Back in 1980, a reporter who asked if D&D was only a passing fad learned that “Gygax and Blume think not. D&D, they say, will last fifty years or more.” As unlikely as it was in the 1970s that this esoteric offshoot of the wargaming hobby might become a pop-culture phenomenon, it is just as unlikely that in 2021 the game would be more popular than ever. As a new generation grows up playing the game, it may be that the true impact of Dungeons & Dragons has yet to be felt.
—Jon Peterson, Game Wizards
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of DUNGEONS & DRAGONS. In 1974, it was a new kind of game, created at the intersection of wargames and fantasy and science-fiction literature. It came to be called a role-playing game, enjoyed by millions over these five decades.
So this year, we celebrate the game and the millions of fellow players with whom we share the common experience: fantastic adventure in make-believe worlds. We celebrate friends found and friendships made firmer. We celebrate a simple connection to a diverse array of people from all around the world. A stranger is not so strange when we both know what it’s like to explore a dank dungeon, torch in hand, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and fighting monsters.
We also celebrate D&D’s several editions over the years as well as the hundreds—thousands—of other role-playing games that followed it. One of its strong points is that D&D is a toolbox. With it, we can have an adventure, make a string of adventures into a campaign, and create an imaginary world full of adventures. We are given license to change the rules as desired, and in so doing, perhaps, make a new game altogether. It is so malleable.
We celebrate the game’s cultural impact. From a niche 1970s game that broke out of its intended wargamer audience by the end of the first print run to a game played by thousands who hardly understood the rules and condemned by thousands more as devil worship in the ’80s, D&D in the 21st century has grown into a pop-culture phenomenon. As a teenager, when I said I played D&D, I had to follow with “It’s a game of imagination, without a board. Players take the roles of…” Today I just say I play D&D and know that most folks are familiar with it, even if some may still misunderstand the game. The curious ask, a conversation starts.
We also celebrate the use, in recent years, of D&D and other RPGs in education, psychotherapy, spiritual growth, and team-building and leadership development. Just playing an RPG for fun is good for us in countless ways. More than that though, the game’s innate means of personal growth applied, with intent, to overcome individual and collective challenges increases the game’s impact manifold.
It’s there, in applied RPGs, that in the next 50 years we may see an important impact of D&D in the world. Maybe its most important—its true impact.
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, Lake Geneva, WI: Tactical Studies Rules, 1974. Box cover image from the Acaeum: Dungeons & Dragons Knowledge Compendium, Original D&D Set.
“Stephen’s delightful memoir makes you want to travel upstream to your own formative D&D headwaters, dig out your old graph-paper maps and worn dice, and rediscover the gateway to what the author calls ‘the fantastic path.’” —Ethan Gilsdorf, author of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms
“A celebration of dice, maps, friendship, and, above all, imagination—the very stuff from which the hobby of role-playing is made.” —James Maliszewski, author of Grognardia: Musings and Memories from a Lifetime of Roleplaying
Warning: Reading this book will make you want to play D&D!
This is the 37th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
“Bluebook” D&D. The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
Adventure Hooks
I enjoy treasure myself. As a DM, I like to put it in chests, hide it in cubbyholes, and secure it behind deadly traps. As a player, I enjoy opening the chest, discovering the old bag of gems in the secret niche, and realizing—sometimes too late—the devious trap.
Maybe this is—as the Pandemonium Society is often criticized—“not very sophisticated.” But all our high-minded, character-driven hooks and plots seem contrived compared to the simple lure of a chest full of gleaming treasure.
We might say it’s an easy out. An unimaginative DM’s crutch. The promise of fabulous wealth stacked up behind the threat of sudden death pulls the line of tension taut all by itself. But I say, managing the tension to create an engaging play experience is a challenge that few game masters achieve, whether with a treasure-seeking, character-driven, or any other kind of hook.
Not only must one build the tension, the DM has also to relax the stress from time to time, so as to pull the line back again a little tighter. Tighten and release, tighten and release, again and again, each time more tight. In this way, we build the tension over time and maintain player engagement until, at adventure’s end, the final release.
This isn’t so easy to do. I haven’t been terribly successful at it in my own DMing career. So I am unable to give you the key to unlock that success at the game table. Maybe some tricks are to build up the promise and the threat in alternating increments. Break the tension with comedy on occasion or by letting the characters rest to heal wounds and regain spells. Keep the tension high by denying the rest.
I do know that we must, both, make good the threat and deliver the treasure, without either killing the party or giving away so much treasure as to render the reward banal.
Part of delivering the treasure is to present the goods in an intriguing manner. As Phenster implies in “Wherefore Deep Dark Dangerous Dungeon Delves,” the party should “hardly ever just open a door into a room with a big hoard of coins and jewelery and magic stuff and the dragon out getting its internal fires rekindled.” Even among the piles of coins in a dragon’s hoard—which is properly dug out from beneath the dragon’s still writhing form—players will want to discover the more interesting items: A scroll tucked into a bone case—is it cursed? Or is it a high-level spell? A vial of rose-colored liquid…? And that glowing sword… are those elven runes?
You may have noted, as I did, Phenster’s qualifier “hardly ever.”
In any case, I am quite sure that, in addition to going in after treasure, we should break it up on occasion with a few other sorts of hooks. Phenster mentions a few examples. I break them into the following broad categories:
Exploration and Discovery
Whatever the characters are going in after, the players are often in the dungeon to explore it. They want to open the door, look behind the curtain, and see what’s at the end of the chasm. The last is Phenster’s example. These are not the usual hooks that we learn about prior to the adventure. The party discovers these locations already inside. Then, curiosity piqued, they desire to explore further.
We can encourage this curiosity with interesting dungeon environments. Gary Gygax explains in “How to Set Up Your D&D Campaign” (Europa, April 1975, 19), “Each level should have a central theme and some distinguishing feature.” We might further divide the dungeon level into sections.
Taking an example from my own Deep Dungeon Doom, one level is formerly a network of demonic charnel pits, long-since remodeled to fit other purposes. Now, adventurers must find their way through a minotaur maze and a grotto veiled in magical darkness, explore the upper and lower regions of a deep rift, and visit an ancient fortified dwarven drinking hall, presently occupied by an evil cult bent on releasing a baalgaur from the level above.
Quest
Phenster’s example is for a magic wand, but the object of a quest can be any sort of undertaking in which some journey is involved, whether self-motivated or instigated by an NPC. In addition to finding an item—magic or otherwise, a quest might be to rescue prisoners, capture some ne’er-do-well, or destroy an object. The object of a quest might even be, according to Phenster, to gain experience points.
Scenario-Based
A scenario-based hook is derived from the dungeon’s context or a situation in the dungeon. An example from the Great Halls is when the party learns of a gateway to Hell and takes it upon themselves to search for it. It can also be an organic situation that grows from campaign events, like when somebody else finds the gateway first and lets out a horde of demons.
Patron Mission
A patron mission properly falls under a quest. The only difference is that the patron pays upfront, or for some reason the PCs are beholden to the patron, so they are willing to undertake the mission. The party might even be on retainer, being prepared to do the patron’s bidding in exchange for a monthly fee.
Phenster’s example is the mysterious Angharad Called the Fane, who brings to mind Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser’s respective patrons, Ningauble of the Seven Eyes and Sheelba of the Eyeless Face. Though these examples are mysterious personages, a patron may also be of the more common sort.
Because It Was There
Holmes provides no guidance concerning adventure hooks. Nor does the source material. The lead sentence of “DUNGEON MASTERING AS A FINE ART” paraphrases the corresponding sentence beneath the heading “The Underworld” (The Underworld and Wilderness Adventures 3):
“Before players can take their bold characters on adventures into the misty mysterious dungeons, the Dungeon Master must sit down, pencil in hand, and map out the dungeons on graph paper” (Holmes 39).
When asked why he climbs the mountain, the mountain climber has a glib reponse. It seems that, in the 1970s, when asked why he goes into the dungeon, the dungeon explorer gives the same response: “Because it was there.”
Treasure
Fantastic Materials
Phenster introduces adamant and mithril into Pandemonium Society games. He describes both, detailing their uses, without giving any guidance as to their value relative to gold. Perhaps it’s best that we leave it vague for the sake of the DM’s freedom. I class these under [E] Extra, as these materials, with their roots in mythology and sometimes found in fantasy fiction, were in circulation among 1980s D&D groups.
Adamant [E]
With qualities of both unbreakable metal and hard stone, adamant has many and diverse uses. As a metal, it may be fashioned into weapons and armor as well as tools. It is also used in large constructions, such as the Gates and foundation of Pandemonium, one imagines, by pouring it, in its molten state, into a mold. Like a stone, it is cut into gems of extraordinary value.
Mithril [E]
Phenster cites as applications armor, jewelry, and architectural features. Unlike adamant, mithril has only the qualities of metal. Among those qualities, though, are strength and extreme light weight. Mithril is a favorite material of elves, who use it in their delicate architecture, which often must be supported by and woven into living wood.
Treasure Maps
I love maps as much as I love treasure. That the one might lead to the other is natural and right in all worlds, fantasy and mundane, and the presence of such wonderful items as treasure maps should be encouraged at every occasion.
Chance for Maps or Magic [C]
Comparing the chance for maps or magic in early D&D editions, Holmes follows OD&D at 25% (Holmes 34, Monsters & Treasure 23), whereas AD&D pulls it down to 10% (Dungeon Master’s Guide 120). In B/X, Moldvay, Cook, and Marsh move treasure maps into the magic scroll category, negating the initial roll for maps. One-quarter of scrolls are treasure maps, but only 20% of magic items are scrolls, which yields an overall 5% chance for a map result (B46, X45).
The chance for maps in the Pandemonium Society varies by Dungeon Master. Hazard goes by Holmes—25% chance for maps, while Phenster hands out only 10% maps, and Basel limits maps to 1 out of 12 (8.333%). The DM may determine a suitable chance for maps or magic in the campaign and share the information with players or not.
Treasure Maps Tables [E]
Phenster’s treasure maps tables are more generous than any of the contemporary sources: OD&D (Monsters & Treasure 23, 26-7), AD&D (Dungeon Master’s Guide 120-1), or B/X (B46, X45). I put the tables in category [E] Extra, but the DM may want to examine the tables and modify the numbers as seems fit. As the values go up with the die result, one might roll on the Treasure and Magic tables with a smaller die, especially on shallow dungeon levels.
I reproduce the tables here, changing only Phenter’s ranges to dice notation. These tables supplement the information given under “Maps and Magic Categories” (Holmes 34). On a treasure map result, roll d12 on the Map Find table to determine the kind of treasure. Then roll d12 on the corresponding Treasure or Magic tables. A result of 1 to 5 on the Treasure table gives you that many (n) d6s in thousands of gold pieces. I quote Phenster’s reminder:
The g.p. amount on the table is the VALUE of the treasure, not necessarily a bunch of coins. It could be lots of kinds of stuff, like works of art, paintings, statuettes, tapestries, books, etc.
d12
Map Find
1-6
Treasure
7-10
Magic
11-12
Treasure & Magic
d12
Treasure
1-5
nd6 x 1,000 g.p.
6
1d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d20 gems
7
2d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d6 jewelry
8
3d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 2d20 gems
9
4d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d100 gems
10
5d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d10 jewelry
11
d6 x 10 gems + 2d10 jewelry
12
5d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d12 x 10 gems + 2d10 jewelry
d12
Magic Items
1
Any 1
2
Any 2
3
Any 3
4
Any 3 + 1 potion
5
Any 3 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
6
Any 4
7
Any 4 + 1 scroll
8
Any 4 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
9
Any 5
10
Any 5 + 1 potion
11
Any 5 + 1 scroll
12
Any 5 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
Exceptional Value of Gems and Jewelry [E]
OD&D allows exceptional values for gems up to half a million g.p. Holmes (for low-level PCs) limits exceptional values to 1,000 g.p. Neither has exceptional values for jewelry, though OD&D gives base values up to 10,000 g.p. In a complex and adorable system of dice rolls, AD&D allows for increased as well as decreased values for gems and exceptional craftsmanship for jewelry (DMG 26). B/X gives the DM permission to raise jewelry’s value without further guidance, though Moldvay advises against it for Basic levels (B47). B/X offers no exceptional value for gems.
Though he doesn’t mention it, Phenster refers to the Gems and Jewelry sections under “BASE VALUE TREASURES” (Holmes 34). From Phenster’s text, it appears that, upon finding a gem or jewelry, Pandemonium Society players were allowed to roll the chance for exceptional value.
Gems
After determining the base value of a gem, roll a d6. On a 1 result, raise the value to the next higher and roll again. At the highest value, a 1 result indicates double value. As Phenster doesn’t specify, after doubling the highest, the DM may roll again or not as desired. You know what this DM would do.
Jewelry
Phenster’s text on the chance for jewelry’s exceptional value confounds understanding. In hopes of adding clarity, I show my interpretation as a table.
Jewelry’s Chance for Exceptional Value
Dungeon Levels
Chance (d6)
1st Roll
Value
2nd Roll*
Value
1-3
None
4-7
1
x 10
8-12
1
x 10
1
x 2
13+
1
x 10
1
x 10
*Make a second roll only in the case of a 1 on the first.
Electrum
“If electrum is added it is optionally worth either twice or half the value of gold” (OD&D Monsters & Treasure 39).
At least since Holmes Basic, electrum coins are worth only a half gold. But OD&D allows another option: one electrum piece equals two gold.
Electrum is an alloy of gold and silver. It occurs naturally. Silver was often added to adjust the gold-silver ratio. Generally, pure gold would not be wasted to produce it. Electrum also contains traces of other metals, including platinum. Without trace elements, an electrum coin valued at half a gold piece would contain 44.4% gold and 55.6% silver. I know this through a mysterious divination practice that hardly resembles mathematics.
Softer than gold, harder than silver, electrum is durable yet malleable. Because its refinement was easier, the first coins were minted from electrum.
According to my research, no electrum coin was ever minted containing enough platinum to make it more valuable than gold. Sometimes though, implementing a neglected rule can lend variety and perhaps verisimilitude to the game setting.
It is possible that Gygax & Arneson refer in OD&D to the increased value of some electrum coins to modern day collectors due to rarity and historical significance. In an RPG campaign it may be interesting and fun to give value to coins and artworks based on extrinsic factors, such as their worth to collectors. Though coming up with all the details might be tedious.
The Pandemonium Society gives a greater value to “electrum” coins by giving them an intrinsic value: mixing gold and platinum. Phenster seems to ignore that this mix is commonly known as white gold. We might, however, mix gold and platinum together with silver to make a so-called electrum coin with twice the value of a gold piece. The proper proportion would be 47.8% gold, 22.2% silver, and 30.0% platinum.
Pale Electrum [C]
Electrum coins are worth, either, one-half g.p. or 2 g.p., called yellow and pale electrum, respectively. The DM may decide the value per case or roll for it, 1 out of 6 electrum hoards being worth 2 g.p. per coin.
In my own DONJON LANDS campaigns, iron age and later cultures no longer use electrum, as a general rule. Alloyed coins, both pale and yellow, are minted by bronze age cultures, and they show up, of course, in ancient treasure hoards.
Coin of the Realm [C]
Creating a fantasy campaign, one cannot ignore the nomenclature of coin. Even if you are running a simple campaign, giving names to the denominations of precious metal pieces, in Phenster’s words, “makes the world seem more real,” with little effort.
The Pandemonium Society uses a campaign’s theme to inspire the names. In addition to the currently minted coin, they also give generic names to coins of various ancient mint recovered from dungeon forays.
These last are essentially part of the adventurers’ argot, terms used to differentiate ancient coins from local currency. The practical difference is that gold “standards” and silver “keys” must be exchanged in base town, usually for a 10% fee.
I reproduce Phenster’s table showing the various coins of the realm from Pandemonium Society campaigns.
The following text is from L’avant garde, the Newsletter of the East Middleton Wargamers Association, #69 (November 1984).
Wherefore Deep Dark Dangerous Dungeon Delves
by Phenster
We love to go into the dungeon searching for treasure. You might think that's not very sophisticated. That's what the big kids at the Game Hoard say sometimes. But the dungeon is full of ancient gold coins that shine in the torchlight. Strange icons and busts of dead kings are stamped on their faces. Sparkling gems--yellow amethysts, red rubies, green emeralds, blue sapphires and white diamonds--fill silver coffers inlaid with ivory. Glass vials filled with liquids of bizarre colors. Tattered parchments rolled up and tied with an old leather thong. Swords with jewel-encrusted hilts sticking out of their scabbards. Mysterious runes on the blades glow softly in the dark.
Finding treasure is fun! How we find it is just as much fun. We hardly ever just open a door into a room with a big hoard of coins and jewelery and magic stuff and the dragon out getting its internal fires rekindled. It's more like we discover a cubbyhole behind a loose stone and find an old rotten bag with a few silvers and maybe a couple tiger eyes and a poisonous spider too! Sometimes, we'll find something like an old ceramic jar with runes scratched around the middle and filled to the brim with gold pieces. As soon as we touch the gold, the runes explode and we have to scoop coins and body parts off the floor. Once, we found a chest full of treasure, but it was on the other side of a bottomless pit!
We usually go into the dungeon looking for treasure. But there's always something happening down there that makes us want to go back. Like, we were on a quest for a magic wand one time, and we found a river running through a chasm that ran through the dungeon. After we got the magic wand, Tombs wanted to go to the end of the chasm, just to see what was there. We found a cyclops guarding a giant wheel of cheese and a magic boat that went upstream!
Once, I only needed 400 more XP to get to 6th level. We were a big party that day, so we had to get at least 4,000. A nice treasure hoard would've done it, but we kept running into wandering monsters. Wandering monsters don't have any treasure of course. So we avoided a chimera and a displacer beast. But we had to fight a band of marauding trolls. That almost cost us. But we got the XP we needed.
By the time we'd got all the treasure out of the upper Great Halls, we heard there was a gateway to Hell down in the lower dungeons somewhere and it had been closed for a long time. We wanted to make sure nobody opened it, so we went looking for it. Somebody else found it before we did though and, sure enough, they opened it. Then we knew we'd have to go down and close it back again. Meanwhile, more monsters moved back into the upper levels and brought more treasure with them!
It's best to have a patron if you can find one. A patron pays you to go into the dungeon to do something. So you get paid, plus you get to keep all the treasure you find along the way. We have a mysterious patron named Angharad Called the Fane. She lives alone in a treehouse in the middle of a vast swamp, and she seems to have been there forever. She sometimes summons us to do weird things for her. We're pretty sure she's on our side (against the demons), but she works in strange ways. Sometimes we wonder.
Fantastic Materials
Adamant: A rare substance that acts like an unbreakable metal or a stone harder than diamonds. You can make weapons, armor, shields, helmets, chains and manacles and all kinds of tools with it. It also comes in gemstones that decorate the most ornate crowns. Adamant can also be used in construction work. For example, the Gates of Pandemonium are made out of it. We saw it with our own eyes, and we've heard that Pandemonium itself is built on a foundation of adamant.
Mithril: Stronger than steel but lighter. It's used to make magic armor that doesn't slow you down. The most valuable jewelry we ever found was made of mithril. Elves use it for their finest works of armor, jewelry and architecture.
Treasure Maps
We find a lot of treasure maps in the Great Halls. Hazard follows the rule that says 25% of the maps or magic in a treasure hoard are maps. That's a lot of maps! I cut it down to 10% in my campaign. Basel rolls a d12, and a 1 makes it a map.
When we roll a treasure map, we roll d12s to find out what it leads to. Then we have to make the map. That's the hard part. I used to just copy part of my dungeon map and put an X on the treasure location. Now I mix it up with directions written out on a scroll or poems and riddles. Basel puts his treasure on a wilderness map. One time, he made an big fancy treasure hunt out of a map to the Sword of the Golden Bough King. Took us weeks of playing, and we never did find the sword.
Hazard has the best ideas though. Sometimes he uses a regular dungeon map, but then he'll throw in a really interesting "map," like a magic mouth that tells us how to find the treasure. One time we found directions scratched on a wall next to a skeleton with a dagger in its hand and an arrow in its ribcage. Then there was a crystal ball that showed the places we should go through to get to the treasure. But it only showed them one at a time.
Once, Mithrellas picked up a gold filigree jewelry box out of a pile of silver pieces. It was trapped with a sleeping gas. So when she opened it, she fell asleep on the silver pile. She had a dream where she wandered through a forest in a series of lefts and rights, until she got to a pool of calm, clear water. At the bottom of the pool, she saw a hoard of glittering treasure. After we woke her up, we went through the dungeon, following the same series of lefts and rights Mithrellas took in her dream forest. At the end, we found a pool with a hoard of glittering treasure and a green dragon!
When you get a treasure map, roll a d12 on the Map Find table, then a d12 on one (or both!) of the Treasure and Magic Items tables.
d12
Map Find
1-6
Treasure
7-10
Magic
11-12
Treasure & Magic
Treasure
The g.p. amount on the table is the VALUE of the treasure, not necessarily a bunch of coins. It could be lots of kinds of stuff, like works of art, paintings, statuettes, tapestries, books, etc. If you roll a 1-5, then that's the number (n) of d6s you roll for g.p.
d12
Treasure
1-5
nd6 x 1,000 g.p.
6
1d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1-20 gems
7
2d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d6 jewelry
8
3d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 2-40 gems
9
4d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1-100 gems
10
5d6 x 1,000 g.p. + 1d10 jewelry
11
d6 x 10 gems + 2d10 jewelry
12
5d6 x 1,000 g.p. + d12 x 10 gems + 2d10 jewelry
Magic Items
d12
Magic Items
1
Any 1
2
Any 2
3
Any 3
4
Any 3 + 1 potion
5
Any 3 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
6
Any 4
7
Any 4 + 1 scroll
8
Any 4 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
9
Any 5
10
Any 5 + 1 potion
11
Any 5 + 1 scroll
12
Any 5 + 1 potion + 1 scroll
Exceptional Value of Gems/Jewelry
When we find gems and jewelry in the dungeon, Hazard lets us roll to see if it has exceptional value (when we get it appraised).
Gems: A 1 on the d6 means the gem is the next higher value and roll again until you don't get a 1. If you get a 1 at the highest value, double it.
Jewelry: On dungeon level 4 or deeper, a 1 on a d6 means the jewelry is 10 times more valuable. On level 8 or deeper, roll the d6 like for level 4, then, a 1 on a second roll means double the value. On level 13 or deeper, a 1 on the second roll means times 10 again (total 100 x more valuable, that's 3d6 x 10,000).
Pale Electrum
Electrum coins are usually made from a mixture (alloy) of gold and silver. But sometimes they're made from gold and platinum. We call that pale coin (or pale electrum vs. yellow electrum). 1 pale electrum is worth 2 g.p. Me and Hazard use 1/6th chance for pale electrum in our campaigns. Basel uses 50%!
Coin of the Realm
We like to give names to different denominations of coins. So instead of just "gold pieces," we pay for equipment with gold "crowns" in the Heptarchy, and we tip the taverner at the Nine of Pentacles with a few platinum "thrones" (because he makes sure we get lucrative rumors). Like that, it makes the world seem more real.
The names are different for every world. They usually have something to do with the theme of the campaign. In King of Wands, Basel uses gold "kings" and silver "barons." There are lots of dragons in Avendyr, so we have silver drakes, gold dragons and platinum wyrms. But we find all kinds of coins in the dungeon, and most of them are old or ancient. We have to change the old coins for crowns at the money changer's. He takes 10%! Whatever names they used to be called are usually forgotten, so adventurers have their own lingo. For gold pieces of any mint, we usually say "rounds," but the official word is "standards" and sometimes we call them "heroes." Platinum coins are either dragons or villains, depending on the campaign. (In the Heptarchy it's dragons, but it's villains in Avendyr.) Copper pieces are "dungeon marks," because they're really only good for leaving a trail behind, like bread crumbs, to find your way back out of the dungeon.
Nomenclature of Coins
Campaign
Great Halls (dungeons)
King of Wands
Heptarchy
Avendyr
Platinum
dragons or villains
wizards
royals or thrones
wyrms
Gold
standards or heroes
kings
crowns
dragons
Electrum*
lanterns/ dames
dukes/ queens
vassals/ overcrowns
yellow eyes/ pale eyes
Silver
keys
barons
nobles or traders
drakes
Copper
dungeon marks
lords
picayunes or pennies
scales or wyrmlings
*Yellow/Pale
This is the 36th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
“Bluebook” D&D. The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
This is the 35th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
“Bluebook” D&D. The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
In his contribution to the April 1984 issue of L’avant garde, Phenster describes several monsters to challenge higher-level PCs. As with his earlier monster descriptions, I see no need to tamper with the text, and the stats are sound. Moreover, the monsters are not out of the realm of fantasy, so I put the ensemble in category [E] Extra.
I make a couple notes within the text [in brackets]. Otherwise, any holes Phenster leaves the DM may fill to suit.
Apart from the opening reference to AD&D, Phenster makes no mention of any source material. I add footnotes where I am aware of possible sources. Of the monsters given, Baazmaeg, grimpshee, slink, and Demon of the Lake appear to be entirely made up.
Monsters in Deep Dungeons
by Phenster
The rulebook doesn't have very many high-level monsters. AD&D has lots more and that's where we get most of them. But sometimes we make up new monsters too. I'll describe some of them for you. But first, Hazard made a new table for monster HD wandering in the deeper levels of the dungeon, and he added more HD to the XP table.
Wandering Monster Level Matrix
Monster Level
Dungeon Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
1st
1-8
9-11
12
2nd
1-3
4-8
9-11
12
3rd
1
2-4
5-8
9-11
12
4th-5th
1
2-4
5-6
7-8
9-11
12
6th-7th
1
2-4
5-6
7-8
9-11
12
8th-9th
1
2-4
5-6
7-8
9-11
12
10th-12th
1
2-4
5-6
7-8
9-12
13th-15th
1
2-4
5-6
7-12
16th+
1
2-4
5-12
XP for Monsters Overcome
Monster HD
Value
Exceptional
Under 1
5
1
1
10
3
2
20
5
3
35
15
4
75
50
5
175
125
6
300
225
7
450
375
8
625
525
9 to 10
825
675
11 to 12
1075
825
13 to 14
1375
975
15 to 16
1725
1175
17 to 20
2150
1525
21 and up
2650
2025
Any pluses to HD make the monster the next higher HD.
MONSTERS
Witches/Warlocks[1]:
Witches (and warlocks) use witchcraft, which is a kind of magic that gets its power from demons and devils. It's also called black magic. Witches sell their soul to a demon or a devil. They have to sign a contract with their own blood, and the demon or devil gives them spells, special powers and rituals. They have 1 witchcraft power for every level, plus they get magic-user and cleric spells.
Witches are notoriously hard to kill. They have regular d8s for HD, and they heal quickly. They start every day and every night with full hit points. Even after you kill them, you have to burn the body and throw the ashes in a running stream, or they might come back, and then they'll be after you.
There are Low Order witches and High Order witches. Low Order witches are the most common ones, and there are a lot of different Low Orders with names like the Coven Under Gnarled Grove, the Gray Raven Coven, and the Evil Eye. Low Order witches can have up to 7 HD. They get magic-user and cleric spells for each level and one witchcraft power per level from the Low Order list. [For spells, treat as cleric/magic-user, both classes of level equal to hit dice.]
The more powerful witches are from the High Order. The only High Order we know about is the Sordid Coven of Greater Malevolence. They lair in a great cavern on the 8th level of the dungeon, where they made a twisted grove of undead trees with colored glass beads and precious gemstones hanging from the branches. High Order witches go up to 13 hit dice (Hazard says, "As far as you know . . ."). For each HD above 7 they get a witchcraft power from the High Order list.
We've heard of another group of witches that has a lair even deeper in the dungeon. They are so secretive that we're not sure what their name is. We just call them "the Dark Covenant." We think it was them who opened the gate that let out a hoard of rampaging demons. They are devious!
Witchcraft Powers
Witchcraft powers aren't spells. Witches can use their powers whenever they want. They don't have to memorize them or forget them. And they don't write them down either. Because they get their powers from their infernal patrons.
Low Order: bewitch (charm), herbal medicine (heal/cause wounds), herbal medicine (poison), permanent familiar, change self (illusion), darkness, hold person, hold portal, fairie fire, speak in tongues, call animal (attack/messenger).
High Order: brew potion (love), brew potion (truth), brew potion (insanity), effigy (control), effigy (injure), change shape, protection from normal missiles, ESP, dark sight.
Witchcraft Rituals
Any two or more witches (High or Low Order, but always from the same coven) can perform a ritual. The more witches participating in the ritual, the more effective it is (e.g. higher saving throw, more damage, larger area, etc.). To perform a ritual, the witches must make certain sacrifices, usually blood (their own or from an animal). There can be lots of different rituals. Here are some: curse, hallucinatory terrain, plant trap, continual darkness, send to Hell, animate dead, guards and wards, commune with spirit, geas, limited wish, call demon/devil.
Alignment
Most witches are either Lawful Evil or Chaotic Evil, never neutral. The lawful ones have devil patrons and the chaotics have demons. There are neutral magic-user/clerics in the pagan tribes of the First Peoples, but those are not real witches. Sometimes NPCs call them witches, but they're really more like druids.
Good Witches
There are rumors that good witches exist too, but we haven't met any yet. They don't have to sign contracts in blood. They work with angels and saints, who grant their powers, which are different from evil witch powers.
NPC ONLY: We can't play witches like a character class, not even good ones. Hazard says any DM who allows players to be witches is completely nuts!
Grimpshee: Undead spirit of someone captured, taunted and killed by an infernal creature. Some say they are not killed, but they are taken down into the Pit to Hell directly. We aren't sure how they become undead then. But when they turn into a grimpshee, they are disfigured and have a drawn out look of horror on their faces. Only magic weapons can hit them, and when they hit you, they drain a level every time. [A cleric turns a grimpshee as a spectre.]
Move: 90'
Alignment: chaotic evil
HD: 6+2
Attacks: 1
AC: 3
Damage: 1-8
Treasure Type: E
Flamewort[2]: Moss that grows in warm, damp, dark places. It glows in pulsating red and orange like fire. It gives light in a 5' radius but no heat. Also called red dragon's wort, because there is usually one of those in a lair nearby.
Demon of the Lake: Underwater flying demon, like a manta ray. Its "wingspan" is 30 feet wide. Its body is 40 feet long and it has a tail 20 feet long with a serpent head at the end. Strange blotches around its mouth turn into a grotesque human-like head when it attacks. The head's jaws are 2 feet wide with long teeth big as daggers. It bites for 1-10 points of damage. Its tail stings with poison, save or die.
Move: swim 60', fly 120'
Alignment: chaotic evil
HD: 13
Attacks: bite and tail
AC: 4
Damage: 1-10
Treasure Type: E
Slink: A creeping monster from another dimension that can practically hide in its own shadow. It sneaks around on large, padded feet, and it wears a red stocking cap. It steals valuable objects (99% chance to Pick Pockets) then slips through its shadow into another dimension. It prefers to carry a bag of holding to put its booty in, but a large sack will do. (If no bag of holding, divide its coin treasure by 10. Maximum 600 coins.) When it's got a lot of booty, it passes the stolen goods to a fence (usually bandits/thieves), who sell it to dungeon traders. Slinks don't like weapons, but they'll steal anything left unattended. So we know, if there's a slink around, no point to search for hidden treasure. And don't set the lantern on the floor!
If you can catch a slink, you can slap its hand and it will drop its booty bag and disappear into its other dimension.
Move: 90'
Alignment: neutral
HD: 2
Attacks: pick pocket
AC: 4
Damage: 0
Treasure Type: F
Giants[3]:
The giants have their own kingdom that spreads across half the Heptarchy. There are several fire giant kings that try to rule over the whole Giant Kingdom. Below the kings, there are frost giant jarls, then stone giant thanes and hill giant chiefs. They quarrel with each other at every level, but they only fight a battle when there is a dispute over who rules who. There was only ever one Giant War, and that was thousands of years ago.
The cloud giants and storm giants usually stay above the petty politics of the smaller giants. And all the giants mostly ignore the people and rulers of the Heptarchy who live inside the Giant Kingdom as long as they don't make trouble. Except the hill giants (and sometimes stone giants) which often raid human towns.
Giants keep other monsters as pets in their castle lairs. They can be anything from giant-type animals to fantastic creatures (hydras, griffons, dragons, etc., etc.) When giants go outside their lair, they always carry a giant sack full of gold and throwing rocks: 1-6 x 1,000 g.p. and 3-18 rocks.
Bull of Heaven[4]: There's only one Bull of Heaven. It's the biggest monster anybody ever fought. It gores (1-12), it tramples (2-20), it breathes fire (6-36). It goes on rampages and destroys towns, cities and crops for miles around. If you can find out who the Bull belongs to, you can ask for it and you might get it. It used to belong to an old god named Anu. Ishtar got it from him to sic on Gilgamesh. Poseidon got it from Ishtar, and he gave it to King Minos, but then he took it back because Minos reneged on their deal. Friar Tombs got the Bull from Poseidon, because Beowulf the Bully wanted to fight the toughest monster imaginable. If you want the Bull of Heaven, you just have to ask Friar Tombs for it. Serious inquiries only!
Move: 150'
Alignment: chaotic
HD: 23
Attacks: 1
AC: -1
Damage: 1-12
Treasure Type: No treasure
Baazmaeg (demon)
We first heard about Baazmaeg when Mangus Manes called her "the Duchess." Phenster Prime did some research, and I found out that Baazmeag is the Demon Lady of Torment. She rules one of the planes of Hell, either the 4th or the 8th. Baazmaeg looks like a seductive woman without any hair. Her eyes are like bronze. She has fangs, bat wings, a ridge down her spine and a barbed tail that can sap your strength. We haven't met her yet, so Hazard won't tell us her stats. But I'm betting she's got 155 hit points.
Sandestins[5]: Sandestins are made in vats by powerful wizards (mages or arch-mages). They do the wizard's bidding, usually taking care of things around the wizard's tower when the wizard isn't home. They're only 1' tall and look like tiny, chubby humans with fat fingers and grotesque faces.
A sandestin has the same hit dice (roll h.p. separately with d8s) and intelligence as the wizard who made it, and it is imbued with spells, which means it can use the spells whenever it wants. Just about any imbued spells are possible. Here are some popular ones: comprehend languages, hold portal, mending, message, detect invisibility, ESP, knock, levitate, wizard lock, haste, hold person, plant growth, minor globe of invulnerability, telekinesis.
Move: 60'
Alignment: as creator
HD: as creator
Attacks: 1
AC: 2
Damage: depends
Treasure Type: No treasure
—L’avant garde #62 (April 1984)
1 In an earlier article, I mention the witch class and give the source articles from Dragon magazine. Hazard may have used any or all of these.
“The Witch” NPC class is detailed in Dragon No. 43 (November 1980). Tucked into that article is another article: “The Real Witch” (8) is an origin piece by Tom Moldvay. Also interesting are two articles: “Witchcraft Supplement for Dungeons & Dragons” (Dragon No. 5, March 1977) and “Another Look at Witches and Witchcraft in D&D” (Dragon No. 20, November 1978). Following the latter, check out the related article “Demonology Made Easy” (No. 20).
2 An Internet search comes up with only a reference to Umbelled flamewort, not a moss but a flower, also known as Phlox divaricata, in Circle of the Seasons (London: Hookham 1828). The plant’s luminous and subterranean qualities must be imagined.
3 Giants’ pets and sacks full of gold and rocks may come from the first printing of Holmes, OD&D Monsters & Treasure, or the AD&D Monster Manual. The three sources put 1 to 6 thousand g.p. in a sack. Only AD&D specifies a number of rocks, limiting it to “a large rock or two” (44).
4 From the Epic of Gilgamesh. We might see more later about the Bull of Heaven.
5 However imperfectly represented here, sandestins come from Jack Vance’s Dying Earth and Lyonesse stories. Only the first book of the latter series was published by 1984.
In Deep Dungeon Doom, I follow #Gygax75 and #Dungeon23 to create a D&D dungeon campaign in a few minutes a day for a year’s worth of days. Working at my own rhythm, I am more than a year behind. To get details on each room as it is created, follow me on Mastodon.
Should we venture into Fury’s Deep as far down as the exposed archway, we find ourselves on paving stones laid in a mosaic pattern 10 feet wide. Straight rows of square stones border the road on either side under a ceiling 30 feet above. The road stretches into still darkness. This is an ancient subterranean highway. Built ages ago by dwarves who once inhabited these now-quiet corridors, it once traversed their extensive realm.
A couple hundred feet farther on, the highway curves through an open square (110). Two columns flank the thoroughfare to support a high irregular vault.
To the southeast, two levels (upper level not shown) of former dwarven barracks were at sometime converted into laboratories by the Lore Kings. Now, a band of hobgoblin warriors occupies these rooms. The hobgoblins work for a wizard, who may be found deeper in the dungeon. Posted here to guard the entrance, the hobgoblins fell under the charm of a spirit naga, who lairs in the southeast chamber (115). A wyvern lurks amid the columns in the northwest chamber (128).
At the curve, the road turns south. There begins a gentle descent (133), noted only by dwarves, that leads down to the Dwarf King’s Palace on the dungeon’s 5th level.
Cyclops Curve on the Old Dwarven Highway, Deep Dungeon Doom
This is the 34th in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
“Bluebook” D&D. The 1977 edition of Gygax and Arneson’s DUNGEONS & DRAGONS is also known as “Holmes Basic” after editor Dr. J. Eric Holmes.
As written, Holmes allows magic-users to create spell scrolls at 1st level. The rules, being for only 1st- to 3rd-level player characters, don’t mention creating other magic items. They also don’t mention a cleric’s ability to make scrolls.
A magic-user of any level may also research new spells in Holmes. The cost is 2,000 g.p. and one week of time—both per spell level, after which the magic-user has only a 20% chance of success.
The same cost in time and gold for spell research is required in the original rules. But in OD&D a magic-user may invest more gold to increase the chance of success. The magic-user may spend the same money again and again to get an additional 20% chance of success for each additional spend, up to 100%.
“Wizards and above may manufacture for their own use (or for sale) such items as potions, scrolls, and just about anything else magical” (Men & Magic, 6).
In OD&D, only wizards—that is, magic-users of 11th level and higher—may create magic scrolls and other magic items. The cost is similar to that of spell research, as is the chance of success.
Without setting a hard level limit on magic item creation, the required spells set the lowest level at which a particular item might be created. The cost limits the number of items created. Rare components keep the DM in control.
In “Dweomercraeft” (L’avant garde #61, March 1984), Phenster outlines the Pandemonium Society’s rules for magic-use, crafting magic items, and researching spells. The Pandemonium Society allows spell-casters, whether magic-users or clerics, of any level to create magic items, provided they can acquire (by adventuring) any rare components, have the spell(s) required, and money for special components, plus money and time per spell level.
Without setting a hard level limit on magic item creation, the required spells set the lowest level at which a particular item might be created. The cost limits the number of items created. Rare components keep the DM in control.
The following house rules are extracted from Phenster’s article. Most of these rules expand on Holmes. Elven Magic and Lost Lore impact the premise behind a campaign, whereas Phenster admits Real Elven Magic is too powerful and Counter-Spell is less efficient than a well-placed projectile. I categorize these as [C] Campaign and [P] Pandemonium. Because Phenster only adds that we need a library, I put Spell Research in [H] Holmes.
Spell Acquisition
Spell Books [E]
Magic-users add spells to their spell books by copying them from other sources (scrolls, books, and dungeon walls, for example) and by spell research.
Elven Magic [C]
Elves are innately magical. Elven magic-users know a number of spells according to their level as noted in the magic-user’s Number of Spells per Day table. When they gain a new level, elves automatically know additional spells granted by their level. Elven magic-users know read magic, but they must cast it instead of another daily spell, whether 1st level or higher. Elven magic-users do not use spell books.
Real Elven Magic [P]
Elves of any class can cast read magic, detect magic, and protection from magic once per day. Casting these spells does not use the power of any daily spells the elf may or may not have.
Unknown Spells Not Recorded [E]
As in Holmes, to copy a new spell into their spell books, magic-users must roll on the Chance to Know Spell table (Holmes, 13). Success means the magic-user knows the spell. Failure means the magic-user cannot learn the spell from the given medium. Diverging from Holmes, when encountering the spell from a different source, the magic-user may make another attempt to know the same spell.
Counter-Spell [P]
A magic-user may use the power of any spell memorized to counter the effect of another magic-user’s spell. To throw a counter-spell, the magic-user must have the initiative on the opposed magic-user and must state, on his or her initiative count, the intention to counter-spell. (Here the magic-user Holds Action [E], if that rule is used.) The counter-speller cannot perform any other actions. When the opposed magic-user casts a spell, the counter-spell caster acts on the same initiative count. If the spell being used is of the same as or a higher level than the spell being cast, the counter-spell negates the spell’s effect. Successful or not, the spell used to throw a counter-spell is lost.
Lost Lore [C]
“Dweomercraeft in the Heptarchy reached a pinnacle a long, long time ago, before the Old Empire, even before the Age of Myth. Now only spells from the rulebook are commonly known among Esoterics…”—Phenster, “Dweomercraeft”
To determine beginning spells for PCs, only spells from Holmes are allowed. Spells from other sources are “lost lore.” Magic-users discover lost lore on uncommon spell scrolls, spell books, and elsewhere, and through spell research. The DM favors spells from Holmes for NPC spell books and spell scrolls on upper dungeon levels. On deeper levels, more lost lore may be found.
Creating Holy Water [E]
To create one vial of holy water, a cleric casts bless on pure water in a font of at least 500 g.p. value. The ritual takes one turn and produces one vial of holy water.
Craefting Magic Items [E]
Magic-users and clerics of any level may create magic items provided they have time, money, access to a laboratory, and can cast the requisite spells. Given below are the cost in time and money to create each item type. Component materials are shown with any additional notes. Component costs are usually included in the base cost. The DM determines spells required, any special components necessary, and their cost.
Scrolls
Cost: 100 g.p. and 1 week per spell level. Materials: parchment or vellum, quill, and ink. Note: up to 7 spells may be written on one scroll. No chance of failure.
Potions
Cost: 300 g.p. and 1 week per spell level. Materials: special ingredients.
Wands and Staffs
For wands and staffs without charges, see Miscellaneous Magic hereunder.
Cost: 500 g.p. per spell level per charge and 1 week per spell level plus 1 day per charge. Materials: wand or staff. Note: 100 charges maximum.
Miscellaneous Magic
Cost: 10,000 g.p. and 1 month per spell level. Materials: varies according to item.
Weapons and Armor
Cost: 10,000 g.p. and 1 month per +1 bonus. Materials: weapon or armor.
Rings
Cost: 20,000 g.p. and 2 months per spell level. Materials: finely crafted ring of precious metal.
Non-Player Craefters
An NPC magic-user or cleric might be induced to create a magic item. The time required is the same, but the cost is at least double. An alchemist may create potions in half the time at twice the cost.
Spell Research [H]
Magic-users can add new spells to their spell book through research. Researching a new spell costs 2,000 g.p. and 1 week per spell level. Access to a library is required. The chance of failure applies.
Chance of Failure [E]
When creating magic items (except scrolls) and researching new spells, the chance of failure is 1 out of 12. After spending the gold and time required, the craefter tests the item. A 1 result on a d12 indicates failure. Testing charged items consumes one charge.
The Boomtown Rule
“The Boomtown rule says that the price of stuff goes up when a lot of treasure comes out of the dungeon and into the town. … The price of everything doubles when the highest level PC gets to 4th level. It doubles again at 8th, 12th, etc. Everything means everything: from ale at the tavern to guild fees and hireling rates.”—Phenster, “Dungeoneering”
Phenster does not explicitly mention it in “the Boomtown rule,” but if “everything means everything,” the rule applies also to magic item creation, and craefting becomes an expensive hobby.
Comparative Examples
I show Phenster’s examples to compare cost and power. I convert weeks and months to days, using 4 weeks or 28 days for one month.
“…the participants can then be allowed to make their first descent into the dungeons beneath the ‘huge ruined pile, a vast castle built by generations of mad wizards and insane geniuses.’”—Gygax and Arneson, DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Men & Magic
Some say Ludwig II was a genius. For others, the king was mad. The vast castle he built is yet far from ruined. Though when the time comes, the pile will be huge.
“And the dungeons beneath?” a friend asked after I posted yet another photo like the one above on social media. Since I left the Isle of Myth a year and a half ago, base town is across the river from Bavaria’s most famous castle. In reply I recited a local legend:
An old man lives outside the village in the castle’s shadow. He is blind and frail, so doesn’t often leave his hovel. But if you bring him a bottle of single malt and tell him stories of daring adventures of youth, he’ll tell you to go, on a winter’s day, to the bridge behind the castle. Bouncing planks take you high above a gorge. Cool mist rises from a laughing cascade below. It brings an odor of pine and earth. The sun at its zenith reaches deep between two central towers. There, dazzling rays reveal to the keen observer a cavernous portal of unknown depth, into which few have ventured and from which none have returned.
I love magic! The study and use of magic is called dweomercraeft. (I say dwOHmercrAft, but Cypher says it's supposed to be dwImercrAYft.) I started playing D&D one Christmas when I got a strange game that came in a box with a dragon on the top with 5 crazy dice. There was a guy in a pointy hat on the box too, and he was using a magic wand against the dragon. I wanted to be that guy!
I showed the game to Hazard and Beowulf. Beowulf said it looked real complicated, but Hazard had seen his cousins playing a game that looked a lot like it. We all read the rules together, and I have to admit it, it was complicated. It was a game for adults, and Beowulf and I were only in the 6th grade. (Hazard is two years ahead of us.) But when we got to the part about magic spells, the question was settled for me. We were going to play this game, and I was going to be a magic-user. Hazard volunteered to be the DM. Beowulf wanted to fight the monsters.
That was over four years ago, and I've been playing D&D ever since. Mostly magic-users. We've made a few changes about the workings of dweomercraeft. We'd probably change more stuff, but Hazard tries to keep us from making magic-users too powerful.
Magic-users
Human M-Us can write spell scrolls from the spells they have in their spell books, and they can copy scroll spells into their spell books. Or from where ever they find them: other spell books, ancient tomes, etc. Phenster Prime once copied a spell carved on a wall in the 6th level of the dungeon.
Elves
Elven magic-users are different. Elves are inherently magical. They don't use spell books. They just know the spells they know, and they can cast them once per day. They know one spell at 1st level, and they gain spells as they go up in level just like on the magic-user table. (Hazard rolls randomly for the spells known, but I let players choose in Avendyr.) Elves don't have to roll for the chance to know spells.
For a while we played it where all elves (even fighters and thieves) can cast READ MAGIC, DETECT MAGIC and PROTECTION FROM MAGIC without taking up a known spell. But it was too powerful. (Tombs still plays it like that, but he's the only DM in our group that allows it, least as far as I know.) Now elves only get READ MAGIC extra, so they can still use scrolls. But they have to cast it in the place of another 1st-level spell.
Chance to Know Spells
Hazard didn't like having to keep track of which spells Phenster Prime could learn or not, so when I find a scroll, I just roll for the chance to know it on the table, like you're supposed to. But if I fail the roll, it just means I can't learn it this time. If I find the same spell somewhere else later on, I get to roll again. Hazard says it takes liberty with the rules, but we don't have to remember which spells I can't know.
Counter-Spelling
Any magic-user can try to counter the spell of another magic-user. You have to have the initiative on the other magic-user and at least one spell left. You say you want to counter-spell if the other magic-user throws a spell before he does it, and you have to wait for it. Then you have to use up the power of a spell you have left. If the spell you use is at least as powerful as the other magic-user's spell being cast, then the counter-spell works. Of course, you can also interrupt the spell-casting with a successful attack. For that purpose, I use a Wand of Magic Missiles. I named it "Counterspell."
Lost Lore
Dweomercraeft in the Heptarchy reached a pinnacle a long, long time ago, before the Old Empire, even before the Age of Myth. Now only spells from the rulebook are commonly known among Esoterics in the Heptarchy. (Esoterics are magic-users and sages and such like.) Other spells (from AD&D and spell levels over 3rd) we have to find on our adventures. Or we can do research to make a new spell.
Holy Water
Clerics can create holy water with a BLESS spell in a ritual. It takes one turn and you need an expensive font (500 g.p. min.), but there's no other cost.
Craefting Magic Items
Sometimes you want a magic item that you haven't found in the dungeon. It takes time and money, but a spell-caster can make magic items. Like the time we heard about the Demon Slayer. It's a magical two-handed sword that we could use against the demons in Pandemonium. The trouble was that it was hidden deep in the Heart-of-Dragon Mountain. The Heart-of-Dragon is weeks away, and it's full of dragons! So I thought it would be easier for Phenster Prime to craeft a Demon Slayer. Beowulf said he would pay for it if it was a two-handed sword.
Making magic items depends a lot on how the DM wants to do it. The way we do it, basically, is that magic-users and clerics can craeft magic items if they can cast the spells required. Some items require special components that usually require an adventure. Everything has a cost in time and g.p., which is multiplied by the spell level. Then, when the item (except scrolls) is complete, there's a chance it doesn't work.
Initial Research
In order to make a magic item, you have to do some initial research into how to do it. By "how to do it" I mean what kind of tools or components you need and if you'll need any help. All that's up to the DM, who decides what all you need based on the magic item description in the rulebook, if there is one.
For example, there's no Demon Slayer in the rulebook, so Hazard had to make it up. For the sword, Phenster Prime learned that we needed ichor of demon. Beowulf and I talked it over with the group. Hazard said we'd have to either summon a demon or go down the Pit to Hell and find one. Tombs thought it would be risky to go after a demon without a demon slaying sword. I thought that's probably why there's no Demon Slayer in the rulebook. Jinx said maybe Beowulf would settle for a Kobold Slayer. Beowulf wouldn't go for that, but I talked him into a Giant Slayer instead. All we needed was some giant's blood. In the excitement about making a sword, we forgot that what we really needed in Pandemonium was a Demon Slayer.
Assistants and Special Components
Before you can put magic into an item, first you have to make it or have it made by somebody else. Wands and staffs are usually made out of metal or wood, rings from precious metal, weapons and armor from a strong metal, like steel, and sometimes mithral or adamantine. You'll need a master woodcarver, metalsmith or weaponsmith for that. Hazard tells us if there are any more costs for components.
You can usually get it cheaper if you take more time. But sometimes it isn't worth the time. Friar Tombs carved his own Staff of Healing from the trunk of a young spruce tree. Took him a whole winter, then he had to take a month out of the campaign season for the dweomercraefting. (While we're out of the campaign, we just play another character. Tombs played his thief, Arnaquer Tombs). Carving the staff saved him 500 g.p., and he's real proud of it. But we got more than that out of the dungeon in the first week, and he could have saved Jinx another character with that staff.
Once you have the component, you can put the dweomer on it. That costs some gold and some amount of time out of the campaign per spell level.
Scrolls: Cost 100 g.p. and take one week per spell level. You can put up to 7 spells on one scroll. Writing a scroll has no chance for failure. You need parchment/vellum, a quill and ink, which don't cost much.
Potions: Potions cost 300 g.p. and one week per spell level. Not every spell can be put in a potion, and some potions need more than one spell and maybe other special ingredients, which also cost money. You need a laboratory too. Phenster Prime made friends with Jaeger, our local alchemist. We have a deal: I bring him "souvenirs" from our fights with rare monsters, and he lets me use his laboratory from time to time.
Wands and Staffs: 500 g.p. per spell level per charge plus 1 week per spell level and 1 extra day per charge. You can put 100 charges maximum. You can recharge an empty wand or staff (without paying for the component). Items that don't have charges cost 10,000 g.p. and 1 month per spell level. Tombs's Staff of Healing cost 10,000 g.p. and took one month to dweomer. I recharged "Counterspell" with 20 magic missiles for 10,000 g.p. in a week plus 20 days.
Miscellaneous Magic: These are the most difficult, because a lot of them do things there's no spell for. The best way is to decide on what level a spell might be that does that thing. Just like items that don't have charges, miscellaneous magic costs 10,000 g.p. plus 1 month per spell level.
Weapons and Armor: No matter if it's a weapon bonus or armor bonus, the cost is 10,000 g.p. and 6 months per +1. Ammunition costs 500 g.p. and 1 day per +1. When I found out Beowulf's Giant Slayer was going to take me a year and a half to dwoemer, I had the idea that we could ask Angharad Called the Fane[1] to make one. Hazard said it would take just as long and cost twice as much gold to have somebody else make it. Beowulf couldn't afford 60,000 g.p. Then we remembered that what we really needed was a Demon Slayer anyway. Without demon ichor, we had to go to the Heart-of-Dragon. No time to make a Dragon Slayer either.
Rings: Rings are "on" all the time, so they cost more: 20,000 g.p. and 2 months per spell level. They are always made of precious metals and finely crafted, which means expensive! A Ring of Wishes is NOT a charged item. You have to take the time (per spell level) to put every WISH into the ring.
Spell Research
Researching a new spell (one you invent or one from the rulebook you can't find in the dungeon) costs 2,000 g.p. plus 1 week per spell level. You just need a good library where you can study.
Chance of Failure
After spending all the time and money, your magic item or new spell is ready to be tested. Roll a d12. A 1 means failure. Testing charged items uses a charge. You can test in safety or take a chance and wait till you need the item to roll the d12. Good luck!
—L’avant garde #61 (March 1984)
1 Angharad Called the Fane is mentioned in Paradigm Lost #2 (November 1980). Early in their adventures, the PCs hear a rumor about this mysterious, swamp-dwelling hermit who can answer questions about infernal beings. In an encounter, they discover she is from a native tribe and a powerful magic-user and cleric.
This is the 32nd in a continuing series of articles, which reedits house rules for Holmes Basic D&D from 40-year-old game club newsletters. Mentions of house rules are in bold text and followed by a [bracketed category designator].
Phenster’s Pandemonium Society House Rules is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, events, incidents, and newsletters are either products of the author’s imagination or are used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is pure coincidence.
Phenster’s “Dungeoneering” article (L’avant garde #74, August 1985) begins with typical subterranean obstacles before diverging into magic items, other equipment, and monsters, in addition to “the Boomtown Rule.” The ring of plate mail, salt’s effect on zombies, and the (non-intelligent) enormous spider come from the first edition (1st through 3rd printings) of Basic D&D (1977), as does the dwarven war hammer.1 This diverse collection of rules is all over the book. I arrange them in Bluebook order.
I find no improvements to make in Phenster’s text describing the monsters. I, therefore, leave the descriptions of the cargolith and the enormous spider as is. I add only a category to each: Cargolith [C] and Enormous Spider [E].
Seeing in the Dark
Phenster doesn’t go into details about Dark Sight [E]. I add that light interferes, as in Holmes, and that a dark-sighted character cannot read in the dark.
Holmes doesn’t specify the later. If we wanted to allow it, we could justify reading in the dark by a different physical process or some innate magic. The advantages of an all dwarf/elf party who could read and see clues in frescoes and wall markings without light, however, might be too tempting and, so, upset any balance of character choices.
With that in mind, many intelligent dungeon dwellers, though they can see in the dark, may still have want of light.
Dark Sight [E]
Monsters, including dwarves and elves but not humans or halflings, can see up to 60 feet in the dark. Any light source interferes with this dark sight. Dark-sighted creatures cannot read without light.
Finding Traps
Regarding traps, Holmes only states that a character springs a trap on a d6 roll of 1 or 2 (10), and a table gives a thief’s chance to remove it beforehand (12). Phenster describes how the Pandemonium Society finds traps without tripping over them.
Find Traps [E]
Players may find a trap by describing how and where the character searches. No dice roll is required. Concealed traps may be discovered only by thieves, who have the same chance to find a trap as they have to remove it.
Force Doors [E]
With a roll of 1 or 2 on a d6, a character may force a stuck or locked door on the first attempt. Strength modifiers are subtracted from the dice roll. A 6 result indicates the door remains intact. Only a character with a higher strength score can open it on a successful roll. On any other result, the door still blocks sight but may be opened without any further dice roll.
Using this rule, we avoid the tedious series of dice rolls and get more impact out of a single throw. Keeping the 6-result failure in combination with the strength modifier allows for more serious consequences for characters of average strength and below.
Normal Weapons
War Hammer [E]
A war hammer does d6 damage (as an ordinary weapon in the Damage Dice by Weapon Class Table) and may be thrown up to 30 feet (as a hand-hurled axe [Holmes, 20]).
Hand-and-a-Half Battle Axe [E]
A battle axe may be wielded in one or two hands. With one hand, it deals d6+1 damage and is treated as a normal weapon with regards to initiative order.2 Two-handed, a battle axe deals d6+2 damage and is treated as a two-handed weapon, that is, it goes last in the round.3 (See the Attack Priority by Weapon Quality Table in “Weapon Damage and Attack Priority.”)
Caltrops [E]
A creature moving through strewn caltrops must slow to half speed to avoid stepping on one. Moving at normal speed, a creature has a 50% chance of taking 1 point of damage. A creature who steps on a caltrop moves at half speed until the damage is healed. One bag of caltrops, costing 1 gp, covers a 100-square-foot area, e.g. 10' × 10'.
Salt [P]
A handful of salt does d8 damage to zombies. To hit, treat the missile weapon as an oil flask (Holmes, 19) with a maximum range of 10 feet. One bag of salt containing 12 handfuls costs 1 gp.
Magic Items
Magic Swords
“Weapons with a plus after them are magical and the user adds the plus to his die roll for a hit… Magical weapons other than swords always add their bonus to both hit probability and to the points of damage scored” (emphasis mine, Holmes, 37).
Holmes carries the magic sword rule forward from OD&D, which states:
“The swords all receive bonuses as far as the probability of hitting an opponent is concerned, but some also gain a damage bonus when they do hit. These swords are those with a +2 or +3 against specific creatures, but not those with a general bonus of +2 or +3” (Monsters & Treasure, 30).
The Pandemonium Society, like most of us at the time, gives swords the same bonus to damage as to hit. The society also uses the glowing sword rule, possibly borrowed from AD&D, wherein “Most swords (and all daggers) of magical nature shed light when drawn from their scabbard” (DMG, 165; see also PHB, 102). Wondering why only 20% of swords would have this property, I add that these swords are made in a certain era or perhaps in a certain land. Thus the [C] Campaign designation.
Magic Sword Bonus Damage [E]
A magic sword gives its magic bonus to the damage roll as well as the attack roll.
Glowing Magic Swords [C]
One out of five magic swords sheds light in a 10-foot diameter when drawn. With rare exceptions, glowing swords were enchanted during the time of the Old Empire.
Dwarven War Hammer [E]
For any character, this is a +3 magic weapon. A dwarf can throw it up to double normal range (60 feet) without a range penalty. If it misses its target, the hammer comes back into the dwarf’s hand. A hit scores an additional d6 damage or 2d6+3. If the target is a giant, the damage is 3d6+3.
Rings of Armor [E]
These magic rings of plate mail, chain mail, and leather armor confer the respective armor’s AC to the wearer with an additional bonus equal to the ring’s magic bonus, +1, +2, or +3. The magic bonus is also applied to saving throws. A character wearing equal or better armor gets only the bonus to saves.
The Boomtown Rule [P]
As adventuring parties haul wealth out of the dungeon and into base town, the local economy suffers from inflation. To model the situation in a simple way, double prices for all goods and services when the player party reaches 4th level of experience. Double all prices again at 8th and 12th levels, and so forth.
This rule should only be used—if at all—in a campaign where most of the found treasure comes into a single town.
2 I take the idea for a one-handed battle axe from Paul Siegel, who suggests fixing a broken concept in B/X by removing the asterisk (which designates a two-handed weapon) from the battle axe. Siegel credits another for the idea in an episode of Wandering DMs. I regret that I can’t find the episode with the mention.
3 Retaining the two-handed battle axe and increasing the damage is my own idea.
“MISCELLANEOUS WEAPONS: Those with bonuses of +1, +2 or +3 gain a bonus of equal merit on damage scored, except as noted below” (Monsters & Treasure, 31).
Like most of us, I have read the above line maybe a hundred times. Every time, I have interpreted “of equal merit” to mean equal to the hit bonus. Reading it today, though, I see no obvious reason to believe that to be the case. “Of equal merit” might refer rather to the aforementioned “bonuses of +1, +2 or +3.” The text “noted below” does not further elucidate the issue. Meaning that the magic bonus of miscellaneous weapons (except magic bows and arrows) is applied only to damage, not to the attack roll.
Am I missing something? I’m sure I’m missing something. What are your interpretations or other clarifying text in OD&D?
