Now, this is a list. Plenty of D&D standards, including the lanterns, the thieves' pick and the holy symbol, along with a few things that I feel the game has overlooked.
A bianzhong is set of bells which were hung on a wooden frame and played as part of a religious ritual. In this case, the full 65 bell set is not offered, but lesser sets were quite common, particularly if they were meant to be hung in personal homes and such.
A ship's compass is a large device which is designed to be fixed permanently to a horizontal plane upon a ship, with counterbalances to manage the rolling, heaving environment. It was not meant to be hauled along with a party. The glass facing helped keep the device waterproof.
Details about the hookah pipe can be read here. I have generally taken steps to enable characters to develop the same sorts of addictive habits as exist in the real world. I recognize why things like opium, hash, qat and so on aren't prevalent in a publishing-focused D&D company perspective, but I am not bound by such things. If the player wants to get a rush with the aid of tobacco and a hookah pipe, I want that option available.
There are some who would deny the presence of a telescope, but since my world exists in the year 1650 and afterwards, telescopes existed. Therefore they are included in the list. While they are fairly inexpensive, they do require considerable care if they are to be functional (being highly unstable due to the era). Haul your 44 in. telescope clumsily up a mountain and don't expect the lenses to be aligned properly when you get there.
I have an issue with the "thieves' picks and tools" collection that the Player's Handbook included. What exactly are these picks? Do they work for every kind of lock? Is it necessary to have a full set, or are there locks which require specific picks? What about a jeweler's loupe that's needed to see some special tumbler inside the lock? Was that included in the original "tools"?
I haven't yet sat down to work out a set of rules for thieves' tools and specific locks ... but someday I will get there. In the meantime, I don't expect a thief to buy more than one pick. I can let things slide for now.
That would leave just the mechanical hand, which I included to compensate for characters who have lost a hand and did not have the money to buy a regeneration spell. The hand functions in a completely normal fashion, so as to be virtually biological ... it is a magical item, partly fashioned of mithril. The item is expensive, but occasional available - it turned out to be so on this presentation. The troubling aspect of the hand is the faerie oil it requires, which can be found at the apothecaries' shop.
Questions?
The technology of manual lockpicking hasn't changed that much since the 17th century. The tools are a bit slimmer and more sophisticated but the picks and rakes and such are much the same.
ReplyDeleteCombine whats shown on Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torsion_wrench
with a few heavy skeleton keys , a device that was surprisingly effective until well into the Victorian era and throw in a file and you'd have a good kit.
In a D&D world their might also be a few specialized "trap" tools, a pull string and a bit of this and that.
Likely they'd be made by a blacksmith and sold by a locksmith.
Also if you have adamant or other super strong metals in you game you might have files or bits made of them, metal eating alchemical acids, freeze potions or the like as well.
Purple Worm.Org
http://www.purpleworm.org/content/index.php?option=com_wrapper&view=wrapper&Itemid=128
Hosts the Complete Thieves Handbook electronic reference if you have a copy and you may well find it a useful reference as well, even if there are a-historical or fanciful gizmos in it.
I appreciate the bibliography, Stone.
ReplyDeleteYou know that the issue was not how to create a thieves' pick vs. lock matrix, but the will to do so, right?
Sorry Alexis . Your concerns seemed a little unclear to me and I was not sure if you needed a err, bump in the right direction.
ReplyDeleteNo worries. For future reference, I don't get things done because I have so many projects on the go. Most of the time, those things which I know the players will like least - such as a gritty lockbreaking system - get pushed more or less permanently onto the back burner.
ReplyDeleteKinda stupid question for clarification- do I presume correctly that the "If Available" column is basically the opposite of the "Selling to Citizens" table, or "Buying from Random Citizens Who Happen to Have One"?
ReplyDeleteFor DaveL's sake on several posts ago, who asked that I include the prices even if the objects were unavailable, I added the column for 'If Available.' It is meant to mean, this is what the price would be if the object/whatever were available for sale.
ReplyDelete