This set of tables is meant to replace the entire Monsters and Treasure sword section. It should create more variable sword results than the official rules, gathering much of its inspiration from Dave Arneson's First Fantasy Campaign.
Magic Swords
Unique among
magic weaponry, swords possess a number of human characteristics. These are
Alignment (Lawful, Neutral, or Chaotic), Intelligence, and Egoism. Thus for all
intents and purposes, swords are Non Player Characters. And also like henchmen,
may turn against their owners at inopportune moments.
Origin (d6): A sword’s exceptional abilities (if any) depend on the forger’s class. Furthermore, holy swords will have special powers in the hands of the paladin-type character.
1
|
Holy Sword, forged by Clerics
|
2-6
|
Magic Sword, forged by Magic-Users
|
Alignment (d6): Picking up a sword of opposite alignment will cause 2 dice
worth of damage (2-12 points), otherwise if the alignment of the sword does not
match the potential wielder, it will deal only 1 die (1-6 points).
1,
2, 3
|
Lawful
|
4,
5
|
Neutral
|
6
|
Chaotic
|
Non-player characters take only half damage, if not acting
as a free agent, and may be freed from any spell, alignment change, or
otherwise may be otherwise removed from the service of their former master.
If the sword’s Intelligence and Egoism is 6 or more points
above the character's who picks it up, the sword will gain control of the person,
even causing him to become aligned as the sword, and will immediately act
accordingly.
Intelligence (d12): Swords with an intelligence of 5 or greater will understand
the language of their makers. For swords of 11 intelligence or above, roll 1d6
and select a number of additional languages known by the sword that best fit
its abilities.
Mental Power
|
Communicative Ability
|
|
1-4
|
None
endowed
|
None*
|
5-8
|
One
primary power
|
Empathy
|
9,
10
|
Two
primary powers
|
Empathy
|
11
|
3
primary powers and the ability to use languages
|
Speech
|
12
|
Also
above, but also has 1-3 Extraordinary Abilities
|
Telepathy
|
* Power must be discovered by the wielder since the sword
cannot communicate.
Primary Powers (d30)
1
|
Note
Shifting Walls
|
2
|
Detect
Rooms & Sloping Passages
|
3
|
Charm
Person
|
4
|
Locate
Secret Doors & Traps
|
5
|
Detect
Traps
|
6
|
Detect
Gems (# and Size)
|
7
|
See
Invisible Objects
|
8
|
Detect
Evil
|
9
|
Detect
Metal & What Kind
|
10
|
Detect
Magic
|
11
|
Healing
(1 point/6 turns or 6 points/day)
|
12
|
Flaming
Sword
|
13
|
Detect
Copper
|
14
|
Light
|
15
|
Detect
Living Beings
|
16
|
X-Ray
Vision
|
17
|
1-4
Times Normal Strength for 1-10 Turns (1/day)
|
18
|
Wishes
(2-8)
|
19
|
Detect
Silver
|
20
|
Detect
Undead
|
21
|
Read
Magic
|
22
|
Sundering
(25% chance/round to break opponent’s weapon)
|
23
|
Creature
Detection (roll for specific creature type)
|
24
|
Detect
Gold
|
25
|
Enemy
Detection
|
26
|
Sword
of Cold (+1-3 damage vs. fire use/dwelling monsters)
|
27
|
Detect
Treasure (500 GP value or greater)
|
28
|
Anti-Magic
(within 10’)
|
29
|
Roll
Twice (ignore results 29, 30)
|
30
|
Roll
for 1-3 Extraordinary Abilities
|
Purpose:
10% of swords will have a special purpose. These swords will automatically have
their egoism score moved up to the maximum value (12) and will gain an
additional ability:
Purpose (d20)
|
Bonus To Hit
|
Bonus to Damage (or Special*)
|
1-9:
Slay Opposite Alignment (50/50 for neutral swords)
|
+1
to +3 vs. Alignment
|
None
|
10-15:
Slay Monster
|
+1
to +3 vs. monster
|
Specific
monster only
|
16:
Slay Monsters (1-4)
|
+1
to +3 for monster (roll for each)
|
Specific
Monsters only
|
17:
Slay Fighters**
|
+1
to +3 vs. Fighting-Men
|
Fighting-Men
only
|
18:
Slay Magic-Users
|
+1
to +3 vs. Magic-Users
|
Magic-Users
only
|
19:
Slay Clerics
|
+1
to +3 vs. Clerics
|
Clerics
only
|
20:
Slay Thieves**
|
+1
to +3 vs. Thieves
|
Thieves
only
|
* 10% of swords with a special purpose will instead paralyze
(for Lawful swords) or disintegrate (for Chaotic swords) their foes rather than additional dealing damage. If no bonus to damage is indicated, reroll the result.
** If thieves are not used, roll 1d6: (1-2) Fighting-Men, (3-4)
Magic-Users), (5-6) Clerics.
Swords without a specific purpose will have a universal
bonus to hit against all opponents (rather than just specific ones), but not to
damage, unlike swords with a specific purpose. Otherwise the bonus to hit and
damage applies only to creatures of a specific type.
1,
2, 3
|
+1
|
4,
5
|
+2
|
6
|
+3
|
Extraordinary Abilities (d6): For swords indicated to have one or
more exceptional abilities, consult the table below to determine what spell
level the sword will possess.
Holy
Sword
|
Casts
spells as a 2-5 level cleric
|
Magic
Sword
|
Casts
spells as a 1-6 level magic-user
|
The actual number of spells the sword may cast (each usable
only once each day) are determined as follows. Once the number of spells is
determined, roll for which specific spells are known.
1,
2, 3
|
1
spell
|
4,
5
|
2
spells
|
6
|
3
spells
|
Egoism (d12): Swords with an intelligence of 5 or greater will have an
ego rating. This is a measure of the sword’s self-interest, used to determine
to what degree the sword will influence its wielder. The swords ego may cause
the user to: pass off better weapons, allow itself to be captured by a higher
level character closer to the sword’s station, surrender itself to a lower
level character in order to exercise great control over its user, require a
share of acquired treasure in the form of flamboyant scabbards, jewel encrustation,
magical guarding devices, and the like.
In these cases, the sword may attempt to work against the
wielder (although a sword will not usually work against a wielder whose
alignment and goals coincided with that of the sword). First the sword’s
influence must be determined: add Intelligence + Egoism +1 per special ability +1
per extraordinary ability (6-30). This is compared to the wielder’s intelligence
and strength (5-36) and modified by the physical state of the user. If the
wielder is fresh and relatively free of damage (less than 10%) from 1-6 points
are added to his total (7-42 then possible). If damage from over 50% has been
sustained, or the character is under mental strain from some form of magic,
from 1-6 points are deducted (5-30 then possible).
Difference
|
Result
|
6
or more
|
Higher
score always prevails
|
2
- 5
|
75%
chance the higher score will prevail
|
0
- 1
|
50%
either way
|