100 days of B/X (2026)

Have you noticed that there's only about 100 days left until the end of the year?

I realized that by chance, and it made me a little anxious. I still have a few goals for 2026 that are far from being completed.

It hasn't been a total failure, though. I read almost all the books I had planned to read (and wrote several reviews here), wrote a few posts and pages of my new setting (which I also shared here), among other things. The two most difficult tasks were meditation and finishing writing a few (short) books. I had planned to meditate for just 10 minutes a day, and I couldn't even manage half of that consistently.

Well, 100 is a nice round number, and if I can complete just 1% of what's left each day, I should be able to finish some of those goals quite easily. I'll need to meditate for 20 minutes a day, and if I write less than a page a day, I can easily finish my latest neoclone (a minimalist version of B/X that I've been discussing for years), which should end up at under 100 pages, many of which are already written.

Maintaining that kind of consistency is certainly a challenge for me, but perhaps the challenge itself can serve as motivation to keep trying. And if I fail, at least something good will come out of it: in January 2027, if I'm not satisfied enough to publish it on DTRPG, I'll make the unfinished document available here on the site instead. Maybe I'll do both, who knows. Also, I'm running a campaign so I can play-test some rules in real time.

Or maybe I'll just vow to abandon the project after that, or at least leave it aside for 2027. This can't go on forever.

AI did this.

Now that I've shared this with all of you, I'll feel pressured to make at least some effort in that direction. I can't promise I'll write every day, but I'll try to keep up the pace, maybe seven pages a week, and so on. 

I plan to READ and COMMENT on B/X, page by page, just as I already did with almost the entire AD&D DMG, while also examining point by point which aspects I'd like to change.

(Actually, that may be the hardest part: deciding what I prefer. Ascending or descending AC? Roll high or roll low? Skills? Doesn't matter. I'll make an effort to reach a decision within a finite amount of time.)

In any case, I'll share as I go and welcome your comments and opinions.

What about you? Do you have any "end-of-year resolutions" for the next 100 days? Any books to read or projects to finish? Let me know in the comments!

Prismatic Campaign log (intro + 1 to 8)

So it's been a while since I've written anything, but I've been running a campaign in my Prismatic Planet setting, and I've been making brief session summaries that I share here. I wrote most of the tables myself, but then I asked AI to generate enclaves using them, and it turned out quite well. The summaries have also been written with the help of AI, but that's what's happened so far. It's a sandbox campaign, and the PCs have ignored a few hooks along the way, as you'll see.

All skin colors were generated randomly (except for the PCs who choose to be red, like the Red Martians from Barsoom).

The intro was partly written by one of the players as I've asked then to describe their backstory.

Let me know what you think of it!

Introduction

The PCs are the Orash-Khai siblings, their skin a vivid crimson, are survivors of the Orun-Khai tribe, destroyed by drought and hunger. They went west to seek for food, shelter, etc., and maybe some place to be accepted and gain fame/glory.

Zarak Orash-Khai (20): Warrior and ranger.

Lark Orash-Khai (18.5): Technologist and psionic.

Nyko Orash-Khai (17): Scholar and warrior.

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First Adventure (Days 1 to 7)

The characters arrived in Orveth, a village of red men who hated mutants. They were invited to join the village if they could prove their usefulness, or to confront the village's enemy: the Bone Wizard and the yellow men beyond the desert to the north.

They also met a counselor who possessed a cylindrical alien object. When Lark examined it and pressed a button, he was affected in some way, suffering intense nausea. The counselor advised them to leave the village before the effects became noticeable.

The next day, they decided not to cross the desert but instead travel west through the nearby forest in search of the tribe of green men. During the journey, they encountered strange sights, including a glowing fungus covering much of the forest and trapping a yellow man up to his neck.

Along the way, Lark noticed keloid-like growths emerging on his arm from the inside out. Despite this, he resisted the more harmful effects, and the transformation appeared to be only cosmetic, as he could still move his arm normally.

Later, they encountered a yellow woman and attempted to communicate with her, but things went very badly. They were attacked by a group of yellow men armed with knives who did not speak the same language. The woman informed them that the village of the green men lay two days to the east, and that there was also a cave in another direction inhabited by "the one who thinks alone."

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Second Adventure (Days 8 to 15)

The characters arrived at the village of Kaldurr, deep within the forest. There they discovered that the green queen Ossavel was gravely ill, and that the government was effectively in the hands of the yellow regent Davar.

An elderly red man named Druvas welcomed them and revealed tensions between the factions. The reds sought the missing prophetess Sovan, who could see the future. They believed she might bring equality and prosperity. The yellows were divided: some supported rule by an elite that would usher in the "Golden Age" foretold by the prophetess, opposing the green people's pacifist philosophy.

Despite this, the yellow soldier Mirathis showed sympathy toward the players and attempted to recruit them to oppose Davar.

Several days later, other reds returned with news that Sovan might have gone to a nearby underground ruin to the west. Lark expressed a desire to explore the location. The PCs set off and encountered strange winged creatures along the way (Mi-Go).

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Third Adventure (Days 16 to 18)

After resting and recovering, the players explored Sigma-7 Base, a technological shelter inhabited by mutant humanoid creatures.

They fought the creatures and later battled robots. Along the way, they discovered numerous pieces of advanced technology, recovering a laser rifle (3d6, e7) and a battery (e14).

At the end of their exploration, they fought a gigantic three-meter-tall obsidian woman. During a desperate cesarean operation, Niko managed to save a mutant baby from inside her, even though the mother died.

The question now was how to care for the child.

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Fourth Adventure (Days 19 to 25)

The players decided to return to the village and try to convince someone from the green faction to take care of the baby.

With some reluctance, Mirathis agreed to find a caretaker in exchange for one hundred silver coins.

Meanwhile, other red men continued north in search of the prophetess.

After handing over the baby, the player characters also headed north. Along the way through the forest, they encountered monsters and obstacles, including other red men who were completely drugged out, while following the trail of those searching for Sovan.

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Fifth Adventure (Days 26 and 27)

On the first day, the PCs were attacked by giant spider-like creatures, and Lark was badly wounded.

On the second day, they found the body of a red man missing part of his head.

They also met two blue merchants, Torgul and Naarak, who had been robbed by savage yellow men living in a nearby shelter. Investigating the shelter, the PCs discovered that many of the savages were suffering from something resembling radiation sickness, possibly caused by a glowing green stone inside.

They recovered the stolen treasure, fought the sick and mutated yellow savages, and received a reward. However, they left the "poisonous" stone behind and continued north with the two blue men. Both Naarak, the warrior, and Niko were badly injured.

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Sixth/Seventh Adventure (Days 28 to 32)

After defeating a giant tiger-like creature with tentacles, the characters arrived with the merchants at the city of Sorvheen, a settlement hidden within an enormous pit.

The city was inhabited by blue warriors who revered combat and martial prowess above all else.

Speaking with the city's red minority, the characters learned that the prophetess had passed through and continued north, possibly toward Erethrix.

They set out in pursuit.

Erethrix was a vast city whose center was protected by high walls and three great towers: the Black Tower, the White Tower, and the Silver Tower. Around the walls stood various establishments, including expensive taverns and brothels, along with scattered poor shacks and small two- or three-story stone buildings.

Its population was diverse, consisting of blue, green, red, and yellow people. The city was supposedly ruled by mysterious obsidian sorcerers and their blue guards.

There, the adventurers heard rumors of a massive Shelter to the west, an enormous ruin of the Ancients where the prophetess might have gone. They decided to seek her there.

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Eighth Adventure (Days 33 to 43)

The party left Erethrix and crossed the savanna, enduring red dust storms.

On the third night, three Ankhegs emerged from the mist and attacked. The group was injured, especially Lark.

They later arrived at Rholor, a settlement built on suspended platforms atop dark metal pillars. It was inhabited by about ninety pale-skinned people who had chosen not to speak.

They were welcomed because Lark was psionic, and the young leader communicated directly into his mind. After resting, the party continued their journey.

On the way to the mountain, they spotted an enormous creature resembling a six-meter-tall tree trunk covered in eyes and tentacles. They did not approach it, and the creature eventually moved on.

The group then reached Chovrek, a village of red men carved into stone. Its leader, Drav, whose hands bore chemical burns, welcomed them warmly and promised assistance in exchange for offerings of any artifacts they found, which the villagers considered sacred.

They climbed Mount Hedron beneath the shadows of pterodactyl-like creatures and entered a ruin with white metal walls and sealed doors. 

Single saving throws

It's been a while now that my D&D-style games have used a single saving throw.

Original D&D's saving throws, with their more concrete categories like spells, death ray, and petrification, always seemed a bit limited to me, and since the 2000s (with 3rd and later 4th edition) the idea of having a save for reflex, another for willpower, and another for physical resistance made more sense. 5th edition, with its ability-based saves, seems even more direct, removing the need for the reflex/will/fortitude "middlemen."

But even that distinction eventually became somewhat pointless to me.

First, let's discuss the method behind saving throws against dangers such as like petrification, spells, etc. Contrary to what many claim, they don't actually distinguish well between classes. Thieves, for example, are NOT particularly good against breath weapons, but they are against spells, and dwarves, with their short legs, once they reach high level, end up dodging dragon fire better than they resist spells.

Also, paladins have better saves dues to divine favor, and dwarves/halflings because they are small/hardy. So you can barely tell what the saving throws really are within the game-world.

Without actually looking at the tables, you cannot explain the rhyme or reason for saving throws. Even if you can, it is a rationalization rather than a reason.

Even in Basic and AD&D, saving throws were eventually affected by ability scores, adding yet another layer of complexity (first by Wisdom, than by Dex etc.). The idea of using a dexterity check as a saving throw also shows up very early in the game's history.

Optional rule in the Rules Cyclopedia

But let's say the original saving throws actually did something closer to what the classes suggest: maybe fighters more resistant to petrification, thieves dodging breath weapons, and wizards avoiding enemy spells.

The first problem would be edge cases like fireballs, which are spells AND supposedly can be dodged (and probably avoided by armor too).

The second is that this simply doesn't match the fiction found in Appendix N. Conan resists spells not by "blocking magic," but by being tough. Likewise, a dragon's breath can be dodged by a thief, but it can also be blocked, at least partially, by armor or a shield, or avoided with a spell. Remember: in Chainmail / OD&D, it's powerful fighters, not intelligent characters, who are able to detect invisible people (which could ALSO be a saving throw IMO).

In short, dangers don't correspond, in any precise way, to how characters actually avoid them, neither in fiction nor in reality.

On top of that, the differences between saving throws within the same class are minor, and can be summarized, as pointed out long ago on Delta's blog, as a bonus ranging from +0 to +4 applicable across all classes (which is roughly equivalent to a DC in contemporary D&D). So the tables are an unnecessary complication.

Of course, saving throws organized by danger category also fail to explain edge cases like avoiding falling into a pit, crossing a river with a strong current, or dodge a falling rock (which maybe should be handled as a trap instead, an altogether different mechanic). I'd also have to consider how PCs would deal with the lasers, radiations and psychic powers of my current setting.

A single saving throw also helps resolve several difficulties in one roll. For example: can you spot the trap before reaching it? And if you do reach it, can you avoid falling in? Or if you're bitten by a snake — can you see it coming, dodge during the attack, resist the venom in your own bloodstream through natural antibodies, or even mystically alter your breathing, power through it, and so on.

While I don't remember the exact 3e or 4e rules on the matter, I like that in 5e they at least tried to give the Fighters better saves altogether with the Indomitable feature.

My last attempt at having more than one save was diving then into Mental and Physical, but even that was not necessary. Does armor help or hinder your physical defense against dangers that can be dodged? Most D&D editions do not seem to take this into account. Do we even need a physical defense other than AC?

Well, maybe for poison. But even then, unless you use "save or die" poisons you don't need Constitution to affect it. Just save "save or lose 3d6 HP" and your Constitution and level are already taken into account to see if you'll survive or not. What about a form of radiation there bypasses HP? Well, is there any reason to think bulky fighters would resist radiation any better than mages?

Maybe we need a mental save for Charm etc.? Not a great idea either. In which setting or game would it make sense to a mage or other creature to easily mind-control a T-Rex of limited intelligence?

So, basically now I got every PC to have a single saving throw number. They are not always the same: fighters get a +3 bonus, thieves +2, wizard +1 (and yeas that means they are frailer against fireballs). Monsters work similarly to fighters, most of the time (so we barely need the 5e thing where monsters can resist 3 times, or the AD&D thing where monsters have a chance of ignoring spells - which might be an issue for another post).

It is been working very well so far, and that's probably what I'm going with from now on.

My question: do you see any advantage in having several saves?

One (single magic item) to rule them all

I've been thinking for a while now about the excessive multiplication of magic items in D&D. 

Whether through random tables or official modules, players quickly become overloaded with items. And this ends up stripping away all the special character these items should have. Many times I've asked myself (and others) if this aligns with the literary works that inspired D&D (Appendix N etc). 

Sometimes Moorcock's works are cited, since Elric has several magic items and so does Corum. there are examples on Tolkien too. But I think there's a distinction to be made there:

It seems like most of these stories have just one magic item that clearly stands out above the rest: Stormbringer, in Elric's case, Excalibur, in King Arthur's case, or the Holy Grail, in other Arthurian stories, or The One Ring, in Tolkien's case, the decks of cards in the Amber series, and so on.

And D&D-based literature seems to follow the same line, from The Crystal Shard, which gets its own book, to Dragonlance, which lends its name to an entire series.

Of course, even when there's just one protagonist item per campaign or setting, there are several other items as well. In Tolkien's case, for example, we have Andúril, the (quite powerful) Palantíri, and even Sting and mithril armor. Stormbringer itself has its twin sister sword, which gets less attention in the book.

However, what definitely does not happen in most of the literature mentioned is the constant accumulation of magic items by a single character, or quickly swapping those items for better ones. Every magic item carries a story, which is why simply discarding it seems to diminish its value and importance.

In addition, such legendary items should play a central role, not something you find in a random dungeon or that is easily traded. Think of the Arkenstone in The Hobbit, which has monetary value but also a sentimental/historical values that may cause or resolve a war, and ends up feeling more relevant than The One Ring at least for this book.

So why do D&D PCs get so many (disposable) items?

One of the reasons this happens is that, in older versions of D&D, magic items worked as a way of making PCs not only more powerful but also more unique. Often, equipment was what differentiated one character from another, in the absence of feats or even talents that could be chosen with new levels. Two tenth-level fighters, for example, would differ greatly from one another depending on the items they carried.

Now that modern D&D has feats and new class talents as you level-up (well, even BECMI and AD&D eventually got their skills, proficiencies, etc.), the magic item treadmill feels unnecessary.

But having only "meaningful magic items" is not an easy thing to apply at the table, precisely because D&D players are so used to, and expect, receiving more and more magic items. 

Another problem is that D&D wizards essentially have no clear ceiling on their power. A D&D wizard with enough XP has more power than a Palantír (or a dragon, making dragonlances somewhat pointless), so many magic items may become worthless as wizards level up.

Maybe one way would be to separate legendary items from more disposable ones more clearly. Something I've been using in my (science-fantasy) campaign is making some of the supposedly "magic" items mass-produced. You could do something similar by saying that a +1 sword is just better quality and can be safely traded for a +2 sword without any regard for its story or "magic".

Since I don't like writing a post about a problem without at least trying to offer a solution, here are a few attempts:

Multiplication. A magic sword that doubles or even triples its damage, for example. If a regular sword deals 1d8+1 damage, the magic sword deals 2d8+2. But if the character, for whatever reason (strength, proficiency, etc.), deals 1d8+5 with a common sword, the magic sword deals 2d8+10. That way, it's ALWAYS meaningful, but it's far more dangerous in skilled hands.

Absolutes. Items that simply bypass the rules in an absolute way: this item is completely immune to magic, or it's basically indestructible like "the One Ring", or it simply negates any possibility of resurrection, or ignores armor completely. D&D itself already has a few items like this, they just need to be part of the setting's history instead of thrown into a lsit of artifacts.

Items that grow with the character. The longer the character keeps the item, the more they learn from it and bond with it. Something I've suggested before, but which would also work with sentient items like Stormbringer, or mysterious items like the Claw of the Conciliator, whose effects, even by the end of the book of the same name, aren't 100% clear (which is also the case with The One Ring and Stormbringer).

Minimalist Magic Item table

I've spent a lot of time trying to finish this table. Probably too much time, honestly. It’s one of those things that works exactly as I wanted once it’s done, but just by looking at it, you can’t really see the amount of effort I put in. This is my Dark Fantasy Magic Items in minimalist form (although I think that book is still worth a read at $1.49; it has some additional stuff). 

After polishing it quite a bit, I am almost satisfied with the result.

The idea is this: anyone can create a table with 1,000 magical items (a single d1000 table or d10 versus d100 etc). Since you’ll never use more than a few dozen (maybe not even that many) in a campaign, you’ll never really know the true value of the table. If the results don’t make sense to you, you’ll just think you got unlucky when rolling.

What I wanted was a table that could be easily judged by anyone at a glance. For example, you can easy see how common is a magical dagger compare to a magic ring or rope.

I could also have a table meant purely for inspiration, with a completely abstract and open format, where you combine an effect with an item, no direct relation between the two. The problem is when the effects often don’t fit the items very well, so you end up with armor that deals extra damage or axes that make you move faster, etc. 

I had the impression this was the case in Shadow of the Demon Lord.

Or, ideally, I'd have a big list of common, uncommon, rare, legendary magic items... with sub-tables and elaborate descriptions, maybe prices too. I think this is what 5e does, maybe AD&D too. But it wouldn't be really "minimalist", would it? Anyway, I want to fit mine in a page or two.

The table below boils down to about 10 categories of objects and 20 categories of effects. Since the objects are divided in practice, we end up with more than a thousand possible combinations of effects and items. The difference is that I tried to make it very clear which effects fit best with which objects, so that most of the items you generate using the instructions will actually make sense, and "common" magic items will be, well, actually common. In fact, I toned don't some of the more fantastical and looney tunes effects (e.g., portable hole) to fit my favorite genres of fantasy (low fantasy, dark fantasy).

To illustrate the tables, I included a few items as examples at the end of the post.

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Magic Items

The most common magic items are listed below with their usual effects. You can replace the effects (or alter them, if you roll 1-4) using the effects table, below. It is recommended you do that when you roll an odd number in the first d20, at least until you need more variety.

 

1–2. Apparel. A piece of clothing. Sometimes it only affects an specific part of the body. Examples [1d8]: 1 amulet (+1 to all saves), 2 belt (your Strength becomes 18 or gets a +3 bonus, whichever is better), 3 boots (+10’ movement, i.e., walk 25% faster), 4 bracers (like belt), 5 cloak (+1 AC and saves), 6 gloves (+4 to manual tasks such as picking locks, pockets, etc.), 7 helmet (+4 vs. mind effects), 8 GM's choice.

3–4. Armor or shield. +1 AC. Roll 1d4 for type: 1 light, 2 medium, 3 heavy, 4 shield.

5–6. Potion. Restores 1d6+1 hit points.

7–8. Ring. Rings can do almost anything. Roll on the effects table.

9–10. Scroll. Contains a common random spell, anyone can cast. Roll 2d6, keep the lower die, for its level.

11–12. Tool. A magic tool that resembles an ordinary object but is supernaturally more efficient. Examples: Roll 1d6: 1 rope (you can command it to climb walls, tie itself, etc.), 2 lantern (burns without fuel for up to 10 hours on command), 3 bag (weighs one unit but holds 10 units without changing size or weight), 4 key (once a day, it can open any ordinary lock), 5 tinderbox (creates flame on command like a strong modern lighter), 6 waterskin (creates water on command, up to a gallon a day).

13–14. Wand / rod / staff. Cast one spell (see Scroll, above). Roll for maximum charges (wand 1d6, rod 2d6, staff 3d6). Casting spends charges equal to the spell's level; regain one-third of maximum (round up) at dawn.

15–16. Weapon. +1 to attack and damage. Ammunition comes in a bundle of 3d6 pieces, each expending its magic on a hit. Weapon type: 1 axe, 2 spear, 3 hammer/mace, 4 bow or crossbow, 5 ammunition, 6 polearm. See below for size if needed.

17–18. Sword. +1 to attack and damage. Roll for size if needed: 1 dagger (1d4), 2–3 medium (1d6), 4–5 long (1d8), 6 two-handed (1d10).

19–20. Special. Either roll 1d20 on the Effects table, then invent an unusual object to carry it (19) or roll for the object, then give it a remarkable or combined effect (20).

 

 

Magic Item Effects (d20)

Some effects fit some items better. Entries 1-4 can fit almost anything (if you don’t have an obvious effect, a roll of 1-3 might require you to roll twice); 5-6 are ideal for weapons; 7 (spells) are better left for scroll and wands, although magic swords can sometimes cast spells; 8-15 are mostly passive defensive and they can work well for armor or potions or apparel; 16-17 are more “mental” and better suited to helmets, necklaces and similar; 18 and 19 are rare and are only an easy fit for scrolls (summoning) and big apparel or amulets (transformation). 20 is for all items.

If the effect does not fit the item, decide what to do, randomly or otherwise.

E.g.: 1d6: 1-2 be creative and make it fit or allow it to be weird, 3-4 roll again, 5-6 fall back to the ordinary effect.

 

1. Cursed. The item carries a curse that may manifest at the worst possible time.
2. Temporary. The item becomes mundane after being used 2d6 times.
3. Powerful. The item is unusually strong. For a numeric bonus, roll 1d20: 1–10 the effect is +2, 11–16 +3, 17–19 +4, 20 +5. Similarly, a d6 becomes 2d6 to 5d6, and a 50% reduction becomes 1d20 × 5% (minimum 60%).
4. Conjuring. The item seems to return or appear from out of nowhere, as the owner conjures it with a word or gesture. Alternatively, it is very easily concealed, foldable or very light. If it’s a thrown weapon, it returns to your hand instead.
5. Elemental attack. Deals an extra 1d6 damage of one type. Roll 1d8: 1 acid, 2 cold, 3 fire, 4 lightning, 5 necrotic, 6 poison, 7 psychic, 8 radiant.
6. Hatred. Deals an extra 1d6 damage against one type of creature. Roll 1d12: 1 aberration, 2 beast, 3 celestial, 4 construct, 5 dragon, 6 elemental, 7 fey, 8 fiend, 9 giant, 10 humanoid, 11 monstrosity, 12 undead.
7. Spells. Cast one type of spell. Roll 2d6 and keep the lower die for the spell's level, the higher die for maximum charges. Casting spends charges equal to the spell's level; regain one-third of maximum (round up) at dawn. Alternatively, simplify "magic missile, three charges" to something like "cast magic missile three times a day" when desired. Best left to rings, wands, staves, and scrolls.
8. Protection from element. Reduces incoming damage of one type by 50%. See entry 5 for type.
9. Protection from creatures. Reduces damage or attacks from one type of creature. See entry 6 for type.
10. Protection (saving throws). +1 to all saving throws.
11. Defense. +1 to Armor Class.
12. Augmentation. Raises one ability score by +3, or sets it to a fixed value (18), whichever is better. The stat affected is usually physical and adequate to the item in question. If necessary, roll 1d6: 1 Strength, 2 Dexterity, 3 Constitution, 4 Intelligence, 5 Wisdom, 6 Charisma.
13. Resilience. 50% resistance to a hazard or condition. Roll 1d8: 1 poison, 2 fear, 3 charm, 4 sleep, 5 exhaustion, 6 disease, 7 petrification, 8 an environmental hazard (hunger, thirst, drowning, suffocation).
14. Movement. Move faster or in new ways. Roll 1d8: 1 fly, 2 climb any surface, 3 swim, 4 burrow, 5 walk on water, 6 ignore difficult terrain, 7 leap great distances, 8 slip free of grapples, shackles, and cages.
15. Misdirection. Disguise yourself, your movement, or your actions. Roll 1d6: 1 invisibility, 2 silence (move without sound), 3 impersonate someone, 4 create illusions, 5 leave no traces, 6 pass as another kind of creature.
16. Perception. A supernatural sense. "Keen" versions of ordinary senses grant advantage. Roll 1d8: 1 darkvision, 2 keen hearing, 3 keen smell, 4 blindsight, 5 detect invisible, 6 see auras or magic, 7 detect lies, 8 truesight.
17. Communication. Understand or speak across barriers. Roll 1d8: 1 all humanoid languages, 2 all spoken languages, 3 all written languages, 4 one exotic tongue (celestial, infernal, draconic, sylvan), 5 speak with animals, 6 speak with plants, 7 telepathy, 8 understand any language you hear.
18. Summoning. Call or create a creature to serve you. It looks friendly and possibly loyal but is not enslaved. Roll 1d6 for HD, 1d6 for number of creatures (limit total to 10 HD), and see entry 6 for creature type.
19. Transformation. Turn into a creature, usually an animal. Roll 1d12: 1 insect or spider, 2 rat, 3 owl, 4 snake, 5 wolf, 6 fish, 7 cat or tiger, 8 ape, 9 bear, 10 hawk or eagle, 11 boar, 12 a monster (see entry 6 for type).
20. Special. Roll twice and combine, invent something unexpected, or make the item especially noteworthy with multiple functions.

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Examples:

- Cloak: grants flight.

- Heavy armor +1 AC.

- Potion of cold resistance.

- Scroll holding a 2nd-level spell and a 3rd-level spell with 5 charges (this is a special result; I'd probably change this to a single 5th level spell, or replace it by two separate scrolls)

- Spear +1, +1d6 lightning damage.

- Two-handed sword +1 (1d10).

So far, these are cool if a bit ordinary. I haven't changed a thing. Let's try a few more:

- Helm that allows the wearer to see magical auras.

- Light armor that raises Dexterity by +3 (or sets it to 18) [I could change this, but since its is light armor, I think the Dex boost makes sense].

- Potion of healing.

- Belt of Strenght.

- Scroll of Levitate

- Shield that reduces damage from fiends by 50%.

I didn't even need to re-roll anything. Last pass, with some die rolls:

- 19, 6, 11 - Now this requires some input. I'd say it is a holy symbol that makes you a monster slayer (+1d6 damage to monsters) while you carry it. Maybe a sigil, tabard, etc.

- Level 1 scroll.

- 6, 2, 13 - We could stop at 6 and make it a healing potion, or roll on the second table and make a potion with 2d6 uses that protects you from fear.

- 8, 13, 5 - A ring of protection from disease.

- 16, 6, 17*, 11*, 14*, 6, 12 - A "mace of communication" sounds funny but doesn't quite work for me at first, so I re-rolled three more times (roll with asterisks were discarded) until I got a mace that causes additional 1d6 damage to undead. I could have stopped at a +1 AC weapon, come to think of it.

- Ring of Constitution.

As you can see, no "Legendary" status items, these would require rolling more 20s. But almost all the results are perfectly usable with little effort. I'll probably tinker a bit more with it before I finish my Old School Minimalist PDF (if I ever do), but at least I think I've found the right path here. Or almost...

Did I miss any obvious cool item or effect?

"Serious" fumbles I can enjoy

As I’ve said before, I usually don’t like fumbles or critical failures in combat, at least in more "serious" campaigns; they make fighters look foolish.

Worse, the higher level a fighter gets, the more attacks they make; if every natural 1 is a fumble, fighters end up failing far too often. When you’re rolling 4 or 5 attacks per round, one of them is almost guaranteed to be a ridiculous blunder. Critical failures do happen in real life, but not nearly as often as a single die face suggests.

The idea of a saving throw to confirm whether the fumble actually happens is a decent (mathematical) fix; but with multiple attacks and multiple saves you end up with lots of rolls that don’t lead anywhere.

Instead of focusing on the character, we could focus on the weapon or the environment. Keep fumbles, but only in situations that are genuinely risky; and the effects shouldn’t make the character look like an idiot, but highlight the limitations of the weapon or the setting instead.

For example, a longsword needs space to be effective. In a cramped tunnel it still works (you can use half-swording, etc.), but it’s suboptimal; that could cause the fumble. You could even build a table of things that might go wrong on a natural 1, but only if it makes sense in context. If there’s no additional danger, then nothing funny happens.

Another option is to give the enemy an opportunity to strike with an advantage; maybe you overextend, make a reckless swing, and miss, opening yourself up to a counterattack. That way the focus isn’t on your “stupid mistake,” but on the danger you’ve exposed yourself to.

Let's try to combine both ideas. Here is how an actual rule I might use would look like:

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When you roll a natural 1 on an attack, it is always an automatic miss. In addition, it can cause serious consequences if you’re in a risky situation:

• Close allies: If an ally is too close to your target (e.g., shooting into melee or attacking a grappled foe), roll again to see if you hit your ally.

• Tight spaces: If the area is too cramped for your weapon, you strike a wall and take a –4 penalty on your next attack with that weapon.

• Flails and chains: If you’re using a flail, roll again to see if you hit yourself (half damage).

• Fragile weapons: If you’re using a low-quality weapon or one unsuited to the target (e.g., a common blade against a stone creature), your weapon may break or lose its edge (–1 damage until repaired).

• Dangerous stunts: If you’re attempting a dangerous stunt, such as jumping form a higher point etc., you failed catastrophically. Fall prone, take damage, save for half.

• In all cases: You lose your footing, expose yourself, and take –2 AC until the start of your next turn, unless you spend an attack to regain balance.

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By the way, this is the best rule I have for "shooting into melee". Being  a good archer improves your chance to hit an ally close to targe (an incompetent archer is more likely to miss both entirely), and this also takes into account your ally's armor.

It is time to ditch the "good GM"

The myth of the "good GM is required to play" is an old tale in our hobby. I thought the myth had been laid to rest, but it is often raised from the dead with talks of "elite GMs" that know all the rules by heart, or "great GMs" that are skilled voice actors or that have amazing improv skills.

It is time to ditch this idea. In fact, it’s long overdue.

The "good DM" was often used as an excuse for “difficult” games: “this confusing game is great, it just requires a good GM to function.” Or, more neutrally, as a warning: “this game is good BUT it requires a good GM to run.” For me, it should be used as outright criticism: “this game is not easy to use, and it requires a GM that is above average to make it work.”

There is no objective way to measure or evaluate the quality of GMs, and no serious research exists AFAICT. People who usually talk about “good GMs” are often just talking about themselves in a display of arrogance and bravado.

Until we have objective evaluation, we can imagine that GMs divide into good, bad, and average, with the majority (around 68%) sitting in the middle of a normal curve. If you’ve read the DMG or know basic statistics, you understand this.

Imagine rolling 3d6 for your GM skill as a "prime requisite": requiring a result above “average,” say 13–14, would exclude most people unnecessarily from the “class” of GM.

A good RPG should be good for most players and GMs, except when you’re deliberately making niche content.

In short: most GMs are mid, great GMs are rare, and that’s fine. A game that is only viable or fun for the highly skilled is doomed to fail; even chess, poker, or football can be fun for beginners.

Great creativity, memory, improv skills, mastery of 200 pages of rules, and vast literary knowledge are wonderful things to have, but they shouldn’t be required to run a good game.

In fact, we all remember the time (often as kids or teens) when we barely understood the rules, had never read any RPG theory, and still managed to have memorable adventures. RPGs should be fun for the averages and even below-average, not only the self-professed “elites.”

In addition, RPGs should help me run a game, not force me to fight the system in order to make it work.

That’s why I try to create good tables and tools, so you (or, frankly, I) don’t need to be an awesome GM to make something great with them. I don’t want to put all the burden of creation on your shoulders if you’re using my games; in fact, I want to save you as much work as I can.

[Here is one example. My goal with the setting is not to require you to read Edgar Rice Burroughs, Clark Ashton Smith, Lovecraft, or Roadside Picnic in order to enjoy it, even if I would recommend you do. The idea is that you can get the same feel I enjoy simply by rolling the tables as written, without needing to construct it all yourself].

One of the happiest feelings I have after creating random tables is rolling, combining and realizing the combinations instantly generate cool ideas I hadn't considered. In other words, not because I thought of something cool, but because I found something I hadn’t thought.

Likewise, when I’m running (or writing) a module, I want things to be simple and clearly spelled out. I don’t want to be unexpectedly forced to train my creativity or improv skills. My focus should be on running the game and responding to the players’ choices—not wrestling with the text.

In conclusion: 

By all means, read all the rules, memorize (or even tinker with) the most important ones; dive into Appendix N books if you want (you know I do); learn how statistics work; try improv; make voices; crack jokes; write your own adventures, and tweak or complete existing ones. 

These are all useful, fun skills, and they will make you a better GM and a better player. But they are absolutely not required to play RPGs.