Playing with Equipment

I just sent this as part of an email to the players in my Moldvay/Cook/Labyrinth Lord game. I'm not posting the entire equipment list, because it would be at least as long as my post about magic.

The equipment list is mostly compiled from 2nd edition AD&D sources, because 2e had the most extensive equipment lists. When running a game with one foot in the traditions of Old School gaming, you can expect the players to ask about buying the most outlandish stuff, from nets and block-and-tackle to bags of fine soot and ornate jade jars of khol. It's just easier if we've got a large list of prices right out of the gate, because no list will, in the end, be extensive enough.

And so the list sent to them has the usual metal mirrors and backpacks, as well as cosmetics, triremes, and eunuchs. Because you just don't know...

Finally, here's the list of generic equipment your characters can expect to buy whenever they're in a relatively large city or port. Obviously, many of these things won't be available in small villagers or the wilderness.

A few things bear mentioning. First, you'll notice a lack of horses. No horses in this world. Instead, there are a handful of beasts that are ridden or used for transport. Camels, mammoths, and elephants probably don't require much discussion. The kimimutsch is a large, flightless predatory bird. Think giant carnivorous ostriches with bad attitudes. If you saw the movie "10,000 BC", you know what we're talking about here. If not, Google phorusrhacids. The tschal is a large, plodding, four-footed herbivorous lizard that generally stands 4' at the shoulder. They're not very fast, but they are incredibly strong and are used primarily for pulling carts and working the fields. Warcats are saber-toothed tigers that have been trained to accept riders. They are not generally known for their loyalty; if a warcat and its rider starve, the warcat generally starves last.

Use the weapon and armour costs from the Labyrinth Lord book. You can reduce the cost of any of these items by 10% if you purchase bronze rather than steel versions. Bronze weapons and armour, however, have a tendency to break or fall apart. This generally happens when the DM is feeling malicious. ;)

There are slots still open in this game, and I just lost a player whose schedule was not as open as he thought it was going to be. If you're interested in jumping in, either this week or next, drop me an email at trollsmyth-at-yahoo-dot-com.