HDTenEightyP/NetNews huggingface dataset:
From: cwatters@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Coyt D Watters)
Subject: Re: Movement Rates
Keywords: Distance, average, guess, approximations, etc...
Organization: The Ohio State University
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 1992 15:39:00 GMT

In article <1992Aug18.125626.17265@watson.ibm.com> royle@highland.manassas.ibm.com (Matthew Royle x4553 highland) writes:
>
>Hmmm. Well, why dont we do a little calculating here.... These numbers
>are by no means fact, but only rough guesses by myself... Feel free to
>correct me if I am wrong:
>

>  Wagon... Hmm.. Generally two horses on a wagon, traveling around walking
>  speed or a little faster, say 7 miles an hour, and they can usually go
>  for 8 hours, maybe 12 if you pushed it.  So, 56 to 84 miles in a day.

One of the things I remember from a local history seminar was that the trade
route between my home town of Waverly, and the capital of the territory in 
the late 1700's (Chillicothe) took 2-3 days to travel with a trade wagon.
These two cities are located only about 20 miles apart.  

So, you must be assuming good roads (I've seen the Amish travelling the highway
in a horse and buggy, and they can cover a bit of ground in a day.) and 
almost no load.  Caravans would have almost no road (in most areas) and 
mud would slow progress considerably.  Heavy forest and hills will also
slow movement.

Horses also have to stop to rest, drink and eat.  If you want to kill the horse
you could force march it 8 - 12 hours.  Normally one would get started shortly
after sunup, rest every few hours, and go until dusk before stopping for camp.

I'd say for adventuring terms, a horse and rider should go at most about 30 
miles/day.



Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: rjg@doe.carleton.ca (Richard Griffith)
Subject: Magic Jar and Immortality
Organization: Dept. of Electronics, Carleton University
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 1992 16:45:07 GMT

In <1992Aug12.162046.11001@unixg.ubc.ca> educ@unixg.ubc.ca (Vicki Domansky) writes:
>Yeah, this is basically what I thought.  My co-GM had an idea for a
>a lich who wants to become alive again, so takes over a _living_ body
>and begins building power, etc. but we didn't really think this was a
>possibility.  What if someone who was very old wanted to find
>themselves a new, young, beautiful, etc. body to take over?  Could a
>Magic Jar spell be combined with permanency, skipping the lich stage?
>Or is there some other method of doing this I am overlooking?

Magic Jar will do it. And any mage capable of casting the spell could be
immortal if they wanted.

Simply magic jar into another person then kill your old body and destroy
the soul object (Evil alignments only please). 
Then beware of dispel magic and dispel evil. If you want to survive that
dispel magic you will have to keep the soul object handy. Just try repossesing
once dispelled. If the soul object is hidden nearby it will be undetectable
while many rolls vs possession will have to be made.

For game balance/fairness a full wish would probably then be required to
make the transfer to another body permanent. Note wish->aging->system shock 
roll, but that new body had a CON of 18 didn't it.
From: ccoprdj@prism.gatech.EDU (Jorge Diaz)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Paladins
Date: 23 Aug 92 01:40:31 GMT
Organization: Georgia Institute of Technology

In article <5071@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP> seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) writes:

>	I knew it was time to start the Good versus Evil regularly-scheduled
>flamewar again.

Well, I had kept it to what I thought was a non-flame level, hoping that
you would do the same.  But, if you want a flame war, fine with me (I
should have known, actually, considering some of the things I've seen
you post both in this and other newsgroups).

>	But to the discussion at hand: why would killing the theif be,
>necessarily, not-good? What if the beliefs of your deity are: 

Killing a thief without even giving him the right to defend himself
is not good.  Why not wait until his back is turned and then stab
him?  Or slit his throat in his sleep?  Because that's not how a Paladin
is supposed to act.  1)  It's not very honorable.  2)  It's not 'good'
(IMHO) to kill someone that can't fight back.  That's murder.

>	1) Amoung others, the right to property is an inalienable right and
>must not be infringed
>	2) Those who choose to violate inalienable rights are, BY THEIR
>OWN VOLUNTARY CHOICE, giving up ALL of their own rights, because they
>show no respect for others and thus deserve no respect from those others
>	3) Society must be protected against all those who do not show
>the basic respect for these rights.

Agreed.  And there are other ways to do this.  A forced career change
might be in order.  Hell, if you want to kill the guy, fine.  Give him
a sword and slug it out.  But you can't just kill him while he's
defenseless.  That's a coward's way out.  [Ooh, them's fightin' words!]

>	If that's the deity's position, then the theif automatically gave up
>ALL his rights, including that to live, when he chose to steal. In that
>case, it is Lawful and GOOD WITHIN THAT GOD'S EYES for the Paladin to
>decide the theif's fate, anywhere from a slap on the wrist to death.

Unfortunately, the original poster's post got cut.  I know that the thief
stole something, admitted it, and then the ranger had to hold back the
paladin.  Who did he steal from?  If it was the ranger, then the paladin
has no business in the matter.  If it was the paladin, then that's a more
grey area, but I still don't believe that any good deity would condone
cold-blooded murder.


-- 
Jorge Diaz                       | Sign in a restaurant:
Georgia Institute of Technology  | 
Office of Information Technology |   "We reserve the right to serve refuse to
ccoprdj@prism.gatech.edu         |        anyone."
From: reza@magellan.ae.utexas.edu (Alireza Vali)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Tarresque - Anyone killed one?
Date: 22 Aug 92 05:29:41 GMT
Organization: Center for Space Research Imaging Lab, University of Texas at Austin

joniteig@flipper.pvv.unit.no (Jon Inge Teigland) writes:

>I can't say it's not a Mounty Haul campain, but a friend of mine says
>he once killed one. He was a lvl 22 demigod paladin with 250 hp on a
                              ^^^^^^                      ^^^^^^
                                                          !!!!!!

Excuse me, how is that possible?  Assume the dude has 25 Con, and
rolls a 10 on every hit die.  That's 9*(10+7)=153 up to 9th level.
For 10th through 22, add another 13*3=39, and the grand total is
192.  Where did the other 58 HP come from?  Did he wish for them?
I would dearly like to know.  Of course, I'm coming up with these
numbers based on PHB2ed rules.  Is such a thing possible under these
rules?
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: mfournie@csi.UOttawa.CA (Mark Fournier)
Subject: Re: Question: Liches & Phlacteries
Organization: Dept. of Computer Science, University of Ottawa
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 92 21:15:11 GMT

The idea (from what I read in the Dragon a long time ago) is that a Lich
needs a body that is freshly dead. There are several ways to go about this:

1) Have your trusty slave Igor go out and get one for you.
2) Leave your phylactery in a place where people tend to leave fresh dead
   bodies--i.e. a graveyard.
3) Leave your phylactery in a place which has lots treasure in it--and lots 
   of traps and monsters, so that when someone comes for the treasure, they
   get killed and you get the body.

From what I understood, the body has to be already dead--having the Lich 
Magic Jar into someone shouldn't cause the character to drop dead. On the other
hand the Lich is now in the position to kill someone, provided he can do
it before the spell duration expires (there is a spell duration for Magic Jar,
isn't there?) Once the Lich is in the corpse, he has the powers of a wight
(without the level drain), plus the ability to cast up to fourth level spells. 
He has to collect the remnants of his real body and eat them to regenerate 
into a true Lich. This can be a problem: what if its been burned and the ashes 
scattered to the four winds? Usually, the Lich will keep a wish ring set aside 
for such eventualities.

Each time the Lich "dies", he loses a level. When an 11th level Lich is killed,
he is permanently dead. That's why the old Monster Manual describes them as
having 11+ hit dice.
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
From: cb317@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Stephanie J. Kessler)
Subject: Re: Bastard DM From Hell Pt 2
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, (USA)
Date: Tue, 18 Aug 92 19:36:32 GMT


If the book in question is a spellbook (and I cannot remember for
sure), then it is limited to 100 pages.  Therefore, they must be
really THICK pages, which might explain the weight, besides the
heavy cover and lock...
-- 
The United States is a nation of laws:  badly written and
randomly enforced.     Frank Zappa

cb317 @ cleveland.Freenet.Edu
From: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au (Phil Kernick)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Bastard DM From Hell Pt 2
Date: 17 Aug 92 06:10:57 GMT
Organization: University of Adelaide, South Australia

a_copeab@ccsvax.sfasu.edu writes:

>	The DM must be running a VERY  variant AD&D -- the only things a ranger
>loses (and only in 2nd Edition) by wearing armor heavier than  studded leather
>is Move Silently and Hide in Bushes/Trees (or whatever) and the freedom to use
>two weapons at the same time with no penalty. Yeah, the DM seems to be getting
>twit-like.

And precisely how does this now vary from a straight fighter?  What you have
just said is that if a Ranger wears more than studded leather he loses
almost all of his special abilities, and hence is not a ranger!

>	I've got a calculus book that's a little smaller than the one above. If
>expanded to the above size, it *might* come in at 20 lbs. Does the cover have
>lead inserts, or what?

Crap.  I have large calculus books too, and the largest of them is about
12"x9"x3", the spellbook is 24"x18"x6" which has *8* times the mass of the
calculus book.  By your maths the spellbook should weigh in at 160lb!



Phil.

-- 
   _-_|\    Phil Kernick                E-Mail: phil@adam.adelaide.edu.au
  /     \   Departmental Engineer       Phone:  +61 8 228 5914
  \_.-*_/   Dept. of Psychology         Fax:    +61 8 224 0464
       v    University of Adelaide      Mail:   GPO Box 498 Adelaide SA 5001
From: mathew <mathew@mantis.co.uk>
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Anecdotes... Death... How come?
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 17:43:19 BST
Distribution: world
Organization: Mantis Consultants, Cambridge. UK.

seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) writes:
> 	The lowest level character death was first. The highest level character
> death of mine was 67th.

Is that a short, shameful confession or what?

Personally I retire AD&D characters when they hit 15th level.  Otherwise it
just gets silly.  I was slightly sad when I decided to retire one of my
earliest and most favourite characters, but I was running out of modules for
him to finish single-handed.

Seriously, though, characters of mine that hit level 15 do tend to become
NPCs. By that time they usually have a good deal of personality and
background, so they make ideal trainee demigods.  Next time you need a spot
of divine intervention, drop in an NPC who's trying to rise up through the
celestial hierarchy.  Gods are more interesting when they have developed
personalities and backgrounds.


mathew
-- 
"Even the most bizarre of the unions (probably that between a cat's gall
 stone and a single note 'G' from CNN's ident theme) managed to convey a
 sense of rampant impropriety."  -- 'Fortran Five', Simon G. Lawrence Leonard
From: marrou@cs.ucf.edu (Lance R. Marrou)
Subject: Re: Multi-Class Hit Points
Organization: University of Central Florida
Distribution: na
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 1992 16:09:39 GMT

The way we do HP on multiclass chars is to _keep_ the fractions
until it equals another point.  For example, a magic-user/thief
rolls a 4 for MU and a 3 for thief.  His current hit points are
3, keeping the .5 for next level.  Let's say, next level he gets
the same thing.  He will then have a total of 3.5+3.5=7 HP.
(Or, 7+7=14/2=7).  Giving this person anymore HP just makes them
too powerful.  Understand that they already get enough by enjoying
the skills and abilities of one or more classes.

--
=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Lance R. Marrou
   Work   - Marrou@IST.UCF.edu
   School - Marrou@Eola.cs.UCF.edu
From: dv52151@uxa.cso.uiuc.edu (Axly)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Paladins
Date: 23 Aug 92 14:41:55 GMT
Article-I.D.: news.BtFy5w.GL
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana

ccoprdj@prism.gatech.EDU (Jorge Diaz) writes:

>In article <5082@blue.cis.pitt.edu.UUCP> seawasp@vm2.cis.pitt.edu (Sea Wasp) writes:

>Then you and I have very different views on rights.  I don't think someone
>sacrifices all his rights just because he commits a crime.  Spitting on
>the sidewalk is a crime too.  Should the paladin kill someone who does
>that?

You are applying 20th century philosophy on the rights of man to a 
medieval time period. People didn't have rights back then, at least
not in the sense they have them today. If someone commited a crime
that the local nobility could prosecute them for, the normal sentence
was death..for just about everything.  Medieval justice was much harsher.
If a peasant spit on the sidewalk at the duke's place, he would likely
have lost his head. 

>>	First: if it is a god's decree that stealing is a heinous evil,
>>then from a PALADIN perspective it does not MATTER WHO YOU STOLE FROM.

>Bullsh*t.  If the thief stole from the ranger, and the ranger says
>"Oh, well, I didn't really need that +3 longsword anyway", then the
>paladin can't do anything about it.  It doesn't affect him, he has
>nothing to do with it, and to stick his nose in where it doesn't belong
>is just asking to get his ass kicked.

Well, you again apply 20th century thinking here. It didn't really matter
back in the feudal era if the victim "pressed charges". The criminal broke
the law and he was punished, regardless of the victim's views on that.

Another important thing to keep in mind is the nature of the paladin.
The paladin is appointed by GOD (TM) to do his job, and I don't think 
GOD (TM) gives 2 coppers for the ranger's opinion.

>>He is by his duty BOUND to act in the matter no matter who was involved.
>Wrong.

No, right. GOD (TM) and his laws matter more to the paladin than the
feelings of the victim or the criminal.

>>	Second: Murder only applies to people. By the example I gave before,
>>the theif gives up his rights, from both the Paladin and his god's perspective,
>>by stealing at all, period. Therefore, the theif is NOT A PERSON by the 
>>standards of the god or the Paladin, but is a pest.

>I see.  So anyone who commits a crime not only sacrifices all his rights,
>but is also no longer a person?  What else happens?  They've already
>given up their rights and their humanity.  What else do they lose?  I want
>to know, because I'd hate to be the guy that drove over the speed limit
>in *YOUR* world.

See above - this isn't the 20th century we are dealing with, more like
the late 12th given the tech level of most ADD games. Henry V buried
a soldier up to his neck and let him die of exposure for theft. I'd
say that's a good example of how late feudal era personages thought
about crime. Henry was also especially pious and is a good character
study of what one type of "Dirty Harry" paladin would be like.

Axly
From: query@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Samuel Green)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: The illogic of draining levels
Date: 21 Aug 92 15:20:43 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.

In article <1992Aug21.132730.1127@bnr.ca> dclayton@bnr.ca (Don Clayton) writes:
>In article <1992Aug20.165458.430@csc.canterbury.ac.nz>, engf002@csc.canterbury.ac.nz writes:
>|> <comments concerning the fact that undead draining levels is unfair>
>|>
>time I said : "You see a Vampire", they said "Holly SHIT, run, run, run, fireball,
>run, teleport, etc.".  It really added some fun to the game.  Besides, levels can


	Sounds familiar...  Situation:

	23rd level thief, 18th level paladin, 17/17 mage/cleric dual class,
12th level barbarian, 20th level fighter are sitting in a bar in a very
strange town...

	The conversation:

	Thief: "Remember that time I backstabbed that high cleric?  What
was he, 22nd level or so?  Hehe, not high enough to avoid my backstab of
doom..."
	Barbarian: "Hell yes!  That was great fun, especially when we tore
through those 'elite' guards of his...  all of them name level, and still
no problem.
	Paladin: "Hey, now, remember the time those 3 very huge ancient red
dragons got a bit big for their britches?  Hehe, they sure made nice soup."
	DM, me: "Okay, guys.  The bar gets very qiet suddenly, and there is
a chill draft blowing in.  A hooded figure is standing in the doorway."
	Mage/Cleric: "I go over and teach this churl a lesson!  Who does he
think he is, anyway, disturbing OUR enjoyment?!?"
	ME: "As you approach, the figure says 'I bid you greetings.  I am
Lotiair Von Hund, master of the night.  I bid you welcome to your death!"
	Mage/Cleric: "What an arrogant twit! I do 'true sight' on him to
see what he *really* is!"
	ME: "Yopu sense that he is a vampire, possibly a greater one..."
	Mage/Cleric: "Teleport without error to my inn room in the other
city!"
	Paladin: "I pray to my diety, and then run like hell!"
	Barbarian: "Um, I'm in deep shit, huh?"
	Fighter: "No, WERE in deep shit.  I try to sneak out of the bar,
jumping through a closed window if I have to..."
	Thief: "I invite the guy for a drink, meanwhile breaking out those
vials of holy water I took, and getting ready to use my blink ring..."

	The mage returned with his wands, the fighter eventually decided to
come back, and the paladin tried his best.  Barbarian hacked, as they do,
and the thief started trying to backstab...

	After the battle, and 2 months of game time:

	8th level thief, 10th level paladin, 4th level barbarian, 17/1st
level mage/cleric, dead 0 level human (used to be the figter...)
	Thief: Boy, were those orcs tough!
	Barbarian:  Not as tough as those damned gnolls, I tell ya!
	Cleric: So, HOW MUCH will it cost to have our levels restored?!?

	Believe it or not, this was a planned encounter, with plenty of
assisstance for the players, had they caught onto the vampire thread
earlier.  They had been investigating the dissappearance of an entire royal
caravan, and were looking into rumors that the King had been spotted
slaughtering sheep in the area... What would you think?  The poarty thought
dopplegangers...

	Sam
From: query@casbah.acns.nwu.edu (Samuel Green)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: PLayers Wanted for IRC DND
Date: 21 Aug 92 13:13:06 GMT
Distribution: rec.games.frp.dnd
Organization: Northwestern University, Evanston Illinois.


	Hello, I am looking for people who want to try playing dnd via irc.
It could be a royal pain in the butt, but it could actually work out pretty
well.  It would be played on a moderated channel,. of course.

	I would be running it as a 1st level *dnd game, using rules from
second and first editions.  SOme things would be different from the usual
methods of playing dnd (some rules would be different, slightly) and a load
of judgement calls on the part of the dm would be used instead of using the
books.

	Some of the things to note (if you need loads of info justr to
decide if its worth it) :)

	Clerics have casting time bonuses added to their spells, so as to
make up for their weakness with offensive spells.
	Mages can specialize on a particular spell, much like a fighter
does, so as to reduce the casting time of a favorite spell, or increase
range, damage, etc.  This would reflect the idea that spells are mostly
technique, and every mage will do em somewhat differently.
	The chars will start at first level, and be generated by the
player, and sent to me for approval.  No magic items, monty shit at first
level (i.e "But, as a cavalier, from a rich family, I would of course be
given +4 field plate and a +5 vorpal sword of everything killing!"

	All players will start with 250 gold pieces to purchase equipment
with, so be sure to include that in your char description.

	Non combat proficiencies are allowed, if you want them, but will
mostly be used for 'atmosphere' and will probably not have much overall
impact on the game.  I usually take many types of skills for granted with
certain classes (i.e. mages would know a bit of the history around powerful
magic, and thus might have some legend and lore skill, rangers would know a
bit about herbs and poultices, fighters about army organization, and
thieves about gossip, and clerics a small bit of several things)

	If your char has a skill that would be somewhat strange for them to
know, be sure to explain why your char knows that skill.  Also, char
backgrounds (i know, kinda silly for 1st level, but...) would be
appriciated, so that I can gear the adventure towards the chars, rather
than having the chars having to do things that make no sense for them to
do.

	Anyway, when I get about 5 to 8 players, I will try to set up a
time to do this, and I will notify all the people who responded via email.
Im pretty much going to go on a first come first serve basis, but if
someone seems totally clueless (they just wanna go monty on me) then I will
bump them out of the list, and get someone else.

	So, respond early, and often to:

	query@casbah.acns.nwu.edu

	And, please, dont resend this post to me.



	(Hoping this will work out,)

	Sam
From: marios@cc.uch.gr (Marios Chrysopoulos)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Question
Date: 19 Aug 92 17:09:40 GMT
Organization: Computer Science Department, University of Crete HELLAS

I have some questions about some of the non-weapon proficiencies that a
character can have:
1) A character using the tumbling proficiency get a bonus (-4 ?) AC. Can
he use this proficiency regardind the armor he is using? That is can he
wear plates and at the same time jump from here to there and perform
tricks and stuff like that?
2) Can a weaponsmith detect the magic cast on a weapon? That is if a
weapon is enchanted maybe he could distinguish some differences between
this weapon and other weapons? (Not anything about the magic, just some
differences)
3) Same question as 2 but for armorers.

And another question...would it be wise to let a 1st level dwarven
player get a dwarven plate just because he says that his father was an
armorer and he made it for him? I mean this is nice role play but
dwarven plate?
From: scm50@duts.ccc.amdahl.com (Shaun C Montgomery)
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd
Subject: Re: Date for Gencon?
Date: 14 Aug 92 23:28:45 GMT
Reply-To: scm50@charon.amdahl.com (Shaun C Montgomery)
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA

In article <1992Aug12.230629.20186@unixg.ubc.ca> educ@unixg.ubc.ca (Vicki Domansky) writes:
>In article <Kevin_Bailey-120892154921@msdmac36.msd.anl.gov> Kevin_Bailey@qmgate.anl.gov (Kevin Bailey) writes:
>>Hi Folks,
>>
>>Well, when is/was it this year??
>
>It will be on the weekend of August 20-23rd.
>
>
>-- 
>=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>Vicki Domansky <Morgaine>                               educ@unixg.ubc.ca
>Education Computing Services                       v_domansky@mtsg.ubc.ca
>U of B.C. Vancouver Canada                        usereduc@ubcmtsg.bitnet


Just to be more precise, there is an RPGA dinner of some sort on August
18th, the Wednesday before.  There are events scheduled for the 19th as
well as the 20-23rd.

Thought I'd just add that in case people were planning to attend.

Shaun Montgomery
Newsgroups: rec.games.frp.dnd