From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: how to imprison a psionicist ?
Date: 16 Dec 92 03:58:44 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@unixd3.cis.pitt.edu

In article <1992Dec16.150817.1@csc.canterbury.ac.nz> engf002@csc.canterbury.ac.nz writes:
>Jorge A. Diaz suggests locking a helmet on to stop psis escaping 
>(since on page 16 of the Psi handbook it states no psi powers with 
>helmets).
>And Seawasp replies:
>>	Maybe because most people looked at the rule that says "helms
>>shut off psis" and realized how ridiculous that rule is, and jettisoned
>>the rule. 

> You can apply this sort of "black/white reasoning" to almost
>facet of the game. 

	And I do.

>The point is so long as the DM is consistent, then it doesn't 
>matter. But it is still all black/white and arbitrary.

	No, it doesn't matter as MUCH, but it still MATTERS. WHY does
the helm affect the psi? It's important to know, because the principle
can lead to a thousand other ramifications.

>But then so is everything in ADND (or any RPG):

	Not so much in, say,  Amber, where you're encouraged to go with
logic, not rules.

>Magic missiles travel 120 yards or whatever. If you are a 
>thousandth of a micron further than 120 yards, you are totally 
>unaffected. Is that logical?? Does that comply to your wonderful
>"operating physics and paraphysics of psi, tech, and magic."
>Balck/white arbitrary cutoff.

	No, it doesn't. That's why I don't work it that way. There's a
short "fuzz out" distance where the binding projective energy sheath
decays.

>Or take Tensor's floating disk. It can carry 6000gp or whatever. If a 
>thousandth of a microgram of extra weight is placed on the 
>surface, the spell won't work. Black/white cutoff again.

	And eliminated, again. It starts to sag around 5,900 and is 
dragging on the ground at 6,000.

>Or the old "Charm Person or Mammal" spell. Define mammal. Will
>the spell work on monotremes or monotreme-based intelligent life?
>Some people say monotremes are mammals, others would disagree. 

	Higher save for monotremes, a VERY high save for therapsids
(the apparent semi-reptilian ancestors of the monotremes).

>I normally have 50hp. I am currently on 1 hp and still alive and 
>still PERFECTLY able to perform. I lose that hp and suddenly I 
>am dead (or unconscious or whatever). 
>You can't get much more black/white than that.

	You can't get much sillier than that. Proportional HP
functioning variances take care of that.

>A man drinks some death poison. Sometimes it will kill him, other
>times he will be completely unaffected - black/white cutoff for
>poison saving throw. 

	And easily fixed. Make poisons do the same as many spells --
if you save, you take half damage or something on that order.

>As to your "semi-mythical beast Game Balance", yes it is 
>important. Why not let fighters have a D100 for hit points? Why 
>not make Fireball a level one spell? Let's say that all paladins 
>get D6 wishes each day.

	That's not a case for game balance. The reason I don't do such 
things (in general... I recall one first level fighter with 75 HP
a few years back, but he happened to have rolled well and was lucky
enough to be playing a dragon) is that I require a REASON. 

	In one campaign there was a character who got 3 limited wishes
a day, since he was half efreet. He chose to use them sparingly, so as
not to attract attention. Had he gone hog-wild with the power, he would
have annoyed a lot of other, more powerful, beings, and the Game
Balance would have been restored without resort to illogical rules.


                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;