Post by captaincrumbcake on Aug 13, 2017 14:39:36 GMT -5
The (true) first print of the AD&D PhB came out, I believe, in June of '78. The G series modules appeared in print the same year; perhaps that summer, idk. (Verification appreciated.)
Regardless, from my many years of reading the accounts of those early groups of players from those times, it seems that many managed to adventure through the G series, without having the assistance of the AD&D Players Handbook; iow, many were still using the original LBBs, and some--the Holmes basic rules. I am of the mindset, that the G series could, today, be gone through by a group of 7 to 9 characters using only the original rules, with Greyhawk additions included if desired, with characters having levels of but 5th through 8th. But that's a discussion perhaps reserved for another thread.
To my point. Out of curiosity, I decided to actually generate treasure that might be found, should a party manage to enter cavern 23, on the lower level of the G1. It turned out to be a very interesting exercise, and I thought others might be curious as to what the results were. So here goes.
First, I expanded the square grid to reveal every aspect of the chamber's dimensions. I came to the conclusion that approximately, the cavern extends into 93 squares. 7 of these are full 10' x 10' sections; 15 are about a half square--5' x 5'; and 11 managed to cover a quarter square of about 2.5' x 2.5'. This comes to 33, where are the others? I excluded those filled by the rushing river, or dominated by sink holes; those of less than a quarter in shape tended to be slivers of floor space, mostly at the walls of the cavern, and by my judgement, not likely to harbor anything of value.
Second, I adjust the treasure generation rolls according to the actual dimensions of the 33 squares I considered valid locations. Those with only half the space, I deducted 3 from the % roll, and those of a quarter, I deducted 5%. Then I started rolling for each potential location. I made 3 full searches, and compiled the following results.
These were the full 10' x 10' squares.
All these (above) were the 5' x 5' squares.
These (above) being from quarter (2.5' x 2.5') squares.
But I went further... rolling to determine the values of all coins collected, gems, jewelry, and the specific types of magic items. It's without doubt that anyone using the above tables would generate far different results from what follows. But, the 3 full searches resulted as thus:
Search 1: Jewelry(1 x 600; 1 x 1000). 198 cp; 264 sp; 175 ep; 58 gp. Potion Healing, potion Longevity. Scroll Protection vs. Undead. Sword +1/+2 vs. Lycanthropes; Sword -2, cursed.
Search 2: 1 gem (x 50). 146 cp; 352 sp; 195 ep; 352 gp; 20 pp. Scroll Protection vs. Elementals; Scroll 2 MU spells (L5/4). Ring Invisibility. +1 armor.
Search 3: 25 gems (6 x 10; 1 x 50; 11 x 100; 2 x 500; 5 x 1000 GP. ) 5 Jewelry ( 1 x 400; 1 x 500; 3 x 5000 GP.) 182 sp; 80 ep; 150 gp; 19 pp. Scroll Protection vs. Magic; Scroll 1 MU spell (L6). Potion Longevity; Potion Speed. Sword +1 flaming. 10 Magic arrows.
All in all this was a very enlightening experiment. If it is helpful to others in any way...cool.
Regardless, from my many years of reading the accounts of those early groups of players from those times, it seems that many managed to adventure through the G series, without having the assistance of the AD&D Players Handbook; iow, many were still using the original LBBs, and some--the Holmes basic rules. I am of the mindset, that the G series could, today, be gone through by a group of 7 to 9 characters using only the original rules, with Greyhawk additions included if desired, with characters having levels of but 5th through 8th. But that's a discussion perhaps reserved for another thread.
To my point. Out of curiosity, I decided to actually generate treasure that might be found, should a party manage to enter cavern 23, on the lower level of the G1. It turned out to be a very interesting exercise, and I thought others might be curious as to what the results were. So here goes.
First, I expanded the square grid to reveal every aspect of the chamber's dimensions. I came to the conclusion that approximately, the cavern extends into 93 squares. 7 of these are full 10' x 10' sections; 15 are about a half square--5' x 5'; and 11 managed to cover a quarter square of about 2.5' x 2.5'. This comes to 33, where are the others? I excluded those filled by the rushing river, or dominated by sink holes; those of less than a quarter in shape tended to be slivers of floor space, mostly at the walls of the cavern, and by my judgement, not likely to harbor anything of value.
Second, I adjust the treasure generation rolls according to the actual dimensions of the 33 squares I considered valid locations. Those with only half the space, I deducted 3 from the % roll, and those of a quarter, I deducted 5%. Then I started rolling for each potential location. I made 3 full searches, and compiled the following results.
| Search 1 | Search 2 | Search 3 |
| 1 jewelry | 1-100 ep | Sword/Misc. Wpn |
| Sword/Misc. Wpn | 1-100 gp | 1-100 sp |
| Nil | Nil | Nil |
| 1-100 sp | 1-100 ep | 1 jewelry |
| 1-100 ep | armor & or shield | 1-100 gp |
| Nil | 1-100 sp | Nil |
| Nil | 1 scroll | 1-8 gems |
These were the full 10' x 10' squares.
| Nil | 1-100 gp | Nil |
| 1 Scroll | Nil | 1-100 ep |
| Nil | 1-100 ep | Nil |
| 1-100 sp | 1-20 pp | Nil |
| 1 potion | Nil | 1 jewelry |
| 1-100 ep | 1-100 sp | 1-20 pp |
| 1-8 gems | Nil | Nil |
| 1-100 sp | Nil | 1 jewelry |
| Nil | Nil | 1 jewelry |
| Sword/Misc. Wpn | Scroll | 1 jewelry |
| 1 scroll | 1-100 sp | 1 scroll |
| 1-100 sp | 1-100 gp | 1 potion |
| 1-100 ep | Nil | Nil |
| 1-100 sp | 1 scroll | 1 potion |
| 1-100 sp | Nil | 1-100 sp |
All these (above) were the 5' x 5' squares.
| Nil | Nil | 1-8 gems |
| Nil | 1 ring | 1-8 gems |
| Nil | 1-100 cp | Nil |
| 1-100 cp | Nil | 1-100 ep |
| 1-100 cp | 1-100 cp | 1 scroll |
| 1-100 ep | 1-100 gp | Nil |
| 1 potion | 1-100 ep | Nil |
| 1-100 gp | 1-8 gems | 1-100 gp |
| 1 jewelry | 1-100 sp | Nil |
| 1-100 ep | Nil | 1-8 gems |
| Nil | 1-100 cp | Sword/ Misc. Wpn |
These (above) being from quarter (2.5' x 2.5') squares.
But I went further... rolling to determine the values of all coins collected, gems, jewelry, and the specific types of magic items. It's without doubt that anyone using the above tables would generate far different results from what follows. But, the 3 full searches resulted as thus:
Search 1: Jewelry(1 x 600; 1 x 1000). 198 cp; 264 sp; 175 ep; 58 gp. Potion Healing, potion Longevity. Scroll Protection vs. Undead. Sword +1/+2 vs. Lycanthropes; Sword -2, cursed.
Search 2: 1 gem (x 50). 146 cp; 352 sp; 195 ep; 352 gp; 20 pp. Scroll Protection vs. Elementals; Scroll 2 MU spells (L5/4). Ring Invisibility. +1 armor.
Search 3: 25 gems (6 x 10; 1 x 50; 11 x 100; 2 x 500; 5 x 1000 GP. ) 5 Jewelry ( 1 x 400; 1 x 500; 3 x 5000 GP.) 182 sp; 80 ep; 150 gp; 19 pp. Scroll Protection vs. Magic; Scroll 1 MU spell (L6). Potion Longevity; Potion Speed. Sword +1 flaming. 10 Magic arrows.
All in all this was a very enlightening experiment. If it is helpful to others in any way...cool.