Sword of Meal Detection

[scottenkainen]

Hi all,

Couldn't find this covered anywhere else, but in my copy of vol. 2, under primary powers for magic swords, one of them is a typo that says "meal" instead of "metal." I don't imagine too many DMs have ever rolled up a magic sword with this power in the first place, but if anyone has, which word did you go with?

~Scott

[snorri]

The perfect sword for an hobbit!!! I need one for my Labyrinth Lord PBP halfling! Just take your sword and it will guide you to the next good restaurant. Then test if it's an inteligent one: compare your wine choice and hers...

[coffee]

"I detect...golden arches."

That's from Murphy's Rules, way back in the day, in The Space Gamer.

[dwayanu]

The enchanted blade leads you to the White Castle.

[apeloverage]

It doesn't cut your food though.

For that you need a Knife of Meal Dissection.

[korgoth]

Nov 6, 2008 20:40:17 GMT -6 apeloverage said:

It doesn't cut your food though.

For that you need a Knife of Meal Dissection.

Now I'm seeing Iron Chef Bilbo-san and his Ginsu of Sharpness.

[apeloverage]

Or the Eye of Unerring Discovery of Banquets.

From M.A.R. Barker's world of Takeuway.


(edit: do Americans use the word 'takeaway' for fast food?)

[sham]

I'm not sure if this jumped out at me before as a typo or not. It's right there in Volume II on page 28, and this in the 6th print OCE version from PDF. Still, not the only typo that was apparently never corrected...which leads me to believe that perhaps players actually assumed it was a primary power, as listed:

71-80: Detect Meal & What Kind

I envision adventurers having gone down one too many slanting passages or trapped stairwells, and through a one-way door or three, and are lost, out of rations, and desperate.

Then Wilfred the Wanderer rejoices, telling everyone that his Dwarven Battle Sword, Squeegles, has just detected a meal down the North tunnel.

'What kind?' his fellow delvers ask.

'Squeegles says it's Rat on a Stick, still hot...enough for everyone!' Wilfred responds.

Sounds useful to me! Better than telling the now desperate ramblers that 'There's more Silver up ahead'.

Granted, resourceful characters just cook what they kill, but this is one of the more interesting powers on the list. ;D

Yeah, clearly a typo but I'm reminded of Dave Hargrave's mistake when he didn't realize that "% Liar" was a typo and just ran with it, giving the odds that parleying monsters would be dishonest.

[Max]

Nov 12, 2008 14:05:43 GMT -6 sham said:

Yeah, clearly a typo but I'm reminded of Dave Hargrave's mistake when he didn't realize that "% Liar" was a typo and just ran with it, giving the odds that parleying monsters would be dishonest.

For reals, Sham? That's how that came about? Crazy.

Encounter Critical has an ability called Unpleasant Order, used for steeling oneself to do some terrible task ("such as killing your brother," explains the text). But in places it appears as Unpleasant Oder, suggesting an entirely different sort of ability.

[This post may demonstrate Humor Axiom #53: The comedic value of an anecdote is inversely proportionate to the amount of background explanation it requires. Ah well.]

[stonetoflesh]

So if a flesh-eating monster is toting around a sword of meal detection, would that foil PC attempts to sneak up on it?

[aldarron]

Nov 12, 2008 13:09:03 GMT -6 apeloverage said:

Or the Eye of Unerring Discovery of Banquets.

From M.A.R. Barker's world of Takeuway.


(edit: do Americans use the word 'takeaway' for fast food?)

No, we use a stupider phrase - "to go" - as in for here or to go?

detect meal is, of course, a typo for detect metal.

[Morandir]

I didn't realize that it was a typo, and rolled this ability for a sword my wife's character had for quite a while. It proved not to be very useful, as generally when the sword gave a positive, the PCs just assumed it was detecting their own rations and ignored it.

[doctorx]

Inspired by all of the above, may I present...

Sword, +1; ‘The Gourmet:’ A beautifully-worked broadsword, its shining blade decorated with pictures of what appear to be wild animals of wood and field (deer, hares etc), although a more detailed examination may turn up a few engravings that seem a little odd, (one that appears to be a pie, another that for all the world resembles a large sausage). Intended as a sword with Metal Detection ability, an unfortunate spelling omission in the instructions to the Elder Smiths led to this +1 Sword detecting meals, (type, range and direction), and commenting on them in the oh-so-condescending voice of a rather stuffy food critic; (“Hmmm, let me see, let me see... Ah, yes; a somewhat rustic but essentially edible stew of mutton and root vegetables some hundred paces to the North-West if your taste is, as I suspect, for the humble ... Mmm, interesting; is that a hint of elfin moon-berries away to our right? Very piquant as a sauce for roast boar... And to the South we have – Oh. Oh dear. One really shouldn’t do that to dwarf, they need marinating for two days at the least – horribly tough otherwise...”) The sword is intelligent, possessed of a considerable Ego & very picky about what it ‘tastes’ – going so far as to actively avoid striking things it considers ‘unpalatable’; (losing its bonus or even suffering a -1 penalty in extreme circumstances). It has a particular dislike of jellies, slimes and other members of the ‘clean-up crew’ & may refuse point-blank to leave its scabbard when it encounters them. (“Gaaah!! Don’t even THINK of waving me at that vile-tasting blancmange! I will NOT be digested! I DIGEST!”) It is, however, very partial to dragon, gaining a +2 bonus against them. Should the wielder prove reluctant to engage a dragon, a battle for control will almost certainly ensue..! (“The haunch, you fool! Carve the haunch! Don’t just lie there smouldering..!”) Its unusual ability can make it useful in detecting poisoned food/ drinks, etc, but most adventurers quickly tire of its constant complaints regarding their choice of ‘restaurant’; (“What, here? AGAIN? Hint of early tomb may be your idea of a pleasing ambience to excite the palate, but I can assure you it is NOT mine! And did you see the state of the cutlery that orc was carrying?” (To the slumbering ogre the party is trying to sneak past:) “WAITER!! The bill, please...!”)

Hope you enjoy!

[ragnorakk]

I did! I will serve up a steaming plate of exaltation in fact!

[Alex]

apeloverage said:

Or the Eye of Unerring Discovery of Banquets.

From M.A.R. Barker's world of Takeuway.


(edit: do Americans use the word 'takeaway' for fast food?)

We use the term 'take-out' rather than 'take-away', but the joke was still understood and a quiet laugh was had.

[DungeonDevil]

Nov 6, 2008 13:57:39 GMT -6 scottenkainen said:

Hi all,

Couldn't find this covered anywhere else, but in my copy of vol. 2, under primary powers for magic swords, one of them is a typo that says "meal" instead of "metal." I don't imagine too many DMs have ever rolled up a magic sword with this power in the first place, but if anyone has, which word did you go with?

~Scott

Don't forget the mighty +5 glaive of gluttony, forged by the renowned Gastro-gnomes.