Random magic item table

[hcobb]

Given how much more painful each step in enchantment is, how do you account for how fnording rare the higher items are?

Random item table (2d6)
2-5 Chemical potion
6-8 Alchemical potion
9 Roll twice
10 Weapon Armor Enchantment (d6: 1-3 silver, 4-6 steel. d6: 1-2 ordinary, 3-4 Fine, 5-6 Very Fine)
11 LMIC
12 GMIC

For potions and leveled enchantments (1d6)
1-4 One dose or level
5-6 One dose or level plus roll again

Chemical Potion (4d6)
4-5 Increase DX
6 Increase ST
7 Fish Poison
8 Smell Booster Potion
9 Decrease IQ
10 Sleeping Potion
11 Reptile Poison
12 Decrease ST
13 Slime Poison
14 Gunpowder
15 Decrease DX
16 Simple Poison
17 Insect Poison
18 Berserker Potion
19 Plant Poison
20 Weapon Poison
21 Mammal Poison
22 Corrosive Poison
23 - 24 Increase IQ

Alchemical Potion (4d6)
4 Revival
5 Universal Antidote
6 Universal Solvent (1d6: 1-3 Black, 4-6 White)
7 Flight
8 Speed
9 Water Breathing
10 Pyrotic Ability
11 Treasure-Smelling Potion
12 Acute Hearing
13 - 14 Healing
15 Fear
16 Fireproofing
17 Dark Vision
18 Telekinesis
19 Imprisonment
20 Invisibility
21 Telepathy
22 Contact Poison
23 - 24 Youth

Weapon Armor Enchantment (2d6)
2-4 Armor (Roll 1d6 for base protection)
5 Shield (1d6: 1-2 Small, 3 Spike, 4-5 Large, 6 Tower)
6 Missile Weapons (1d6: Sling to Heavy Crossbow)
7 Dagger
8 Swords (1d6: Rapier to Great Sword)
9 Ax/Mace
10 Pole Weapons
11 Club/Maul/Staff
12 Other Unusual Weapons

And so on

[Skarg]

So you think Fear and Acute Hearing are the next most common potions after Healing?

And half of a Universal Solvent is more common than Universal Antidote?

Lots of Decrease ST and Decrease DX potion being produced, you figure? Seems to me that if/when those do get produced, they'd be made into gas bombs, rather than lying around randomly as potions.

[hcobb]

Remember that most potions are used in enchantments.

[Skarg]

For some value of "remember".


What then is the context/purpose for these tables? To see which potion is currently being produced by your view of alchemists who support industrial magic item production?

I'd sort of expect a random magic item table to be for when the GM hasn't thought through what exists at a location or carried by someone, and wants to use such a table for inspiration. And in that case, I wouldn't tend to think that potions produced for use in magic item creations would be either randomly distributed outside that production environment, nor carried by people.

But if it's for determining what stuff happens to be available off hand in a place where a wide of magic items are produced, then that would make more sense to me.

However just spot-checking, I think Universal Antidote is probably pretty desirable and tends to be the sort of thing people keep around for when it's needed, and if your table includes ingredients, that means Corrosive Potion also probably wouldn't be way on the end of the table.

[Axly Suregrip]

Henry,
You forgot scrolls and gas bombs.

Also, books of spells and a wizards chests (often found together) and not magic items, but they are items that can make magic. These are of high value and should be fairly common.

[Steve Jackson]

Originally Posted by Skarg

For some value of "remember".


I'd sort of expect a random magic item table to be for when the GM hasn't thought through what exists at a location or carried by someone, and wants to use such a table for inspiration. . . . what stuff happens to be available off hand in a place where a wide of magic items are produced, then that would make more sense to me.

Agree - sj

[hcobb]

I'm assuming that cost is rarity. Universal Antidote is expensive and requires six doses of other potions to create.

My use case is what's on the shelf at "The magic shop"(ITL 170), or what items a random encounter might have on them, or what's in the box in that wizard's room.

Perhaps roll for each weapon encountered?

(3d6)
3-5 Bronze
6-15 Steel
16-17 Silver
18 Gold

Then (2d6)
2-10 nothing applied
11 Natural poison
12 Chemical or Alchemical poison

Then(2d6, roll twice if silver)
2-8 unenchanted
9 Roll again twice
10 Weapon enchantment
11 LMIC
12 GMIC

Then (3d6, +6 if enchanted)
3-14 ordinary quality
15-16 Fine
17+ Very fine

[Skarg]

Originally Posted by hcobb

I'm assuming that cost is rarity. Universal Antidote is expensive and requires six doses of other potions to create.

My use case is what's on the shelf at "The magic shop"(ITL 170), or what items a random encounter might have on them, or what's in the box in that wizard's room.

Thanks for explaining that.

I would say that the listed cost might be a factor, but not the only measure of rarity. Some potions are very desirable/useful, and others are much less desirable or specialized. Some are mainly useful as a gas bomb. Also, the ingredients required would tend to affect rarity a lot. Some only require common ingredients, and others require things that seem pretty rare or limited.

Who is really likely to have a reason to be carrying a dose of Decrease ST potion around with them? Either a creative high-budget prankster/schemer, or a courier of alchemical components, maybe? It's possible some of that might end up just being in circulation as random loot (because almost no one ever drinks it), but I sure wouldn't put it near the center of a bell curve for a general random potion table.

[Celjabba]

Originally Posted by Skarg

It's possible some of that might end up just being in circulation as random loot (because almost no one ever drinks it), but I sure wouldn't put it near the center of a bell curve for a general random potion table.

That would be the reason ... nobody use them, but each apprentice make a bunch in the courses of their training, so they end up everywhere.
Every time someone find one, they put it in the bag/chest "just in case".
After a few centuries, a significant fraction of the flasks lying around are useless potions ...


More seriously, if I check one hundred random bottles being carried by peoples or stored in their houses, I wouldn't expect to find 10 bottles of ethylene, even if it is cheap and massively used in industry.