HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: skomedal@solan.unit.no (Knut Torstein Skomedal)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: A bunch of questions.
Keywords: XP-calculation
Date: 29 Sep 92 19:03:03 GMT
Organization: Norwegian Institute of Technology

Okay Y'all. This is my first post to a group ever so please bear with me if
I step on someone's toes.

I've been a DM for a local group for a year or so now, and I've made some 
monsters of my own.(if someone will tell me how to import a Word Perfect file
to the net I'll post them) What I've been wondering is whether any of you DM's
out there have made some better rules for calculating XP-values when it comes to
spell-casting monsters than those in the DMG. The way I've understood the 
relevant table in the 
DMG 2nd ed., there is a +2(?) bonus for being able to cast 3rd or higher level 
spells. This is far too undifferentiated for my tastes, in that it makes no 
difference whether or not the creature can cast a single third level spell or
9 spells per level up to level 20 (please, no flames about relevant spellevels,
this is an extreme example-:). 


The same thing applies to innate spell abilities, there is no differentiation
between one weak spell and many of high power (unless the bonus is applied for
each spellability? I don't understand the rules that way, but I've been known to
make mistakes from time to time)

Have any of you got any rules on this (or an explanation of what I've done wrong)?

Another "minor" issue under debate in our group is the immunities of dragons.
A red dragon is immune to fire damage from birth. Does that mean that it's immune
to all sorts of firebased magic? (fireball, flamestrike, etc ad infinitum)
 I'm inclined to say yes. I've got a collection of 71(?) different species of
dragons by now(not counting those in the net.monster.manual), so the question 
could quickly become important.
BTW, my party has encountered 1 (*one*) 56 hit point black dragon till this date,
(which I killed two party members with, the party is of levels 6-8), so the
question has been academic this far.

The question of spellcasting abilities and XP-value ties in closely with Liches.
As of now there is no difference between an 18th level mage turned lich and a
being like Vecna. There should be (IMNSHO).

Does anybody know whether or not T$R is planning to publish VR's G to Liches?
They ought to be the next in line. 

That's all for now folks. More will probably follow later.

Knut Skomedal

Oops! I forgot my fancy signature..


Oh. I haven't got one. That must be why! -:)
From: seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Troll vulnerabilities (was Re: Swords of Sharpness, etc)
Keywords: Trolls, regeneration, sword, sharpness, constitution
Date: 29 Sep 92 03:34:38 GMT
Organization: University of Pittsburgh
Originator: seawasp@pmax1.cis.pitt.edu

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

	As all things, this depends on GM rulings. Mine follow:

>old age

	Not a chance. They are eldritch creatures, immortal unless killed.

>death spells

	If they are under the HP/HD limit, yep, that's death for you.

>suffocation

	Problematic. I'd say it depends on how LONG you keep them deprived
of oxygen. Bury them for six weeks or more, yeah, that's dead. But you
might be able to argue otherwise, especially for, say, rock trolls.

>poison

	Depends on the poison; it'd have to be one NASTY poison that was
so nasty that it could outdo even the nearly invincible immune system
and repair facilities of a troll. Maybe ricin would do, or sea wasp
( :) ) venom; botulinum might well do the trick; the nerve gases might
work. But I'd never BET on poison working.

>freezing to death

	Hmm. Tough call. I'd say maybe.  It'd depend on the breed of
troll. Ice trolls or mountain trolls, probably not.  Also it might
depend on the intensity of the cold; I might have to rule that cold
could only kill them if it could overcome  the regen factor -- i.e.,
cold strong enough to do 3 points per round. Something like -150 degrees.

>psychic attacks

	Yep. That'll cash in your chips fast. their MINDS (what little
there is in some  breeds) don't regenerate, just the bodies.

>disease

	Unless it's some specially magically enhanced one, not a chance in
hell. Regeneration repairs disease-damaged cells faster than the thing could
possibly spread.

>falling long distances

	Nope. Regeneration of the magical sort will repair you even if you
are a puddle.

>petrifaction

	Won't necessarily kill you. It will certainly immobilize you.


                                 Sea Wasp
                                   /^\
                                   ;;;
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters)
Subject: Re: net.spellbook
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Mon, 28 Sep 1992 20:09:52 GMT

>
>Tybalt is also refusing my anonymous logins these days.  Thought it was a
>problem with my ftp client here as I am having the same problem with several
>other sites which I used to use on a regular basis.  I can still get into the
>following site with the login name "anonymous" so here it is:


You should really subscribe to rec.games.frp.announce and read the FAQs.

TYBALT has been changed to ccosun.caltech.edu.

It's noted in the latest version of the 7 part FAQ under FTP SITES, though
the entry in net.books (part 7) might not be up-to-date yet.

-Coyt
From: mperry@waikato.ac.nz
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Survival of the Trolls (was Re: Swords of Sharpness and ...)
Date: 30 Sep 92 13:32:41 +1200
Organization: University of Waikato, Hamilton, New Zealand

> suffocation -- Hmm, this would deprive cells of oxygen, and even though they
>                could regenerate, they would die almost as quickly, and if
>                kept that way for a long time, all the cells would die, so
>                sure, why not.
Do trolls need oxygen? Trolls are not human, trolls are not mammals.
It may be possible trolls need oxygen to regenerate, But this may not stop them
from living in a vacum.
From: hall@bcstec.ca.boeing.com (Robert J. Hall)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Doing the Dark Sun thing
Keywords: Darksun, combat,spells
Date: 29 Sep 92 18:01:11 GMT
Organization: Boeing Computer Services, Seattle


 > A few coments about the Dark Sun world.  If a Thri-kreen has a high
 > strength, then the claw attacks can get silly.  I mean, if you have a 19
 > Str.  (Which granted is very high, but possible in DS) then you are doing
 > d4 +7 for each of the four attacks.

Something they do in GURPS that is kind of slick is to replace each +3 mod.
to a d6 roll by another 1d6. Likewise, a +7 mod is replaced by 2d6. This can
be easily extended to any other game system and number of dice as follows:

  Dice   Replace 1   Replace 2
 ------ ----------- -----------
  1d4      @+2         @+5
  1d6      @+3         @+7
  1d8      @+4         @+9
  1d10     @+5         @+11
  1d12     @+6         @+13
  1d20     @+10        @+21

Thus, in case of the Thri-kreen, you could replace the d4 + 7 by 3d4 + 2.
The average remains the same, but you get a much more natural distribution
of damage scores.

Then again, that doesn't really address your point, does it? *sigh* Heck, if
the creature has a 19 STR, it probably DESERVES to inflict that much damage!!!

-- 
 Bob Hall,                 | "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.
 Workstation Peripheral    | Then give up. No use being a damn fool about it."
 Boeing Computer Services  |                                     -Groucho Marx
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: brunborg@solan.unit.no (]dne Brunborg)
Subject: Re: Deaths Door
Organization: Norwegian Institute of Technology
Date: Wed, 30 Sep 92 09:14:59 GMT

In article <1992Sep30.170430.1@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au>, edb892rsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au writes:
 > 
 > I was just wondering what effects apply to a character to is reduced to
 > a hit point total of between 0 and -9? I know that you lose 1 hp per
 > round unless administed first aid or healed but how long can a person
 > stay between these ranges. Also if they are healed they wake up in 1 - 6
 > turns but do they suffer weakness or other ill effects?
 > 
 > I just wanted to get a range of opinions on the matter as this sort of
 > situation crops in my campaigns from time to time especially at low
 > levels and the the standard PC reaction is to bind the wounds of the
 > character at Death Doors, thus stabilising them and then wait for the
 > Cleric or Healer of the party to wait, rest and get good old cure light
 > wounds etc to save day thus the time the stricten character is in a coma
 > is about 4 - 5 hours?
 > 
 > 
 > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-==-=-=-
 > Hugh Jenkinson
 > Monash University
 > Edb892rsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au
 > 
 > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
 > 
 > 

I rule that when a character is between 0 and -9, he can stay there as long as
needed to heal him up (usually no more than 1 day). In the real world, it is not
unusual to be in coma for several weeks, and concidering that adventurers are
more healthy than the average pesant or office clerk, a coma has no bad
side-effects. If you want to be nasty, you could rule a cumulative 1 % per hour
chance to get permanent brain damage, wich need a Heal or Restoration to reset.
In that way, your players get a little more careful, and will try not to fall in
coma during a battle. But again, use this only if you want to be nasty...

So long!

		Aadne Brunborg
		Norwegian Institute of Thechnology
		University of Trondheim
		NORWAY

	"If ye can't see it, it's right behind ye..."
From: boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Trolls' regeneration
Date: 29 Sep 92 15:38:16 -0500
Organization: University of Northern Iowa

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:
> 
>>If you think trolls are neat, you should look at the Runequest monster,
>>the "walktapus" (like an octopus, but it walks on land...).  It
>>regenerates, much like a troll-- but pieces cut off a walktapus
>>regenerate into *new* walktapi of their own.  
>>
> Trolls do this also.  Any limb that is severed will try to reconnect with
> its troll, but if it is unable to, it forms a new troll.

   *blink*  They do?  Since when?  I've never used this rule.  I've always run
trolls that the separated part will either work its way back to re-attach
itself, or if this doesn't happen over a certain time period, the smaller part
will shrivel and die, while the larger part will grow a 'replacement'.

> This brings up another question:  How much do trolls eat?  If enough food
> is around powerful evil leaders could create quite an army by capturing a
> few trolls and then "breeding" them.

   This is why I use the above ruling.. You could just lop off the troll's
fingers, put each one in an enclosed area, and let them grow.  Nasty..

   As to how much they eat, considering their size, I'd say twice as much as a
normal human would, and they probably aren't as picky as to what they eat,
though I'm sure meat is preferred. :-)

                                        John "Nightwind" Boelter

--
*******************************************************************************
* John Boelter        a.k.a. Nightwind            boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu *
* Organizational Manager and contact person for everything and then some.     *
*******************************************************************************
* The individual who said we only use 10%  * The first 90% of a task takes    *
* of our brain's mental capacity, was      * 90% of the time, and the last    *
* probably 90% incorrect.                  * 10% takes the other 90%.         *
*            -Unknown comic on A&E-        *   -99 rule of Project Schedules- *
*******************************************************************************
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: brett@oce.orst.edu (Brett Barksdale)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Swords of Sharpness and Incredible Constitution
Keywords: Trolls, regeneration, sword, sharpness, constitution
Date: 28 Sep 92 20:35:22 GMT
Organization: Oregon State University, College of Oceanography

In article <1992Sep28.112427.7130@iscsvax.uni.edu> boelter3945@iscsvax.uni.edu writes:

-   No, reaching -10 will still cause death.  In fact, a troll hitting -10 will
-still dies as well, at least in my ruling.  It's the fact that they regenerate
-that makes it difficult to bring them to -10. :-)

 I always thought trolls regenerated from the tiniest bit (a state much worse than
-10) unless burned... 

 Regarding the sword of sharpness, we used to just roll randomly among 4 limbs
and the head to see what got chopped. Head = instant death. Limb = system shock roll
or die plus half total MAX hit points. 

-- 
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                     "Just waiting for the nuts..."
             Brett Barksdale        brett@porky.oce.orst.edu
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: cfw2@ns1.cc.lehigh.edu (CARL F. WALDBIESER)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Psionicist problems...(No Nukes!)
Date: 29 Sep 92 01:30:11 GMT
Organization: Lehigh University

In article <wright.716735837@latcs1.lat.oz.au>, wright@latcs2.lat.oz.au (Michael
 G. Wright) writes:
>>> In our campaign we hve a psionicist who has come up with a brillant idea. He
>> ...
>>>
>>> In a battle he decided to cloak and phase out, walk behind the enemy, gently
>>> insert his cloaked and phased staff, and then unphase, with the staff stuck
>>> well into the enemies chest.
>>>
>>> Second problem, E=MC^2.  This could creat a thermonuclear detonation that
>>> really screws campaign worlds.  A psionicist get mad and fuses a few atoms a
nd
>>> there goes Greyhawk City.  Does Einsteins theories work in Greyhawk, or is
>>> that
>>> just thrown to the realm of "Magic".  (Would Mordenkainen flunk physics 101?
)
>>>
    It really is kind of idiculous to try to apply too much science to magic.
    For example, the sphere of annihilation defies the Law of Conservation of
    Matter.  It totally destroys matter.  Poof! It's gone for good.  You could
    pretend that the sphere transformed the matter into an outrageous amount
    of energy that it stored, but why wouldn't the damage it causes when
    exploding increase proportionally to the amount of matter it destroyed?
    Magic is magic, and you shouldn't really worry about nuclear reactions,
    chemical equations, or Laws of Physics.

                                                        Carl Waldbieser

                                                        
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: ocooper@malloco.ing.puc.cl (ocooper)
Subject: Re: Dancig Sword and THAC0
Organization: Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile
X-Newsreader: Tin 1.1 PL5
Date: Thu, 1 Oct 1992 02:28:47 GMT

]dne Brunborg (brunborg@solan.unit.no) wrote:
: 
:  BUT when I release the sword, my DM will just give it THAC0 13-x, not counting 
: neither strenght nor specialisation. The DMG says: "The sword will fight for itself as
: it's wielder..."(or someting like that, shoot me if I'm wrong).
: What do you think?

sorry, but i won't give you the specialization or strenght bonus too...
specialization: you get those +s because you're exceptionally skilled
 while using the sword, you know the precise movements to wield it...
really nice for a character, but since you can't explain you sword how to
fight better...(it fight's itself, you cant guide it)

strenght: as i see it you get +s to hit and +s to damage because you hit
fast and hard, but you can't hit harder if you're not holding the item
(unless you use some sort of 'strengh spell' in the sword :), so i won't
give any bonus for strengh.

just my $.2 :)

Zaphod.

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: eda858xsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au
Subject: Re: Swords of Sharpness and etc...
Organization: Computer Centre, Monash University, Australia
Date: Tue, 29 Sep 1992 03:32:09 GMT

20 Con for an Elf....
Sounds like DARK SUN.
Even then there is still a minus to Con.
Unless.... You somehow gave your party about ten wishes?!
And if this is DarkSun what the hell is your party doing with a sword of
sharpness. Shit my players would be lucky to get a weapon made of metal let
alone magical as well.

I sure in the players guide under con they say something alone the fact that
you only regenerate if your character is still alive.

From the sounds of it :
	con 20 (for an elf)
	sword of sharpness
	-10 death rule
you might just be being a tad too nice to your players. This leads to spoilt
players which at comps leads to enfuriated DM's. So do the world a favour,
Kill a few of them.

Yes it shows that I play Dark Sun.

"What you want to cast a spell in front of all those templers?!
 Fine you cast your light spell.
 The templers notice .....
 KARRRRBBBOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM
 (Ash slowly floats to the ground. Next .....)"

Paul Ortenburg
eda858xsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: lum@cs.tu-berlin.de (Lutz Hofmann)
Subject: Re: Critical Hits
Organization: Technical University of Berlin, Germany
Date: Sun, 4 Oct 1992 19:57:39 GMT

We do it very simple as it is a must for a simple combatsystem as
Xd&d.

On a roll of a natural 1: miss
On a roll of a natural 20:  roll 1d4
                            1: 1x damage
                            2: 2x damage
                            3: 3x damage
                            4: 1x damage

Yours Sincerely   Lutz Hofmann
                  lum@cs.tu-berlin.de

-- 
Ob. Disc: Dies ist kein Flame.   ---   This is no flame.
From: rooney@cheshire.oxy.edu (Michael Sean Rooney)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Regeneration and Death
Summary: old Polyhedron anecdote
Keywords: Trolls, regeneration, constitution
Date: 29 Sep 92 17:24:35 GMT
Followup-To: rec.games.frp.dnd
Organization: Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 90041 USA.


	The issue of regenerating entities being difficult to kill
permanently reminds me of a scene from one of Frank Mentzer's campaigns.
The party encounters a paladin sitting outside of a tent, over a badly
hacked, huge corpse, reading a book.  Occasionally the paladin gets up
and whacks the body a few times with his sword.  The gimmick: the paladin
(and party in the magical tent) slew a pit fiend the other day, but found
that the darn thing regenerates.  Of course, pit fiends (as devils--er,
`baatezu' ;-) are immune to fire, so the paladin's party has dispatched
a member or two to go back to civilization, retrieve a sizable amount of
holy water and/or acid, and then return.  Meanwhile, somebody has to keep
it unconscious.
  
	Yes, that's a dangling modifier in the second sentence.  The
corpse is not reading the book.

	Personally, I've always imagined AD&D trolls (more or less lifted
wholesale from Poul Anderson) as eating machines wholly devoid of intelligence
but possessed of simple hardwired cunning.  Sort of like bipedal sharks
with regeneration.  Having any higher functions for a `theoretically'
pseudo-natural (yes, I know it's fantasy, can you say logical *tone*?)
beast which can regenerate from a forearm (e.g., worshipping Vaprak) always
struck me like giving starfish a culture.

Cordially,

Michael S. Rooney
From: rugi@cie.uoregon.edu (Russ Gilman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Lich & Demi-Lich...
Date: 30 Sep 92 17:14:16 GMT
Article-I.D.: nntp.1992Sep30.171416.1768
Distribution: usa
Organization: University of Oregon Campus Information Exchange

In article <1992Sep30.161412.1@eig.unige.ch> uldry@eig.unige.ch writes:
>In article <1992Sep30.134229.19463@mnemosyne.cs.du.edu>, abistak@nyx.cs.du.edu (Andrew Bistak) writes:
>> 
>> 
>> Our party consists of a Paladin(lev 9)/Bard(lev 10)/Fighter-Mage ( lev 7 7)
>> and a thief unfortunately. Heres the problem, does anyone know how to
>> defeat a damn Lich? Some stats/weaknesses would be nice.
>> regards, Andrew
>
>Hello Guys, here is the mad FU!
>
>I can tell you an answer: No...
>
>May your death be painfull ...
>Ah AH AH AH AH AAAHHH AAAHHRGH!
>
>Seriously, you can try to cast a FireBall at it from the Ethereal Plane 
>or from the Astral Plane...
>
>'til your next call for help...
>					FU, AD&D 2's GM in the Forgotten
>						Realms.
> 

Well, my son, it is rather difficult.  Lich's have had eons to perfect their
rather painful sorts of spells, and have worked on extending their lifespan 
with their arcane magics.  Kakobi (possibly soon Kakobi the new god, but that
would lessen his threat) is the major evil in my game; I'm god.  Before 2nd 
edition came out, and it's "Complete Lichs' Guide", Kakobi and I had a long
chat.  He wanted some pets to control, to mess up our heroes' homes and 
livelihoods.  So we worked that out.  Then he wanted to be immune to magic.
Well, hundreds of years of prayers and spell research later, he managed to
cast several "permanent" spells on his unholy skin (con loss for permanency
spells is only for casting on *living* flesh).  One of them was the Globe
of Invulnerability.  Then he wanted to be immune to weapons.  Well, said I,
how the heck is anyone going to kill you?  He smiled his bone-white smile
and reminded me of the Conans and other myths where the evil mage has removed
his heart and hidden it. . . .

So in my game, first you find the heart of the lich.


-- 

Cthulu in '92!  Why Settle for the Lesser of Two Evils!

rugi@cie-uoregon.edu
From: wright@latcs1.lat.oz.au (Michael G. Wright)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Dark Sun
Date: 5 Oct 92 03:19:34 GMT
Organization: Comp Sci, La Trobe Uni, Australia

raa@guild.socal.com (Raa Lopez) writes:

>I am moderatly interested in Dark Sun, and I've been thinking about getting it. I just want to take a concensus of how many other of you AD&D'ers out there think it's worth the buy ... and I'm talking about the Box Set.

>--- Via UCI v1.11 (C-Net Amiga)

Yes, It is worth it. Don't forget that you'll need to buy the Psionics 
handbook as well though.
-- 
Michael Wright            _-_|\     Peg- "Al, can I have a thousand bucks?" 
LaTrobe University,      /     \     Al- "Why sure honey, have you got change
Melbourne, Australia.    \_.-_*/          for a million?"
wright@latcs1.lat.oz.au       v                Married with children. :-)
From: aaron@juliet.caltech.edu (Packman, Aaron I.)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Deaths Door
Date: 30 Sep 92 22:07:00 GMT
Organization: California Institute of Technology
NNTP-Posting-Host: juliet.caltech.edu
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41

In article <1992Sep30.170430.1@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au>, edb892rsft@vx24.cc.monash.edu.au writes...
> 
>I was just wondering what effects apply to a character to is reduced to
>a hit point total of between 0 and -9?...

The way my DM rules this is that any magical healing automatically takes
the person to 1hp.  The near-dead person must then rest (with no activity)
for 24 hours before any further healing can take place.  This system seems
to work rather well, as it ensures that a party will rest for a day or
several after getting the hell beat out of it. :)

Aaron
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: Magic Resistance vs. Call Lightning
Originator: kjenks@gothamcity
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Date: Sun, 27 Sep 1992 13:56:49 GMT

In a bizarre turn of events yesterday, our Druid cast Call Lightning
and used it against some creatures with MR.  They died.  So ruled
one DM.  I disagree, but they're his monsters.

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

      "Orcs appear particularly disgusting because their
       coloration -- brown or brownish-green with a bluish sheen
       -- highlights their pinkish snouts and ears.  Their
       bristly hair is dark brown or black, sometimes with tan
       patches."
         -- AD&D Monster Manual 1, p. 76.