HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: l2wang@napier.uwaterloo.ca (  Lei Wang  )
Subject: Re: Items vs. Specialist's opposing sphere
Organization: University of Waterloo
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 1992 11:28:09 GMT

In article <4203@astroatc.UUCP>, weeks@astroatc.UUCP (Pat Weeks) writes:
> 
> 	I posted this a while ago, but I don't think it ever made it.
> 
> 	I was wondering about the restriction of using items that replicated
> spells in an opposing sphere of a mage.   EG.   A Necromancer can use eyes of
> charming because they are not allowed access to the Enchantment/charm school.
> It seems to me that's why they would want items like that.  To make up for
> their inability to cast spells from that area.  What are your comments?

  A good solution is to let the Specialist use the item in question only if
non-wizards can also use the item.

-- 
l2wang@napier.UWaterloo.ca
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
ME:  Univ. of Waterloo  YOU:  Huh?   o=> ME:  in Canada,  YOU:  Huh?
ME:  in Ontario,        YOU:  Huh?  /o/  ME:  up north!   YOU:  Aaaaaahhh...
ME:  near Toronto,      YOU:  Huh? ==o                                    Huh??
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: silber@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Ami A. Silberman)
Subject: Re: Castles - Prices
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 20:42:10 GMT

Chivalry and Sorcery has a very good castle building system. (I think it is
in the first Source Book.) You will have to convert the money, in C&S
25cp = 1 SP = 1/25 GP, with 1SP about the same as a AD&D GP. One problem
with this system is that it lets you build real castles, not AD&D ones.
Castles with walls 90 high and 30 wide, huge towers, big moats etc.
(To be fair, I think the 2nd edition AD&D ones let you build some bigger
things.) In the DMGv1, the castles tend to have thin walls and not be very
tall. Another advantage of C&S is that it has costs for everything, paving 
stones for instance, some of which you may want to know about, especially
if you are designing an estate, not a castle. 
	The utility of castles in AD&D is questionable though. First, magic
can do a real number on them. Second, the Battlesystem (and DMGv1) explictly
states that they have increased the power of siege equipment to make siege
games more fun. Well, maybe. I'ld think it would make more sense to play
as if one turn equaled a day. As it is, a catapult will make a breach in
a wall within a few turns, even the largest castles can be leveled into
rubble in a very short time. Of course, with spells like create food and
water, a siege may be problematic anyway.
-- 
ami silberman - janitor of lunacy
	silber@cs.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: barth@wam.umd.edu (Kevin J. Barth)
Subject: Re: New uses of dices...
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 21:46:37 GMT

In article <64168@hydra.gatech.EDU> ccoprmd@prism.gatech.EDU (Matthew DeLuca) writes:
>
>Speaking of notes...
>
>Is the campaign I am currently playing in unique, or do most games frequently
>have flurries of notes flying back and forth among the players and DM?  There
>are times when the DM can get almost nothing done due to the mass of paper
>flying about.
>
>What is particularly funny is when the person playing the thief sends a note to
>the DM; within 30 seconds, there's a whole pile of notes behind the DM's 
>screen, mostly variants on 'I check for theft'. :-)
>
>Do other groups have better ways to handle private communications?
>

Your campaign is not unique...The group that I game with generally has much 
note-passing and secret communications between members...all the more so since
one of our players took full advantage of the situation recently.

The player in question was playing a Drow assassin/cleric (chaotic evil) and
suddenly found himself in close proximity with a Svirfneblin mage.  Obviously
Our Dark didn't like this, and so he spent the majority of his time thinking
up ways to do away with his racial enemy, without attracting attention to 
himself.  The gnome tried to open a trapped drawer...missed his find traps
roll, and was stuck by a poisoned needle.  The rest of the scenario went 
something like this:

Drow (note to DM): I prepare two cause light wounds spells for tomorrow.
Dm nods.
DM: The gnome seems to be paralyzed.  You suspect that unless something
    is done soon, he will die.
Paladin: I will lay on hands to try and heal him
DM (because laying on of hands is not likely to be effective against a
   poison of this caliner): He does not respond.
Paladin: Wait until tomorrow...I will try again

<Next Morning...>

Paladin: Praying to my god, I will again lay on hands
DM (realizing that this is going to be the healthiest dead person ever seen):
it is ineffective.  You see no change.
Drow: Let me try...I will cast a cure light wounds (note to DM: using the
incantation that I discussed with you before...)
DM The gnome is now quite dead...apparently you waited too long to treat him
or something :)

Needless to say from that point on, every note was followed by a series of othe
notes, as the rest of the party protects its back...


Kevin Barth
barth@wam.umd.edu
From: weeks@astroatc.UUCP (Pat Weeks)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: New uses of dices...
Date: 24 Jul 92 14:28:19 GMT
Reply-To: weeks%astroatc.UUCP@spool.cs.wisc.edu (Patrick Weeks)
Organization: Astronautics Technology Cntr, Madison, WI

In article <Brt5pw.L0s@apollo.hp.com> keary@apollo.HP.COM (Matt Keary) writes:
>We have a thief who often runs around invisibly, so it has been standard
>practice for some time now to put his figurine on a die to denote this
>status (anyone else, too, when they're invis)
>
>- Mateo


	We often just use a clear dice and replace their figurine with it!
Or we take another dice that indicates the "colors" of the PC nd use that as
their character marker(a Thief in a black cloak and leather we may replace with
a black die).  This usually works out pretty well.  When they turn invisible
we replace their figurine.  I personally like the use of a clear d6.  When we
don't have figurines we normally use different colored dice to represent
each individual character and monster...Another great reason to have a dice
back loaded with dice!!!


						Ghostwheel Speaks...
From: lnorton@acsu.buffalo.edu (Louis Norton)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Missile weapons 4 Krynn knights?
Date: 30 Jul 92 18:12:04 GMT
Organization: UB
Originator: lnorton@hydrogen.chem.buffalo.edu


In article <15830mINN3p2@agate.berkeley.edu>, cgeorges@cory.Berkeley.EDU (christoph georges) writes:
>
>I am playing a Knight of Solamnia in a krynn campaign, and my DM has
>ruled that knights cannot use missile weapons such as a bow because they
>are "dishonorable."  Does anyone know if this is an official rule?  In
>any case, it seems unreasonable to me because it would render knights useless
>and unable to attack in many situations--consider a flying dragon against
>a group of knights for instance.  Any comments?
>
>chris

	Well, in the novels which krynn is based upon, Sturm the Solamnic 
Knight uses a bow. So i think they should be allowed to use bows.

Babbling DM
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: bc122@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Naveed Ihsanullah)
Subject: Re: A question about *Bracers*
Reply-To: bc122@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Naveed Ihsanullah)
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Date: Fri, 31 Jul 92 15:54:06 GMT


In a previous article, ess3791@zeus.tamu.edu (Storm) says:

>After reading a couple of the posts about how low can your AC go, I was
>reminded of something that has bothered me for awhile.  As a rule, how
>does everyone classify Bracers of Defence?  In other words, are they magical
>armor or just a misc. magic item that lowers AC?  I've always ruled that
>they are not magic armor and thus rings of protection can be used with them,
>but apparently everyone doesn't feel that way.  What do you think?
>
>-Storm

	Bracers of Defense are listed in the DMG as a Miscellaneous Magic
item.  And that is the way we have always played it.  In the 1st edition
DMG it even says, "if armor is actually worn, the bracers will not be
affective, but they do work in conjuction with other magical items of
protection."  That makes it pretty clear that rings of protection will
work, at least in my opinion.
From: cgeorges@cory.Berkeley.EDU (christoph georges)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Missile weapons 4 Krynn knights?
Date: 30 Jul 1992 06:42:30 GMT
Organization: University of California, at Berkeley
NNTP-Posting-Host: cory.berkeley.edu


I am playing a Knight of Solamnia in a krynn campaign, and my DM has
ruled that knights cannot use missile weapons such as a bow because they
are "dishonorable."  Does anyone know if this is an official rule?  In
any case, it seems unreasonable to me because it would render knights useless
and unable to attack in many situations--consider a flying dragon against
a group of knights for instance.  Any comments?

chris
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: overlord@wam.umd.edu (Identity Unknown)
Subject: Re: Tackling, subduing NPC/PCs
Organization: University of Maryland, College Park
Distribution: na
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 05:40:15 GMT

In article <seah.711830612@sfu.ca> seah@fraser.sfu.ca (Simon Seah) writes:
>If there is a problem with armor helping/hindering vs. wrestling, how about
>the vanilla D&D (ie. not AD&D) Wrestling rules in the Companion Set?  There,
>strength and dexterity helps, armor hinders.  The rules seem simple enough
>and work logically (?).
>
>Comments?
>A break from the standard combat system, but if it works ...
>
>Simon

I haven't played D&D since forever.  Could someone please give a short
explanation of what these rules are exactly.  Thanks in advance.
					Overlord

overlord@wam.umd.edu
UMCP, the Bermuda Triangle of students.
From: a_copeab@ccsvax.sfasu.edu
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: CHARACTERS WANTED
Date: 25 Jul 92 16:56:52 CST
Distribution: na
Organization: Stephen F. Austin State University

In article <Brw8Iu.J10@ais.org>, mayla@ais.org (Doreen Devlin) writes:
> In article <1992Jul23.203723.26558@meaddata.com> joeg@meaddata.com (Joe Gayda) writes:
>>I have a C progam that generates AD&D II characters.  I'm afraid if I
>>post the program I may break some TSR copyright.  I would love to
>>distribute it because I've spent 40 or 50 hours writing the program.
>>Can I post this program?  Anyone from TSR have anything to say?
>   Yes, you can post it.  TSR doesn't care what you do with their stuff AS
> LONG AS NO MONEY CHANGES HANDS.  What they also want is that you don't hand
> out 'free copies' of their stuff, ei; copies of spells from PH, etc.  If you
> already own a copy of the PH, you're all set, but if the people you give the
> program to _don't_, that's when things get sticky.

	Arrgh, haven't we had this discussion before?

	Unfortunately, he can't post it -- SSI has the exclusive distribution
rights to software (which would include above program) relating to AD&D. Its
SSI, and not TSR, who would jump on you for this.
	Also, contrary to popular belief, whether you recieve money or not has
NOTHING to do with violating a copyright. Thats the way the copyright laws are
written. If you don't like it, write to your congressman or representative and
(politely) complain about it. Bitching to a newsgroup won't do any good unless
you demand change from the law makers en mass.

Brandon Cope

Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: keary@apollo.HP.COM (Matt Keary)
Subject: Re: Too many notes! (Was Re: New uses of dices...)
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 18:55:16 GMT
Organization: Hewlett-Packard Company, Chelmsford, MA

In article <92205.134844CC100PG@GITVM1.GATECH.EDU>, CC100PG@GITVM1.GATECH.EDU (Paul Goodwin) writes:
|> A second note:  In a campaign (which I'm DMing for) I have a thief who likes
|> to go on private intellegence-gathering missions, etc. and this can really
|> slow down the game flow.  Anyone have any ideas for how to avoid slowing
|> things down too much for the group in situations like this?
|> 

We have individual/ small group adventures which may be offset in time from
the point where they are actually played, these are called "cuts"... ie 

   DM:  OK, you're back home in City X for two days, what do you do?

   Thief:  I take a cut, do you have time on Sunday to play it out?

   DM:  I've got a paper due Monday, but Saturday after dinner's ok.

More than one character is often welcome on a cut, and they are nice breaks
from the normal large-party havoc because they go much more quickly and
smoothly.  A (secretly) NE thief and his pal the CN fighter can go have
fun rousting peasants and brawling w/o nagging from the priest, etc.

Cuts are also nice when your party is in the middle of a huge campaign, out
on the road, and for some reason 3 out of 8 players get that dice-rolling
itch... enter the "future cut."  

   Player:  When we're done with this adventure, we go to Skullport and...

You then have to be rather careful not to use anything/knowledge gained in 
said future cut in the normal campaign, or vice versa.  ("for some strange 
reason, you can't seem to find that potion of giant strength in your pack.."
because it was/will be used in a future cut).  Lots of fun, and not too
much difficulty, tho.

- Mateo
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: kjenks@gothamcity.jsc.nasa.gov
Subject: Re: When players and characters experience doesn't match.
Originator: kjenks@krakatoa
Keywords: player level vs. character level
Organization: NASA/JSC/GM2, Space Shuttle Program Office
Date: Sat, 25 Jul 1992 16:13:17 GMT

I've encountered a different, but similar, problem.  After years of
playing with VERY generous DM's, the characters were high level, but
the players didn't have a clue about teamwork, role-playing, or
cooperation.  Their battle tactics were rudimentary (they'd finally
figured out "You hold it down while I bash its skull in"), but their
long-term strategies were non-existant.  

I'm DM'ing for them, now, once per month.  They'll learn fast, and/or
die trying.  I'm thinking of adding in an NPC "tactical observer" who
instructs them in the Art of Adventuring, critiquing them when
necessary, then later having him turn on the party.  Loads-o-fun.

-- 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
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: tagg@hg.uleth.ca (Nathaniel Tagg)
Subject: Re: Other uses for dicee
Reply-To: tagg@hg.uleth.ca
Organization: University of Lethbridge
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 16:37:46 GMT

    We don't play with miniatures, but occasionally we need to lay out strategy
or get a feel for layout.  On these occasions, we use dice to represent the
characters: d10s for fighters, d8s for clerics, d6s for thieves, d4s for magi. 
(Hit dice, if you haven't figured it out.)  Monsters are often 20-siders.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
          Nathaniel Tagg               The U of Hell,  Lethbridge, AB
    "It's just a matter of putting one point seven one five three seven two
and two point two oh four six two eight together."     --The Doctor 
___The opinions expressed by the author of the preceding message are not 
nessesarily representative of the opinions of the author of the
preceding message.____
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: silber@m.cs.uiuc.edu (Ami A. Silberman)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Non-weapon Proficencies
Date: 24 Jul 92 21:03:12 GMT
Organization: University of Illinois, Dept. of Comp. Sci., Urbana, IL

keary@apollo.HP.COM (Matt Keary) writes:


>In our campaign, we have a Dwarven Cleric and a Human Berserker (myself)
>who often boast of their respective capacity for alcoholic consumption.
>After several unsatisfactory attempts to determine a pecking order in
>the drink chain, we convinced the DM to let us add a Drinking Proficiency.
>I don't have the stats in front of me, but its something like no ill 
>for a number of drinks equal to half your Con, then Con checks at -2 
>cumulative for each drink above this number.  Failed check drops Wis and
>Int by 2 points apiece, and puts additional -2 on future checks.  When a 
>stat reaches zero, WIPEOUT.  Beddie-bye time.  Good for bragging rights
>and adds flavor to bar scenes.

>Anyone else make up interesting/unorthodox NWPs?  Let's hear 'em.

>- Mateo
Although its from a different system, the Runequest Vikings supplement 
had a drinking skill, and rules for determining what happened during
drinking bouts. This was actually somewhat germane since drinking contests
were a fairly common event at Norse get togethers. As was passing out,
puking, and being hungover. Then, of course, you got to run into the wolves...
-- 
ami silberman - janitor of lunacy
	silber@cs.uiuc.edu
From: seah@fraser.sfu.ca (Simon Seah)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Tackling, subduing NPC/PCs
Date: 22 Jul 92 18:43:32 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada

If there is a problem with armor helping/hindering vs. wrestling, how about
the vanilla D&D (ie. not AD&D) Wrestling rules in the Companion Set?  There,
strength and dexterity helps, armor hinders.  The rules seem simple enough
and work logically (?).

Comments?
A break from the standard combat system, but if it works ...

Simon
From: presley@oahu.cs.ucla.edu (Matthew Presley)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: New uses of dices...
Date: 23 Jul 92 17:45:14 GMT
Organization: UCLA Computer Science Department

ccoprmd@prism.gatech.EDU (Matthew DeLuca) writes:
>The fastest way I have found to do initiative is to do individual initiative
>for the players and group initiative for the monsters, and then just start 
>calling off numbers.  When a character's number is called he raises his hand 
>and his action goes through.  All I have to keep track of is (usually) the 
>one monster initiative roll, although occasionally I'll let the monsters do 
>individual initiative as well.  This has (to date) been a pretty fast and 
>workable system.

This is exactly what I do, but I've a slight twist.  I've an initiative
chart (made from the cardboard backing of a 8.5X11 notepad) that's
been partitioned into 11 segments labeled 0 through 10.  Everybody
rolls initiative and places a marker in the section that indicates
that segment in which they attack.  

Benefits:

(1) While in the middle of trying to explain the combat scene and give
it flavor, I don't need to call out "segment 0, segment 1, . . ."

(2) I can see immediately when everyone is attacking and that allows
me to do any time-delay fudging that's necessary.

Overall, this method has worked very well.

Give it a try sometime and tell me what YOU think.


-- 
Matthew Presley (UCLA CS Grad. Student) & (JPL CS dude)
Internet (presley@cs.ucla.edu) or (matt@sapphire.jpl.nasa.gov)
"Twisted yellow puppies play loudly broken flutes..."
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: mayla@ais.org (Doreen Devlin)
Subject: Re: Too many notes! (Was Re: New uses of dices...)
Organization: Wild in the Woods.....
Date: Thu, 23 Jul 1992 20:18:16 GMT

In article <92205.134844CC100PG@GITVM1.GATECH.EDU> Paul Goodwin <CC100PG@GITVM1.GATECH.EDU> writes:
>Excellent question!  Please, does anyone have a better way to handle private
>communication?
>
>A second note:  In a campaign (which I'm DMing for) I have a thief who likes
>to go on private intellegence-gathering missions, etc. and this can really
>slow down the game flow.  Anyone have any ideas for how to avoid slowing
>things down too much for the group in situations like this?
>

  Hmmm... This probably won't work for many other people, but it's worth the
thought.  What happened in one of our campaigns was this; there were _two_
DM's.  The way things were working out for the group was that they would
need to have people 'go off in different directions' all at once.  At the
time, the party was up to 23 players, with one character apiece, so you
needed two people just to keep things going.

  The two people running it was _very_ competent, so the game which without
problems of a major nature.  They also thought alike....  which was scary at
times...  We (the party), had to talk to some guards at one point, and these
two started arguing (in character) about letting us inside the city.  The
guards were as dumb as dirt, but funny as hell...  Made for some interesting
role-playing that night.



Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: sanjour@cvl.umd.edu (Joe Sanjour)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: looking for Forgotten Relms: Savage Frontier
Date: 29 Jul 92 22:28:31 GMT
Reply-To: sanjour@cvl.umd.edu (Joe Sanjour)
Distribution: na
Organization: Center for Automation Research, Univ. of Md.


I'm looking for the Forgotten Relms, Savage Frontier source book,
FR5.  If anyone has a copy that they'd be willing to sell,
please let me know.

					-- Joe

 ^-^	Joseph Sanjour				Domain: sanjour@cvl.umd.edu
(- -)	Center for Automation Research		UUCP: uunet!mimsy!cvl!sanjour
 \_/	University of Maryland			(301) 405-4526
	College Park, MD 20742-3411
From: perry@tartarus.uwa.edu.au (Perry Staltari)
Subject: Re: The Bastard DM from Hell!
Organization: University of Western Australia
Date: Thu, 30 Jul 1992 04:20:38 GMT

ecrjbruce@economics.adelaide.edu.au writes:

>Should a mage earn experience for the party if he kills things at range?? This
>is a very general case and I would appreciate points of view, my DM ruling that
>as a mage I only get exp's if I go into MELEE combat!!!!

>Opinions would be appreciated

	In the adventure I'm in, I'm an illusionist so I can understand
your plight. What my DM has done is split experience evenly among all
players. We all agreed and it seems to be working fine. Obviously
fighters will be doing a lot of the killing to begin with and as
magic-users attain levels they kick butt. So I'd say that our system is
running well for all and fair.

	I believe that you should get experience for what you kill if
this is the way experience is dealt out. Whether at range or in melee
combat, you should get acreditted for what you kill.

	Perry. (the Gnome with no brain)

--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Perry Staltari		          	| Things aren't always as bad
perry@tartarus.uwa.edu.au       | as they seem. They're worse.
University of Western Australia | "Use the force Luke."      
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd