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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 31, 2017 17:00:55 GMT -6
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 16:27:13 GMT -6
Ahh, I do so love simplicity
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 12:12:57 GMT -6
One of my biggest regrets was a deal Gary and I had to meet one day and I would run a game of OD&D for him, to show what I had done with it and see what he thought. In return, he would run a game of LA for me, in hopes of getting me more interested (I own the game, but never really got into it). He died before we could finalize plans
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 11:49:44 GMT -6
This is one of the most amazing looks at the original game I've ever seen! I love the art style and medieval look. I keep going back to play catch up every once in a while.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 11:20:47 GMT -6
I also loved how "Jack Kirby" many of the designs and especially costumes were. The whole mighty-magic/super-science/post-apocalypse/weird-moon thing really screams of balls-to-the-wall epic adventure!
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 10:01:58 GMT -6
One of my biggest influences (next to Ralph Bakshi's Wizards & the Masters of the Universe mini-comics):
How OD&D is THIS for a campaign opener?
Not to mention the ill-fated Korgoth of Barbaria!
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 30, 2017 9:51:28 GMT -6
We didn't use character sheets. I still have Gronan's original character sheet... it's a piece of lined three-hole paper. The other authentic option is a piece of paper torn out of a spiral notebook, with the crufties still along the side. Gronan I like it, but did everyone have some special format for how information was organized or did y'all just slap down whatever you needed to remember wherever you felt like? Did you record everything (even to-hit tables or saving throws) or just what was rolled or decided at creation?
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 29, 2017 10:01:13 GMT -6
Here is another one, this one full-size. I remembered to take luck off this time, and unless I messed something up, it contains only LBB stuff. OD&D LBB Character Record (8.5x11)Is this still available? If it's the one I'm thinking of, I used to use it quite a bit, but lost the file years ago.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 29, 2017 9:49:13 GMT -6
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 28, 2017 9:53:50 GMT -6
How about a forest of giant trees whose roots entwine to the point where not only is the forest sentient, but it's root structure make up a mega dungeon from grown wood rather than placed stone bricks! Think of the possibilities...
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 26, 2017 18:17:17 GMT -6
AC4 6+3 HD, rubbery green skin, regenerates 3 pts per round HA! The subtlety of it all
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 17:39:40 GMT -6
Rumor has it that the City of Greyhawk was originally the left-center "city" (cabin) on this map! In addition to the pools being castles/strongholds and the cabins being cities, I see the deer as marking possible lairs of evil beasties or humanoids.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 17:32:12 GMT -6
I believe it was assumed you could see with torch/lantern light period, but only clearly enough for details within 10' to 30' or so, everything else being mere shadows or an hyperactive imagination Lanterns lasted longer, but were more expensive and may (in warmer climes) use oil.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 17:18:39 GMT -6
They are two different games, but D&D can make USE of the board that comes with Outdoor Survival in the same way it can make use of chess pieces for miniatures.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 17:10:54 GMT -6
Call me old school but my idea of gods in OD&D are:
Crom: He don't give a f#@k. You can't encounter him because he's a GOD. If you're a Cleric, you may have dreams/visions of his urges, or even visits from intermediaries. But otherwise, his existence is theological or theory at best.
OR:
Spider God: elephant-sized, hairy spider with sword-like fangs. AC=3, HD=7, save vs. poison on successful strike. Surrounded by several spider cultists (2 Veterans, 6 normal men, 1 Thaumaturgist).
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 17:04:00 GMT -6
I like having "something" up there to approach (and exit from). But not necessarily an actual castle or levels. I'm thinking more like a vague outline or perhaps just the towers and walls of a castle, with no real floors. Much open air. Crumbling ruin. You can see where the keep was, the well (a possible entrance?), but any wooden buildings would've rotted away long ago. The ground floor is there, and in the towers may actually hold an encounter or hidden treasure or two, but the upper floors aren't safe enough to navigate (for the most part). That's my take any way.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 16:33:42 GMT -6
Well, I'm several years older now, so let's see about a revisit (with a bit of a "fantasy boost" considering abilities)...
The Green Man Lives in a stone cabin out on the heath, far from civilization.
Class: Warrior/Theurgist
Strength: 15 Intelligent: 16 Wisdom: 17 Constitution: 13 Dexterity: 11 Charisma: 6
Gold: Who needs it?
Alignment: Neutrality (tend towards Chaos)
Equipment: Green cloak & wide-brim hat, ceremonial silver dagger, Staff of Striking, lantern, "pouch of ill-repute", Crystal Ball, various potions.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 16:02:30 GMT -6
Y'all may want to check out the stuff I've posted here regarding my Clashing Realms Of Metal (CROM) supplement or my Moons of Metal (Zandor) setting. I love primal, savage, barbaric settings, but also like to keep things as simple as possible.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 15:06:33 GMT -6
Yeah, all that. I just skipped "medium" and stuck with Light, Heavy and Full because of the way troops and encumbrance were categorized. Makes Fighting-Men like Conan in loincloth, bracers and other tiddly bits get away with AC 7 instead of 9 RULE OF COOL!
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 23, 2017 10:05:09 GMT -6
Given Chainmail troop types, Armor Class rules, encumbrance, etc.; I was thinking that the armor listed for cost or whatever didn't have to be "leather, chain, plate", but rather "light, heavy, full". Examples:
Light Armor including gambeson, leather, battle harness, chainmail bikini, hides, etc. Heavy Armor being not just chain mail, but scale and similar flexible armors. Full Armor meaning anything heavier and/or ridged like plate mail, lamellar, yoroi, etc.
Kind of armor "special effect". Makes things a bit more imaginative for those times when you don't need to be necessarily "Medieval European" all the time.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 22, 2017 10:45:09 GMT -6
Passage runs east. "We go east." Ten feet, twenty feet, thirty feet east. East ends, north or south. "We go south." Ten feet south, door to the south, passage ends. "We open the door" (check to see if door opens) Door opens. "We look in and around carefully". Twenty by thirty foot room to the south and east. Passage east in the middle of the east wall. ``````````````````````````````` Which is the way Gary used to do it. It sounds kinda foolish at times, but probably the best, easiest way to do it. I may have to print this out just to have a reminder and keep consistency!
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 22, 2017 8:36:38 GMT -6
All I'm saying is you can have a thieves guild without a classification of a Thief character. The guild would be made up mostly of normal men with perhaps several Fighting-Men and even a few Magic-Users, all of whom can cut purses, scale walls, break and enter or con the gullible. Classes are to establish who can use magic and who cannot (in my opinion) and not about nit-picking every aspect of a game into playing a thief, woodsman or candlestick maker.
EDIT: I hope this doesn't sound argumentative, I'm just stating things the way I see/play them in an effort to make things more simple for others.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 21, 2017 17:37:19 GMT -6
'Within the realm of angry villagers are thieves from the "thieves' quarter"...' -- The Underworld & Wilderness Adventures, p. 24 Of course the 1974 rules do not include the thief character class, and Gary did not add the thief class to his D&D campaign until after the publication of D&D in January 1974. Thus he envisioned plenty of thieves (and perhaps even a Thieves' Guild from his reading of Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories) in D&D without needing a thief class. It is easy as pie to include the entire seedy underworld with all its grime and grit and nefariousness without needing character classes beyond the original three. Thieves (and their guilds) have been around far longer than D&D or the "Thief" class made up later. As far as games before the Greyhawk supplement, a thief was someone who steals. Isn't that more or less what EVERY PC is? There was a merchant's guild too, even an artisan's guild. Put any of these guys to battle and you've got either "normal" men or Fighting-Men. Too many people assuming how characters were originally classed somehow indicated their profession.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 21, 2017 16:58:39 GMT -6
I don't recall any cases where he used the OS map at all. I'm pretty sure that was a Dave thing. Gary absolutely used the Outdoor Survival map for wilderness adventures. Greyhawk was near the center of the left edge, I don't have the map in front of me. Interesting to note that in the "Implied Setting" document, the city in question was assumed to be the best, most cosmopolitan and successful city on the map, given it's location and the surrounding area.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 20, 2017 17:06:50 GMT -6
At first he rolled them, later we rolled, especially if several people are starting at once. Definitely a helpful memory, thank you for that!
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 20, 2017 17:02:21 GMT -6
My point exactly
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 19, 2017 10:04:05 GMT -6
AKA "Shouldn't we have a skill system?" Both read in the whiniest voice you can muster.
To answer the second point first: NO As to the title point: consider the following three Fighting-Men of Law, all with average abilities, hit points, chain mail, shield and sword:
Marcus Maximilian: Veteran soldier of the Roman Republic, wearing his old lorica hamata, wielding his gladius & scutum thoughtfully, descends into the ancient crypt for the recovery of treasure long forgotten. Hopefully the rumors of living skeletons were false...
Johann Half-Beard: Veteran of raids to the south (one of which saw the right side of his head burned and permanently hairless), lifts his colorful round shield and brilliant broadsword over his mailed, muscular form; A challenge to the bandits before him. They'll learn what it means to attack his village!
Sir Alphas the White: Veteran of the crusades, adorned in his Norman mail and teardrop shield, sheaths his arming sword to enter the courts of the city's grand hall. Surely, the nobleman's daughter will see him in a favorable light THIS time!
So yeah, they're all the same... IF YOU PLAY THEM THAT WAY. Use your imagination and give your "just a fighter" some character and/or background. That alone will help the Referee adjudicate any need for skilled action that may come up.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 19, 2017 9:38:21 GMT -6
How would you do this 2 fighting-men/woman subclasses in OD&D, in a non-supplement context. I was thinking of just using the fighting-man class as base, adding advantages and disadvantages. The first would be from a barbarian society. Probably Fighting-Man, but Magic-User works too. Probably favor hides (treat as leather) and axes/clubs. The second would be from a society dominated by women warriors. Probably Fighting-Woman, but maybe the odd Magic-User or Cleric as well. Likely to use bows, swords, spears, etc. and wear the equivalent of leather (maybe chain if going for a bronze breastplate). Contrary to popular belief, character classes aren't professions, races, or even roles, but are simply whether or not your dude(ette) is classed as either using magic or just fighting to deal with threats and obstacles. Not counting the oddball Cleric/Vampire Slayer maybe.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 19, 2017 9:29:41 GMT -6
The Greyhawk supplement allows a bonus of 1 point to AC per point of Dexterity over 14.
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Post by murquhart72 on Jul 19, 2017 9:20:33 GMT -6
Folks can pick pockets without being classified as a Greyhawk Thief. Barbarian might indicate a Fighting-Man (which is what appears to be pictured) or it could be a barbaric Magic-User or Cleric. Barbarian is a type of society, not a role classification in OD&D. People seem to read too much into pictures when OD&D classifies the role of a PC as either using magic (Magic-User), or not (Fighting-Man). With Clerics being there to balance the two a tad and give someone a chance to play as Van Helsing
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