Eventually…

Delays continue- what I’ve been up to in the meantime

No, this has nothing to do with the post.

Since I’ve actually heard from two different people that they’ve been reading this blog, I thought I couldn’t let two weeks go by without an update. Since there was some curiosity about the mysterious projects I was working on, I figured I’d share a link to each here. They have nothing to do with AD&D and everything to do with Call of Cthulhu. Of course, once these are done, I have another project- the dread ‘C’ that really needs my attention. Don’t worry, things will resume here eventually. Perhaps we’ll be done by Christmas?

Project A

Project B

My contributions to both (far far far more to B than A when I’m just giving a little help) are nearing completion, thankfully.  It will be nice to see my name in print again.

Quick update

Just resting

Sorry for the delay; for money projects A and B have kept me very busy.  I’ve started working on a pool of posts so I can draw from those in the down periods (like now).  Daily updates aren’t possible currently (not that anyone seems to be keeping a close eye of this blog, as most visitors tend to be looking for info on gar, Village of the Damned (I should have used a different picture), or scimitars), but I’ll try to do a few per week.  We’re getting close to Magic Items, something I fear I may have to break into sub pages as if I can blather about aerial combat, I sure can rant about magic items.

Another weird search: ICMB blueprints (who is looking to build those?)

Fun with search terms

Someone found this blog searching for “reincarnation as a badger”

AD&D druid?  Hindu University Wisconsin student?

(yes, I’ll get back to posting soon.   Sorry for the long pause, again.)

Page 77: More Psionics

Sorry for the long break between actual “page” entries.  Some dark force, no doubt, doesn’t want the truth to get out about Psionics.  Now I just need to check my wall charts to see if it was Reptoid stooges or Hyper-evolved Nordic Ultra-Terrestrials (man, that was gooood cold medicine).

Was it the Reptoids?

...or the ultra-terrestrials?

The world may never know.

What I do know is why Psionics so rarely ever showed up in my assorted AD&D campaigns.  Unlike most things in AD&D it does not scale to level or experience.  A 1st level psionic character never changes, expands, or improves their powers, save by gaining a few points from the odd ioun stone.  Maepharax, Grey Elf Wizard of the Silver Moon Society is put on the same footing at Durf, the Lucky, so long as both character through some combination of good rolls and high stats are psionic.  Is this great news for Durf, 1st level human thief?  Sure.  Does it make no sense that after 1000 years of training Maepharax is no better at her Ego Whipping or Mind Blanking?  Of course not.

But what of page 77?  Or your discussion of psionics?

The first I’ll post today; the other when I am satisfied with what I’ve said (i.e. who knows).

The page is almost entirely filled with the psionic combat table (IV.B. Psionic Attack Upon Defenseless Psionic).  The X axis is a range of possible point totals for the defender (maximum psionic strength, not current points); Y shows attacker’s current attack strength divided by type of psionic attack.

Example: Snoobuck, Gnome Illusionist and psionic (Strength 210 points) is psionic blasted by a Mind Flayer (attack strength 120).  The result is D, “Dazed for 1d4 turns”.  Her companion Plunch the Dull (Strength 45) unfortunately is K, “Killed”.  Ouch.  Hopefully they’ve got some non-psionic chums to keep their brains from being eaten.

Clearly, you don’t want to be the recipient of a psionic attack if your defenses are down.  At best you’ll loose some attack points.  Alternately you might be Confused for 2d4 rounds, Dazed for 1d4 turns, loose a power temporarily, made into an idiot, Killed, be dazed and lose a psionic attack or defense, put into a coma “A state 99% chance to be mistaken for death”), or made a “robot” slave of your attaker.  That’s harsh.

Tomorrow: More Psionics (oh yeah)

Another childhood dream crushed

Yes, I realize this has nothing to do with Psionics (clearly I have a powerful block against writing about that topic… could it be Psionic control?!?) but I was recently able to snag a long out of print 1st ed. AD&D module- Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure.

See also "Story, Never-ending"

I’ve always wanted to read this adventure- it was set explicity in the World of Greyhawk, was by Gygax (a shared credit with Rob Kurtz), and if WG4’s quality was any indication (yes, I do love the Forgotten Temple of Tharizdun, but more on that later) this one should really be great.  Here’s the back blurb:

Four great and powerful heroes travel in search of adventure. Led by Mordenkainen, wizard without peer, they have come to mysterious Maure Castle, a forlorn and foreboding place, source of wonderment and awesome adventure, following a strange and terrible story. [Hah! Ed.]

For, somewhere deep beneath Maure Castle, from whence no person has returned alive, there stand two massive iron doors – doors without latch, lock, or handle – the Unopenable Doors.

And if the doors are opened, what then? Such potent evil, such terror lies beyond, that even the bravest adventurers may quail before the ultimate test!

Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure is a challenging adventure for high-level play. Four original characters from Gary Gygax’ famous Greyhawk capmpaign are included for your use.

Can you meet the challenge? Can you survive what lies beyond…the Unopenable Doors?

Perhaps it was the intervening decades, but what I’ve imagined laying beyond those doors was infinitely better than what I found; a thoroughly bland trap-encounter-trap dungeon.  Nonsensical puzzles?  Check.  A random mismash of connecting corridors of various styles and sizes?  Check.  Is it squeezed into a single sheet of graph paper?  You betcha!  No concession to any sort of logic?  Oh yeah, in spades.

So, first we have the “unopenable doors”.  How do you get past them?  Well Mordenkainen has an artifact.  Do you?  If not, that’s too bad.  Hope you know passwall.  The first room encountered is a trap that causes you to drop your gear into pits that destroy them automatically, which I’m sure is a lark to your players who’s been carefully shepherding their characters to 9th level and beyond.  Soon after you’ve got an iron golem that can only be hurt by another item in the room.  That’s fair- and fun.

I could easly bitch and moan about the whole thing, bit by bit, and was doing so for much longer than above, but I deleted a goodly chunk.  Needless to say what you have are three really out of date levels, containing a haphazard bunch of monsters (gnolls??  why are these poor bastards here?  How do they get the “random scrap of meat” if they’re behind the “unopenable door”?) random treasure (if you don’t want characters to root around endlessly, stop hiding valuable stuff in table legs), and a less than compelling group of villains, all thrown together in what might have been fun thirty years ago, but left me more than cold.  Eli is never a good name for a villain.

The only accurate bit of the title is the inclusion of Mordenkainen, otherwise this is not a fantastic adventure.

Thank you for bearing with my sullen disappointment.

Dave Arneson, RIP

I organized (rather poorly) a small game-day at my college in the Twin Cities circa the mid-nineties. I spent most of the day dealing with logistical problems of my own creation when I saw an older guy walking around the tables (most folks playing Magic- it was the hot new thing at the time). I remember speaking to him for a minute of two, not really paying attention other than to tell him I was sorry there were not more rpgs being played. He gave me his card, I pocketed without reading it, and moved on to clean up another mess.

Only later that night when I read his card did I realize that the fellow was Dave Arneson. Despite my brusque stupidity, he spent a little while watching the games being played and smiling a little. I wish I’d been a little less self-involved and taken a moment to thank one of the people most responsible for my favorite hobby.

Here is a tribute from someone who knew him far far better:

http://www.michaelastackpole.com/?p=214

This one is very nice as well:

http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0644.html

Quick note

Tower of Iron what now?

I’m currently reading the rules on Psionics, since I figure I can’t intelligently discuss its associated tables if I don’t actually understand how the system works. Once that’s done, I’ll post a page on the topic and continue the page-by-page here. In the mean time, enjoy the note I posted for the many people who seem to find the site looking for G — A — R (a type of fish). They beat all other search topics by 4 to one.

***UPDATE***
Now I have moved from an ailing machine to an ailing me.  I will fight off this cold soon (hopefully) and relate all I have learned about Psionics and perhaps comment on why Mordenkainen’s Fantastic Adventure is the most disappointing module I have ever read.

Page 73: Weaponless Combat (conl.) and COMBAT TABLES!

We have charts people!

Unfortunately there is a little more unarmed combat to wrap up; grappeling damage working in an almost identical way to pummeling, save the addition of various holds (was Gygax a wrestler in school?), from waist clinch to strangle hold.  The best result is, as always stunning your foe for a round.  RoleMaster critical tables this ain’t gang.

As for overbearing, better known as tackling, you’ve got again the system of initiative, determine chance to hit, results table.  Damage is substantially less than pummeling or grappeling, but the impairment to the victim can be much greater- no one wants to fight from a prone position in AD&D.

The section concludes with the odds and ends that didn’t fit earlier… notes on multiple opponents (all the halfings grab the ogre!), rules for monsters (aren’t they almost all ‘unarmed’?), unarmed vs. armed combat, and monks.  I can see why these rules were frequently replaced by house-rules.  It is nice to see monks can always use their regular punch skills, even if grappled etc.  I do wonder about the note that creatures always attack to overbear (except, oddly bears- they grapple); do I ignore the claw damage of the giant badger in favor of it tackling the party?

At long last (long since I took that six-month+ break) we have finally reached the combat tables.  Now here is part of the book I referred to frequently.  Page 73 serves a prelude to the giant tables that come tomorrow, with an index of the tables and a chart saying the Armor Class granted by various types of armor a la the Players Handbook.

We have four “attack matrices” listed:

I. Attack Matrices for Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Half-Elves, Halflings, Half-Orcs, and Humans

A. Clerics, Druids, and Monks

B. Fighters, Paladins, rangers, and 0 Level Halflings and Humans

C. Magic-Users and Illusionists

D. 1. Thieves and Assassins

2. Assasssins’ table for Assassinations

II. Attack Matrix for Monsters

III. Matrick for Clerics Affecting Undead

IV. Matrices for Psionic Combat (I’ll leave these be for now)

A brief note on armor- it is interesting that the AD&D armor continuum is totally ahistorical, with Roman ’splint’ mixed with Carolingian chain and late Renaissance field plate.  I guess if we’ve got wizards and purple worms, who gives a wererat’s ass about these details.

Tomorrow: Four tables and a big scimitar

New words: matrix/-ices, psionic

Page 70: Melee

We’re back, and still in the middle of combat…

Depending on your position vis a vis the target, attackers can acrue  certain bonuses- flank attacks negate the shield, rear flank attacks also ignore any Dexterity bonus to Armor Class, rear attacks are the same at +2 to hit, stunned and prone again the same but at +4 (this includes motionless opponents, so your crossbow weilding assassin is in luck), sleepers/paralyzed/immobilized foes automatically slain (see the discussion page 67).  The invisible are generally in luck though- they always get the benefit of shield and dex and they can only be attacked if they can somehow be detected, at which point you’re still at a -4.

I am a little confused by a note regarding “To Hit” adjustments, suggesting that a natural ‘20′ is an automatic hit.  I’ll have to look that one up.

The entire paragraph “Who Attacks Whom” doesn’t make much sense: “it is generally not possible to select a specific opponent in mass melee“.  Really?  The example on the next page has characters doing just that.  Should we roll dice to see who I hit each round instead?

Up next is a discussion of melee attacks against spell casters and as you may have already guessed, any time a spell caster is successfully hit, the spell is interrupted and (thank you Jack Vance) “LOST”.  I’m curious if this is true for spell-like effects or if the attack hits but cannot hurt the opponent- a vampire Magic-User hit by a mundane sling stone, for example.

Attacking with two weapons- I’m looking now at a certain Drow Cavalier- is possible but the second weapon must be a dagger or hand ax (we’re still pre-Unearthed Arcana here people), and baring some Dexterity modifier, you are at -2/-4 to hit.  I guess that berzerker in the Monster Manual is legitimate (page 67 for your readingthedmg completists)…

Breaking off from melee isn’t that hard, though your opponent does get a free attack at your rear (hence the term “rear-guard action” obviously) but then you can use the exciting pursuit rules we’ve just discussed.

Finally our grab-bag today concludes with rules for monks and their hand-to-hand (quite literally) attacks.  We’ve not talked of monks too much; they were always a weird addition to a faux-Medieval setting (since these are more Shao-lin than Cistercian).  I can imagine campaign setting where they fit just fine (they sort of work in Greyhawk via the Scarlet Brotherhood) but in others I can’t see how they’d make sense.  I suppose the same is true of questing knights, druids, and other cultural-specific classes, but I digress.  The important question here is, how big an opponent can I punch as a 6th level monk and have hopes of stunning (or even killing) them?  (The answer 7′4″, 550 lbs.)  Sorry, even the Grandmaster of Flowers can’t kill a storm giant with a punch (unless the punch is spiked with Type E ingestive poison… I’ll be here all week, tip your kobolds).  Just so you know, you can’t stun something that is not alive or is a golem (they’re alive?) or a doppelganger.   Fortunately you still do your normal damage (if you can hurt them),  just watch our for the undead…