Josh wrote:Orcs Sword does 3Att until it it does 3 points of dammage, then it breaks. It still keeps its Attack value of 3 but does less & less damage till it breaks. Same with all enemy weapons.
I like that. I might consider that rule with some houserule bash that I'm working out.
Since the beginning (in the early '90s), I wanted Heroes to be able to use weapons and armor left behind from some types of fallen monsters, as well as to dole out gear with the Weapons Rack.
On top of that, I wanted monsters to have weapons and armor beyond what you see on the figure.
For Skeletons, Zombies and Mummies, their weapons are too rusted and rotted to use. All the "greenskin" monsters would have one Attack Die less than normal (minimum of 1) and the option of carry one weapon, and a shield if allowed. That is, an Orc would typically have a Broadsword, with the option of having a Shield, but they may wield a Crossbow or Battleaxe with no option to a shield. So yeah: Goblins usually assume to have a Shortsword, an Orc and the Fimir with a Broadsword, a Chaos Warrior with a Battleaxe and the Gargoyle with a Broadsword and Whip (2 AD + diagonal).
But at the same time, I wanted the players to earn their gear from the gold they made from Quest rewards and what they find in the dungeon, and I wanted to avoid players building up too much money like with D&D and video games, so I never gave out equipment too lightly. Although, I still equipped monsters with different weapons and armor to keep them from being stagnant and to allow for greater combat strategy, even though they would not be able to use them after a fight (unless I reward them for a tough battle).
For a time, I give out random bits of coin (I used those coins from DarkWorld numbered 1-to-5) to players who defeated monsters (1 coin for each Goblins, 2 for Orcs, 3 for Fimirs, 1 x10 gp for Mummies, 4 for Chaos Warriors and 5 for the Gargoyle), but I found that was too much of an incentive for the players to "farm" the monsters in needless combat for literal pocket change. In the end, it is about leading the Heroes to main objective and not have them get waylaid with every last Goblin the dungeon has to offer.