Welcome to the blog book club. With this post we’ve reached the end of 2013. Well done! Maybe if the stars align I can manage an extra post looking at where the OSR was at this point in time by checking out what system and adventures were around. But I’m trying not to load the post up with too much extra crap.
This week we’re looking at “Armor and Inventory Jr.” by Arnold Kemp of Goblin Punch. This will not be the last we see of Goblin Punch. For this post, Marcia B’s description states: Elaborates upon Kemp’s slot-based inventory and encumbrance system (linked therein), with new applications. Also explains how to “attack every part of the character sheet” by writing monster abilities which ruin items.
For next week we are reading a post I consider incredibly important for the OSR today “Overloading the Encounter Die” by Brendan S of Necropraxis.
You can see a list of previous blog club posts here.
Over the course of two days in mid November, Kemp published “Armor and Inventory” and the follow up “Armor and Inventory Jr.” Together the posts are a refinement on slot based inventory.
A PC has number of inventory slots equal to their strength score. A number of the inventory slots are categorized as fast (half of a PCs Dex Score). These fast slots are described as instant (unclear if they would take an PCs action in a combat to draw).
If you go over the number of inventory slots by 1-5 there’s a 25% speed penalty and swim check. At 6-10 items over weight a character cannot swim and a 50% speed penalty. The rest of 1st post is taken up by a modular armor system so I’ll set that aside and turn to the 2nd post.
From the credits, I get the sense that the OSR is beginning a stage of development where reference points are shifting from modern brains being inspired by the past to contemporary as Bloggers begin to inspire each other. This excites me, because that’s probably what I love about the OSR most.
Much of the 2nd post is dedicated to an illustration of a character sheet as well as a system for damaging stored items. Rather than the inventory existing safely in hammer space, there’s an exploration of how items could be attacked. 2d8 are rolled, and the lowest number represents an item in the fast inventory that could be damaged by an environment effect like acid or fire. On doubles an item from a backpack that is damaged instead.
Other things found in this post:
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System Examples
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Stacking items
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Upgrades for hauling more stuff
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A brief discussion on the silver standard (which have not yet appeared in the blog book club as far as I can tell)
Overall this system is pretty neat. i don’t think it would be too cumbersome at the table with some practice and it adds an element of strategy to item placement. I’ll probably stick to on the spot rulings for this type of item damaging scenario, but I don’t think there’s anything particularly wrong with this if a GM was looking for a more mechanics based methods of attacking inventory.. I do think it would benefit from a system with a method to increase stat points. In the OSR where good loot can transform a character, I don’t want bad luck at the start of game determine what a PC can carry the rest of the campaign.