Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Aug 29, 2012 9:26:44 GMT -6
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Jul 31, 2012 23:51:48 GMT -6
Is that from one of the Arduin books? It's from Monsters!Monsters!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Jul 31, 2012 13:23:32 GMT -6
This is the most well-put version of what I want to say that I have yet to see.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Help
Jul 31, 2012 0:08:27 GMT -6
Post by Aplus on Jul 31, 2012 0:08:27 GMT -6
Too many cooks spoil the magazine. I think you guys have done a stellar job, and I wouldn't change a thing. Enjoy your vacation! (Or, hope you enjoyed it, as it's probably over now.)
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Jul 30, 2012 23:39:56 GMT -6
But I know realize that perhaps that was a joke you were making, in response to yet another joke! (Forgive me, it's late here.)
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Jul 30, 2012 23:38:20 GMT -6
Friday the 13th, sounds like an auspicious day for an update? (pretty please with green slime on top?) The iconic Green Slime is WotC IP. It doesn't appear in the SRD, and hence doesn't feature in DD. The latter instead features a pernicious dungeon hazard known as Emerald Slime It does appear in the SRD, but it is put forth as a hazard rather than a monster. www.d20srd.org/srd/dungeons.htm(scroll all the way to the bottom)
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on May 9, 2012 13:42:48 GMT -6
Another benefit to doing this, even if it doesn't work out in the end, is that you can eventually take over the characters as NPCs (assuming they survive the ride). Bad guy NPCs that were once PCs of the players work really well.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on May 9, 2012 13:07:48 GMT -6
I've never run an "evil campaign" per se, but my players' PCs almost always tend to be chaotic in nature. I think all you really need is a way to unify their goals, and give them a reason to adventure together. From my observations, the thing that always crashes an evil or amoral campaign is when players get the idea in their heads that their PCs need to start offing each other, which destroys the game for obvious reasons.
Figure out the items, MacGuffins, etc. and where to place them. Are they in a dungeon? Does some order of monks have them locked away in a vault for safe-keeping? Do they need to plan an elaborate heist since some rich dude has what they need in his well-guarded mansion? It can follow the same basic framework of any other type of adventures.
Give them opportunities to make decisions with regard to how they want to go about things. Like a small band of humanoids that they could either slaughter or recruit to their cause. A small village with a healthy amount of crime and naughty business going on that they could perhaps become enmeshed in.
Of course, some of the people they might choose to associate with might be very untrustworthy, so be sure to give them challenges based on the logic of that, but be careful that you don't find yourself "punishing" them for making amoral choices. That's an easy trap to fall into, and can suck the fun right out. Try as hard as possible to be emotionally detached.
A good bit of gonzo tossed in can help keep things from getting too weighty.
Just one man's opinion, but hope it helps!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on May 7, 2012 14:24:51 GMT -6
Don't you save the princess in B3? That's kind of heroic.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on May 3, 2012 8:21:35 GMT -6
Not related to stats or anything like that, but last summer Jim Ward told me white apes were one of Gary's favorite monsters to use.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on May 1, 2012 11:51:36 GMT -6
I run it at Unique Gifts and Games in Grayslake. Games Plus is too far from me (I'm in Waukegan).
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Apr 27, 2012 10:16:03 GMT -6
I think you have to also take into consideration that there were doubtless truckloads of mail with rules questions and suchlike flooding the mailboxes of TSR. I'm sure that ANY game designer dealing with that sort of thing for very long would be found shifting from a "free-wheeling" to "officialdom" mindset, if for no other reason than to preserve their own sanity.
As Tim Kask says in his article in Knockspell #1, "...The fun started to leech away within months. Now there were dicta, dogma and regulations; gone were the days of guidelines. And who was to blame for this sorry, disreputable state of affairs. The players…"
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Apr 27, 2012 9:46:33 GMT -6
In my experience, all pre-2000 editions of D&D are interchangeable with virtually no mental effort required. Just run it as-is, and tweak things on the fly as you see fit.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Apr 26, 2012 11:23:58 GMT -6
The levitate power also works like telekinesis. Also, if you wanna snipe it, don't hesitate to change it up and make it however you like. Here are the design notes:
B/X Elf advancement, with Carcosa-style psionic powers instead of spells. LBB fighter HD and fighting capability LBB Cleric Saves, but advance in groups of 3 instead of 4, due to the high XP requirements of the class. Light armor and AC bonus to fit the "dexterous fighter" theme of the class
Have fun with it! I tried looking at some modern star wars rpg books for ideas for the force powers, but everything was "+1 this, +1 that" and I found them very lame. Geoffrey's psionics system saved the day!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Apr 24, 2012 16:05:24 GMT -6
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 26, 2012 12:02:47 GMT -6
I'm sure this will always be my favorite place to discuss OD&D, but I'm glad they made the new section there. Something about lumping OD&D together with BECMI bugs me a bit. Nothing against BECMI, it's just not the same thing to a nerd like me.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 21, 2012 11:27:16 GMT -6
I would buy it if it weren't for the fact that it's supposed to be reprinted in the near future.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 21, 2012 10:38:58 GMT -6
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 21, 2012 10:35:22 GMT -6
It's why I love OD&D!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 21, 2012 9:56:21 GMT -6
I was just wondering what other people running OD&D were doing these days, given the fact that getting OD&D books is retardedly expensive. Personally, I've done a 1-page doc for each class, which includes advancement table, saving throws, and any house rules I have for the class. Then I have a few self-printed facsimiles of Men & Magic to use as table copies, primarily for looking up spells. Modern games have the expectation of a "Player's Handbook", or some such player reference, but it seems that in the olden days, only the DM really had a copy of the rules. Just curious to hear what other people out there are doing.... Hi Aplus, any chance you could post your one-page class summaries? Sure. Some of these docs are outdated, as I've made some tweaks since then, but they should give a rough idea of how easy it is to throw together a doc. They can be accessed from here: peoplethemwithmonsters.blogspot.com/p/outland.html
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 15, 2012 0:05:00 GMT -6
Good lord!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 6, 2012 15:58:05 GMT -6
I was just wondering what other people running OD&D were doing these days, given the fact that getting OD&D books is retardedly expensive.
Personally, I've done a 1-page doc for each class, which includes advancement table, saving throws, and any house rules I have for the class.
Then I have a few self-printed facsimiles of Men & Magic to use as table copies, primarily for looking up spells.
Modern games have the expectation of a "Player's Handbook", or some such player reference, but it seems that in the olden days, only the DM really had a copy of the rules.
Just curious to hear what other people out there are doing....
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 5, 2012 14:25:32 GMT -6
You can throw it at people and it returns like Captain America!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Mar 2, 2012 17:34:42 GMT -6
As a player, I just want to know where I can find adventures. If some setting info is revealed while I'm playing, that's cool, but please, no long expositions and no reading assignments.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Feb 17, 2012 14:35:23 GMT -6
Cool. This will give me a reason to see how well the YouTube player on my AppleTV works!
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Feb 17, 2012 12:06:54 GMT -6
I think most of what goes on with BFRPG happens on Dragonsfoot, which I personally don't frequent. Also, it is an entirely non-commercial effort, so there is no real reason for its creators to "promote" it. Basic Fantasy RPG was the first "old school" game I tried with my home group. I love almost everything about it. The only thing it has going against it is that you can't get it at a game store and it doesn't say "Dungeons & Dragons" on the cover. It's a very polished game, the source open office docs are excellent, man, I could go on and on. The supplements all have a nice, uniform look. Also, I think Chris Gonnerman created this in the 3E days because he wanted something simpler than 3E to play with his daughter. You gotta love that! Anyways, I think it's a great game to get out there. I think it deserves more love in our circles. It's clearly a labor of love. Here's a brief post I did about it last year: peoplethemwithmonsters.blogspot.com/2011/05/thanks-for-basic-fantasy-rpg.html
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Feb 14, 2012 8:59:23 GMT -6
Sounds like a fun way to do it. Like Marv said, try it out. If it doesn't work out, you can always fall back on the old +1 hit/dmg/AC (or whatever else floats your boat).
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Feb 12, 2012 11:49:37 GMT -6
Arduin is important to me as an illustration of the fact that D&D really has no limits whatsoever.
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Feb 8, 2012 11:18:47 GMT -6
Does it have an option for personal/private projects?
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Aplus
Level 6 Magician
Posts: 353
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Post by Aplus on Jan 27, 2012 17:48:30 GMT -6
So here is a draft workup of my LBB game thief, which can be used as a replacement for the cleric, or alongside it. The basic idea was to use as much of whats already there as possible, rather than looking to greyhawk or other sources, although I did steal the LotFP skills, since I really like the way they are handled in that game. I like that all PCs can use thief skills, they are just crappier at it. This does kind of set the stage for an all-out skill system, and my brain naturally gravitates to adding "Spellcraft" and "Alchemy" for the magic-users, and other ways to give the other classes a skill point here and there so they can specialize in something. Anyways, while far from revolutionary, hopefully it inspires some thought. The LBB Thief
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