HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: kroth@david.wheaton.edu (Ken Roth)
Subject: Re: New spell for ad&d 2nd
Organization: Wheaton College, IL
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 06:16:57 GMT

In article <1992Sep24.070014.6315@htsa.aha.nl> paulf@htsa.aha.nl (Paul Ferron) writes:
>This is a First level spell I designed for AD&D 2nd edtion play 
>any comments on this spell are welcome. Feel free to copy this spell in it's original state And name.
> SPELL NAME                                       SCHOOL
> Kevin's Holy Rain                                Evocation
> RANGE                                TIME        DURATION
> 20 yards                             special     1 round/level
> AREA OF EFFECT
> 3 feet diameter/level
> SAVING THROW                         COMPONENT
> special                              S,M
>
> MATERIAL COMPONENTS
> a drop of holy water and a hair from a priest of any good alignment.

One problem.  How can a mage make holy water?  Regardless of whose hair he
has, holy water costs thousands to make.

>This spell creates a small cyclone that moves from the wizard's finger and grows into a billowing white cloud from which a steady downpour of holy water falls.
>The cloud can be directed and controled as long as the wizard concentrates on
>the spell. The cloud can move with MV 6. Undead creatures suffer 1d6+1 hitpoints of damage per round that they are in contact with the rain. Intelligent undead may save vs breath weapon for half damage. If the save is successfull it means
>he has somehow managed to avoid some of the rain. The cloud's AoE grows bigger
>as the wizard advances in levels to a maximum of 30 feet diameter. As the AoE
>grows bigger the casting time gets longer:1 segment/2 levels with a maximum of
>5. The rain from the cloud keeps running for one round per level upto 10 rounds maximum. The caster can stop the rain anytime by failing to concentrate on the
>cloud. The cloud can be moved by any wind with a force upto 30 mph, if the forceexceeds this limit the cloud disperses.
> 

The other problem is the immense power of this spell... 
This (excluding the mage casting it problem) should be at LEAST 3rd level, for
it is an almost sure-fire way to kill undead.  Especially is it lasts as long
as he concentrates (well, 10 rounds).  That is a very poweful spell.  Sorta
like a wizard being able to turn, ya know?

Just some ideas.

Ken


-- 
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
kroth@wheaton.uucp | uunet!tellab5!wheaton!kroth || They call me Gryfalia   
"We believe, we believe, 'cause we felt it burning in our hearts"--77's
"He is no fool who loses what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose."
From: tony@phsbbs.princeton.nj.us (Anthony Foglia)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Dark Sun: Wizard Biased?
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 92 19:33:19 EDT
Organization: Princeton High School, Princeton, New Jersey

I'm interested in getting Dark Sun, but have heard it is severely biased 
agianst wizards.  Since mages are my favorite class will I like it or 
will it be a waste of money?


--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disclaimer: The above views may be mine but may be those of the guy       
            behind me.  You decide.
There are two types of people in the world:
The first type always, no matter what, finishes what they start;
From: zweldron@ruhets.rutgers.edu (Matthew Charlap)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Critical Hits
Keywords: critical hits
Date: 5 Oct 92 03:11:49 GMT
Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J.

lazarus@ug.cs.dal.ca (Chuck Turner) writes:
>>>I was wondering about the implemented ways of afflicting critical
>>>damage with weapons.
>When you roll to hit, you roll a D20 AND and D10.  The D20 is the same as
>always, but a 20 does not mean a crit hit.  A roll of a 1 on the D10 signifies
>a critical.  The chance of doing a critical is less than using the straight
>natural 20 system, but improves as your character does (being based on whether
[further description of the 1,2,3,... crit system removed]
That's a very neat way of doing crits. I think I'll run a few trials to
see what happens.

In the Dark Sun campaign I'm playing in, the DM handles crits/fumbles this way:
Natural 20: an excellent attack, player gets a bonus attack, if he gets another
Nat.20, he gets a 3rd attack, and so on. as with other systems, not every 20
is a critical hit, but if you are lucky you can do a lot of damage anyway. In
another campaign, the DM did this method also. My barbarian wielding a +1 
battle axe got 4 natural 20s in a row! and the 5th attack was a 19. I rolled
the damage (5d8+5(magic)+15(strength)), I rolled on the d8's a 35, doing 55
points of damage! granted, there was only a one in 480,000 chance of getting
this (20*20*20*20*3, he had about a 1-in-3 chance to hit this guy) but it made
for a neat move.

For fumbles, the DM in the DS campaign does this:
DM rolls a d4 for severity:
1- minimum severity- nothing or weapon dropped
2,3- normal severity- weapon dropped, possibly hit self/companion, or strain
   muscle/dislocate weapon arm (or jaw on a thri-kreen bite)
4- Maximum severity- hit self, possibly broke a bone, and anything else desired
   at the time.

The d4 roll is made secretly, so I am only guessing the exact method here. He
may have told us at one time, but I forget.
He also uses this method for handling natural 20s on psionic abilities:
1-no effect
2,3- similar to psionicist's handbook result
4- anything from backfire to ?????
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: laruedm@ucsu.Colorado.EDU (David Larue)
Subject: Re: Swords of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Keywords: Trolls, regeneration, sword, sharpness, constitution
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 1992 02:55:44 GMT

In article <1992Sep28.212012.6975@Princeton.EDU> tao@potato.princeton.edu (Terry Tao) writes:
>Brings up another interesting question.  What DOES kill trolls apart from
>fire and acid:: what about
>
>old age
>death spells
>suffocation
>poison
>freezing to death
>psychic attacks
>disease
>falling long distances
>petrifaction
>
>If trolls are immune to all of these, then I can think that trolls will be a major problem in an ice world without the secret of fire and without enough chemistry to produce acid..
>


Things that kill trolls:  old age (*VERY* old), death spells (save vs.
Death at +3), poison, freezing, psychic attacks (ever seen the horrer movie
where the brain is turned into jelly of the guys?), falling long distances
(i.e. turning into a pancake), prtrification (in fact, if you are playing
Tolken trolls, exposure to sunlight will petrify trolls)

-= Justin =-
From: agrimm@slate.mines.colorado.edu (Snarf)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: The Great Net Spell Index!
Date: 6 Oct 92 21:28:49 GMT
Organization: Colorado School of Mines

Coming soon, to a computer near you...

			The Great Net Spell Index
 			           and
			The Great Net Prayer Index

There are so many spells floating around the official rules and over the
net that is has become a nigh-impossible job to catalog them all!

Luckily, I've already done it.

All I've got to do is scan the pages into the UNIX box and post 'em!  I'll
get around to it soon, I hope.

Basically what these files are is a complete (hah) listing of all spells
ever developed for the AD&D game (versions 1 _and_ 2).  Not a list of spell
descriptions, but rather an index to them in the following format:

Spell name [Reverse name] (Notes)        (School/Sphere) Source, page

Really, it looks quite nice.  And they're two long, long lists!

Of course, more up-to-date versions may be posted as the lists evolve.  My
original aim was to list all spells which are publicly accessible for AD&D,
sort of as a companion to the hallowed Great Net Spellbook.  I haven't
decided for sure on the names, so if anyone has a snazzier idea, please say
so!

So, whadda ya think?  This list has already proved helpful to me on more
than one occasion, and I think that it could be useful to many others as
well.
-- 
Snarf (alias Andy Grimm) agrimm@mines.colorado.edu  |      Cheery thought
"And if I refuse?"                                  |       for the day:
"If you refuse, you die, she dies, EVERYBODY dies." | Jump off a cliff, 20,000
Sounded reasonable to me!              -Heavy Metal | lemmings can't be wrong!
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: alongley@cape.UWaterloo.ca (Allan Longley)
Subject: Re: Enchanted weapons to hit...
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 1992 15:58:34 GMT

In article <1aorbdINNe0p@charnel.ecst.csuchico.edu> pkralik@ecst.csuchico.edu (Wintermute) writes:
>>Exactly how do you explain to a character *why* an enchanted weapon is needed
>>to hit certain more powerful creatures.  Now, I realize that this is one of 
>>the things that perhaps makes the creature more powerful, but I want a more
>>logical explanation to give players than this...

What many people are trying to get at is (I think);  The justification
depends on the creature/entity.

	wight, lich, etc. - damage from normal weapons heals automatically

	dragon, golem, etc. - extremely tough hide/armour

	wraith, specter, etc. - non-corpreal requiring a weapon that 
                                extends beyond the material world

	air/water elemental, etc. - insubstancial requiring a weapon that
	                            extends beyond the material world

	demons, devil, deamons, etc. - all of the above  :-)
	
>>If a fighter drops an elephant off a cliff onto a demon, will he do damage to
>>it???  

This is similar to -- if a demon falls 100 feet, does it take damage.  The
answer to both these questions is yes -- the demon's own body does damage to
itself.  This is also why ballistas, catapults, etc., will do damage to
creatures only hit by magical weapons.  BUT, this is not true if the
creature is non-corpreal (nothing to hit).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Allan Longley, University of Waterloo, Department of Chemical Engineering
e-mail: alongley@cape.uwaterloo.ca
voice: (519) 885-1211 x3816		Glowing green eyes ... I charge it!
home: (519) 746-5747			DM:  he, he ,he, ok.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Sowrds of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Keywords: sharpness
Date: 30 Sep 92 23:57:36 GMT
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Originator: kjenks@gothamcity

The way I've handled it in my campaign has been to have the victim lose
25% of his ORIGINAL hit points every round until affected by a curing
ability (cure or heal spell, potion, lay hands or cell adjustment).
This make the sword VERY dangerous, but not instantly fatal.

I strongly recommend that your DM give limited charges to the
"sharpness effect" (possibly without telling the PC).  This is a potent
weapon, and it will defeat the strongest opponents at the most
inopportune time, plot-wise.  Weapons like this (sharpness, vorpal,
wounding, answering, etc.) are only found on VERY high level characters
and are frequently aligned to the most inconvenient alignment
possible.

  PC: "I draw forth my mighty sword, Braincleaver!"  

  DM: "OK, you take the usual 19 points of Ego damage, and it
      will control your actions when you drop below 42 HP."  

  PC: "Ouch!  Cleric!"

  Braincleaver: "You again!  I told you I didn't want to kill any more
      wimpy monsters!  Let's find us a Ki-rin!"

-- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
      kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov  (713) 483-4368

     "Take the time and effort to become not just a good DM,
      but a brilliant one." -- Zeb Cook, AD&D DMG2, Foreword
From: cdb@waikato.ac.nz (Craig D. Beere)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Killing (or not killing) Trolls
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:13:25 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

In article <1992Sep28.212012.6975@Princeton.EDU>,
 tao@potato.princeton.edu (Terry Tao) writes:
> Brings up another interesting question.  What DOES kill trolls apart from
> fire and acid:: what about

I had this conversation a few weeks ago.  Here is what we though would be
amusing...

> old age
Yeah, kills them.

> death spells
Definately kills them...

> suffocation
Puts them in a very uncomfortable form of hibernation.  When troll gets air
again troll will not be happy (consider Wolverine in What If Wolverine met
Conan - he gets his windpipe severed, which heals, but lack of oxygen has
damaged his brain so he is animalistic and insane).

> poison
Again, puts them in a hibernation until poison wears off or is cured.

> freezing to death
Cold termperature does nothing to them apart from damage.  When they freeze
solid see above under suffocation.

> psychic attacks
Kill them.

> disease
Ditto as for poison.

> falling long distances
Ha.  They might splatter all over the place at the bottom (think Derek in
_Bad_Taste_), but they reform.

> petrifaction
Yeah, this pretty much does them in.

> If trolls are immune to all of these, then I can think that trolls will be a
> major problem in an ice world without the secret of fire and without enough 
> chemistry to produce acid..
Yep.  Fun ay?

I rule that all tgis damage does hurt, going below 0 hit points *REALLY* hurts,
no matter what does it.  All this pain is not good for the sanity so all Trolls
in my games show signs of insanity (more or less depending on how many times
they have 'died').
 
{*******************************************************************************
** Craig D. Beere  (a.k.a. ++Byron)
** University of Waikato, New Zealand
** CDB@waikato.ac.nz
*}
{$I standard_disclaimer}
{$I witty_quote}
From: Devon_Sheppard@mindlink.bc.ca (Devon Sheppard)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Sowrds of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Date: 28 Sep 92 08:22:32 GMT
Organization: MIND LINK! - British Columbia, Canada
Distribution: world

z_copeab@ccsvax.sfasu.edu writes

>>[sword of sharpness question deleted]
>
>        First, the DM should be shot for letting you get away with reading
>up on the stats of a magic item you found, and then not nailing you for it.

<insert hearty round of applause here>

>        To the question: Triple damage is *far* too much. Having the victim
>lose 1d2 hp per round until the wound is tended to.

That's about what I was going to say... 1d4 pts/round.

>Brandon Cope

  Devon

--
devon_sheppard@mindlink.bc.ca
From: ecrjbruce@economics.adelaide.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Sowrds of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Date: 30 Sep 92 02:36:59 GMT
Organization: Economics, University of Adelaide
NNTP-Posting-Host: eco.economics.adelaide.edu.au

In article <1992Sep27.233456.10325@beaver.cs.washington.edu>, guido@cs.washington.edu (Guido Hunt) writes:
> Well, in recent gaming sessions my group has come up with a couple
> of interesting questions.
> 
> Two, we have a VERY healthy elf in our group, he has a 20 con.  At this lofty
> hieght, he is entitled to regeneration a one point per hour. Our question is
> what if he sustains enought damage to take him below -10, does he die 

No idea, what usually happens to munchkins?



:-)


> anything about avoiding death.  We figured that a troll would have about a 54
> con and that this is a little above a 20 and so that might be a misleading 
> comparison.

surely it won't take you long to get that 54 con will it??



:-)



regs

Rob

--
Rob Bruce    | "He's living in the interface again, the eye-face, his expanded
             |  mind racing like electrons through the circuits, into the metal
             |  and crystal heart of the machine"
             |                Walter Jon Williams, `Hardwired'
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: ogormanj@vax1.tcd.ie
Subject: Re: Sowrds of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Organization: Trinity College Dublin
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 15:13:42 GMT

In article <358@mindlink.bc.ca>, Devon_Sheppard@mindlink.bc.ca (Devon Sheppard) writes:
> z_copeab@ccsvax.sfasu.edu writes
> 
>>>[sword of sharpness question deleted]
>>
>>        First, the DM should be shot for letting you get away with reading
>>up on the stats of a magic item you found, and then not nailing you for it.
> 
> <insert hearty round of applause here>
> 
>>        To the question: Triple damage is *far* too much. Having the victim
>>lose 1d2 hp per round until the wound is tended to.
> 
> That's about what I was going to say... 1d4 pts/round.

Maybe instead of questioning weather others can read the rule books you should
have a look at them.8-)

The Wilderness survival guide suggests as an optional rule that edged weapons
be allowed  sever an artiery for 1d6+1 extra damage per round.This happens 25% 
of the time and when more then 8(?) points of damage are done by one blow.
There is also suggestions for clotting etc.

What you guys are suggesting is that one of the most powerful weapons there is
should be turned into something less powerful then an ordinary sword.The sword
should after taking a limb off atleast do 2d6/rd maybe more automatically.And
I think that the bleeding should be stopped only by clerical intervention.No
wrapping up in bandages and saying the character is stabilized. 

This should be a weapon to strike fear in to the heart of a party when they
find a knight with this sword.And this added attraction will give them the 
incentive to hunt down this weapon rather then forgetting it for the old
fireball or +2 axe.

Well theres my 5p

> 
>>Brandon Cope
> 
>   Devon
> 
> --
> devon_sheppard@mindlink.bc.ca

John

ogormanj@vax1.tcd.ie

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: mage@en.ecn.purdue.edu (Mage)
Subject: Re: Trolls' regeneration
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 22:01:50 GMT

In article <70236@hydra.gatech.EDU> ccoprdj@prism.gatech.EDU (Jorge Diaz) writes:
>In article <Bvpqz9.9Gy@cs.dal.ca> lazarus@ug.cs.dal.ca (Chuck Turner) writes:
>
>> A troll is quite alive.  It is not supernatural in any respect, it just has
>> an amazing ability to stay alive.  It has a niche in its ecology like any
>> other beast. 
>
>So can it be drowned? Suffocated?  In any way killed without the use of
>fire and/or acid?
>
>>Each limb of the troll will continue to fight, or attempt to return to the
>>body for a period of 24 hours, after which time it withers and dies. 
>
>Did you make this up, or is it from the MM?  Why wouldn't a new troll
>be able to grow from a limb?
>
>> They have a great respect and fear for dragons, especially red and black. 
>
>Gee, I wonder why? ;-)
>
>>>|> 	Is a troll regenerated from a finger a new troll?
>>
>> If that finger is the single largest remaining piece of the troll, then yes
>> it will grow into a troll.  But not a NEW troll.  It will be the same troll
>> that it came from, with only a new body.
>
>I thought you just said that a limb would wither and die.  But a single
>finger can generate a new troll?  Which is it?
>
>And, if you cut a troll into ten pieces, you say that they would all be
>the same troll with new parts grown in to substitute the parts that had
>been removed?  I.e.  They would all think and act exactly alike, have
>the same memories, the same name, etc?
>
Chuck was right, just not verbose enough to get his point across to you.
A troll regenerates and if you disected it into a thousand pieces, the
LARGEST segemnt would regenerate into a TROLL.  The best way to explain
this rule, and by the way there is documentation to support it, is to 
imagine that the immortal essence of the troll is tied to its body and 
can only after a set amount of time maintain the life forces of the one
body, therefore it remains with the largest segment of the body, so that
in effect the troll is reenerated completely.  The troll's remaining
segmentation will wither and die, as my esteemed collegue was trying to
explain to you.         
Now if I were to need for the Troll to regerate into multiple trolls say
3 more of them may regenerate, but this requires that I overlook the rule
to enhance the game.  Remember this is all somantics anyway, it doesn't 
truly matter if one or a thousand trolls are regenerated from the remaining
tissue, but what best enhances the plot wihtout destroying the characters
in a mass slaughter, as I imagine any dm who would allow a troll to regenerate
into a thousand new ones would be attempting to do.
Thanks for your time and patience,
Tony aka mage
.

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: brunborg@solan.unit.no (]dne Brunborg)
Subject: Prismathic Sphere
Organization: Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Tue, 6 Oct 92 20:51:48 GMT

I have a few questions about Prismatic Sphere:

The spell-description says that one of the colours stop spells. Does this include
spells such as Blink, Dimension Door, Teleport, Teleport w.o. Error, Plane Shift
and Astral Spell? (and any other spell of that type). Is it possible to teleport
out (since the spellcaster can pass through it without harm), but not in?

The 7th colour stops mental attacs. Does this include the psionic powers
Teleport and Dimensional Door (and similar)?

If a MR-creature tries to walk through, how many times are needed to check MR?
Once, or once per colour remaining?

The 6th colour (I think) stops gas. Dos this include oxygen? Or will the (N)PC's
inside run out of air and suffer suffocating?


So long!

		Aadne Brunborg
		Norwegian Institute of Thechnology
		University of Trondheim
		NORWAY

	"If ye can't see it, it's right behind ye..."
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: scythe@byron.u.washington.edu (The Grim Reaper)
Subject: Re: Trolls' regeneration
Organization: University of Washington, Seattle
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 19:38:45 GMT

In article <1992Oct1.140342.5870@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> luhmann@calcite.cps.msu.edu.cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Luhmann) writes:
>In article <1992Sep29.185112.21696@u.washington.edu> scythe@byron.u.washington.edu (The Grim Reaper) writes:
>>In article <1992Sep29.143424.14615@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu> luhmann@cps.msu.edu (Patrick J Luhmann) writes:
>>>In article <COVIN.92Sep28173905@despair.cs.uchicago.edu> covin@tartarus.uchicago.edu (David Covin) writes:
>>>>In article <1992Sep28.212012.6975@Princeton.EDU> tao@potato.princeton.edu (Terry Tao) writes:
>>>>
>>>   <...Stuff deleted...>
      <more stuff deleted...>
>    Actually, the Monster Manual(1st ed) puts no restriction on the number of

Aahh... *first* edition.  That explains it. 
>trolls that can form from the "parent" troll, or on what size a piece needs
>to be to form a new troll.  However, in actual play, I would definatley put
>some kind of limit on this (it would amount to whatever seems best for that
>particular situation).
>
>Example:  If my main NPC bad-guy is in trouble (the PC's are knocking on the
>door of his lair) and he needs some quick protection, I might have him slice
>and dice his troll in order to form a small force to stop the PCs.  As in
>any situation, the ruling would be whatever makes the game fun and interesting
>(for both the players and me :)  ).
>
>Pat
Yuck.  Insta-army?  Small cans of troll meat, just toss em on the ground and
add water.  Soon you have an army of your very own. :)