Using the "Equipment" Deck with the Weapons Rack

[Kurgan]

Somebody else came up with this idea, so I can't claim credit, but whoever it was, thanks for the inspiration! This will make the cards more useful and the "weapons rack" more interesting...

I made a deck of "Equipment" cards, using all of the NA gear, including some from my new armory, plus multiples of a few of the items (shields, daggers, etc) using the template provided on the Inn's page.

Since it starts to become unwieldy to require the players to hang onto a card for each item they have, the way I use this deck is to show the hero what their starting gear (or recently purchased gear) looks like, then they write it on their character sheet, and return the card. But what else can we use it for? Obviously, for bonus gear! It's so disappointing to find the Weapons Rack in a quest and find that there's nothing there (not even a "they're so rusty and broken you wouldn't want to use them" from the Quest Book).

For purposes of the quests, I removed the armor (except shields and helmets) and items like toolkit. At first I tried only using cards of the items actually on the Weapons Rack furniture model, but then thought why not open it up to everything...

So when a Hero searches for treasure in a room with the Weapons Rack... UNLESS the Quest calls for a specific treasure there, I allow the Hero to then draw a random card from the Equipment Deck!

That's it, simple. Whatever is in there, they get it. So they are guaranteed a weapon, shield or helmet, which they can take and use (or to sell later) or drop (theoretically for the next Hero to search for and find in that room).

[mitchiemasha]

I do the same. It's in 1 of the original quests or expansions UK edition, I forget which.

[Jafazo]

A battleaxe still costs 450 gold and with people allowing stuff to be sold at 50% value that's a nice 225 gold find. Doing this makes the armory a random element in treasure obtainment and that'd need to be factored in when determining any quests total treasure output. Every quest in the questbook containing an armory now gains the ability to put out 225 extra gold coins. You're on the road to imbalance if it isn't thought out.

[Kurgan]

True, of course I could remove the Battle Axe card. Actually here's an idea... just don't restock the cards, and quest to quest, it will diminish. So it won't be an endless gold machine that way.

[mitchiemasha]

A battleaxe still costs 450 gold and with people allowing stuff to be sold at 50% value that's a nice 225 gold find. Doing this makes the armory a random element in treasure obtainment and that'd need to be factored in when determining any quests total treasure output. Every quest in the questbook containing an armory now gains the ability to put out 225 extra gold coins. You're on the road to imbalance if it isn't thought out.

That's fine... especially when adding in weapons damage. Balance is always rectified by the other mods included. I doubt we'd ever run through base game quest though, unless youngsters being introduced, which would be played vanilla.

EDIT: AND, if reducing treasure searches to 1 per room plus item of furniture. Even without that the Treasure hoard might not be found in a quest. Total output potential is increased but it's too random to worry about it as a major balance issue.

Perhaps add a nothing of value card... Rusty old junk!!!

[Kurgan]

I thought about the "rusty old junk" card being shuffled in there each time... The way I play, only one search per room.

[ZeBix]

The way I play, only one search per room.

I actually allow more, but then they have to draw cards (and get those pestering double-attacking Wandering Monsters )

I do the same. It's in 1 of the original quests or expansions UK edition, I forget which.

I concur. Haven't the courage to browse through all my quest books right now, but I've recently read them all (EU edition, see my sig) and there was this Weapons Rack which required to shuffle the equipment cards and draw one.

This very point helped me make sense of these "double" equipment cards (shield and helmet). Because of these, I've always assumed that each card could only be bought once (on the contrary to the US Armory which, with no card existing, allowed everyone to purchase everything). But then it made sense: you have an additional shield and helm in the equipment card deck so you have a higher chance of getting those

[mitchiemasha]

"double" equipment cards (shield and helmet).

Each card could be only bought once, hence the double card. The double card is only in the first few print runs of the UK version. The double cards in the 1st UK version are replaced for Wizard items in the 2nd UK version.

As for limiting searches, there's lots of reasons to... but no doubt you'll read all about it somewhere here soon.

[Kurgan]

Good stuff!

My Equipment Deck will have 2 copies each of Shield and Helmet, it's settled. I also planned to have a second dagger, staff and shortsword card. If the Quest calls for it, I'll gladly remove some cards to skew the results (eliminating the "useless" and "too powerful" options). Generally the deck will serve to enhance the experience of finding a new weapon or piece of armor (then go back into the Deck) and serve for these instances of searching racks. Otherwise I'll be using the Armory (and my expanded armory sheets).

Anybody recall... are the "Boots of Speed" that give extra movement from the Japanese set? I should introduce those somehow.

Edit: I was wrong. The Boots are from Legacy of Sorasil (the computer game)

[burglekutt]

Just played the other night with newbs & they were pissed that the weapons rack has nothing of use on it.

I was thinking that if a piece of armor was pulled from the Rack, that it could have a single BodyPoint of damage that it could take before being destroyed. Or the player can put it in his bag & sell it later for 10% of its cost.

Same for weapons such as a Halbeared with only a 2ATT instead of a 3ATT. Every time you successfully use it, it loses an ATT Die till it is destroyed. Or save it & sell it for 10% of its original value.

I'm definitely using this in the next game so that the players can experience the different weapons in the game.