HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cbnorman@cayley.uwaterloo.ca ()
Subject: Re: Most powerful PC ever
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Sun, 8 Nov 1992 23:06:12 GMT

In article <1992Nov7.081006.19943@leland.Stanford.EDU> thedm@leland.Stanford.EDU (Marcus M. Trevino) writes:
>In article <Bx5BpH.IJy@undergrad.math.waterloo.edu> cbnorman@cayley.uwaterloo.ca () writes:
>
>As I can recall,  The Caster must cast the desired spell to be contingent
>immediately after the casting of Contingency, so I see no reason why the
>caster could not have the spell Fireball start 2ft away from him and have
>its range be max.  Unless the caster is a fool, the fireball will not
>detonate on the corpse.

Ah, we have a difference of opinion on this one :)  The question is *when*
does the caster decide the range/detonation of a spell.  I've always assumed
that the caster casts the spell and then directs it to a target.  You seem
to assume that during the process of casting the spell, the caster defines a
target.

I would agree with your definition for spells like "charm person" or
"polymorph other", where you cast the spell on someone.  But with "fireball"
or "magic missile" it would seem to me you cast the spell and then direct
the magical energy at an opponent.

With teleport, I've always assumed that one casts the spell, which imbues
the caster with the ability to teleport, he then concentrates on a location,
and goes there.  You seem to think that one casts the spell while visualizing
the destination.

It's hard to say which of us is right.  Anyone have any comments?

Here's another interesting point.  If one can contingency a teleport, would
the teleport be messed up if the mage had the spell detonated in a different
location from where he cast it? In other words, If I cast "teleport" and 
visualize a place 100m of me, and make this teleport a contingency, and
then detonate this contingency in another place, do I teleport to the
place I visualized or do I teleport 100m ahead of myself?
Organization: Junior, Math/Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 09:28:25 -0500 
From: "Joseph E. Beck" <jb8n+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: wish spell results
	<1dsl5vINN7h2@uniwa.uwa.edu.au>


>Surely the loophole is that any mage powerful enough to have wishes, is not
>going to be particularly concerned with piddling attack spells like Chromatic
>orb at 10th level, and Instant death to all opponenets (9 1/2 level)
Chromatic orb is absurd at upper levels.  I cast Chromatic orb, do you
save?  No, too bad, you're dead.  Sounds like a pretty nasty first
level spell so far, but the best is coming up.  Oh, you saved?  Ok,
you're just paralyzed then.  Wow, combined with the literal reading of
unseen servant, second level spells seem unneccessary.

	joe
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: bane@spock.uucp (Cameron Huang)
Subject: Re: Suicide
Keywords: suicide, question
Organization: Choate Rosemary Hall
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 1992 19:34:28 GMT

In article <1992Nov9.022811.19661@spock.UUCP> kurgan@spock.uucp (Andrew Twyman) writes:
>In article <1992Nov9.013046.19394@spock.UUCP> bane@spock.uucp (Cameron Huang) writes:
>>In article <1992Nov8.224206.19012@spock.UUCP> friar@spock.uucp (Tom Walcott) writes:
>>>I don't know if this has come up before, but how is suicide defined
>>>in regards to good or evil?  I mean, wouldn't an evil character commiting
>>>suicide, therefor ridding the world of his evil, be a GOOD act?
>>>And wouldn't a good character killing oneself be an EVIL act?
>>>This could lead to interesting scenarios, such as a evil person
>>>going to the seven heavens due to committing suicide when all was lost.
>>>The only person whom this would not affect would be the Neutral type.
>>>Just curious.  Lemme know if this has already come up or anything.
>>>
>>
>>Why don't you kill yourself and find out, you paladin, you?
>>
>>					--Lord Bane
>
>Perhaps Lord Bane could have kept his divinity if he had commited suicide
>	instead of being destroyed!
>					-Ren of Sargas
>

Mayhaps Ren of Sargas would live longer if he did not anger Lord Bane.

					--Lord Bane

-- 
"If love is blind, I guess I'll buy myself a cane."
                                   --W. Axl Rose

"There can be only one!"
		--Kurgan

bane@choate.edu
From: st923058@pip.cc.brandeis.edu (Rosaleen Dhu)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Xanth Talents
Date: 8 Nov 92 20:47:26 GMT
Reply-To: st923058@pip.cc.brandeis.edu
Organization: Brandeis University


	I noticed that someone wants to start a Xanth game. How would you deal
with the basic Xanth premise that everyone has a magical Talent, when 
psionic rules are so fucked-up (and rarely used) in the AD&D game? And do
you have a list of magical Talents? If not, I have some that a friend and
I collected for a frp set in Valdemar, and this might be a kind of
interesting new thread for those of us who are more interested in 
role-playing than rule-picking (and again, that's not a flame; to each his
own. Maybe I should make a macron that says that...). Anyone interested?
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: steevesm@woods.ulowell.edu
Subject: Re: "War Stories"
Organization: University of Lowell
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 18:03:27 GMT

In article <61789@mimsy.umd.edu>, sjsmith@cs.umd.edu (Stephen Joseph Smith) writes:
> Yes please!  I wish there were more war stories on this newsgroup---quick
> little vignettes with just enough background that you could understand the
> story.  Anything that other people would find amusing or interesting---not
> just something that seemed funny at the time.  Maybe a general campaign
> thread that's also amusing or interesting.
> 

In a party I was in a while ago, one of the characters had a knife that was
+1 (or something), and would magically appear in his left hand every time he
was in a fight.  The knife was, howeverm cursed so that if he didn't kill so
many hit dice a week (I think), it would start draining HP from him.  Thus,
some mornings out campaigning, when he hadn't enough time to kill things, he
would wake pale and weak.  When asked what was wrong, he would reply "Nothing.
I'm going to kill breakfast".  He also was in charge of the slaughter house
for the inn that he owned.  This item got the name "Lumbago", which is now
applied to any magic item that is really usefull, but has some drawback/cursed
aspect.

-darkelf
-----
"I have no brother, am like no brother;
 And this word "love", which the greybeards call divine,
 Be resident in men like one another
 And not in me.  I am myself alone."
	-Gloucester, Henry VI Pt. 3
-----
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: dragon@camelot.bradley.edu (Matthew Korth)
Subject: Re: I have one word to say about munchkins.....
Keywords: Powerwords
Organization: Bradley University
Date:  6 Nov 92 00:06:59 GMT

In <1992Nov5.223632.26691@aio.jsc.nasa.gov> kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov writes:
>In article <6163@sersun1.essex.ac.uk> sandman%sx.ac.uk@essex.ac.uk (sandman) writes:
>>	Power word: stun.
>The problem is that they usually have too many hit points, too much MR,
>and too many Rings of Spell Turning.

How about:
	GM's Fiat (10th level spell)
	Allows the GM to do whatever the #$%* he wants to a character.
	NO SAVE.
--
*** Matt Korth *** dragon@camelot.bradley.edu *** dragon@buhub.bradley.edu ***
	"I'll just go tell them to 'fornicate off.'"
				--Black Adder
From: drool@retreat.Bah.Rochester.NY.US (Paul Coene)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Chain Mail attire
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.dnd
Distribution: world
Reply-To: drool@retreat.Bah.Rochester.NY.US
Organization: 
Keywords: 
Summary: 
Date: 6 Nov 92 22:24:06 EST
Organization: Not an Organization

In article <1992Oct28.075845.4611@leland.Stanford.EDU> loren@leland.Stanford.EDU (Elina Aulikki Compton) writes:
> Just to update for those who missed today's show of Donahue, he had
> on housewives that made things for sexual purposes.  One lady made
> Chainmail!! She made slinky breast-plates and chain g-strings, as
> well as full suits.  Hey, if this fashion hits home, it might actually
> become popular to wear armor in broad daylight! 

At Gen Con a couple of years ago,  a couple of women were all
decked out in links of armor.  Quite provocative, but ooh that must
pinch.

										<: Drool :>

ARPA: drool@retreat.Bah.Rochester.NY.US   UUCP: kodak!bisco!retreat!drool
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: NO no no...
Originator: kjenks@gothamcity
Keywords: Talents
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 16:32:44 GMT

To add spice to the game, I add Xanth-style talents for the PC's and
NPC's.  These are usually not useful in combat, but add to the flavor
of the game.  I arbitrarily decide how powerful each talent is, and I
usually have them increase in potency as the character increases in
level.

A partial list:

 * 360-degree vision
 * Can quickly find information in files, even very large libraries
 * Can change the color of objects (with weight limit & saving throw)
     (very powerful, especially changing color of gems)
 * Can identify magic items by tasting them (as AD&D1 Bard of equal level)
 * Can be damaged down to -20 before dying (instead of -10)
 * Can fart at will
 * People always stop and listen to her (very powerful)
 * Can inspire love in people of the same sex (extremely powerful, but 
     painful for the young man to role play)
 * AD&D1 psionic minor of "Body Equilibrium" (Feather Fall & Water Walking)
     at will
 * Can jump like Boots of Striding and Springing, 1/day/level
 * Animals like him
 * Unerring sense of direction (N/S/E/W/U/D)
 * Seduction
 * Can take a time-out (sometimes) to think up a witty rejoinder or
     think of a way out of a nasty scrape
 * Doesn't need to drink
 * Alchohol doesn't affect her
 * Can't be teleported, plane shifted, etc. (bummer)
 * Can catch a swung or hurled weapon in his bare hands, 1/day
 * Nobody can find secret doors when he's within 20 feet
 * Can unerringly identify the sex of creatures he's looking at
 * Can determine exact compass heading to get to a person, regardless
     of distance (very powerful)

and, my favorite, the "get a life" talent, which belonged to a Paladin:

 * Once per week, he can talk to a creature and convince it to
     RATIONALLY reassess its position in life, goals, abilities, dreams
     and aspirations, and think about who it is and what it wants to do
     in this life and hereafter (saving throw allowed, they must speak
     the same language, and this can't be done in the heat of battle)

Many of the PC's haven't figured out their talents, yet.  Some of the
clues I give them are pretty subtle.  Many of the NPC's haven't figured
theirs out, either.

It gives the players something to think of beyond the rule books, and
it helps the players identify with the characters by making them
something more than just "a standard fighter, 18/amazing strength, 
15 dex, 21 HP, AC 1...."

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

      The company stood rooted to the ground in terror.
      The creature was about fifty feet tall, with wide
      lapels, long dangling participles, and a pronounced
      gazetteer.
        "Aiyee!" shouted Legolam.  "A Thesaurus!"
        "Maim!" roared the monster.  "Mutilate, mangle,
      crush.  See HARM."
        "Quick," cried Goodgulf.  "Into the cavern!"
         -- "Bored of the Rings," National Lampoon, (c) 1969
From: 003695s@ace.acadiau.ca (STEPHANE ANDRE SAVOIE)
Subject: Re: Athas is FR?
Organization: Acadia University
Date: Thu, 12 Nov 1992 02:10:37 GMT

>I have heard (via someone on ADND-L, who heard via someone who allegedly has
>connections in TSR...so take with a grain of salt) that Athas may be the
>Forgotten Realms many thousands of years in the future.
>One thing that could explain: what happens to Anarauch, the great desert,
>as it continues to grow for no apparent reason.
>However, if it is indeed the case, what happened to all the metal?
>Paul

	Actually, pretty much any realm could have become Athas.  It 
basically starts with  a basic discovery of magic which is not simply 
manipulated outside forces, but harnessed life energy from the area around 
the wizard.  This new magic would be _much_ easier to learn than standard 
magic.  At first the toll on the environment is ignored, but by the time 
someone notices that things are getting very _bad_ it's too late.
	Admittedly, there are many gaps, but it's a beginning...
	(An obvious one, actually...)
	Still doesn't answer where all the metal went, though...
	OK, quick idea.  A mega powerful Defiler wants to cast 12th level 
spell or something like that.  The cast it would drain the entire planet of 
all life.  So instead, he manipulates the effect so that useful metals are 
transformed to sand...
	
	Just another drawn-out, wind-blown, pathetically obvious theory 
brought to you from:

	KID ANARKY

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kdelgado@loligo.cc.fsu.edu (Kevin Delgado)
Subject: Re: To Kill a Black Dragon
Keywords: Dragon
Organization: Florida State University Computing Center
Distribution: usa
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 92 16:42:32 GMT

In article <GSPIEGEL.57.0@bsa1.kent.edu> GSPIEGEL@bsa1.kent.edu (Greg Spiegelberg) writes:
>A virgin, female cleric who just so happens to be engaged (kinda) to someone 
>in my party has been supposedly kidnapped by a very large black dragon.
>(BTW, we're in Forgotten Realms)
>
>Anyways, half of us want to press on, the other half is suicidal and wants 
>to get the cleric back.  SO!  How should we go about killing/subduing this 
>black dragon?
>
>Background Group Info:
>   Group Contains- 1 Swashbuckler of Tempus (level 5 human)
>		   1 Pirate (level 5 human)
>		   1 Priest of Tempus (level 5 half-elf) <--- That's me!
>		   1 Wild Mage (level 4 human)
>		   1 Gypsy Thief (halfling)
>
>Honsetly, we haven't a clue how to fight this thing and we've tried 
>recruting help.  Basically, I'm just trying to find a way to save my 
>character.
>
>Suggestions???

Um, assuming this campaign is set in second edition, I suggest you run like
hell....just to make sure the thing doesn't come back for the _rest_ of the
party. Second edition dragons are (assuming they are played reasonably well)
just a bitch to fight. Your party is very low level and has no business even
thinking of taking on a dragon. One breath...you die. Your second option,
other than running like hell, is to hire a high level party to deal with the
dragon. This will probably be out of your price range though. I say cut
your losses and get another cleric (though you really blew an oportunity at
cherry picking by allowing the other one to remain a virgin :)  ).

>
>-Greg
>gspiegel@bsa1.kent.edu
>
>"Well, it's either one of Bigby's Hand wands or a +3 backscratcher"
>	- 1st ed. Dungeon Masters Guide
Kevin


Organization: Freshman, CIT general, Carnegie Mellon, Pittsburgh, PA
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd,rec.games.frp.advocacy,rec.games.frp.misc,news.groups
Date: Mon,  9 Nov 1992 16:48:03 -0500 
From: "Jordan M. Wolbrum" <jw67+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: My experience (Re: rec.games.frp.campaign)

>I don't like salad dressing

Alright, everybody.  Let's ignore his suggestion.  I mean, he doesn't
like SALAD DRESSING!  :)
-JW
From: n9046319@henson.cc.wwu.edu (Jeremy Corley)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: MS-DOS char generator
Date: 5 Nov 92 05:32:39 GMT
Organization: Western Washington University

sh30443@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Shiva the Destoyer) writes:

>n9046319@henson.cc.wwu.edu (Jeremy Corley) writes:
>>	Some things I plan on are:
>>	Character generation and management.
>>	Name generation (with cool neural net implementation...)


>would you care to explain the neural net aspect of name generation?
>I'm interested in AI, but dont see the benefit of having a neural net (and
>the time it would take to implement one) generating names...

	Ok, ok, I was expecting this one.  The NN will not actually generate
the names it will just check them to throw out some of the obviously bad ones.
The names will be generated by a somewhat simple random syllable concatenator.
	Ok... I'll also admit I'm really good in C/C++, but this is my first
time at bat with NN.  The NN code is vaporware right now because I'm 
concentrating more on the other aspects.
	Please, no flames from AI gods.  I will however take honest critisism
(by email please, it is a little less embarasing) that I'm all wet and that
it will never work. :)

--------------------------------------------------------------------
"Senator Kennedy, What are you going to do about the abortion bill?"
"Pay it, I guess."
				J. Corley
			n9046319@henson.cc.wwu.edu
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: mrmarcel@eos.ncsu.edu (MICHAEL RONN MARCELAIS)
Subject: Re: Magic Shops
Keywords: Shops
Organization: North Carolina State University
Date: Fri, 6 Nov 1992 03:48:29 GMT

In article <1992Nov5.231740.28176@aio.jsc.nasa.gov>, kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov writes:
|> Given the rules for magic item identification, how can a magic shop operate?  

[Magik shop post disappeared in a puff of logic]

|> 
|> If anybody has a well-written, detailed description of a magic
|> shop and how it operates, I'd love to see it.  If it relies on
|> research spells for positive ID, I'd like to see a spell write-up.
|> 
|> -- Ken Jenks, NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
|>       kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov  (713) 483-4368
|> 
|>      "Good ideas are common -- what's uncommon are people who'll
|>       work hard enough to bring them about." -- Ashleigh Brilliant

Well, there was this really neat magic shop we found in a town once.  Nice
simple store.  You walk in and there is no body there.  There are all sorts of
magic items lying around the store, but mostly unlabeled.  If you take an item
from the store, you are expected to leave behind however much that item costs,
but there is no price tag on the item.

If you leave enough gold, and walk out, you leave the store, and your gold
goes to whatever was running the store.  (We never found out who was in
charge.)

If you don't leave enough gold, you walk out, and all your magic items--not
just the ones you picked up, but ALL magic items you're carrying--are
transported back in the shop, and the gold you left in the store is
transported back into your money bag.

We found no magic powerful enough (save a WISH spell) to counter the magic
controlling the shop.  Note:  because of the way the store operates, there are
quite a few cursed items in the store.  After you know how it works, it's a
great way to remove cursed items.  (Drop all items outside.  Go in.  Grab
something.  Leave 1 gp.  Go outside.)  Of course, we weren't allowed to visit
it more than once.  :-(

(Got a girdle of storm giant str, had no idea what it cost, left all my gold,
turned out I had barely enough...)

-- 

+-------------------------------------+------------------------------+
|  Mike Marcelais                     | mrmarcel@eos.ncsu.edu        |
|  356 Tucker, Box 04783, NCSU        | Fourth Bryan Productions     |
|  Raleigh, NC  27607                 | #include <disclaim.h>        |
+-------------------------------------+------------------------------+
| if the above address bounces, then try the address below:          |
| mrmarcel%eos.ncsu.edu@ncsuvx.ncsu.edu                              |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: st923058@pip.cc.brandeis.edu (Rosaleen Dhu)
Subject: Re: Role Playing
Reply-To: st923058@pip.cc.brandeis.edu
Organization: Brandeis University
Date: Thu, 5 Nov 1992 17:49:28 GMT

	Yeh, man. I totally agree with you. My first D&D campaign, back when
I was a wimpy little high school frosh, was an all-women's campaign run
by a woman who had very little interest in combat, but was a fantastic
storyteller. My second through fifth campaigns were super-lame because
the DM was a Monty Haul type and also had this really annoying tendency to
demand back rubs during melee :) I never run a campaign without a. telling
the players exactly what the campaign's about and b. putting together a
story for every aspect of the campaign. It takes fraggin' _forever_ but
that's the fun of it. Good practice for writers, too.
	

Rosaleen Dhu |st923058@pip.cc.brandeis.edu
VOTE CTHULHU '92!!! Why not the worst?
"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes."--The Bard
"Don't reach out and touch the world, you don't know where it's been."
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: Spellcasting in Armor (was Re: Dual Class Characters)
Originator: kjenks@gothamcity
Keywords: armor
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1992 18:45:40 GMT

In article <2420@cix.cict.fr> dutech@reseau.Berkeley.EDU (Groupe ELEVES) writes:
> What about a metal armor with specially-enchanted metal ?
>Some alchemist ( dwarves especially ) is bound to think about it one day.

There's a Ranger PC in my AD&D1 campaign wearing +3 Banded Armor usable by
magic-users.  She doesn't know the special properties or its exact bonus.
(You know how bad those Identify spells are.)  

If a magic-user is going to manufacture a suit of magical armor (a task
usually best left to clerics, who don't have to worry about losing CON
to Permanency), he's probably gonna make some armor that he can use.  Nu?

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

      "Orcs are fecund and create many cross-breeds, 
       most of the offspring of such being typically orcish."
         -- AD&D Player's Handbook 1, p. 17
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: cmeadows@nyx.cs.du.edu (Chris Meadows)
Subject: Rules for D&D in the Modern Day?
Organization: Nyx, Public Access Unix @ U. of Denver Math/CS dept.
Date: Sat, 7 Nov 92 04:52:18 GMT


Has anyone come up with a set of rules for playing D&D in a modern
setting?  Things like firearm range and damage, automobile speed,
modern skills and weapon masteries, et cetera?  It would seem like
such a thing would be relatively easy to write (I could probably
come up with something myself, given a week or two)...just give the
weapons higher amounts of damage (say, 2D6 for a .22 pistol, 3D6 for
a .38, etc.) and the vehicles higher amounts of speed, and transpose 
what you know...

Has anybody created such a system, and is it available for FTP?  I'd
really like to know...it would save me a whole lot of work...

--
Chris Meadows // CHM173S@SMSVMA // CMEADOWS@NYX.CS.DU.EDU
   "If blood be the price of admiralty, then I've just bought me 
    a naval commission."  -- Corwin, SIGN OF THE UNICORN, Roger Zelazny
From: s903040@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au (Christopher Francis Anderson)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Problems with a cavalier
Date: 11 Nov 92 03:39:44 GMT
Organization: RMIT Computer Centre
NNTP-Posting-Host: minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au

raistlin@wixer.cactus.org (Eli Boaz) writes:
>>The problem is:
>>
>>The DMs cavalier character.

>Uh oh ... I hate it when DMs play PCs ...

One thing I forgot to mention is that we have several DMs in our group, so
we keep the same characters and run things that way. It worksd most of the
time.

Also, we were doing Ravenloft at the time, so it was *definitely* in my best
interest not to trash the party. But I think I've got things worked out.

BTW, anyone wanna buy a three-handed sword?

Contact: Gnomish Weapons Research Division, Mt. Nevermind, Krynn.


I can live with this. Can you?


-- 
ThunderKat (a.k.a. Chris Anderson)    s903040@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au

"Sam pressed the button. A few lights flashed on the CPU. And another human
life ended. Somehow, it's always sad, no matter what."
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Date: Wed,  4 Nov 1992 16:37:36 -0500 
From: "Jordan M. Wolbrum" <jw67+@andrew.cmu.edu>
Subject: Re: spells in combat

>   I avoid having my spell ruined by a fizzle [I haven't decided what
I'll cast
>   yet].

True, but you can't cast a spell in the same round that you take damage,
at least in my campaign.

-JW