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Post by jcstephens on Jun 5, 2009 10:26:20 GMT -6
Hell, LIFE is just a set of house rules!
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Post by jcstephens on May 29, 2009 12:54:26 GMT -6
"Aslan in comfortable shoes"? I'm familiar with the other controversies, but that one escapes me. What's the deal?
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Post by jcstephens on May 7, 2009 18:17:13 GMT -6
Just now looking, I see that I've picked up a few smites myself. The gutless nithlings who did it have my full permission and encouragement to kiss my ass.
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Post by jcstephens on May 6, 2009 18:55:09 GMT -6
My only real problem with the 'smite' business is that no one's brave enough to put their name on one, much less explain what someone's getting it for. Negative feedback is useless if you don't know what you've done that offended.
If this can't be changed, you might as well scrap it entirely.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 15, 2009 15:31:22 GMT -6
My father owned a copy of it, many years ago. It's for large scale battles at the corps and division level. If you decide you don't want to keep it, I'd be willing to buy it off you.
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Post by jcstephens on Apr 8, 2009 14:21:43 GMT -6
What I mostly remember about it was the unique starting equipment rules. Your initial character was supposed to be based on your own abilities and skills. The Ref would then give you five minutes to list everything you owned in real life that you would want to take with you as you fled the invading commie hordes. If you owned a gun and ammunition, your character did too. If not then so sorry, you had to make do with kitchen knives and a baseball bat (or whatever).
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Post by jcstephens on Mar 27, 2009 0:44:35 GMT -6
On page 5 of Vol. III there's mention of a secret door that opens two different directions depending on a die roll. Or if that's too random, how about one that opens in different directions depending on HOW you open it, or sets off a trap if you do the wrong thing?
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Post by jcstephens on Feb 28, 2009 21:42:09 GMT -6
I don't post enough, and I feel bad about it. So, here's a little something from my notebook to get me caught up.
JACK KETCH
This works in places where Death By Hanging is a common punishment, with the bodies left on the Hanging Tree as a public example. If you've got Treants in your campaign, he's one who's been possessed and corrupted by Chaos. If not, he's a Hanging Tree who's been brought to a hideous semblance of life, again by Chaos spirits.
Jack looks like an enormous walking oak tree, with big red glowing eyes and skeletal remains hanging by ropes from his branches. He moves silently in the dark, though a breeze picks up just before he attacks. His stats are as a double strength Treant, with twice the hit dice and two attacks. On a 20, he's got you by the throat and will choke for 1d6 per turn until his death or your own.
His favorite lurking places are those where Hanging Trees are usually found: lonely hilltops and forested crossroads. Any traveler passing by such in the dark may be attacked.
Even if you don't use him as a monster, Jack makes a nice tavern tale. And he's a great excuse to creep out a party moving around at night. Imagine hearing all about a giant walking tree with skeletons hanging off him like dreadlocks, and then going home in the dark. The wind picks up, and the trees start swaying in the breeze. For some real fun, maybe there's a couple of jokers with red lensed bullseye lanterns about to pull a Sleepy Hollow. The possibilities are legion.
So there's my little contribution. I hope someone out there can make use of it.
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Post by jcstephens on Jan 5, 2009 19:08:51 GMT -6
Elves in my campaign are visitors from another realm, the realm of Faerie. They are always neutral, in fact any Elf who takes an alignment forfeits his his immortality. They hire out as soldiers of fortune to both Law and Chaos, the only restriction being that Elf must not slay Elf. And they all know each other, and address each other as "cousin" and make arch comments on each others choice of companions.
Dwarves are always Lawful, having been created in a previous cycle as soldiers of Law. They've been mostly supplanted in this role by Men, and haven't taken their decline gracefully. They'll turn out for the big battles, but for the most part the Dwarves are for the Dwarves. Occasionally a Dwarf goes renegade, but all other Dwarves consider it a matter of honor to hunt them down and kill them.
Orcs are not a race as such, but corrupted mortals (Elves swear no Elf ever became an Orc, but are probably lying). Whenever Orcs desire or are ordered to increase their numbers, they offer prospective recruits mans-flesh to eat. Those who do are transformed into Orcs, those who don't become the second course. Other Chaos creatures have similar origins.
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Post by jcstephens on Dec 11, 2008 14:12:32 GMT -6
I haven't actually tried this, but I've been pondering it to give magic-users something to do in combat (since I enforce the 'nothing but daggers' rule). My concept is that magic-users can turn spells the same way clerics turn undead. They have to declare it as their combat action at the beginning of the round, and if an enemy casts a spell during that round they roll to counter it. I still haven't decided whether it should be one spell or all spells cast get countered, though.
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Post by jcstephens on Dec 7, 2008 13:04:48 GMT -6
"If a character commands a thousand knights, what would stop him from sending them into a dungeon to troll for loot?" How about planting a legend of bad things happening when people do that? I think of dungeons as being 'alive' in a "The Shining" sort of way. Adventuring parties probably won't disturb it too much, but a full scale invasion would. The more you mess with it the more it wakes up, and a fully aware dungeon doesn't play nice. Plagues are good, mass undead rising are better, and both would be just about right. Stolen! Well, I got the idea from an old Dragon article about a board game, so you're welcome to it. Here's a illustration, to drive the point home: upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Thetriumphofdeath.jpgOf course, some players might LIKE that sort of thing.
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Post by jcstephens on Dec 6, 2008 12:36:08 GMT -6
"If a character commands a thousand knights, what would stop him from sending them into a dungeon to troll for loot?"
How about planting a legend of bad things happening when people do that? I think of dungeons as being 'alive' in a "The Shining" sort of way. Adventuring parties probably won't disturb it too much, but a full scale invasion would. The more you mess with it the more it wakes up, and a fully aware dungeon doesn't play nice. Plagues are good, mass undead rising are better, and both would be just about right.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 28, 2008 14:52:10 GMT -6
jcstephensWhat happens if you don't graduate from Magic School, but learn from elsewhere? Hm... perhaps there could be evil sorcerer bad guy magic-users without such restrictions? Chaos Wizards. Magic is inherently Chaotic, the various restrictions are intended to allow magic-users to cast spells safely, and anyone who violates those restrictions is corrupted by Chaos and eventually mutates into something inhuman. That green-skinned cackling witch creature you just whacked? She wanted to study Magic, but her parents wouldn't let her. So she ran off into the woods to find Magic on her own. Unfortunately, she succeeded. Tomorrow would have been her 17th birthday.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 28, 2008 0:43:14 GMT -6
I just assume that part of the graduation ceremony at Magic School is the swearing of an oath renouncing the use of weapons and armor. It's a Magic Oath, similar to a Geas, and bad things happen to you if you break it. Clerics get the same sort of thing when they're ordained, or whatever happens to make them a Cleric.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 25, 2008 16:02:36 GMT -6
Better tactics would be helpful as well.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 21, 2008 21:39:46 GMT -6
"The Dunwich Horror". It was the first HP Lovecraft story I ever read, and still my favorite.
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Helmets
Nov 21, 2008 21:37:18 GMT -6
Post by jcstephens on Nov 21, 2008 21:37:18 GMT -6
The table of equipment available for purchase lists helmets separately from armor, which suggests that use of them is optional. I've seen several house rules for the consequences of fighting without one. However, I wonder if that's not making things more complicated than they need to be. Chainmail has rules for jousting, and one of the results is getting your helmet knocked off. Is it possible that helmets were included in the equipment list in order to allow for the replacement of one lost or destroyed in a jousting match?
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 20, 2008 1:18:23 GMT -6
I figured as much. But you can't deny he's imaginative! Maybe he needs a hobby?
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 19, 2008 19:51:31 GMT -6
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 15, 2008 22:31:38 GMT -6
Fnord.
Hey, that gets me thinking. How long will it be until we see GURPS:Carcosa?
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 12, 2008 13:23:44 GMT -6
If a first level sorcerer's main party function is to ID and use magic items, there'll have to be plenty of magic items for him to ID. It's the "Thief in a dungeon" problem all over again, either he tags along waiting for something useful to do, or else he'll look for something to do whether it's useful or not.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 8, 2008 13:36:55 GMT -6
This does seem to be a distressing pattern in all avenues of life. People insist on discussing politics and/or religion, but only to try to convert someone else to their side rather than to actually talk about issues." It's worse than that. They're not looking for unbelievers to convert, they're looking for heretics to burn. ADMIN EDIT: Adjusted format for the quote.
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 5, 2008 13:39:26 GMT -6
I understand that there's a number of things he'd like to say, questions he'd like to answer but can't for legal reasons. I wonder if he's got a letter tucked away in an attorney's safe, to be released upon his (hopefully not anytime soon) passing?
Mr. Arneson, if you're reading this would you care to comment?
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Post by jcstephens on Nov 3, 2008 17:08:12 GMT -6
I honestly don't give a ripe rip what system is used, all I really want is the maps to populate as I please. And I can't grudge Mrs. Gygax for wanting to cash in on her inheritance, it's her property now and she should be able to do as she likes with it.
But what they did to Jeff Talanian wasn't right.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 20, 2008 17:47:36 GMT -6
How about this:
Remember in The Wizard of Oz when the Wicked Witch says, "How about some fire, scarecrow"? She tosses a small ball of fire which hits the ground and burns.
Maybe Fireballs could be like that, instead of an instantaneous flash they make a pool of flame which burns for a turn. Good for an attack spell, but also useful as a magical barrier to block pursuit.
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Post by jcstephens on Oct 6, 2008 12:21:14 GMT -6
In my game, spells are cast by tracing a sigil in the air or on the object being ensorceled (they glow for a second or two after being cast, as a special effect). Sort of like a hand grenade, just pull the pin and throw. Whoever has the initiative gets to go first, which means that wizard duels are more a question of who can ambush who first.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 18, 2008 19:19:52 GMT -6
Nice and evil - I like that. Have an exalt for being an evil referee. (And, unless I miss my guess, you might also be a fan of the old Microprose game Darklands - true?) Heh heh heh. If you know that much, then you know who's waiting for them at the bottom of the dungeon. They THINK it's a dragon...
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 17, 2008 21:18:00 GMT -6
The bane of adventurers in the first level under Castle Drachenstein is the Knockers. They're kobolds - the original medieval German variety, not the dog faced lizards of AD&D. They can wriggle through even the smallest holes and cracks in rocks, in order to get where you don't expect them to be. They're called Knockers because they carry little rock hammers, and use them to 'talk' to each other via tap code. That tapping sound tells the party they've been spotted, and bad things are about to happen.
They have the same stats as kobolds, but stats are the least important aspect. Knockers fight DIRTY. Anyone familiar with the legend of Tucker's Kobolds knows exactly what I'm talking about. They snipe with crossbows (two per crossbow), ambush, and set up complicated mechanical boobytraps (here's the chance to dust off those old Grimtooth books). They're also fond of the feigned retreat, in order to lure the foolish into another trap or ambush. Usually they invade mines to extort bribes from the miners, but they'll happily infest dungeons and shake down adventurers as well.
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Post by jcstephens on Sept 11, 2008 15:35:15 GMT -6
I stick with the "1 life = 1HD = 1d6 damage" formula. If it can do enough damage, without poison or other special effects, to kill an ordinary human then 1d6 damage is appropriate.
"Must be some cockroach".
"Bite your head off, man."
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Post by jcstephens on Aug 24, 2008 18:17:38 GMT -6
Never bothered with them myself. Black powder weapons produce thick clouds of sulfurous smoke. Contemplate the unwisdom of setting one of these off in an enclosed space (such as a dungeon).
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