively constant, and
the DM will have to adiust costs only
for things in demand or short supply
-weapons, oil, holy water, men-at-arms,
whatever.
The economic systems of areas beyond the
more active campaign areas
can be viably based on lesser wealth only
until the stream of loot begins to
pour outwards into them. While it is possible
to reduce treasure in these
area to some extent so as to prolong the
period of lower costs, what kind
of a dragon hoard, for example, doesn't
have gold and gems? It is simply
more heroic for players to have their
characters swaggering around with
pouches full of gems and tossing out gold
pieces than it is for them to have
coppers. Heroic fantasy is made of fortunes
and king's ransoms in loot
gained most cleverly and bravely and lost
in a twinkling by various means
- thievery, gambling, debauchery, gift-giving,
bribes, and so forth. The
"reality" AD&D
seeks to create through role playing is that of the mythical
heroes such as Conan, Fafhrd
and the Gray Mouser, Kothar, Elric,
and their
ilk. When treasure is spoken of, it is
more stirring when porticiponts know
it to be TREASURE!
You may, of course, adiust any prices and
costs as you see fit for your own
milieu. Be careful to observe the effects
of such changes on both play
balance and player involvement. If any
adverse effects are noted, it is
better to return to the tried and true.
It is fantastic and of heroic proportions
so as to match its game vehicle.
DUTIES, EXCISES, FEES, TARIFFS, TAXES, TITHES, AND TOLLS
What society can exist without revenues?
What better means of assuring revenues
than taxation,
and all of the names used in the title
of this section are synonymous with taxes --
but if it is called something different
perhaps the populace won't take too much umbrage at having to pay and pay
and pay . . .
It is important in most campaigns to take
excess monies away from PCs
and taxation is one of the better means
of accomplishing this
end. The form and frequency of taxation
depends upon the locale and the
social structure.
Duties
are typically paid on goods brought into a country
or subdivision thereof, so any furs,
tapestries, etc. brought into a town for
sale will probably be subject to duty.
Excises
are typically sums paid to
belong to a particular profession or practice
a certain calling; in addition,
on excise can be levied against foreign
currency, for example, in order to
change it into the less remarkable coin
of the realm.
Fees
con be levied for
just about any reason -- entering a city
gate is a good one for non-citizens.
Tariffs
are much the same as duties, but let us suppose that this is levied
against only certain items when purchased
-- rather a surtax, or it can be
used against goods not covered by the
duty list.
Taxes
are typically paid
only by residents and citizens of the
municipality and include those sums
for upkeep of roods ond streets, walls
gates, and municipal expenses for
administration and services. Taxation
is not necessarily an annual affair,
for special taxes can be levied whenever
needful, particularly upon sales,
services, and foreigners in general.
Tithes
are principally religious taxation,
although there is no prohibition against
the combination of the
secular with the sacred in the municipality.
Thus, a tithe can be extracted
from all sums brought into the community
by any resident, the monies
going to the religious organization sponsored
by the community or to that
of the character's choosing, at your option.
(Of course, any religious
organizations within a municipality will
have to pay heavy taxes unless
they are officially recognized by the
authorities.) Tolls, finally, are sums
poid for the use of a road, bridge, ferry,
etc. They are paid according to the
numbers of persons, animals, carts, wagons,
and possibly even materials
transported.
If the Gentle Reader thinks that the taxation
he or she currently undergoes
is a trifle strenuous for his or her income,
pity the typical European populace
of the Middle Ages. They paid all of the
above, tolls being very
frequent, with those trying to escape
them by use of a byway being subject
to confiscation of all goods with a fine
and imprisonment possible also.
Every petty noble made an extraction,
municipalities taxed, and the
sovereign was the worst of all. (Eventually
merchants
banded together to
form associations to protect themselves
from such robbery, but peasants
and other commoners could only revolt
and dream of better times.) Barter
was common because hard money was so rare.
However, in the typical
fantasy milieu, we deal with great sums
of precious metals, so use levies
against player character gains accordingly.
Here is an example of a system
which might be helpful to you in developing
your own.
The town charges a 1% duty on all normal
goods brought into the place for sale --
foodstuffs, cloth and
hides, livestock, raw materials and manufactured goods.
Foreigners must also
pay this duty, but at double rate (2%).
Luxury items and precious goods -- wine,
spirits, furs, metals such as copper, gold, etc., jewelry and the like
--
pay a tariff in addition
to the duty,
a 5% of value charge
if such are to be sold,
and special forms for
sale are then given to the person so declaring his wares
(otherwise no legal
sale is possible).
Entry fee into the town is 1
copper piece per head (man or animal) or wheel for citizens,
5 coppers for non-citizens,
unless they hove official
passports to allow free entry.
(Diplomatic types have
immunity from duties and tariffs as regards their personal goods and belongings.)
Taxes are paid per head,
annually at 1 copper
for a peasant,
1 silver for a freeman,
and 1 gold piece for
a gentleman or noble;
most foreign residents
are stopped frequently and asked for proof of payment,
and if this is not
at hand, they must pay again.
In addition, a 10% sales tax is charged
to all foreigners, although no service tax is levied upon them.
Religion is not regulated by the municipality,
but any person seeking
to gain services from such an organization must typically pledge to tithe.
Finally, several tolls are extended in
order to gain access to the main route from and to the municipality --
including the route
to the dungeon, of course.
Citizens of the town must pay a 5% tax
on their property in order to defray the costs of the place.
This sum is levied annually.
Citizenship can be obtained by foreigners
after residence for one month and the payment of 10 gold pieces (plus many
bribes).
The town does not encourage the use of
foreign currency.
Merchants and other business people must
pay a fine of 5% of the value of any foreign coins within their possession
plus face certain confiscation of the coins, so they will typically not
accept them.
Upon entering the town non-residents are
instructed to go to the Street of the Money Changers in order to trade
their foreign money for the copper "cons", silver "nobs", gold "orbs",
and platinum "royals".
Exchange rate is a mere 90%,
so for 10 foreign copper pieces 9 domestic
copper "commons" are handed out.
Any non-resident with more than 100 silver
nobles value in foreign coins in his or her possession is automatically
fined 50% of their total value,
unless he or she can prove that entry
into the town was within 24 hours,
and he or she was on his or her way to
the money changers when stopped.
Transactions involving gems are not uncommon,
but a surtax of 10% is also levied against
sales or exchange of precious stones and similar goods.
Citizens of the town must pay a 5% tax
on their property in order to defray
the costs of the place. This sum is levied
annually. Citizenship can be
obtained by foreigners after residence
for one month and the payment of
10 gold pieces (plus many bribes).
The town does not encourage the use of
foreign currency. Merchants and
other business people must pay a fine
of 5% of the value of any foreign
coins within their possession plus face
certain confiscation of the coins, so
they will typically not accept them. Upon
entering the town non-residents
are instructed to go to the Street of
the Money Changers in order to trade
their foreign money for the copper "cons",
silver "nobs", gold "orbs", and
platinum "royals". Exchange rote is a
mere 90%, so for 10 foreign copper
pieces 9 domestic copper "commons" are
handed out. Any non-resident
with more than 100 silver nobles value
in foreign coins in his or her
possession is automatically fined 50%
of their total value, unless he or she
con prove that entry into the town was
within 24 hours, and he or she was
on his or her way to the money changers
when stopped. Transactions involving
gems are not uncommon, but a surtax of
10% is also levied against
sales or exchange of precious stones and
similar goods.
<>
D95.18
sales tax = 2.5% or 10% (Luxury Tax, applied
to Luxury Items)
inheritance tax = 5%
tariff = average of 1 cp for every 100
lbs. weight of goods
tolls = 1 cp per person/beast/cart or
2 cp per coach/chariot (collected at booths on certain bridges and roads)
Monthly Taxes
Market Tax = 1 cp for every adult and
every beast to enter a walled town on the monthly Market Day
Alien Tax = 1 sp per adult (resident aliens),
2 sp per adult (non-resident aliens) [diplomatic personnel are exempt from
such taxation]
Spring = Hearth Tax
simple dwelling = 1
cp; simple dwelling in town = 2 cp; simple dwelling in walled town = 6
cp; large dwelling = 1 sp; large dwelling in walled town = 3 sp; inn =
10 sp; manor = 1 gp; castle = 10 gp
Summer = Land Tax
per acre under cultivation
= 1 cp; per acre lying fallow = 0.5 cp; per acre of woodland = 0.75 cp;
per acre of barren land = 0.25 cp; per acre of pond or lake = 0.5 cp; per
acre of townland = 6 cp; per acre of fortified land = 1 sp
Summer = Nobility Tax (each family displaying
tokens of nobility pays 5 gp) <assess this to cavaliers (and other characters)
who have their own coat-of-arms?>
Autumn = The Tithe ("two shillings in
the pound on all produce, rents, and profits from the land") <assess
this to high-level characters with income from territory development> **
Autumn = Income Tax ("mostly assessed
against merchants and such" : 0.5%) <assess this merchants and those
who own their own businesses> **
Winter = Poll Tax ("assessed on every
head in the kingdom"
Adult = 2 cp; child
or marketable beast = 1 cp; riding horse = 1 sp
Winter = Magic Tax ("on all magical items")
Potion = 1 cp; scroll
= 1 sp; book = 3 sp; ring = 5 sp; wand = 10 sp; miscellaneous item = 12
sp; weapon = 1 gp; artifact or relic = 20 gp
Winter = Sword Tax ("on every edged weapon")
Sword Tax (on all edged
weapons 9 inches or more long): 1 cp for every 2 inches of edge plus 1
cp for each pound of weight
Winter = Henchmen Tax ("on all who have
retainers")
every henchman = 2
sp, every hireling = 1 sp
-
Licenses
"A pedlar's license to sell his goods
costs a penny per market day" (1 cp)
"while a beggar's license costs a penny
each season" (1 cp)
manufacturer's license = 2 gp per year
scholar who desires to operate a school
= 1 gp per year
vintners, brewers, bakers and such, monopolists
= 2 gp per year
Legal Fees and Duties
For the privelage of
bringing suit in a royal court = 10 sp (if argued in the royal court, the
King gets 10% of the amount sued for, or a min. of 30 sp, from the person
adjudged in the wrong -- in addition to what the loser must pay to the
winner, whose damages recovered are taxable as income
Harborage in any port
= 1 sp per day
To import certain items
= 20 gp
To export certain items
not at your exclusive risk = 10 gp
10 sp = "A bond of
10 shillings is required to leave the country"
15 sp = Naturalization
15 gp per year = to
practice the profession of magic-user
5 gp per year = non-humans
5 sp = to purchase
a writ from a Royal Justice
5% of profits, per
year = moneychangers and moneylenders
Fees
50 gp or so = To knight a son <apply
to cavaliers who reach the level of Knight?>
<** assessed for the year>
<>
Quote:
Originally posted by
MerricB
Gaining treasure is muchly
on the mind of my players at the moment, as they've finally reached a position
where they each want their own stronghold, whether monastary, castle, thieves'
guild or similar. And of course, such things are expensive! And I'm making
much reference to the few paragraphs in the 1E DMG about terrain clearing,
and the 3E Stronghold Builder guide for costs...
Right!
Having a base of operations
changes the whole thrust of the campaign.
Be prepared for more solo
adventures, and ready the forces of hostile NPCs to assail those places 
The subject wasn't treated
in great detail by me bacuuse of lack of hands-on experience of considerable
sort.
With a mix of groups being
DMed for, the state of each was such that most were stil adventuring in
dungeons, cities, and the outdoors,
Only a few PCs had attained
sufficient wealth and level so as to look towards establishing their own
strongholds.
MONSTER
POPULATIONS AND PLACEMENT
As the creator of a milieu, you will have
to spend a considerable amount
of time developing the population and
distribution of monsters -- in
dungeon and wilderness and in urban areas
as well. It is highly recommended
that you develop an overall scheme for
both population and habitation.
This is not to say that a random mixture
of monsters cannot be used,
simply selecting whatever creatures are
at hand from the tables of
monsters shown by level of their relative
challenge. The latter method
does provide a rather fun type of campaign
with a ”Disneyland” atmosphere,
but long range play becomes difficult,
for the whole lacks
rhyme and reason, so it becomes difficult
for the DM to extrapolate new
scenarios from it, let alone build upon
it. Therefore, it is better to use the
random population technique only in certain
areas, and even then to do so
with reason. This will be discussed shortly.
In general the monster population will
be in its habitat for a logical reason.
The environment suits the creatures, and
the whole is in balance. Certain
areas will be filled with nasty things
due to the efforts of some character to
protect his or her stronghold, due to
the influence of some powerful evil or
good force, and so on. Except in the latter
case, when adventurers (your
player characters, their henchmen characters,
and hirelings) move into an
area and begin to slaughter the creatures
therein, it will become devoid of
monsters.
Natural movement of monsters will be slow,
so there will be no immediate
migration to any depopulated area -- unless
some power is restocking it
or there is an excess population nearby
which is able to take advantage of
the newly available habitat. Actually
clearing an area (dungeon or outdoors
territory) might involve many expeditions
and much effort, perhaps
even a minor battle or two involving hundreds
per side, but when it is all
over the monsters will not magically reappear,
nor will it be likely that
some other creatures will move into the
newly available quarters the next
day.
When player characters begin adventuring
they will at first assume that
they are the most aggressive types in
the area -- with respect to
characters, of course. This is probably
true. You have other characters in
the area, of course, and certainly many
will be of higher level and more
capable of combatting monsters than are
the new player characters.
Nonetheless, the game assumes that these
characters have other things to
do with their time, that they do not generally
care to take the risks connected
with adventuring, and they will happily
allow the player characters
to stand the hazards. If the characters
who do the dirty work are successful,
the area will be free of monsters, and
the non-player characters will
benefit. Meanwhile, the player characters,
as adventurers, automatically
remove themselves to an area where there
are monsters, effectively
getting rid of the potential threat their
presence poses to the established
order. There is an analogy to the gunfighter-lawman
of the “Wild West”
which is not inappropriate. In some cases
the player characters will
establish strongholds nearby which will
help to maintain the stability of
the area -- thus becoming part of the
establishment. Your milieu might
actually encourage such settlement and
interaction if you favor politics in
your campaign. The depopulation and removal
to fresh challenge areas
has an advantage in most cases.
As DM you will probably have a number of
different and exciting
dungeons and wilderness and urban settings
which are tied into the whole
of the milieu. Depopulation of one simply
means that the player characters
must move on to a fresh area -- interesting
to them because i t is different
from the last, fun for you as there are
new ideas and challenges which you
desire your players to deal with. Variety
is, after all, the spice of AD&D life
too! It becomes particularly interesting
for all parties concerned when i t is
a meaningful part of the whole. As the
players examine first one facet,
then another, of the milieu gem, they
will become more and more taken
with its complexity and beauty and wish
to see the whole in true perspective.
Certainly each will wish to possess it,
but none ever will.
Variety of setting is easily done by sketching
the outlines of your world’s
“history”. Establishing power bases, setting
up conflicts, distributing the
creatures, bordering the srates, and so
forth, gives the basis for a reasoned
-- if not totally logical in terms of
our real world -- approach. The
multitude of planes and alignments are
given for such a purpose, although
they also serve to provide fresh places
to adventure and establish conflicts
between player characters as well.
Certain pre-done modules might serve in
your milieu, and you should
consider their inclusion in light of your
overall schema. If they fit smoothly
into the diagram of your milieu, by all
means use them, but always alter
them to include the personality of your
campaign so the mesh is perfect.
Likewise, fit monsters and magic so as
to be reasonable within the scope of
your milieu and the particular facet of
it concerned. Alter creatures freely,
remembering balance. Hit dice, armor class,
attacks and damage, magical
and psionic powers are all mutable; and
after players become used to the
standard types a few ringers will make
them a bit less sure of things.
Devising a few creatures unique to your
world is also recommended. As a
DM you are capable of doing a proper job
of it provided you have had
some hours of hard experience with rapacious
players. Then you will know
not to design pushovers and can resist
the temptation to develop the
perfect player character killer!
In order to offer a bit more guidance,
this single example of population
and placement will suffice: In a border
area of hills and wild forests,
where but few human settlements exist,
there is a band of very rich, but
hard-pressed dwarves. They, and the humans,
are hard pressed because of
the existence of a large tribe of orcs.
The latter have invited numbers of
ogres to join them, for the resistance
of the men and dwarves to the orcs’
looting and pillaging has cost them not
a few warriors. The orcs are gaining,
more areas nearby are becoming wilderness,
and into abandoned
countryside and deserted mines the ferocious
and dark-dwelling monsters
of wilderness and dungeon daily creep.
The brave party of adventurers
comes into a small village to see what
is going on, for they have heard that
all is not well hereabouts. With but little
help they must then overcome the
nasties by piecemeal tactics, being careful
not to arouse the whole to
general warfare by appearing too strong.
This example allows you to
develop a logical and ordered placement
of the major forces of monsters,
to develop habitat complexes and modules
of various sorts - abandoned
towns, temples, etc. It also allows some
free-wheeling mixture of random
critters to be stuck in here and there
to add uncertainty and spice to the
standard challenge of masses of orcs and
ogres. You, of course, can make
it as complex and varied as you wish,
to suit your campaign and players,
and perhaps a demon or devil and some
powerful evil clerics are in
order . . . .
Just as you have matrices for each of your
dungeon levels, prepare like
data sheets for all areas of your outdoors
and urban areas. When monsters
are properly placed, note on a key sheet
who, what, and when with regard
to any replacement. It is certainly more
interesting and challenging for
players when they find that monsters do
not spring up like weeds overnight
- in dungeons or elsewhere. Once all dragons
in an area are slain,
they have run out of dragons! The likelihood
of one flying by becomes
virtually nil. The ”frontier” moves, and
bold adventurers must move with
it. The movement can, of course, be towards
them, os inimical forces roll
over civilization. Make it all fit together
in your plan, and your campaign
will be assured of long life.
Quote:
Originally Posted by fusangite
Gary,
I'm curious: in your vision of D&D, do all the various species of monsters in the Fiend Folio, Monster Manual, etc. all exist concurrently in the same world or was it expected that most campaign worlds would have a subset of these?
An excellent question.
the plethora of critters
offered is a game device meant to keep the DM supplied with as large a
roster of strange beasts to throw at his players as was needed.
For dungeon adventuring
and really wild wilderness, such a broad variety makes sense.
For a defined world that
is less magic-heavy, then a narrower range of creatures is more logical.
In my Greyhawk campaign
something over half as many monsters as were included in the three bestiary
books were in play, the vast majority of those in dungeons or other planes.
I confess to creating new creatures in many a module just to have something confront the PCs that they didn't recognize and know how to deal with...
Cheers,
Gary
PLACEMENT OF MONETARY TREASURE
Wealth abounds; it is simply awaiting the
hand bold and strong enough to
take it! This precept is basic to fantasy
adventure gaming. Con you
imagine Fafhrd
and the Gray Mouser without a rich prize to aim for?
Conan without a pouchful of rare jewels
to squander? And are not there
dragons with great hoards? Tombs with
fantastic wealth and fell
guardians? Rapacious giants with spoils?
Dwarven mines brimming with
gems? Leprechauns with pots of gold? Why,
the list goes on and on!
The foregoing is, of course, true; but
the matter is not as simple os it might
seem on the surface. First, we must consider
the logic of the game. By adventuring,
slaying monsters or outwitting opponents,
and by gaining
treasure the characters operating within
the milieu advance in ability and
gain levels of experience. While AD&D
is not quite so simplistic as other
such games are regarding such advoncement,
it nonetheless relies upon
the principle of adventuring and success
thereat to bestow such rewards
upon player characters and henchmen alike.
It is therefore incumbent
upon the creator of the milieu and the
arbiter of the campaign, the
Dungeon Master, to follow certain guidelines
and charges placed upon
him or her by these rules and to apply
them with intelligence in the spirit
of the whole as befits the campaign milieu
to which they are being
applied.
A brief perusal of the character experience
point totols necessary to
advance in levels makes it abundantly
clear thot an underlying precept of
the game is that the amount of treasure
obtoinoble by characters is
graduated from small to large as experience
level increases. This most
certainly does not intimate or suggest
that the greater treasures should be
in the hundreds of thousonds of gold pieces
in value -- at least not in
readily transportable form in any event
-- but that subject will be discussed
a bit later. First and foremost we must
consider the placement of
the modest treasures which are appropriate
to the initial stages of a
campaign.
All monsters
would not and should not possess treasure! The TREASURE
TYPES given in the MONSTER MANUAL
are the optimums and are meant to
consider the maximum number of creatures
guarding them. Many of the
monsters shown as possessing some form
of wealth ore quite unlikely to
have any ot all. This is not a contradiction
in the rules, but an admonition to
the DM not to give away too much! Any
treasure possessed by weak,
low-level monsters will be trifling compared
to what numbers of stronger
monsters might guard. So in distributing
wealth amongst the creatures
which inhabit the upper levels of dungeons/dungeon-like
areas, as well
as for petty monsters dwelling in small
numbers in the wilderness, assign it
accordingly. The bulk of such treasure
will be copper pieces and silver.
Perhaps there will be a bit of ivory or
a cunningly-crafted item worth a few
gold pieces.
Electrum will be most unusual, gold rare,
and scarcer still will be a platinum
piece or a small gem! Rarest of all, treasure
of treasures -- the magic
item - is detailed hereafter (PLACEMENT
OF MAGIC ITEMS). If some
group of creatures actually has a treasure
of 11 gold pieces, another will
have 2,000 coppers and yet a third nothing
save a few rusty weapons. Of
course, all treasure is not in precious
metals or rare or finely made substances.
Is not a suit of armor of great value?
What of a supply of oil? a vial
of holy water? weapons? provisions? animals?
The upper levels of a dungeon
need not be stuffed like a piggy bank
to provide meaningful treasures
to the clever player character.
Assign each monster treasure, or lack thereof,
with reason. The group of
brigands has been successful of late,
and each has a few coppers left from
roistering, while their leader actually
has a small sum of silver hid away coupled
with salvaged armor, weapons, and any
odd supplies or animals
they might have around. This will be a
rich find indeed! The giant rats have
nothing at all, save a nasty, filthy bite;
but the centipedes living beneath a
pile of rotting furniture did for an incautious
adventurer some years ago,
and his skeletal remains are visible still,
one hand thrust beneath the
debris of the nest. Hidden from view is
a silver bracelet with an agate, the
whole thing being valued at 20 gold pieces.
Thus, intelligent monsters, or
those which hove an affinity for bright,
shiny objects will consciously
gather and hoard treasures. Others will
possibly have some as an
incidental remainder of their natural
hunting or self-defense or aggressive
behavior or whatever. Naturally, some
monsters will be so unfortunate as
to have nothing of value at all, despite
their desire to the contrary - but
these creatures might know of other monsters
(whom they hate and envy)
who do have wealth!
In more inaccessible regions there will
be stronger monsters -- whether
due to numbers or individual prowess is
immaterial. These creatures will
have more treasure, at least those with
any at all. Copper will give way to
silver, silver to electrum, electrum to
gold. Everyday objects which can be
sold off for a profit -- the armor and
weapons and suchlike -- will be
replaced by silks, brocades, tapestries,
and similar items. Ivory and spices,
furs and bronze statues, platinum, gems
and jewelry will trickle upwards
from the depths of the dungeon or in from
the fastness of wilderlands. But
hold! This is not a signal to begin throwing
heaps of treasure at players as
if you were some mad Midas hating what
he created by his touch. Always
bear in mind the effect that the successful
gaining of any treasure, or set of
treasures, will have upon the player characters
and the campaign as a
whole. Consider this example:
A pair of exceedingly large, powerful and
ferocious ogres has taken up
abode in a chamber at the base of a shaft
which gives to the land above.
From here they raid both the upper lands
and the dungeons roundabout.
These creatures have accumulated over
2,000 g.p. in wealth, but it is obviously
not in a pair of 1,000 g.p. gems. Rather,
they have gathered an assortment
of goods whose combined value is well
in excess of two
thousand gold nobles (the coin of the
realm). Rather than stocking a
treasure which the victorious ployer characters
can easily gather and carry
to the surface, you maximize the challenge
by making it one which ogres
would naturally accrue in the process
of their raiding. There are many
copper and silver coins in a large, locked
iron chest. There are pewter
vessels worth a fair number of silver
pieces. An inlaid wooden coffer,
worth 100 gold pieces alone, holds a finely
wrought silver necklace worth
an incredible 350 gold pieces! Food and
other provisions scattered about
amount to another hundred or so gold nobles
value, and one of the ogres
wears a badly tanned fur cape which will
fetch 50 gold pieces nonetheless.
Finally, there are several good helmets
(used as drinking cups), a
bardiche, and a two-handed sword (with
silver wire wrapped about its hilt
and a lapis lazuli pommel to make it worth
three times its normal value)
which complete the treasure. If the adventurers
overcome the ogres, they
must still recognize all of the items
of value and transport them to the
surface. What is left behind will be taken
by other residents of the netherworld
in no time at all, so the bold victors
have quite a task before them. It
did not end with a mere slaying of ogres
. . . .
In like manner the hoard of a dragon could
destroy a campaign if the
treasure of Smaug, in THE HOBBIT,
were to be used as an example of what
such a trove should contain. Not so for
the wise DM! He or she will place a
few choice and portable items, some not-so-choice
because they are
difficult to carry off, and finally top
(or rather bottom and top) the whole
with mounds, piles, and layers of copper
pieces, silver, etc. There will be
much there, but even the cleverest of
players will be more than hard put to
figure out a way to garner the bulk of
it after driving off, subduing, or
slaying the treasure's guardian. Many
other avaricious monsters are
eagerly awaiting the opportunity to help
themselves to an unguarded
dragon hoard, and news travels fast. Who
will stay behind to mind the
coins while the rest of a party goes off
to dispose of the better part of the
loot? Not their henchmen! What a problem
. . .
In the event that generosity should overcome
you, and you find that in a
moment of weakness you actually allowed
too much treasure to fall into
the players' hands, there are steps which
must be taken to rectify matters.
The player characters themselves could
become attractive to others
seeking such gains. The local rulers will
desire a shore, prices will rise for
services in demand from these now wealthy
personages, etc. All this is not
to actually penalize success. It is a
logical abstraction of their actions, it
stimulates them to adventure anew, and
it also maintains the campaign in
balance. These rules will see to it that
experience levels are not gained too
quickly as long as you do your part as
DM!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quasqueton
Mr. Gygax,
I've got a question based on two observations about AD&D1.
1- In looking back through some old official D&D adventure modules, I see the treasure awards were usually very high -- many thousands of gp worth of treasure (not counting magic items).
2- The AD&D1 rules called for some pretty hefty training costs to level up.
My question:
Which came first? Was the confiscatory training costs an answer to strip away all that treasure given in the adventure modules, or was the level of treasure given in adventure modules increased to cover the cost of training?
Thanks, and Merry Christmas.
Quasqueton
Yuletide Salutations Quasqueton
Gaining lots of treasure
is something I always favored.
To keep it moving I encouraged
players to have their PCs hire many retainers, troops, build a castle,
etc.
When that failed to keep
them seeking more wealth the trainig costs and other cash-draining devices
were added into the game.
Christmas cheer,
Gary
Just as it is important to use forethought
and consideration in placing
valuable metals and other substances with
monsters or otherwise hiding
them in dungeon || wilderness, the placement
of magic items is a serious
matter. Thoughtless placement of powerful
magic items has been the
ruination of many a campaign. Not only
does this cheapen what should be
rare and precious, it gives player choracters
undeserved advancement and
empowers them to become virtual rulers
of all they survey. This is in part
the fault of this writer, who deeply regrets
not taking the time and space in
D&D
to stress repeatedly the importance of moderation. Powerful magic
items were shown, after all, on the tables,
and a chance for random
discovery of these items was given, so
the uninitiated DM cannot be
severely faulted for merely following
what was set before him or her in
the rules. Had the whole been prefaced
with an admonition to use care
and logic in placement or random discovery
of magic items, had the
intent, meaning, and spirit of the game
been more fully explained, much
of the give-away aspect of such campaigns
would have willingly been
squelched by the DMs. The sad fact is,
however, that this was not done, so
many campaigns are little more than a
joke, something that better DMs
jape at and ridicule -- rightly so on
the surface -- because of the foolishness
of player characters with astronomically
high levels of experience
and no real playing skill. These god-like
characters boast and strut about
with retinues of ultra-powerful servants
and scores of mighty magic items,
artifacts, relics adorning them as if
they were Christmas trees decked out
with tinsel and ornaments. Not only are
such "Monty Haul" games a crashing
bore for most participants, they are a
headache for their DMs as well,
for the rules of the game do not provide
anything for such play -- no
reasonable opponents, no rewards, nothing!
The creative DM can, of
course, develop a game which extrapolates
from the original to allow such
play, but this is a monumental task to
accomplish with even passable
results, and those attempts I have seen
have been uniformly dismal.
Another nadir of Dungeon Mastering is the
"killer-dungeon" concept.
These campaigns are a travesty of the
role-playing adventure game, for
there is no development and identification
with carefully nurtured player
personae. In such campaigns, the sadistic
referee takes unholy delight in
slaughtering endless hordes of hapless
player choracters with unavoidable
death traps and horrific monsters set
to ambush participants as soon as
they set foot outside the door of their
safe house. Only a few of these
"killer dungeons" survive to become infamous,
however, as their
participants usually tire of the idiocy
after a few attempts at enjoyable
gaming. Some lucky ones manage to find
another, more reasonable,
campaign; but others, not realizing the
perversion of their DM's campaign,
give up adventure gaming and go back to
whatever pursuits they followed
in their leisure time before they tried
D&D.
AD&D
means to set right both extremes. Neither the giveaway game nor
the certain death campaign will be lauded
here. In point of fact, DMs who
attempt to run such affairs will be drumming
themselves out of the ranks of
AD&D
entirely. ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS aims at providing
not only the best possible adventure game
but also the best possible
refereeing of such campaigns.
Initial placement of magic items in dungeon
and
wilderness is a crucial
beginning for the campaign. In all such
places you must NEVER allow
random determination to dictate the inclusion
of ANY meaningful magic
items. Where beginning/low-level player
characters are concerned, this
stricture also applies to the placement
of any item of magic. Furthermore,
you need never feel constrained to place
or even allow any item in your
campaign just because it is listed in
the tables. Certainly, you should never
allow a multiplicity, or possibly even
duplication, of the more powerful
items. To fully clarify this, consider
the development of a campaign as
follows:
In stocking the setting for initial play
in the campaign, you must use great
care. Consider the circumstances of the
milieu and the number of player
characters who will be active in it. Then,
from the lists of possible items,
choose a selection which is commensurate
with the setting and the
characters involved. For example, you
might opt for several potions, a
scroll of 1 spell, a wand, a pair of boots
of elvenkind, several + 1 magic
arrows, and a + 1 magic dagger. As these
items will be guarded by
relatively weak creatures, you will allow
only weak items. The potions will
be healing, heroism, levitation or the
like. The spell on the scroll will be
low level -- first or second. If you do
decide placement of the wand is appropriate,
you will make certain that its guardian
will use it in defense,
and the instrument will have few charges
left in any event, with a power
which is not out of line with the level
of the characters likely to acquire it.
The magical boots will be worn by a denizen
of the area. While the magic
arrows might not be used against adventurers,
the + 1 dagger will be.
With all this in mind, you place the items
in the countryside and first/upper
level of the dungeon/dungeon-like setting.
You never allow more than a
single item or grouping (such as 3 magic
arrows) to a treasure, nor more
treasures with magic items than 1 in 5
to 1 in 10, as this is an initial adventuring
setting.
As the campaign grows and deeper dungeons
are developed, you
exercise the same care in placement of
selected and balanced magic
items. Of course, at lower levels of the
dungeon you have more powerful
single items or groupings of disparate
items, but they are commensurate
with the challenge and ability of participants.
Guardians tend to employ
the items routinely, and others are hidden
ingeniously to escape detection.
Likewise in the expanding world around
the starting habitation you place
monsters and treasures, some with magic.
You, the DM, know what is
there, however, as you have decided what
it will be and have put it there
for a purpose -- whether for the overall
direction of the campaign, some
specific task, or the general betterment
of player characters to enable
them to expand their adventuring capabilities
because they are skillful
enough to face greater challenges if they
manage to furnish themselves
with the wherewithal to do so.
In those instances where a randomly discovered
monster has a nearby lair,
and somehow this lair contains treasure,
do not allow the dice to dictate a
disaster for your campaign. If their result
calls for some item of magic
which is too powerful, one which you are
not certain of, or one which you
do not wish to include in the game at
this time, you will be completely
justified in ignoring it and rolling until
a result you like comes up, or you
can simply pick a suitable item and inform
the players that this is what they
found. It is only human nature for people
to desire betterment of their
position. In this game it results in player
characters seeking ever more
wealth, magic, power, influence, and control.
As with most things in life,
the striving after is usually better than
the getting. To maintain interest and
excitement, there should always be some
new goal, some meaningful
purpose. It must also be kept in mind
that what is unearned is usually unappreciated.
What is gotten cheaply is often held in
contempt. It is a great
responsibility to Dungeon Master a campaign.
If you do so with intelligence,
imagination, ingenuity, and innovation,
however, you will be well
rewarded. Always remember this when you
select magic items for placement
as treasure!
SA:
Is it OK for a DM to deliberately kill characters who have too many magic
items ?
Q: Can a DM give away
magical items in an adventure
and then later say that
the items operate at reduced effectiveness
or have wholly new powers?
A: It may be that
the DM had planned ahead that certain magic
items would indeed change
their abilities over time (a wand of wonder,
for instance, constantly
does unpredictable things), but
often DMs alter magical
items as a way of bringing the campaign
back into order if they
find they've given away some powerful
items that are too tough
to manage. This is not a good way
of handling the situation,
since it does violate the spirit of the
rules, but it is one way
to handle things. It would be better to set
up situations working within
the rules than to arbitrarily say,
"Well, your +4 sword is
now a +1 sword." Players will accept
changes done within the
rules better than if they feel (and rightly
so) that they are getting
rooked.
(76.62)
Rhuvein wrote:
I will heed your advice
and let the adventurers find it in the way you suggest. 8)
Many thanks,
Regards,
Rhuvein.
Heh!
that's the sirit. make those
lazy PC go out and risk life and limb to gain magical goodies. None of
that namby-pamby purchasing or forging such items on their own. That's
for sissy new D&D players 
Cheers,
Gary
Bombay wrote:
Gary, what are your thoughts
on the ratio of magic items in a party?
I have been running my own game, and have used the ratio of 1 per 2 levels approx.
Thus these guys are 6th - 8th level, and they have 3-4 magic items(Excluding scrolls and potions.)
Is there a ratio you like
to use?
Sorry, but I missed this
before 
That seems to be a good rule of thumb, although after 10th level I would expect it to rise to 1 per level for magic-users.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delta
Gary, how many magic items
did you normally see on a name level (for example) PC in your D&D games?
I thought to ask as I looked at some of the classic AD&D adventures. With the 1981 printing of "Against the Giants", the "Caution" note says PCs should come with 2 or 3 magic items. But the "Original Tournament Characters" at the end have between 5 and 11 magic items each.
So what would you expect for PCs of this level: 2-3? Half-a-dozen? 10 or more magic items?
Who cares?
If the PCs are walking magic shope, the encounters get beefed up accordingly.
However...
Mordie has about six or seven he carries with him at all times, mainly things to up his AC and number of spells on tap.
Potions and scrolls count as only half or less of a normal, reusable item.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Delta
Gary, thanks for the insight.
Welcome, and trust that
you understood the opening of my response. The GM should not worry about
limiting PCs' equippage of magical sort, merely manage it through "adjusted"
encounters... 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by rossik
like what, mr gygax?
Potions and scrolls as appropriate,
those mainly of the healing sort. When magic items of greater value are
in order, keep them low initially, and only as the PCs eise in level should
the power of such objects rise--say at 4th level, 8th level, 12th level,
etc.
Watch out giving potent magic items to NPCs and monsters to use, for the PCs usually end up with them.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Odnasept
Edena's tale of the constantly-doubling
experience awards reminds me of one of my favourite mistakes in AD&D,
made when I was but fourteen:
One of my players of similar age played a Mage named (uncreatively but surprisingly-appropriately) Merlin, and made liberal use of a necklace he had acquired around 9th or 10th level which contained five charges of a homebrewed 9th Level spell called Michelle's Chaos Wind (similar to a Finger of Death capable of effecting multiple targets). With this he killed more than one quasi-/demi-deity (unlucky saves on their part) and I, lacking official XP values for such things, decided to go the rout of impressing said player with progressively ludicrously high numbers.
Looking back at the character sheet a few years later, while I am not sure if I actually awarded a trillion or more XP, I calculated from what it looked like on that oft-erased area of the sheet and determined that he could be of around 6,053,008th level. I am glad that while we were playing I ruled that noone was available who could train Merlin beyond 20th level, but I would be very interested in knowing how Gary would handle a campaign with PCs of seven-digit level (I suspect remarkably well, but I am curious as to what kinds of challenges would be faced by said PCs).
A cautionary lesson for
all DM there.
As a natter of fact i fell into the trap of excell XP awards back in late 73 and realized it soon enough to redredd the problem, adjust for levels too easily gained by making the next few doubly hard to attain.
Excell magic items are easily managed though, mainly through attack forms what require them to save ot be destroyed, or areas where they have a chance of losing their enchantment.
Cheerio,
Gary
Cheers,
Gary
Hi Haakon1,
As a general rule I select the magic items to be discovered in a set encounter, use random table determination for all treasure in a random encounter.
On occasion I will have a
real magic item for sale, or available as a gift if a PC or PCs do the
prescrubed things correctly.
ANy item that can be purchased
is of very minimal magic--mostly some minor healing or a +1 arrow for example.
Dealers in "magic" in my campaign settings are generally swindlers, and that makes it doubly hard for players when they come across an NPC that is offering something not a fake.
Cheers,
Gary
TERRITORY DEVELOPMENT BY PLAYER CHARACTERS
When PCs reach upper levels and decide
to establish a
stronghold and rule a territory, you must
have fairly detailed information
on hand to enable this to take place.
You must have a large scale map
which shows areas where this is possible,
a detailed cultural and social
treatment of this area and those which
bound it, and you must have some
extensive information available as to
who and what lives in the area to be
claimed and held by the player character.
Most of these things are
provided for you, however, in one form
or another, in this work or in the
various playing aid packages which are
commercially available. The exact
culture and society of the area is up
to you, but there are many guides to
help you even here.
Assume that the player in question decides
that he will set up a stronghold
about 100 miles from a border town, choosing
an area of wooded hills as
the general site. He then asks you if
there is a place where he can build a
small concentric castle on a high bluff
overlooking a river. Unless this is
totally foreign to the area, you inform
him that he can do so. You give him
a map of the hex where the location is,
and of the six surrounding hexes.
The player character and his henchmen
and various retainers must now go
to the construction site, explore and
map it, and have construction
commence.
If you have not already prepared a small
scale map of the terrain in the
area, use the random generation method
when the party is exploring.
Disregard any results which do not fit
in with your ideas far the place. Both
you and the player concerned will be making
maps of the territory -- on a
scale of about 200 yards per hex, so that
nine across the widest part will
allow the superimposition of a large hex
outline of about one mile across.
Use actual time to keep track of game
time spent exploring and mapping
(somewhat tedious but necessary). Check
but once for random monsters in
each hex, but any monster encountered
and not driven off or slain will be
there from then on, excepting, of course,
those encountered flying over or
passing through. After mapping the central
hex and the six which surround
it, workers can be brought in to commence
construction of the castle. As
this will require a lengthy period of
game time, the player character will
have to retain a garrison on the site
in order to assure the safety of the
crew and the progress of the work (each
day there will be a 1 in 20 chance
that a monster will wander into one of
the seven hexes explored by the
character, unless active patrolling in
the territory beyond the area is
carried on).
While the construction is underway, the
character should be exploring and
mapping the terrain beyond the core area.
Here the larger scale of about
one mile per hex should be used, so that
in all the character can explore
and map an entire campaign hex. There
are MANY one mile hexes in a 30
mile across campaign hex, so conduct movement
and random monster
checks as is normal for outdoor adventuring.
Again, any monsters encountered
will be noted as living in a hex, as appropriate,
until driven out
or killed. However, once a hex is cleared,
no further random monster
checks will be necessary except as follows:
1) Once per day a check
must be made to see if a monster has
wandered into one of
the border hexes which are adjacent to unexplored/
uncleared lands.
2) Once per week a check
must be made to see if a monster has
wandered into the central
part of the cleared territory.
Monsters which are indicated will generally
remain until driven out or slain.
Modifiers to this are:
1) Posting and placement
of skulls, carcasses, etc. to discourage intelligent
creatures and monsters
of the type able to recognize that the
remains are indicative
of the fate of creatures in the area.
2) Regular strong patrols
who leave evidence of their passing and aggressively
destroy intruders.
Organized communities whose presence and
militia will discourage all but organized groups who prey on them or certain
monsters who do likewise.
Assuming that the proper activity is kept
up and the castle is finished, then
the player character and entourage can
take up residence in the stronghold.
By patrolling the territory regularly
-- about once per week on a
sweep basis, or daily forays to various
parts of the area, the character will
need only check once each week for incursions
of wandering monsters
(see APPENDIX C: RANDOM MONSTER ENCOUNTERS)
on the Uninhabited/
Wilderness table. Checks must also
be made on the Inhabited
table. If no road goes through the territory,
then but one such check per
week is necessary. If a road goes through,
then three checks per week
must be made on the Inhabited table.
(This can be profitable if the encounters
are with merchants and pilgrims,
less so with certain other types . . .
.)
At such time as a territory has more than
30 miles of inhabited/patrolled
land from center to border, then only
the second type of monster checks
are made, and all unfavorable ones, save
one per month, are ignored.
This reflects the development of civilization
in the area and the shunning
by monsters of the usual sort -- things
such as ankheg might love it, however,
and bandits may decide to make it a regular
place of call. As usual,
any monsters not driven off or slain will
settle down to enjoy the place. If
regular border patrols are not kept up,
then the territory will revert to
wilderness status -- unless the lands
around it are all inhabited and
patrolled. In the latter case all of the
unsavory monsters from the surrounding
territory will come to make it a haven
for themselves.
Because this is a fantasy adventure game,
it is not desirable to have any
player character's territory become tame
and staid. There must always be
a chance for some monster to enter the
area and threaten the well-being
of its inhabitants. What is the answer
if the territory is located in the heart
of some powerful state? Intrigue and petty
wars, of course! If the territory
of a player character is part of a nation,
then there will be jealous
neighbors, assassins, and the like to
threaten him or her. In this case you
will have to devote more personal effort
to seeing to it that there is still adventure
and excitement involved in maintaining
the fief.
In territories hacked from the wilderness,
the "fame" of the owner will
eventually spread so as to attract inhabitants
to the safety (?) of the area.
They will begin to appear after the player
character's stronghold is
finished and patrols have generally cleared
the area. The populace will
match the area and the alignment of the
character. When a random
monster check reveals some form of creature
who properly matches the
potential inhabitant type for the territory,
then have them move in and
settle down, making proper subservience
calls upon the master of the
territory, naturally. Hamlets, thorps,
and various other settlement farms
will eventually be established here and
there in the area, starting near the
castle and working towards the fringe
of the territory. Once these
territories become settled and population
abounds (relatively speaking)
they can be used as centers for activity
-- good or evil or whatever. That is,
they can attract more of the ilk which
inhabit them, draw opponents sworn
to exterminate them, trigger raids or
reprisals, etc. Much of this depends
upon some action being taken -- hopefully
by the player character forming
active groups from the population base
and doing something, but as a
last resort action which you initiate
by setting up a series of circumstances
which will bear upon the territory.
Fighters and clerics will be the principal
territorial developers. Magic-users
will typically become involved to a lesser
extent, for they have many more
demands upon their time. The real benefit
of having player characters
develop territory is the addition to your
milieu. These areas become focal
points for action in the campaign if properly
encouraged and handled, and
if things grow a bit slow, a DM-invented
threat to some territory is bound to
get things moving with elan.
Going back to the construction of the stronghold,
when the player elects to
build he or she must be required to furnish
you with a duplicate set of
plans of the castle grounds, its dungeons,
and interiors as well. At the
same time you can give the player a free
hand in drawing a small scale
map of the area immediately around his
ar her stronghold -- say, on a 1
hex to 30 yards basis, so about a one-half
mile area hex can be depicted
on a normal sheet of small hex paper,
and a bit beyond shown as needed.
With your copy of this map you can plan
sieges or other attacks as they
occur.
If for any reason a player who has developed
territory gives up the
campaign, or simply drops the character
in favor of another, you can then
take over these areas and run them as
you like to benefit your campaign.
In all respects, then, development of
territory by player characters is a highly desirable aspect of the campaign.
It gives added purpose to play,
and provides long periods where the player
can be actively involved in the
actual direction of the campaign milieu,
which will eventually benefit
things regardless of what transpires at
a later date.
Quote:
Originally Posted by haakon1
That makes sense. What do
to do with the conquered or rescued is often an interesting question, especially
since I like to DM the "village in trouble" scenario quite a bit, and occassional
set ups like "the mongrelmen aren't evil, they're just scared of the beholder".
So, among the more interesting things left behind by my PC's is a little
outpost fortress inhabited only by a firbolg giant and a blind human basketmaker
. . . that's what happened to my version of Troll Lord's Dzeebagd, admittedly
quite different in its details from the original module. Someday, I think
the PC's will be awarded a feudal fief of all the messed up little places
they "rescued". 
Quite so.
In many instances the ones saving a place, or otherwise beinging law and order to it, become the overlords, one way or another.
Of course that is a mixed
blessing.
They gain tax income and
have resources, but at the same time administratve tasks that demand much
time
and effort.
Not a few wise players have
their PCs decline any such awards in order to remain foot-loose and untroubles
by any demands other that adventuring 
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by haakon1
You did that with active
characters? We've done that with retired characters, who then becomes quasi-NPCs
(the player still "owns" them in a general sense, but they're mostly background
like any other NPC).
Did you running the villages/frontier post as an active, role-played thing, or as off-line downtime between adventures? I think some of my players might really enjoy that, but others would be very bored. Best as a downtime thing, for the most part?
All of my play was in group
fashion, with the DM right there, and indeed most of my high level PCs
were "retired" for use by the DM, by me on special occasions. The non-adventuring
activities were managed by me creating the details in writing and having
my DM, rob Kuntz, approve them. Of course when we became co-DMs of a unified
campaign, I did what seemed reasonable for the NPCs.
With so many players, so diverse a lot of them, continuity was a problem, so the Citadel of Eight became more of a campaign law enforcement device. Mordenkainen's plans for s separate state in the Flanaess went by the boards at that time, so the "retired" status became general with those PCs--Mordenkainen, Bigby, Yrag, Riggby, and Zigby the Dwarf (who had topped out in level), Felnorith, and the Elves Vram and Vin (also topped out).
Cheers,
Gary
PEASANTS, SERFS, AND SLAVES
Peasants, Serfs, and
Slaves +
A SAMPLE DUNGEON
A Sample Dungeon
+
<definitive article: technically, sd,
with an asd.htm 'oops' page>
THE FIRST DUNGEON
ADVENTURE
The First Dungeon Adventure
+
Hey chris:)
A bit straped for time of late, so pardin the brevity of my response. Here's the order I would use, and I do agree with you about omitting the Queen of the Demonweb Pits module. I never liked it.
Keep on the Borderland
Village of Hommlet
Temple of Elemental Evil
Dungeonland
Land beyond the Magic Mirror
Lost Caverns
of Tsojcanth
Forgotten Temple
of Tharizdun
Steading of the Hill Giant Chief
Glacial rift of the Frost Giant Jarl
Hall of the Fire Giant King
Mordenkainen's Fantastic Adventure
Tomb of Horrors
Descent to the Depths of the Earth
Shrine of the Kuo-toa
Vault of the Drow
Isle of the Ape
(Necropolis, final portion)
Cheerio,
Gary
Hi Chris,
You were very close in the order to play those modules.
To break between the G and D series have an important NPC send the party off to better equip and prepare themselves for the subterranean realms by exploring a newly discovered great underground hall and a forbidden tomb. Survivors of those two adventures will be much better able to manage the drow and the demons in the city of Erelheicindlu 8O
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by
Angcuru
Well, there's one thing
I've always wondered, Gary. When you run games, do you have your own unpublished
homebrew, or do you use one of the pre-existing settings?
Have you(exclusively) written and published a setting? (I assume Greyhawk was a joint endeavor, if so, that wouldn't count in this respect .)
BTW, who developed Mystara?
I have done three world
settings on my own: World of Greyhawk,
Epic
of Aerth, and the latest one, still in process of publication, and
with developer input, Lejendary Earth.
I used my own special homebrewed
setting for A/D&D up to about 1978, then switched to the published
WoG.
When I was running a Mythus
campaign I used the Epic of Aerth, and
currently my LA game campaign is based on the Lejendary Earth world setting
and it's 20 pantheons of deities
Sorry, but i don't know who authored Mysteria.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally posted by
Hadit
This brings up a tangential
question in my mind.
How do you view the changes
a society would exhibit that had access to clerical spells of healing and
divination? (The D&D society, basically.)
Would hunger and disease
be effectively eradicated for the lower classes, or are clerics powerful
enough just too rare to cover everybody's needs?
Thanks, Gary!
Take care, Duglas
If the world setting has
active deities and clerics able to employ magic, the lot of the lower socio-economic
class would be very much improved. There would certainly be sufficient
lower grade ecclesiastics--hedge priests, friars, and monks--to cover the
basic needs of the ordinary folk, while more able clerics would see to
the greater concerns such as disease and crops.
The more affluent the agrarian and worker base, the more wealthy and advanced the middle and upper classes.
I am propounding this general theme, and admitting my error on not placing sufficient importance upon the ecclesiastics in the fantasy milieu that assumes active magic and like deities in the upcoming "Gygaxian Fantasy Worlds" reference book, LIVING FANTASY. that's a bald-faced plug, but the fact is i deal with the subject of improved conditions at some length therein.
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by VirgilCaine
Mr. Gygax, it is an honor
and a pleasure to speak with you.
Do you prefer "high" or "low" magic campaigns?
Howdy!
Depends on the campaign,
but i generally have magic available somewhere in the middle, and as PCs
get higherin level, amke it more available to them as they face more challenging
opponents.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beale
Knight
I have to echo Edena's sentiments
here. When I designed my campaign world I designed it to BE broken by the
players. Not easily to be sure, but certainly possible. I told them this
up front, even asked them to break it. That's how I'm going to having my
fun, seeing what they can do, watching them try wacky stuff, and having
the powers of the world react accordingly. If the players try things that
aren't well thought out, they'll pay the price, but I'm all for letting
them make wholescale changes in the campaign world.
Of course PC are supposed
to defeat the antagonists, solve the riddles, and succeed in the quests.
That should be understood by all,
What is absoilutely counter to the concept of the game is the PCS destroying a significant part, let alone the whole, of the campaign base. That is not only vandalism, but the mark of bad DMing in my view. To allow such a thing to happen after the DM has worked long and hard to create a place for adventuring is just plain wrong.
The KotDT comic strip has used this as a theme in a number of their stories, because laughter comes form discomfort. Ruining a campaign is not really amusing at all.
Cheers,
Gary
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steverooo
Yeah! Why, those PCs are
always messing up your evil plans! Best to keep the pesky adventurers out
of your worlds, all together! Why, they might even expend one of their
weapon proficiencies on a Spetum, or a
Ranseur,
or... even go BOHEMIAN on you, and select an EARSPOON! Such advantage takers
cannot be tolerated! <stick out tongue> <big grin>
Oh please!
Don't get up on a high horse
here, dude 
There is a big difference between defeating the obstacles the DM places before the adventuring party and the players ruining the campaign.
You seem to suggest that the DM should allow the latter, and that is sheer folly.
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Beale
Knight
... I see messing up the
setting as a step in and part of changing it.
Destroying ala KotDT is
*not* the style I'm encouraging.
I'm pushing the players
to have their characters change the world, not destroy it, and I expect
things to get a little messed up in the process.
I just don't want a static
world where the pc go adventure, come home, go adventure, come home, and
nothing really changes because of it.
That's is a truism for all
campaigns that are dynamic.
The GM lays out the initial
backdrop for the adventuring, and the interaction of the PCs with that
setting then develops events,
often in a direction not
anticipated by the GM,
but surely as valid as any
other result of sich interaction.
What is not permissable is
the descruction of the campaign base by the players' characters,
even if the possibility
were inadvertantly presented to them by GM error--
Lord knows we all make plenty
of those :\
Cheers,
Gary
Quote:
Originally Posted by Steverooo
Destroying Eggsburgh, yes.
Destroying the Temple of "Elemental Evil", or Tomb
of Horrors?
No. If it had been done
the first time, the current evils would've had to occupy some other place.
After the PCs had defeated
the evils, destruction of their old haunts would be logical, and wise.
It depends on the desires
of the DM in regards to anything destroyed, and if the DM regards the object
of would-be destruction as instrumental to his campaign, then such demolition
is out of the question <stick out tongue>
I can say that detailed
world settings are not at all my cup of tea, for I believe that they constrain
the GM's innovation and creativity.
A detailed city is another
matter.
That sort of information
assists the GM in creating interesting adventures.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Geoffrey
Gary, how well do you think
that your Epic of Aerth would work as
a campaign setting for AD&D?
Ir would serve well indeed
if the DM went over the material carefully and adjusted portions that assumed
skill-based characters...HPs I should say 
