06-14-2020, 02:25 AM | #1 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Pacheco, California
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Random magic item table
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
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-HJC |
06-14-2020, 11:40 AM | #2 |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Random magic item table
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. |
06-14-2020, 03:47 PM | #4 |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Random magic item table
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. |
06-16-2020, 08:35 AM | #5 |
Join Date: Jun 2018
Location: Durham, NC
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Re: Random magic item table
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. |
06-16-2020, 09:20 AM | #6 | |
President and EIC
Join Date: Jul 2004
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Re: Random magic item table
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06-16-2020, 10:57 AM | #7 |
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Pacheco, California
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Re: Random magic item table
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
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-HJC Last edited by hcobb; 06-16-2020 at 11:42 AM. |
06-16-2020, 12:39 PM | #8 | |
Join Date: May 2015
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Re: Random magic item table
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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. |
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06-16-2020, 01:24 PM | #9 | |
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Luxembourg
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Re: Random magic item table
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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. |
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