D&D 1E Treasure "hidden by invisibility"

[Mannahnin]

That said, this is all about hiding treasure; and making a treasure chest invisible doesn't do anything about the treasure inside said chest other than make it easier to see....

Sounds like a DM call to me. We know that making a person invisible normally includes their clothes and any objects they pick up or stow away in their possession. At least in fantasy (H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man is a different story). I would rule the same for an invisible treasure chest and anything contained therein. This certainly seems more in keeping with tropes in fiction.

 

[Voadam]

I am agreeing with those who think it is a holdover from OD&D when invisibility explicitly affected objects. Since treasure normally does not attack it would last indefinitely unless dispelled.

1e dust of disappearance would also work on objects, but only for a limited duration.

Sequester would work under 1e rules and last a week plus a day per level, but it was not in the PH. It didn't show up until later in Unearthed Arcana, and presumably a dragon or module before that.

 

[Voadam]

I can imagine there could have been usages of invisibility on weapons (swords, arrows, etc.) that would have been a little awkward to adjudicate that might have led to the AD&D switch to creatures only. I might expect not to get a dex bonus against an invisible arrow shot at you, which would be a bit fiddly, particularly with lots of monsters not having one defined.

 

[Orius]

I don't think it's a big deal. This is 1e, if a DM needs something to be invisible, it's invisible and it doesn't need to be explained or justified. Especially if this is randomly generated stuff where the unpredictability is part of the appeal.

Now if there was an object in the dungeon the party needed to find then arbitrary invisibility is probably not the best approach. But if it's just random treasure, it's no big deal. Sure it might be a nice pile of XP or some useful magic, but it's not required. And it feels more rewarding to claim it after taking the effort to find it. Also it depends on what resources the players have to find invisible things, some of which might have been randomly obtained too. I also think it's a bit more fair for this to happen in a more difficult dungeon level where the party by necessity has more resources at their collective disposal.

 

[ScottDeWar_jr]

Invisible arrows would be NASTY

 

[Lanefan]

Invisible arrows would be NASTY

Invisible arrows would be nigh-useless at any sort of range, as the archer couldn't see how-where the arrow flew (and-or landed) in order to adjust her aim and-or draw strength for the next shot.

Also considerably harder to aim at close range as you can't so easily "sight" along the arrow's shaft.

 

[Voadam]

Invisible arrows would be nigh-useless at any sort of range, as the archer couldn't see how-where the arrow flew (and-or landed) in order to adjust her aim and-or draw strength for the next shot.

Presumably you would practice and train with normal arrows for that purpose of adjusting to dial in at different ranges.

While you sometimes get off a second or third shot, when hunting my experience has been that it is usually the first shot that matters, not that the first shot is only a nigh-useless tracer for your followup true attacks.

 

[ScottDeWar_jr]

Or an invisible pendulum blade trap: "Make a save vs. [IDFK, petrification? I forget the AD&D weirdness] - oh you failed? you take 2d6 points of slashing damage as something cuts across your back."

shudder

EVIL

 

[Mannahnin]

Presumably you would practice and train with normal arrows for that purpose of adjusting to dial in at different ranges.

While you sometimes get off a second or third shot, when hunting my experience has been that it is usually the first shot that matters, not that the first shot is only a nigh-useless tracer for your followup true attacks.

Yup. IME a lot of archers don't really sight along their arrows after the initial learning stage, either.

 

[Stormonu]

This is what Locate Object and a Wand of Metal & Mineral Detection are for. Along with the expectation that the party won't find every treasure every time. Some may simply be missed, and there is nothing wrong with that.