Gygaxian Armor

AD&D Armor by David C. Sutherland III

The picture above should have been included in the 1E AD&D PHB or DMG. It illustrates the nine standard types of AD&D armor as described in those books, but appeared only in the relatively obscure AD&D Dungeon Masters Adventure Log, published in 1980.

Below are the corresponding descriptions from 1E AD&D Dungeon Masters Guide, page 27, plus a few notes from the shorter descriptions given on page 165. I've reordered them & included the encumbrance and move ratings from the table on page 27, and the armor classes and cost from the PHB. These use the unarmored AC 10 system that debuted in AD&D PHB, replacing the unarmored AC 9 system of OD&D.

Padded Armor (AC 8, MV 9", 10 lbs, 4 GP) is "heavily padded, quilted coat and an additional soft leather jerkin and leggings".

Leather Armor (AC 8, MV 12", 15 lbs, 5 GP) is "shaped cuir bouli (leather hardened by immersion in boiling oil) cuirass and shoulder pieces and softer shirt and leggings" (pg 27) and "includes boots and gauntlets" (pg 165).

Studded Leather (AC 7, MV 9", 20 lbs, 15 GP) is "leather armor to which have been fastened metal studding as additional protection, usually including an outer coat of fairly close-set studs (small plates)" (pg 27), and with "an extra layer of protection at shoulder area" (pg 165).

Ring Mail (AC 7, MV 9", 25 lbs, 30 GP) is "relatively soft leather armor over padding. To the long coat of leather are sewn metal rings. This makes the coat rather heavy and bulky".

Scale Mail (AC 6, MV 6", 40 lbs, 45 GP) is "armor similar to ring mail, but overlapping scales of metal are sewn to both coat and leggings—or a skirted coat is worn. As with chain, weight falls mainly on the wearer’s shoulders and waist".

Chain Mail (AC 5, MV 9", 30 lbs, 75 GP) is "padding plus interlocking mesh armor covering the upper and lower body. Vulnerable areas have multiple thicknesses. Weight falls upon the shoulders and waist of the wearer".

Splint Mail (AC 4, MV 6", 40 lbs, 80 GP) is "light chain, greaves, and a leather coat into which are laminated vertical pieces of plate with shoulder guards".

Banded Mail (AC 4, MV 9", 35 lbs, 90 GP) is "a layered armor with padding, light chain, and series of overlapping bands of armor in vulnerable areas. Weight is somewhat distributed".

Plate Mail (AC 3, MV 6", 40 lbs, 400 GP) is "light chain with pieces of plate — cuirass, shoulder pieces, elbow and knee guards, and greaves. Weight is well distributed".

Plate armor (AC 2, MV 9", 40 lbs, 2000 GP) is "a full suit of plate which is no more weighty and a bit less bulky, considering what is known as “field plate”" [This is an optional addition that Gygax mentions; it is not illustrated above. Rules for this were later expanded in Unearthed Arcana in 1985]

On page 165, Gygax refers the reader to Charles Ffoulkes' Armour and Weapons (1909), which thanks to the internet can be viewed here.

Original D&D and the Classic D&D successors only included Leather, Chain and Plate, so the additional armor types are typically associated with AD&D. However, many of them actually appeared all the way back in Chainmail Man-to-Man Melee Table:

The AD&D Monster Manual, which uses the original AC system (unarmored AC 9) gives us a few clues for adapting these armor types to OD&D.

Halflings: "The usual protection ... consists of padded or leather armor", with an AC of 7.
Wood Elf: "They usually wear studded leather or ring mail (AC 6)".
Gnomes: "...armored with leather armor which is ringed or well studded with metal and shield (armor class 5)".

Thus, if adapting these additional types to Holmes Basic or OD&D, we might use:

Padded Armor:  AC 7, MV 9", 10 GP
Leather Armor:  AC 7, MV 12", 15 GP
Studded Leather:  AC 6, MV 9", 20 GP
Ring Mail:  AC 6, MV 9", 20 GP
Scale Mail:  AC 5, MV 6", 25 GP 
Chain Mail:  AC 5, MV 9", 30 GP
Splint Mail:  AC 4, MV 6", 40 GP
Banded Mail:  AC 4, MV 9", 45 GP
Plate Mail:  AC 3, MV 6", 50 GP
Plate Armor:  AC 2, MV 9", 200 GP 

The AC & prices for Leather/Chain/Plate come from the original list in OD&D and Holmes Basic. In AD&D, there's little functional difference between Studded Leather and Ring, other than Ring being slightly heavier and costing twice as much, so I just left them as identical on this chart.

One practical use for this table in OD&D might be for adapting AD&D modules with these armor types. 

See also: The Monster Manual is a Holmes Supplement
 
(DMs Guild links include affilitate #)

The City in the Lake of Unknown Depths

The cover of the World of Greyhawk folio (1980),
showing Greyhawk and the Lake of Unknown Depths

Greyhawk lore, in various stages of development, is scattered about in various early D&D publications. For example, at least two different products - neither of which is the actual World of Greyhawk product - include references to cities or civilizations under Nyr Dyv, the Lake of Unknown Depths.

The first is the fourth D&D supplement, Eldritch Wizardry, published in 1976. In this booklet, instead of new "ordinary" magic items, Gygax provided us with a slew of Artifacts, each with its own short backstory, some of which include Greyhawk lore. For example, for the Codex of Infinite Planes, we learn:

"Long ago the wizard-cleric who ruled the Isles of Woe lost in the Lake of Unknown Depths used this work to gain knowledge of great power. It is told that this arcane wisdom is what eventually wrought the downfall of the mage-priest and caused the waters to swallow his domain", pg 43 of Eldritch Wizardry (1976).

This was later revised for the 1979 AD&D DMG, with the wizard-cleric becoming "the High Wizard Priest", and the "Lake of Unknown Depths" changed to its formal name, Nyr Dyv, along with a formal reference to the World of Greyhawk product, not yet published.

In the year after Eldritch Wizardry, the game play aid Outdoor Geomorphs: Set One Walled City (1977) was published, and included a short sample key to give DMs an idea of how the set should be used. Allan Grohe has kindly transcribed these for us. One of the city locations is a fish market, the Silvery Mart, and part of the description for it reads:

"If the owner of the fifth booth on the east side (counting up from the north) is engaged in conversation, he will relate a tale about his adventure on the Lake of Unknown Depths, where a very friendly mermaid told him of the City in the Lake. If bribed with no less than 10 gold pieces in goods or cash he will draw out a map showing where he thinks the fabled city lies beneath the waters (he is right), and he will warn whomever it is he is telling about it that there is a dreaded monster guarding the crystal steps down to the city. He can tell nothing more. (See #56, Society of the Sages, for details of which sage knows what about the legend of the City in the Lake)" 

Unfortunately, Area #56 is not included in the brief sample key, so we'll never get to hear the full legend of the City in the Lake directly from the sage, unless we write it ourselves. It's possible Gygax had his earlier story from the Codex of the Infinite Planes in mind, in which case the City in the Lake could be the resting place of the High Wizard Priest of the Isles of Woe. On the other hand, the "crystal steps down to the city" sound like something that was purposefully built, and "fabled city" sounds more wondrous than sinister, so perhaps the two are separate locales under the lake.

This post on the Greyhawkery blog points out just how deep the lake is - over 30,000 feet deep, as deep as the deepest parts of the ocean. Could this depth have been created by the same cataclysm that sank the Isles of Woe?

When the World of Greyhawk was finally published in 1980 (in folio format) and again in 1983 (boxed set), there was no mention of either legend in the description of the Nyr Dyv, with the only fantastic lore being in regard to the the lake monsters:

"The Nyr Dyv is also well known for the monsters which inhabit its waters. Deep beneath the surface lurk huge creatures which prey upon unwary sailors or anyone so unlucky as to fall into the water. Warcraft, and occasionally merchants or bargees will bring back such monsters as trophies, as constant warfare upon these creatures is necessary to make the lake useful and usable" (pg 25)

Illustration by David Sutherland from the 1980 WoG folio,
showing a barge being attacked by a lake monster

2018 Update: One other bit of lore regarding the Nyr Dyv is that S1 Tomb of Horrors suggests "An island (unmapped) in the Nyr Dyv" as one possible location for the Tomb.

Monochrome D2 Print-On-Demand

Tuesday's new batch of print-on-demand D&D from WOTC finally includes a '70s classic: the 1978 original monochrome version of D2 Shrine of the Kuo-Toa, part of Gary Gygax's timeless D1-D2-D3 'drow' trilogy.

According to the printing info at the Acaeum, the pdf (which i had previously bought) is of the 5th printing of the module, although I'm not aware of any content differences in the printings of D2. However, there are significant differences in art and content as compared to the later D1-2 compilation, as detailed here.

The front and back cover art in the original are both by David Sutherland. The back cover is rarely seen as it was not included in the D1-2 compilation, and is a great composition depicting an encounter with a rust monster, still looking very much like the Chinese toy that inspired it:

Interior art is by Dave Trampier (DAT) and Sutherland (DCS)
DAT:  Umber Hulk encounter (pg 3), Kuo-Toa barge encounter (pg 6), Kuo-Toa 'fingerling' pool (pg 10-11), adventurers resting (pg 13)
DCS: Roper battle (pg 4), Svirfneblin encounter (pg 7), Kuo-Toa throne (pg 9)
Kuo-Toa for monster entry (pg 13), Svirfneblin/Kuo-Toa battle (pg 15), Svirfneblin for monster entry (pg 16).

See also my previous post about the D&D print-on-demand.

(Note: links include affilitate number that gives me 5% credit if you make a purchase)

New Character Sheet Draft

Above is a screenshot of a draft of a new Character Sheet for Holmes Ref. I included one in Holmes Ref 1.0 that was a quick reduction of the Character Creation Worksheet, but I thought I'd make a new one that was a bit more streamlined / pleasing to my eyes.

The note regarding item location is from Gygax's Encumbrance rules on page 9.

The "Designated Heir" is from page 8 of Holmes: "A character may be allowed to designate a "relative" who will inherit his wealth and possessions (after paying a 10% tax) on his death or disappearance." This rule originally appeared in OD&D Vol 1 (page 13, section "Relatives").

Any feedback is appreciated. After a few days I will turn it into a pdf and add it to the Holmes Ref page.

Allen Hammack Q&A with James Mishler

 James Mishler's Q&A with Game Designer Allen Hammack  

If you missed it, on Thanksgiving Day on his blog Adventures in Gaming James Mishler posted a great interview with former TSR employee Allen Hammack, author of the classic AD&D modules C2 Ghost Tower of Inverness and A3 Assault on the Aerie of the Slave Lord.

Hammack's time at TSR (1978-1983) overlaps with most of the Holmes Basic-era, and of particular note to us, the interview mentions that among other products he worked as an editor on the "1978 editions" of the Holmes Basic Set. Since that set out first came out in 1977 and Hammack started in 1978, I assume he most likely worked on revisions that were included in the 3rd printing (May 1978), 2nd edition (Nov 1978) and/or 3rd edition (Dec 1979).

Hammack also mentions that "Dave Sutherland used to draw tiny biplanes into wizard hats in honor of the Fight in the Skies WWI game" [later Dawn Patrol]. This sent me back to Sutherland's Holmes Basic Set cover art to look for biplanes in the wizard's hat. None spotted there, but I'll keep on the lookout for other Sutherland wizards.

Character Creation Worksheet without line shading

I had a request for a version of the Character Creation Worksheet without line shading so that it easier to use with a highlighter (the link is to the previous blog post about it which has a link to the original version with line shading). A screenshot of this modified sheet is posted above, and the 1-page pdf is now available for downloading:

Character Creation Worksheet without line shading 

(direct link)

It can also be accessed from the Holmes Ref page on the Zenopus Archives site.

If this version is preferred, I will replace it in the Holmes Ref 1.0 compilation. I had put the shaded lines in for readability because the page is so busy. But this version should use less slightly less printer ink and (in addition to being able to be used with a highlighter) may generally serve better as a worksheet/character sheet, being easier to write/erase on the unshaded lines. Let me know.

Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea RPG 2nd Edition Kickstarter

Screenshot from the Kickstarter Page showing the cover for the 2nd Edition rulebook

As I write this, 12 hours remain in the kickstarter for the 2nd Edition of the Astonishing Swordsmen and Sorcerers of Hyperborea RPG. The kickstarter currently over 800 backers with over $64K raised, meaning that all stretch goals have been unlocked. I've backed the game at the $59 level (plus shipping), which includes a hardcover book, pdf, and the stretch goals, many of which are improvements to the book itself.

This game was written by Jeff Talanian, who has professed deep admiration for Holmes Basic. See this post from September where I transcribed some quotes from his interview on the Dead Games Society podcast. The second sentence in the kickstarter states that the game is "Inspired by Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, and Clark Ashton Smith!". These are three "Weird Fiction" authors whom J. Eric Holmes was very fond of. As he wrote in his widely read 1980 article in the magazine Psychology Today, "...my players have wandered through bits of Barsoom and Hyperborea, through worlds created by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, H. Rider Haggard, A. Merritt, H.P. Lovecraft and Clark Ashton Smith".

The AS&SH RPG includes the 4 standard D&D classes, as well as 22 subclasses, among which are all of those originally promised for AD&D in the Holmes Basic rulebook: paladins, rangers, illusionists, monks, druids, assassins and even the witch. Plus many others. Instead of demi-humans, the game includes a variety of fictional human cultures from which to create a character.

Peruse the Kickstarter page and this update thread on the OD&D Discussion Forum for many examples of the fantastic art commissioned for this new edition by at least ten artists, including Russ Nicholson of Fiend Folio and Fighting Fantasy fame. Nicholson's artwork remains very much in the style of his Fiend Folio work (which I love), for example see this piece posted in the OD&D thread: