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Post by jcstephens on Aug 22, 2015 9:43:55 GMT -6
So what's the deepest level anyone's actually made it to, or had their players do so?
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Post by jcstephens on Jul 1, 2015 17:07:20 GMT -6
Collection of "Essential Saltes" for necromantic resurrection, if you're into that (or willing to do a job for someone who is).
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 16, 2015 13:57:05 GMT -6
In my Carcosa, the most common exchange is food for slaves. Only places which are both fertile and defensible can grow enough food to be able to trade any of it. They send out caravans of food, which they trade for slaves to tend the fields back home. A secondary commodity is salt, Carcosans will strip the meat off any carcass that's not outright poisonous and salt it down for later (1D6 rations per HD). There's also a thriving scrap metal trade, every metal deposit on the planet has been long since mined out but scrappers can still bring out the occasional load from the ruins. The money system as such is based on scrap metal. There's no distinction between types, you can always do something with any sort of metal.
1 days rations=salt for 6 days of meat rations=3 days water at the village well=1 GP 1 pound of metal=10GP
Prices of other goods and services are negotiable.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 13, 2015 10:03:57 GMT -6
And when asked by Peter Jackson to imagine what it feels like to stab a man, he replied "I don't have to imagine" Or so the story goes. Cool guy, great actor and a fascinating character in real life too. He was an RAF Intelligence officer during WWII, and fought in a Ghurka regiment during the Battle of Monte Cassino (combining the worst aspects of both urban and mountain fighting). I expect he got plenty of practical knife instruction, and opportunities to practice his new skills.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 30, 2015 11:26:08 GMT -6
This proposal is contrary to both the letter and spirit of the rules. That having been said, it's your game and you may do as you like. Give it a try and let us know how it works out.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 24, 2015 16:46:43 GMT -6
Aww, I thought it would be Aztec pyramid tombs ON Mercury! OK, THAT just went in the notebook!
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 13, 2015 14:28:45 GMT -6
First Fantasy Campaign has rules for creating monster PCs on page 52. Basically, a 1st level whatever has half standard hit dice, all other stats remain the same. Add HD and AC, then multiply by 100 to determine experience points for second level. Add 50% more for each level after that.
Some rulings are needed to make this work, when we tried this out I had to rule that a gargoyle PC wouldn't get immunity to normal weapons until 4th level. But it is a perfectly usable method.
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Post by jcstephens on Mar 12, 2015 0:54:16 GMT -6
What can you do with excess gold?
Buy an army!
What can you do with an army?
ANYTHING YOU WANT!
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 14, 2015 12:12:31 GMT -6
How many times have you been searching through the books trying to find a rule, and discover something you'd forgotten was there or never noticed in the first place? Sometimes the original rules are just as much a treasure hunt as the dungeon itself!
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 17, 2015 15:08:36 GMT -6
My elves are very much like Grey Aliens: visitors from another realm, with mysterious powers and an unknown agenda. And yes, they have been know to abduct people from time to time, though accounts vary wildly as to what they do with them.
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Post by jcstephens on Dec 26, 2014 19:34:30 GMT -6
Conflict is the essence of drama, and alignment gives a pre-existing conflict for players to react to. In my games, it's more an adventure building tool for me than a character building tool for players.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 23, 2014 9:11:11 GMT -6
Tunnels & Trolls might work well. The magic system is psionics based, and the main difference between classes is the ability to use it. Plus it makes statting out the various gribbling horrors a breeze; assign Monster Rating and a few special abilities and you're done. The only real problem is the use of Luck as a characteristic. People on Carcosa are pretty much the definition of Not Lucky...
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 19, 2014 11:07:34 GMT -6
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 18, 2014 10:24:16 GMT -6
If we assume that the Cthulhu Mythos is in effect on Earth as well, then there are several ways of accomplishing it:
Carried there by Byakhee or other spacefaring creatures Gates and portals, activated accidentally or otherwise Read the wrong book or touched the wrong artifact - POOF! Made a deal with Nyarlathotep and didn't check the fine print
To say nothing of terrestrial based Weird Science. And if all else fails, there's Nazi Flying Saucers.
Or go for the gusto and do them all at once. Charles Stross's Laundryverse series would be a useful reference here.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 22, 2014 9:43:11 GMT -6
I brought over Mi-Go Fungus Druids from a Terminal Space campaign that never quite came together, and they worked out OK.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 15, 2014 13:05:24 GMT -6
Late to the party, but: The main thing I remember about this game was the endless stream of Area 12 jokes.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 30, 2014 8:08:38 GMT -6
Baroque titles are probably just another bad habit adopted by the Men of Carcosa from their long-gone masters. My vision of the Snakemen is heavy on Melnibonean decadence and cruelty, so of course they'd have been really into poetry.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 19, 2014 9:29:28 GMT -6
Dead link.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 4, 2014 14:41:15 GMT -6
I doubt it's much of a problem. They probably just put out the torches, pull a cloth or something over their faces, and tremble uncontrollably until they pass out from nervous exhaustion and/or blood loss. You know, just like everybody else on Carcosa.
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 20, 2014 9:58:48 GMT -6
The way I see it the Space Aliens are post literate, communicating mostly by telepathy (both natural and electronic). If information must be presented in graphic form, it's done by illustrations and autoplaying holograms; this is the reason most Space Alien technology is so easy for the Men of Carcosa to use.
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 13, 2014 10:47:05 GMT -6
My personal favorite death trap: The Well Of Souls.
It's a room, empty except for a circular opening in the center. If you approach it you hear faint singing: "This is the song that never ends, it just goes on and on my friends..."
Someone ALWAYS chimes in with "... some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and now they'll keep on singing it forever just because-"
This is when you set the dice in front of them and say "Saving throw against Death Magic. Right now."
If they fail, their lifeless body falls to the ground and the singing in the well gets a little bit louder.
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Post by jcstephens on Jun 4, 2014 10:28:30 GMT -6
Given the difficulties of farming in a monster haunted wasteland, I expect meat will provide most of the food. In this case salt (for preservation) will be a highly valuable commodity, and people will pay anything they've got for it.
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Post by jcstephens on May 9, 2014 7:46:37 GMT -6
In my Paleo-Vancian view spells are living things, that dwell in the spellbooks the way pigeons dwell in their coops. When you 'memorize' spells you are inviting them out of their book and into your head. when you cast one it comes out, does it's thing, and flies home.
The good news is that if you carry your spellbooks with you you get unlimited casting of the spells within (though only one casting may be active at a time). The bad news is that there's no such thing as a 'backup' spellbook, so if anything goes wrong you lose everything. Since in my campaigns I put much emphasis on spell research and discovery, losing one's spellbooks is a catastrophe equal to multiple level draining. The only time it's happened is NPC spellcasters in the final defense of their lair.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 12, 2014 21:12:42 GMT -6
One polite question, if I may: Has Brian Blume publicly said or written anything in explanation or defense of his actions?
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 24, 2014 6:34:00 GMT -6
I would no more toss out the basic spell list than I would the basic equipment list, and for the same reason. However, player elaborations on both are encouraged.
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 7, 2014 12:29:47 GMT -6
It explains why 0ed needed so many changes. And Chainmail - nope, not going there.
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 2, 2014 22:58:57 GMT -6
Done. I wonder what that was supposed to accomplish?
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 17, 2014 9:12:22 GMT -6
I understand the complaints about the frame thingy. But I actually have grown to like it as part of the "premium reprint" part of it. It is pretty. Once I took the foam dice holder thingies out from the side, it gave me some room for dice bags, pens and pencils and "miniatures" (okay, really counters). Still no real room for paper or, if you use them (and I like to) battle mats, etc. Nothing is perfect, but I am really growing to like the box. It is sturdy so it is really holding things together for me. I like that. Regarding the picture in the lid, what I did was pull it out and glue a piece of felt inside to use as a rolling surface. No more dice under the table! It would have been nice if the box were about an inch longer, so an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of paper would fit in there. But that's what binders are for, I guess.
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 10, 2014 20:11:27 GMT -6
Mine's due to arrive on Monday.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 13, 2013 12:06:02 GMT -6
A few years back there was a pamphlet called "Using Chainmail to Resolve OD&D Combats", but it no longer seems to be available online. Anyone know what happened?
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