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Post by jcstephens on Apr 9, 2019 17:51:16 GMT -6
A complicated map makes it easier to hide things; a secret room, a hidden passageway, or the side stairs to that special level. They also make maps a viable part of treasure, and give you a reason to take prisoners.
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Post by jcstephens on Dec 6, 2017 12:37:18 GMT -6
Yes, sadly, Dave got it wrong in his "Paladin in Hell" picture. Rather than say "the artist screwed up", it's more fun to come up with an explanation in the finest Marvel No-Prize manner. Perhaps this paladin is some sort of "Secret Style" martial arts aficionado. Not good judgement, but neither is invading Hell without backup!
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 26, 2017 19:32:13 GMT -6
I've always considered dragons to be part of the background, something everyone knows about but hardly ever sees. I've only used dragons twice in the past ten years. The first was an enormous Red, which scattered a midlevel party, snatched a pack horse and then kept on going. I did this to remind them they weren't at the top of the local food chain yet. The second was a false rumor, to disguise the nature of the real ultimate bad guy.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 16, 2017 14:18:20 GMT -6
I got my first pair of d10s with SPI's Commando, that would have been around 1980. I still have them in my dicebox.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 13, 2017 2:44:37 GMT -6
Hmmph. What about the Mediums and Acolytes, shouldn't they get some recognition as well?
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 27, 2017 14:53:05 GMT -6
As simply as possible. I assign each NPC one physical tag and one personalty quirk, and bring both into play in the initial encounter. As long as the players can tell one NPC from another, I've done my job.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 23, 2017 16:21:43 GMT -6
Similar to the one in the Carcosa subforum, this thread is intended for posting ideas that don't really rate a thread of their own.
The most popular sacred text for Appollonians is the Boreadus, a collection of tales in which Apollo, Helios and Boreus (the Boreades) originally conquer the Hyperborean continent and beget the Hyperborean race. A recurring theme in the stories is the notion of Helios the Strong, Apollo the Clever, and Boreus the Butt Monkey. Not to be found in the written tales is the reason why, although most Hyperboreans have golden blonde hair like Apollo, some Hyperborean women have dark black hair the same shade as that of Artemis.
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 12, 2017 10:13:04 GMT -6
By the title of the thread ("damage on a flaming sword"), I figured out that the question would be along the lines of : "If you douse a flaming-sword with water, does it damage it ? " Wich leads to another question : "If I pour a good quantity of oil on the wearer of a flaming sword, would he catch fire ?" Ref's call, but I'd rule no on the first (magical flame is magical) and yes on the second.
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Post by jcstephens on Jul 24, 2017 14:36:21 GMT -6
In my campaigns, there is no proof that the Gods even exist. Law and Chaos are the sources of Divine magic, and Saints and Demons are the major players. Clerics are free to make up whatever personification of the Divine they please, and attempt to spread the word Lankhhmarian Street of the Gods style. One of the most popular for adventurers is the Dark Avenger, who stalks evil by night and who's symbol is a Bat.
Yes, I have Clerics of Batman. My campaigns tend to be like that.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 17, 2017 12:47:59 GMT -6
Piffle. The archetype of the penniless adventurer cutting his way to the top far predates Ayn Rand, or even the notion of libertarianism itself. The earliest historical example I can recall off the top of my head is Emperor Maximinus, others no doubt exist: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maximinus_ThraxHave to agree with Ritt; very interesting. I had no idea Mr. Gygax was a Libertarian. It’s not that surprising; after all, D&D is the ultimate libertarian fantasy. It’s about Ayn Randian übermenschen who, because of their levels, are objectively stronger, smarter, and just better than the 0-level throngs of useless social leeches. Their Randian powers allow them to run roughshod over society’s rules – when was the last time a D&D adventurer paid taxes and customs, or turned in all the loot from the ruined castle’s dungeons because the land and castle used to be the king’s property, therefore so is everything therein? The social class they were born into is utterly irrelevant to them, since even the son of a peasant can become a nobleman, an archmage, or even a king, as long as he follows the path of libertarian adventuring, because social structure suddenly no longer applies to them. And if you ask a retired adventurer how he made his first five levels and his first million GPs, he’ll tell you it was through "free enterprise, diligent work, and lifting myself by my own straps", even though in actual fact it was through preying on the weak, robbing tombs and massacring uppity natives (indians, orcs, hapless peasants) who happened to have something shiny; but hey, making it big, rich and powerful means nobody will ever take you to task for that! D&D really is the posterboy of libertarianism. With swords.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 9, 2017 17:18:38 GMT -6
As long as they had fun. My sig sums up my philosophy on character death.
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Post by jcstephens on May 15, 2017 14:25:04 GMT -6
Willy Makit, a genre savvy redshirt with 1 hit point.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 25, 2017 20:06:16 GMT -6
Chernobog, from the Night on Bald Mountain segment of Fantasia.
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Post by jcstephens on Mar 1, 2017 11:14:43 GMT -6
Escape from Carcosa: after nearly being sacrificed in a sorcerous ritual to open a gate to another world, the PCs realize that there ARE other other worlds and that it IS possible to travel to them. I prepared a number of methods for them to do so, and planted clues throughout the landscape. The party decided to try hijacking a flying saucer, but got wiped trying to acquire the bait.
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 28, 2017 14:31:14 GMT -6
I'm considering another run of my Escape From Carcosa campaign. No one made it the last time, and they only covered about a third of the material I'd prepared and never got near any of the exits.
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 17, 2017 18:38:13 GMT -6
Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created Superman, but lost the rights in a copyright dispute. Hoping to recreate the magic, they teamed up with their original editor to produce: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funnyman_(comics)Sadly, inspiration like lightning rarely strikes twice in the same place.
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 10, 2017 13:19:05 GMT -6
Oh, and the new PDF has bookmarks. Which printing of 3rd Ed. is it? Hobbitses and Balrogs or not? Halflings and no Balrogs.
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 7, 2017 15:57:16 GMT -6
Update: Drivethru just updated the Chainmail PDF for those who've already purchased it. Maybe new purchases will soon be allowed?
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 17, 2016 16:43:35 GMT -6
Take anything written for Gamma World or it's clones, make the Ancients Snakemen, and crank up the gonzo to 11. Done!
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 24, 2016 23:16:21 GMT -6
I never actually believed there was such a person. Looks like reality finally caught up with me.
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 29, 2016 13:57:06 GMT -6
Why did the Snakemen create so many different races, when the only visible difference is skin color? Well, what if the various races of Carcosa have had their circulatory and nervous systems genetically modified so that they form mystical diagrams within their bodies, a sort of sorcerous circuit, and each race has a different pattern? The tortures and killings are crude attempts to energize and tune the living circuits, and thus produce the effect desired. The reason Mummy Brains are able to perform rituals without sacrifices is because they have learned to visualize and activate the circuits on the Astral Plane (or whatever), no physical components required. Of course, this opens the door for Laundryverse style Computational Demonology, but the only ones on Carcosa with computers are the Space Aliens. And THEY'D never do anything like that, would they?
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 2, 2016 9:00:06 GMT -6
Changing the name wouldn't have made any difference to the witch hunters. I was there, and even Traveller players were feeling the heat.
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Post by jcstephens on Jul 15, 2016 15:11:31 GMT -6
Everything carnivorous, of course. Plus the man-eating seaweed from "The Lost Continent". Oh, and Triffids, Carcosa HAS to have Triffids!
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 25, 2016 13:33:42 GMT -6
Realism vs. playability is the oldest debate in the hobby, and will not be resolved here. Hit points as ablative plot armor is firmly in the playability camp. Beware tampering with it, as that way Runequest lies.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 5, 2016 15:45:20 GMT -6
I remember a Tunnels & Trolls solo for recently deceased characters, which (among other things) allowed them a chance to return from the grave.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 5, 2016 14:30:33 GMT -6
A giant version of this worm would make a great monster. A swarm of regular sized ones would be even better. Make them amphibious, so they can crawl out of the sea to devour anyone foolish enough to camp along the shore (A BEACH PARTY? Fool, this is CARCOSA!).
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 29, 2016 12:55:14 GMT -6
A novel and delightfully gruesome solution; the thought of high-level magic-users locked in a never-ending struggle to harvest each others' brains is appealing in a ghoulish sort of way. Though I personally think that a magic-user would consider virtual immortality to be an acceptable tradeoff for the loss of their spellcasting capabilities. I do like that the spell encourages such creative thinking. It lends itself to many adventure possibilities... That just went into my Carcosa notebook.
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 5, 2016 12:49:28 GMT -6
I don't remember where I found mine, it must have fallen off the back of a packet. I'd be happy to pay for a legitimate copy.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 6, 2015 11:08:13 GMT -6
I disapprove of critical hit systems on general principles, but on those occasions when players insist on having one I use the following:
An ordinary human being has 1d6 hit points, and any weapon capable of inflicting lethal damage inflicts 1d6 points. Therefore, a roll of 6 for damage is guaranteed lethal to any man sized creature. When a 6 is rolled against multi hit die characters and creatures another die is rolled and added to the first, continuing as long as 6s are rolled. Sixes Add and Roll Over (6ARO) is simple, retains the philosophy of "one hit die is the life of a man", and occurs rarely enough not to tip the balance for or against either side.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 24, 2015 12:36:41 GMT -6
I recall one of the people involved in the new BSG claiming in an interview that fans of the old show shouldn't watch the new one, because they wouldn't like it. I took him at his word and haven't seen a single episode. I WILL NOT be talked down to by entertainers, and I do have other things to do besides watch television.
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