lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 27, 2023 22:34:49 GMT -6
I see you listed All the Worlds Monsters in the original post. That's one of my goto's! Still available in PDF from Chaosium. The Arduin books have a lot of interesting creatures (a little overlap with All the Worlds Monsters since Dave Hargrave was part of both). Also still available though a little pricier. IF you can find it (I do not think there are any licensed sellers) Booty and the Beast has a bunch more weirdos.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jun 1, 2023 21:58:24 GMT -6
Just saw a commercial on TV for a loan or insurance or something. The whole thing was about getting something settled so you could find the time to play D&D with your friends.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Nov 1, 2022 17:41:04 GMT -6
I chose the pre-1980 option but I'd probably go up to 1983 or 1984. Conveniently the time I first got into the game! Even as a kid all I really wanted was the old modules you would see on the back of products that were already out of print. I still treasure my copy of All the Worlds Monsters I found at the back of a rack at my local hobby shop. But I also appreciate that anything in the descending AC era is basically compatible. Maybe Pre-3E is it's own designation.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 31, 2022 13:45:22 GMT -6
I got started with the Mongoose version but have run through the original character creation as well. I like the finality of dying during generation. It really makes it so you are playing for real stakes in the character creation game. Mongoose replaces that with setback events and sometimes gruesome injuries which are still bad but not as final. I can see both ways working and I like each more than point buy. I'd probably lean more towards dying in character creation though maybe making it a little harder to get that result. I do like the career hopping you can do in Mongoose though (feels right for rootless adventurer types) and that is partially supported by the lack of dying in character creation.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 31, 2022 13:36:41 GMT -6
I'll have to do something - later in the year is my own 50 year celebration. You should run a 1974 D&D game set in 1974 on the day of your birth, in your hometown. I have no idea what the scenario could possibly be but it would make a cool complete circle. That's an interesting idea! I'll have to start thinking about it.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 30, 2022 15:39:33 GMT -6
I think Traveller (in its many editions) has the best alternative to class based character creation. Plenty of options and variety but the life path system makes the min-maxing pretty indirect. Point buy is less exciting to me - I really like discovering who the character is through some level of randomness.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 28, 2022 18:08:59 GMT -6
I'll have to do something - later in the year is my own 50 year celebration.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Mar 19, 2022 0:13:58 GMT -6
I’ll be there! Running a couple of games - it’ll be my tenth counting the virtual year.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 14, 2021 9:33:35 GMT -6
Thank you for the linkage. I like James' take on the "Stranger" class. That is the kind of vibe I'm thinking about (not playing yourself as a character in a fantasy world, as others mentioned). FYI- second link brings up a not found page, but I'll search through the BLOG and see what I can find. To get to that second link you’ll need to fill in the blanks on the popular expletive in the address. Proboards starred out the offending letters.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 13, 2021 23:09:44 GMT -6
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Sept 1, 2021 22:29:27 GMT -6
I think the classic D&D monsters based on those weird dinosaurs were actually Ultraman creature knockoffs sold to unsuspecting Americans as actual prehistoric beasts.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 30, 2021 9:04:17 GMT -6
You can also just have a bunch of “tweener” classes with different suites of skills. AS&SH does this really nicely. T&T covers most bases with only 4 core classes - with two specialists and two generalists.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 19, 2021 0:08:18 GMT -6
I would say not much difference at all and a good campaign, group, and campaign can easily bridge the gaps. But as everyone has pointed out there are a lot of subtleties. A few I’ve noticed: HP in stuff produced for early editions are low in comparison to later (at least for monsters) and saving throws are all over the map! I just went through a bunch of editions looking at these (my players said saving throws in the edition we were playing were hard - they weren’t entirely wrong) and they are not consistent from edition to edition at all.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Dec 11, 2020 23:56:33 GMT -6
Jeff was a really prolific blogger when the OSR started taking off (and before) . He dropped off in number of posts over the years (he went back to graduate school) but he’s had a lot of great insights about being a working DM - its well worth visiting his blog archives. When I started playing again in 2005 I discovered his blog and it was my intro into the whole internet rpg world - I still use his blog roll . These questions are great because they get to the heart of what players generally care about whether or not it has anything to do with the DMs grand plans for their setting.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Nov 25, 2020 0:34:29 GMT -6
A nickname for my first name (Elijah) - on some forums I have an added dog as a suffix. Avatar is the RazorTongue - a giant koala monster from the king of bestiaries All the Worlds Monsters.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Aug 30, 2020 0:03:19 GMT -6
He’s back and is still one of the most insanely prolific bloggers there is. I got caught up in all the Dwinmermount schadenfreude myself but I’ve realized again how good he was as a blogger. I’d love to see him open comments again because back in the day they were pretty informative but I can see why he might not want that hassle. Now if Jeff Rients would Just start posting regularly again.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Aug 12, 2020 20:12:18 GMT -6
One of the greatest things that came out of the OSR was the attempt to present adventures simply and clearly so you didn’t have to wade thru walls of text to figure out what’s happening. Mixed metaphors aside that’s what’s kept me away from pretty much everything released by our corporate overlords since about 1990. In my own game I tend to try to do just in time prep for everything - I put out bait and if the players go for it I’ll develop it further for the next session. Sometimes if I’m lucky I get inspired enough to create something that can last a couple of sessions. It goes the same with adventures/modules - tinkering between sessions makes them more interesting to me. The only flaw in this is when the players get hooked into a major quest - then I feel I owe them something a little bigger - which can be a gamble (of wasted pep time) if they decide to bail at the end.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Nov 9, 2019 19:50:03 GMT -6
It looks like last time I answered this I was in in NC. It’s been a long strange trip since - South Bend, IN, Kuala Lumpur, Hong Kong, and now I’m back where I started in Portland, OR.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Aug 19, 2019 0:13:14 GMT -6
Anthony Huso wrote an excellent piece in his blog about what makes a good player; see www.thebluebard.com/post/learning-to-dm-by-playing-a-character-right and skip to The List about 3/4 of the way down the page if you're not interested in reading the full article: 1. DM Your Character 2. Engage with the World 3. Embrace the Drama 4. Learn the Rules Allan. That’s a good article - it really covers all I want out of my players (and are good goals when I am a player). The only thing I could add would be how some players can not only do these things but also support/encourage others to be better players. It’s a little ineffable but group dynamics really are a huge factor in how a game goes and what the players accomplish.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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magic jar
Aug 22, 2018 0:38:59 GMT -6
via mobile
Post by lige on Aug 22, 2018 0:38:59 GMT -6
Since it’s basically the only rule for possession in the game how would you rule on its use by a ghost or demon?
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jun 8, 2018 18:18:50 GMT -6
T20 - I use it for AS&SH (a perfect fit with that system) and with AD&D (a little more fiddly with the base AC 10 system). It’s easy to use and you can use anything published with descending armor class without changing anything.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on May 7, 2018 17:54:59 GMT -6
I agree on disliking the complete dismissal of the mapper but I did like the concept of a player "quartermaster".
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 4, 2017 20:37:49 GMT -6
Back to the OP - I too like the elegance of 1gp=1xp but as others have stated it doesn't work for every campaign. Myself I have a hard time placing ludicrous amounts of treasure just to allow characters to go up a level. Rob Conley had a nice fairly objective time based system for experience points on his Bat in the Attic blog (I'd post a link but my search powers have failed).
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 15, 2017 21:52:07 GMT -6
Following up on my earlier comment I did a little internet research and stumbled across this article which gives a nice overview of the military organizations of various actors in late medival/renaissance Italy - myarmoury.com/feature_armies_italy.html
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 15, 2017 20:56:50 GMT -6
I'm thinking that late medieval/renaissance Italy would be a good place to look for some pretty analogous political situations. The various Italian city states were always taking one another over and there were a number of old fortifications that changed hands over time. Venice's possesions in the eastern Mediterranean could also be an interesting thing to look into.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Apr 10, 2017 20:19:54 GMT -6
I try for half Vance/ half GRRM with bits of whoever I'm reading at the time but it always comes out a little closer to Your Highness.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 6, 2016 21:54:19 GMT -6
I've got two where I live. My favorite - The Griffon - is celebrating 40 years in business this year with a convention this weekend (full disclosure I'm running an AD&D game and an Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of HYPERBOREA game at the con.) It's pretty much the most pleasant game store I've ever seen with a nice selection of non gaming books and other stuff that makes it possible to take say your non gamer spouse when you visit. The other store is more conventional but has a decent selection of new and old stuff.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Oct 6, 2016 19:14:47 GMT -6
I got my first D&D boxed sets at Toy R Us in Champaign-Urbana - both the Moldvay and Menntzer basic sets were on the shelves and since I didn't know which one to get so my Grandma got me both! Back home in Oregon I got most of my stuff at the Hobby Habit in La Grande (still in business!) and the Book Nook a local new and used bookstore. When we would go to Portland I'd always get a lot of stuff (especially Dragon Magazines) from Powells.
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Jul 11, 2016 19:45:53 GMT -6
There are early articles by Lakofka and Jaquays which do seem to take the male names and pronouns to mean that the official rules were meant only for male characters and then proceed to propose rules for classes meant for females. I believe Lakofkas efforts caused him to be hanged in cartoon effigy by the female gamers of the time (they did exist!)
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lige
Level 2 Seer
Posts: 42
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Post by lige on Apr 18, 2016 23:59:07 GMT -6
The Aubrey and Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brien are also very inspirational.
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