D&D 1E Favorite Obscure Rules from TSR-era D&D

[Voadam]

That table is amazing.

First: it defines ”Fuel” as being measured in units of “person turns.”

Then it doesn’t provide any units at all for things called Start, Wind Res., Cap., Vis., or “Warmth Provided at Given Dis.”!

The Wilderness Survival Guide is a ridiculous thing but not ridiculous in that way.

You can tell that is not the end, that is just where that page ends on the semicolon midsentence.

The other parts are defined on the next page

If you want really in-depth specific D&D wilderness rules then WSG has got you.

 

[Riley]

The Wilderness Survival Guide is a ridiculous thing but not ridiculous in that way.

You can tell that is not the end, that is just where that page ends on the semicolon midsentence.

The other parts are defined on the next page

View attachment 376179

I was sure there would be plenty of accompanying explanatory text, given what was (and was not) in that table.

I'm simply astounded that such a detailed sub-system was ever created and published.

One criticism I considered upon seeing the first table image was that the system had failed to account for the varying availability of fuel in differing environments, but yes: there's a whole sub-subsystem for that, too! Even crosstabs for season and climate!

And paragraphs explaining how to modify the "Warmth Provided at Given Dis." accounting for the presence of winds of varying velocities at different directions and distances from the fire relative to the direction of the wind!

Then, stop. In the "Precautions and Perils" section, we switch gears entirely to a very practical, real-world Boy Scouts Handbook style: "The cardinal rules of fire safety are the same in the game universe as they are in the real world. In summary,..." And it proceeds to elaborate in a series of numbered paragraphs!

Amazing. I love it!

 

[borringman]

 

[mikeburke]

Oh, they keep going deeper .. rules for damage caused by getting too close to a large fire, determining if a spark from a fire causes an outbreak, and so on..

The campfire subsystem also plugs in neatly to other subsystems for hypothermia and wet clothes vs. wind (Personal Temperature) and so on.

My personal “Desert Island D&D” looks a lot like 2E with WSG and DSG mixed in to taste. A rich stew indeed!

 

[James Gasik]

Fell down a rabbit hole in another thread where there was a question of how quickly one can down a potion.

I couldn't find a speed factor penalty associated with potion drinking in 1e, perhaps someone can point me to it (2e asserts it's 2-5). Maybe someone else can weigh in on that. But despite having always played at tables where magical healing happens instantly, the 1e DMG has this to say:

"Potions take effect 2-5 segments after they are imbibed."

This means that if you were to drink a healing potion in combat, it's quite possible to take a hit and die before the healing occurs!

 

[Botho]

Thank you, everyone, for a great read on this thread. Two of the themes over these 800 posts include "oops, we missed that" and old school terror. My contribution to the two themes is the image below. Back in the day I thought, "never mind the anhkheg, there's a f****** ear!" For years I wondered, "a magic ear? the giant ear of another monster hiding in the haystack?" Reading this thread, and going back to my books, I saw it. Once again, I thought, "that damn ear!" Then, it finally hit me: IT IS A HAT falling off the farmer Odysseus' head! IT'S JUST A HAT! Frightened all these years by Gygaxian mischief. Like that one player of lore shooting the veranda, I would have shot the ear!

Spoiler: spoiler image

 

[CleverNickName]

Old school...terror? I'm not sure I follow. What's terrifying about older games?

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

Old school...terror? I'm not sure I follow. What's terrifying about older games?

1. Meenlocks.

2. Sons of Kyuss.

3. Penanggalan.

That's just off the top of my head from the Fiend Folio. ....The Fiend Folio.

Yeah, Everyone is like,,"Ha ha ha, carbuncles." But hear me now and believe me later- the people who wrote some of that took the brown acid, man.

Don't take the brown acid.

 

[James Gasik]

Old school...terror? I'm not sure I follow. What's terrifying about older games?

Bards. Multiclassing. Psionics.

 

[MGibster]

If you want really in-depth specific D&D wilderness rules then WSG has got you.

I know the one thing missing from my D&D games over the years was information on where and how I could find fuel for fires while on camping trips.

2. Sons of Kyuss.

Wasn't this a band?