tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post7834898093339773553..comments2024-03-28T22:10:04.089+08:00Comments on Monsters and Manuals: Actually Existing D&DUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger46125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-23230345563786112852019-03-21T05:02:50.674+08:002019-03-21T05:02:50.674+08:00That is a nice idea.
Casting time is very importa...That is a nice idea.<br /><br />Casting time is very important, as is making magic users announce what spell they're going to cast at the top of the round, to give the other side the chance to disrupt concentration. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-64064152039243402682019-03-21T05:01:57.452+08:002019-03-21T05:01:57.452+08:00I would normally just give a monster a STR which s...I would normally just give a monster a STR which seems appropriate. Goblins have STR 8, orcs STR 13, etc. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-10383730266052334802019-03-21T04:59:37.658+08:002019-03-21T04:59:37.658+08:00I actually quite like the idea of making shields m...I actually quite like the idea of making shields more useful than just a +1 to AC. Making them better against spears and projectiles would actually be pretty cool.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-14728481817566840922019-03-21T04:58:07.480+08:002019-03-21T04:58:07.480+08:00Yeah, critical hits are like the Free Parking of D...Yeah, critical hits are like the Free Parking of D&D.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-4398106752515050092019-03-21T00:27:51.852+08:002019-03-21T00:27:51.852+08:00In 1e it's (actual) Weapon vs Armor Class , in...In 1e it's (actual) Weapon vs Armor Class , in 2e it's Weapon Damage Type vs (actual) Armor.Garumoohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01729693136868673971noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-78799723673914155302019-03-20T23:44:08.760+08:002019-03-20T23:44:08.760+08:00One of those rules that sounds good in the book bu...One of those rules that sounds good in the book but I rarely saw in real life was casting time. However there was one campaign I was in where the DM had a beautiful system.<br /><br />Casters in his game had poker chips with spell names and casting times written on them. At the caster's initiative they put their spell on the table, face down. When the casting time elapsed they turned them face up and released the spell. It was a slick system and worked well. Tomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17116795932377593506noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-27973225596943035792019-03-19T12:48:00.941+08:002019-03-19T12:48:00.941+08:00Another category is rules that don't exist at ...Another category is rules that don't exist at all in the published game, but are in general use in actual D&D. I remember articles by Gygax in Dragon magazine ranting against the heresy that was critical hits...Beorichttps://campaignunderdeconstruction.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-9054795309992096342019-03-19T12:41:55.934+08:002019-03-19T12:41:55.934+08:00I have seen posts by people who flowed this and sp...I have seen posts by people who flowed this and speed factors slavishly, and consider everyone else to be "not playing D&D." They would generate their own To Hit tables for each weapon, and chose the most effective weapon based on what they were fighting. Basically, they were optimizing.Beorichttps://campaignunderdeconstruction.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-55069122164027912362019-03-19T07:57:43.593+08:002019-03-19T07:57:43.593+08:00There's a matrix in the old Arduin Grimoires t...There's a matrix in the old Arduin Grimoires that takes the HD of the monster and compares it against character class (ex. Rangers are better at escaping grabs) to determine chance of escape. You get a bonus based on your level, which varies by class; monsters get a percentage bonus or penalty based on if they're using tentacles, hands, or other methods to grab. Considering the number of factors, assuming you already know the "escape bonus" of the character in advance, it runs rather smoothly - with the unfortunate caveat that it gives little information on how to grab, how the PCs might choose to grab, or what happens if multiple opponents try to grab at one. But it's an attempt, and it does manage to fit a lot onto one page.<br /><br />I am convinced that a one-size-fits-all system doesn't work well in grappling, though. This coming from an unfortunately large amount of play-testing (turns out that when all of your players either watch wrestling/WWE or actively train martial arts, this sort of thing comes up pretty often).Rosenritterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05708668233952612105noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-68126340925786086952019-03-19T07:13:26.584+08:002019-03-19T07:13:26.584+08:00Ah, I got what you meant by "damage type"...Ah, I got what you meant by "damage type", even though I've never owned/read 2e, only 0e/1e, but I interpreted it as modifying damage done, like +2 to slashing attacks vs. leather, rather than modifying to hit rolls, which does exist in both 0e and 1e, but doesn't take into account the damage type. My mistake.<br /><br />I can't find it now, but there was a nice little bit of analysis by someone that showed you could approximate the results of the weapon vs. AC table with just a handful of rules, like "Axe, Flail/Chain: +2 vs. shields; Spear, Pole Arm, Projectile: -2 vs. shields".Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-85669789928965482242019-03-19T05:37:15.280+08:002019-03-19T05:37:15.280+08:00There's a bit less of this in 5e D&D (leav...There's a bit less of this in 5e D&D (leaving aside contradictions between the RAW and Jeremy Crawford's Tweets/Sage Advice), but I wonder how many people actually use the darkness, dim light & hiding rules as written, where a party using darkvision will have Disadvantage to spot anything (& same for the monsters). Simonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01173759805310975320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-70915350958927755332019-03-19T05:18:35.421+08:002019-03-19T05:18:35.421+08:00I know what you mean by that. It's almost like...I know what you mean by that. It's almost like hard SF suits having more robust, crunchy rules and fantasy games suit looser ones - I wonder if there is a word to describe why that is. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-91439381386981897222019-03-19T05:16:38.084+08:002019-03-19T05:16:38.084+08:00Yeah, the beauty of AD&D (and TSR iterations o...Yeah, the beauty of AD&D (and TSR iterations of the game in general) is the rough-and-readiness. It doesn't actually matter what you change, discard, keep. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-57603904852322942502019-03-19T05:14:57.159+08:002019-03-19T05:14:57.159+08:00It is an adjustment to hit. Not sure where you got...It is an adjustment to hit. Not sure where you got adjustment to damage from? When I said "damage type" I meant whether it was P, B or S. The table specifies the adjustment to hit against different armour types by damage type - i.e. whether it's piercing, bludgeoning or slashing. Do you see what I mean? I did say in the post I was probably misremembering the title of the table. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-56690332824032971982019-03-19T05:01:56.309+08:002019-03-19T05:01:56.309+08:00The problem with using HD is that it doesn't a...The problem with using HD is that it doesn't account for certain monsters being more or less capable of grappling, like something with 6 arms, or something with no arms. Also grappling ability doesn't always go both ways. Trying to pin down a giant, slimy fish that's washed onto land is going to be very difficult to grapple, but it probably wouldn't be very good at grappling YOU.<br /><br />I agree that hit dice is a good starting point, but it's usually more complex than that.Slick S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/07061439646397481013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-65330697660587680862019-03-19T03:39:42.575+08:002019-03-19T03:39:42.575+08:00Lest I forget, this post would be incomplete witho...Lest I forget, this post would be incomplete without the classic quip (no doubt known in every socialist country): "What is the difference between existing and working socialism? Existing socialism does not work; working socialism does not exist."Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-54946357950496753402019-03-19T02:59:26.337+08:002019-03-19T02:59:26.337+08:00The problem with "highest STR wins" is t...<i><b>The problem with "highest STR wins" is that monsters don't have STR listed.</b></i><br /><br />Eh. Use hit dice, with a bonus to a PC's effective hit dice based on Strength.<br /><br />Or just roll grapples as a standard attack and treat the follow-up damage rolls as some kind of test. Rolled damage > opponent's hit dice = win grapple contest (pin, break pin, whatever other maneuvers you want to imagine.) No table look-ups needed, which is the real problem with all the rules like this... increased handling time means increased chance everyone will ignore the rule as not worth it.Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-70127359246318912032019-03-19T02:50:46.611+08:002019-03-19T02:50:46.611+08:00Sounds like it's still an adjustment to hit, r...Sounds like it's still an adjustment to hit, rather than an adjustment to damage.<br /><br />I think the Palladium Weapons and Armor Compendium (theoretically usable in most RPGs) included something like that (edged weapons doing more damage vs. leather/no armor.)Talysmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02162328521343832412noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-18772623094169090852019-03-19T02:13:39.773+08:002019-03-19T02:13:39.773+08:00The same weapon stats as Dungeon TAC cards are loc...The same weapon stats as Dungeon TAC cards are located in Ready Ref Sheets. One could DIY a set of accurate cards from that publication. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-1144433333702927072019-03-18T22:33:52.336+08:002019-03-18T22:33:52.336+08:00Classic Traveller has weapon vs. armor vs. range m...Classic Traveller has weapon vs. armor vs. range matrices, which CT players like to use; but it seems to suit the Traveller mindset of military "hard-ish" sci-fi simulationism (which I, by the way, adore) better than the D&D dungeon sword & sorcery mindset (which I, by the way, also adore). Traveller, after all, is that game with actual physics equations in its starship rules!<br /><br />However, later rules often switched to a penetration system, which also works great with mil-sci-fi simulationism and originates in the Azhanti High Lightning and Striker! wargames.Omer Golan-Joelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09242085820257230639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-89283054264970176342019-03-18T22:15:47.914+08:002019-03-18T22:15:47.914+08:00The problem with "highest STR wins" is t...The problem with "highest STR wins" is that monsters don't have STR listed.jamescbennetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06603912011980275273noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-25733692922356232032019-03-18T21:53:47.280+08:002019-03-18T21:53:47.280+08:00Ironically, that is Dungeon Tac Cards, one of the ...Ironically, that is <b>Dungeon Tac Cards</b>, one of the long-forgotten (and rare) Judges Guild supplements: a bunch of thick cards with weapon statistics and such written on them. 1976! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dungeon_Tac_CardsMelanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-2140291073809665562019-03-18T21:51:20.154+08:002019-03-18T21:51:20.154+08:00Some of these rules are okay, and some are admitte...Some of these rules are okay, and some are admittedly not worth the effort.<br /><br />AD&D goes into a lot of trouble with its grappling rules, most of which could be modelled perfectly well with "I attack." Because that's what grappling is - an attack where the outcome is not damage, but some other effect ("I try to immobilise him." "I want to throw him overboard." "I want to wrench that dagger from his hands.") You could also use opposed attack rolls if you wanted to go deep. But this is one area of the rules where AD&D's elegant abstraction was discarded for a dubious alternative.<br /><br />However, applying at least some of the subsystems found in the game can add to the experience. Weapon speed factors are rather neat, and add a nice layer of "cheap" complexity to the game. We never found them cumbersome, and they add some oomph to weapons which otherwise have lower damage. Spell components and encumbrance (often hand-waved) add a strategic layer which increases the challenge of playing, but they are beasts which are a lot of fun to <i>grapple</i> with. That's why it is "Advanced" D&D! :D <br /><br />Fortunately, AD&D's modularity does not suffer if you don't use all the bells and whistles. It is less interconnected than modern D&D, where changing one rule has cascading effects across the whole game.Melanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07165894144553629675noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-78430580756043304302019-03-18T21:28:47.879+08:002019-03-18T21:28:47.879+08:00Definitely - rules tend not to survive an encounte...Definitely - rules tend not to survive an encounter with the enemy, much like battle plans. noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2513019539869706574.post-42412734040234629922019-03-18T21:28:11.304+08:002019-03-18T21:28:11.304+08:00Definitely. I bet it's true of most complicate...Definitely. I bet it's true of most complicated games actually.noismshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09933436762608669966noreply@blogger.com