(un)reason
Legend
Dragon Issue 117: January 1987
part 2/4
Dungeoneers shopping guide: The onslaught of short crunchy articles continues, with a couple of pages of new equipment. If ever there was something inexperienced GM's dread, it's players asking for something which logically should be possible, but isn't detailed in the book. And someone is bound to want to buy something that isn't in the book, and you'll have to fudge prices. Well, now at least you can eat someone else's fudge instead of cooking up your own in a hurry and risking making a charred indigestible mess that upsets your campaign later on. Still, since this is hardly the most comprehensive add-on, I suspect there are still plenty of things that annoying players can ask for that aren't covered anywhere. Thoroughly mehsome.
Adventure Trivia!: Hmm. A set of questions about lots of AD&D trivia. It's been a few years since we had one of those. This is rather trickier than the last one I remember, with lots of questions with answers that are idiosyncratically 1st ed, rather than remaining the same from edition to edition. Plenty of questions are drawn from supplements, plus a few from modules, and even issues of this magazine. You'd have to be a real completeist to get them all. A timely reminder that even as versed in all things D&D as I am now, it would still be possible to attain yet another level of mastery of the rules and settings. Oh, for a photographic memory, so it wouldn't also take another quantum leap in the amount of time spent studying and playing the game to do so.
A touch of genius: So, what's the biggest dump stat in AD&D. Many would say charisma. Quite a few more would say comeliness, post UA. Vince Garcia, on the other hand, thinks that for non magic-users, it's intelligence you can skimp on without it harming your character. After all, you can still play them cleverly. Aside from strict GM'ing and creating situations where intelligence checks are needed, what can we do about this? Vince's solution is to make intelligence factor into training times and saves against illusion spells. The second of those isn't a bad idea, but since training times and costs are generally ignored anyway, I am very leery of the first one. Forcing dumb characters to spend more money, and take more downtime between adventures would annoy everyone, especially if there were also other time related constraints in the game, and everyone else is raring to get back to the dungeoneering and worldsaving. There may be plenty of real world examples of incompetent people in businesses who massively increase the annoyance factor and inefficiency of work for everyone else, yet somehow don't get fired; but in adventuring, people like that will find themselves replaced, terminally if necessary. Like making wizards weak at first, but game dominating later on, this is a form of balance that is very much not conductive to a good game. Oh well. 50% isn't a terrible score.
Sage advice returns, having also taken a three year break. Penny Petticord takes the reins to reign over and rein in the uncertainties in the rules created by Unearthed Arcana material. Yes, it has been over a year and it's still a big deal. Yet more evidence of how much slower paced things were back then. Anyway, to the questions.
Can name level cavaliers build strongholds and collect taxes. (yes. Use the same rules as for normal fighters, but double the money they get, because of their noble connections. The salary of virtue bleeds the serfs dry paying for it. )
Can you save the magic liquid from the Rainbow spell by decanting it (no. This is basic anti-weasel economics. Changing the location of something does not change what it is. )
When is Withdraw negated by other using spells. Does this ruin the other spell? ( When you actually apply it to the other person, not when you cast it. No, the negation of withdraw does not ruin the other spell. )
Can you use the illusionist rainbow spell as material component for the cleric rainbow spell ( ow, my head. Someone get the boys down in spell R&D a theasaurus. I'm sure Gary has several to spare. Anyway, the answer is yes. Super synergy strategy ahoy!)
What is the material component for phantom steed. ( A small silver horseshoe. I really ought to give a price for these, as that sounds like it'd need to be custom made, but I won't. )
You said in the DMG there's no such thing as magical elfin chain, but there is in UA. You contradict yourselves! ( That is for the same reason that we also raised the demihuman level limits in UA. Because you lot kept whinging and whinging and whinging at us for the past 6 years! You've got what you wanted. I hope you're happy now. )
How much should elfin chain cost to buy new( shitloads. We recommend at least 5 times the book price, with a waiting list of over a decade. Double that for members of another race. You're not going to follow this advice, are you? I thought not. Bloody munchkins. )
Since non-evil assassins are now legal, how do you introduce them to the game? ( We at sage advice towers still recommend that you do not. If you do so, we recommend the GM places extra obstacles in their way when it comes to training )
Do you get strength bonuses to damage on thrown weapons (yes. Some things are too obvious to forbid. )
Do high level bards gain hierophant druid powers (No. We designed the bard before we did druid levels above 14. By a strict reading of the PHB, they should, but that would be horrendously broken, so it's time for a bit of backpedaling. )
Can a cavalier use a crossbow. ( if he doesn't mind being looked down upon as unknightly by all his cavalier friends.)
If elfin chain is so fine, why does it still hinder your thieving abilities. (It may be lighter and more flexible than regular armour, but it's not better than no armour at all. It's not some magic cure-all. )
What is the armour class of a weapon when trying to disarm it. (you use the armour class of the wielder. Yes, even the bonuses granted by armour. Yes, this isn't particularly realistic. Do you have a problem with this?)
Do you lose all your spells if you change class with a hat of difference (yes. And then you need to rest to memorise spells available to your new one. Quick changes will not be helpful. )
How often can you change classes with a hat of difference (as often as you like, to any class you meet the requirements for. Note that this may play havoc with you experience gaining process, as it is split amongst so many classes. )
Do gray elves get both the race and subrace ability modifiers (yes. This is also the case for all other subraces. )
Can you cast spells while within an ottilukes resilient sphere. (yes. Yes, this includes dispelling. )
The ecology of the ankheg: Another monster that originated in the magazine returns triumphant, to cause devastation to farmers everywhere. Another of those creatures that is just about plausible enough to work in a proper ecology, this adapts plenty of tricks from real life bugs to create a pretty detailed lifecycle for the creature, full of exploitable points that canny adventurers can use to avoid becoming dinner. The fiction also takes a different tack yet again, as while there may be a pontificating sage, he certainly doesn't have the assurance or detachment of most of his ilk. Interestingly, once again the fiction and the gaming parts of the article are handled by different people. What's with that? Also contains a valuable lesson for adventurers. When you get to the domain management stage, if you don't do some actual managing, beware peasant unrest. Being a ruler has responsibilities. Another pretty good article in this series, full of stuff that would make it into the 2nd ed writeup of the creature.
Hounds of space and darkness: Stephen Innis returns like a dog to his vomit, to cover a topic he's examined twice before. Having handled real world tame dogs and wild canids in pretty decent detail, he now gives us three flavours of fantastic dog. Gith dogs are found among both the githyanki and githzerai, and were created by applying the same techniques to normal dogs that the illithids used on humans to make the gith in the first place, proving that the abused becomes the abuser in fantasy worlds as well. Lets hope they don't turn on their masters in turn, because they're pretty ferocious, and highly resistant to mental control, making them well suited to pounce on mind flayers in a pack, ignoring their primary attacks and ripping them to shreds. They're a pretty good addition to their tactical arsenal, that I'm vaguely surprised I've never seen before. We also get the Xotzcoyotl, or cave dogs, which can be found living with all sorts of underground creatures, in various breeds. With superlative hearing and smell, it's pretty much a waste of time trying invisibility around them. While not very pretty (unless you find hairless bats cute. ) they too can make a loyal companion for an adventurer, helping you deal with hazards even demihumans would be hard pressed to detect until it's too late. A welcome return for one of our regular writers. He's producing content as well researched and solidly designed as ever.
Fun without fighting: Speaking of regulars, here's Scott Bennie again, with another quick reminder that there are plenty of plots you can have without combat, and your personal badassedness and degree of social respect and influence are not always related. Romance, children, business, honour, social climbing. All are valid goals you can have a lot of fun striving for. While not bad at all, this is the third bit of basic roleplaying advice in one issue. I'm feeling a bit tired of that by now, especially as we're not even halfway through yet. I hope there were some more recently started readers that are getting more out of this stuff than I am, because they have been pushing it strongly since 1983, and I think I have it pretty well internalized by now. Course, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be able to put it into practice, and actually run games any better, but we can certainly hope.
part 2/4
Dungeoneers shopping guide: The onslaught of short crunchy articles continues, with a couple of pages of new equipment. If ever there was something inexperienced GM's dread, it's players asking for something which logically should be possible, but isn't detailed in the book. And someone is bound to want to buy something that isn't in the book, and you'll have to fudge prices. Well, now at least you can eat someone else's fudge instead of cooking up your own in a hurry and risking making a charred indigestible mess that upsets your campaign later on. Still, since this is hardly the most comprehensive add-on, I suspect there are still plenty of things that annoying players can ask for that aren't covered anywhere. Thoroughly mehsome.
Adventure Trivia!: Hmm. A set of questions about lots of AD&D trivia. It's been a few years since we had one of those. This is rather trickier than the last one I remember, with lots of questions with answers that are idiosyncratically 1st ed, rather than remaining the same from edition to edition. Plenty of questions are drawn from supplements, plus a few from modules, and even issues of this magazine. You'd have to be a real completeist to get them all. A timely reminder that even as versed in all things D&D as I am now, it would still be possible to attain yet another level of mastery of the rules and settings. Oh, for a photographic memory, so it wouldn't also take another quantum leap in the amount of time spent studying and playing the game to do so.
A touch of genius: So, what's the biggest dump stat in AD&D. Many would say charisma. Quite a few more would say comeliness, post UA. Vince Garcia, on the other hand, thinks that for non magic-users, it's intelligence you can skimp on without it harming your character. After all, you can still play them cleverly. Aside from strict GM'ing and creating situations where intelligence checks are needed, what can we do about this? Vince's solution is to make intelligence factor into training times and saves against illusion spells. The second of those isn't a bad idea, but since training times and costs are generally ignored anyway, I am very leery of the first one. Forcing dumb characters to spend more money, and take more downtime between adventures would annoy everyone, especially if there were also other time related constraints in the game, and everyone else is raring to get back to the dungeoneering and worldsaving. There may be plenty of real world examples of incompetent people in businesses who massively increase the annoyance factor and inefficiency of work for everyone else, yet somehow don't get fired; but in adventuring, people like that will find themselves replaced, terminally if necessary. Like making wizards weak at first, but game dominating later on, this is a form of balance that is very much not conductive to a good game. Oh well. 50% isn't a terrible score.
Sage advice returns, having also taken a three year break. Penny Petticord takes the reins to reign over and rein in the uncertainties in the rules created by Unearthed Arcana material. Yes, it has been over a year and it's still a big deal. Yet more evidence of how much slower paced things were back then. Anyway, to the questions.
Can name level cavaliers build strongholds and collect taxes. (yes. Use the same rules as for normal fighters, but double the money they get, because of their noble connections. The salary of virtue bleeds the serfs dry paying for it. )
Can you save the magic liquid from the Rainbow spell by decanting it (no. This is basic anti-weasel economics. Changing the location of something does not change what it is. )
When is Withdraw negated by other using spells. Does this ruin the other spell? ( When you actually apply it to the other person, not when you cast it. No, the negation of withdraw does not ruin the other spell. )
Can you use the illusionist rainbow spell as material component for the cleric rainbow spell ( ow, my head. Someone get the boys down in spell R&D a theasaurus. I'm sure Gary has several to spare. Anyway, the answer is yes. Super synergy strategy ahoy!)
What is the material component for phantom steed. ( A small silver horseshoe. I really ought to give a price for these, as that sounds like it'd need to be custom made, but I won't. )
You said in the DMG there's no such thing as magical elfin chain, but there is in UA. You contradict yourselves! ( That is for the same reason that we also raised the demihuman level limits in UA. Because you lot kept whinging and whinging and whinging at us for the past 6 years! You've got what you wanted. I hope you're happy now. )
How much should elfin chain cost to buy new( shitloads. We recommend at least 5 times the book price, with a waiting list of over a decade. Double that for members of another race. You're not going to follow this advice, are you? I thought not. Bloody munchkins. )
Since non-evil assassins are now legal, how do you introduce them to the game? ( We at sage advice towers still recommend that you do not. If you do so, we recommend the GM places extra obstacles in their way when it comes to training )
Do you get strength bonuses to damage on thrown weapons (yes. Some things are too obvious to forbid. )
Do high level bards gain hierophant druid powers (No. We designed the bard before we did druid levels above 14. By a strict reading of the PHB, they should, but that would be horrendously broken, so it's time for a bit of backpedaling. )
Can a cavalier use a crossbow. ( if he doesn't mind being looked down upon as unknightly by all his cavalier friends.)
If elfin chain is so fine, why does it still hinder your thieving abilities. (It may be lighter and more flexible than regular armour, but it's not better than no armour at all. It's not some magic cure-all. )
What is the armour class of a weapon when trying to disarm it. (you use the armour class of the wielder. Yes, even the bonuses granted by armour. Yes, this isn't particularly realistic. Do you have a problem with this?)
Do you lose all your spells if you change class with a hat of difference (yes. And then you need to rest to memorise spells available to your new one. Quick changes will not be helpful. )
How often can you change classes with a hat of difference (as often as you like, to any class you meet the requirements for. Note that this may play havoc with you experience gaining process, as it is split amongst so many classes. )
Do gray elves get both the race and subrace ability modifiers (yes. This is also the case for all other subraces. )
Can you cast spells while within an ottilukes resilient sphere. (yes. Yes, this includes dispelling. )
The ecology of the ankheg: Another monster that originated in the magazine returns triumphant, to cause devastation to farmers everywhere. Another of those creatures that is just about plausible enough to work in a proper ecology, this adapts plenty of tricks from real life bugs to create a pretty detailed lifecycle for the creature, full of exploitable points that canny adventurers can use to avoid becoming dinner. The fiction also takes a different tack yet again, as while there may be a pontificating sage, he certainly doesn't have the assurance or detachment of most of his ilk. Interestingly, once again the fiction and the gaming parts of the article are handled by different people. What's with that? Also contains a valuable lesson for adventurers. When you get to the domain management stage, if you don't do some actual managing, beware peasant unrest. Being a ruler has responsibilities. Another pretty good article in this series, full of stuff that would make it into the 2nd ed writeup of the creature.
Hounds of space and darkness: Stephen Innis returns like a dog to his vomit, to cover a topic he's examined twice before. Having handled real world tame dogs and wild canids in pretty decent detail, he now gives us three flavours of fantastic dog. Gith dogs are found among both the githyanki and githzerai, and were created by applying the same techniques to normal dogs that the illithids used on humans to make the gith in the first place, proving that the abused becomes the abuser in fantasy worlds as well. Lets hope they don't turn on their masters in turn, because they're pretty ferocious, and highly resistant to mental control, making them well suited to pounce on mind flayers in a pack, ignoring their primary attacks and ripping them to shreds. They're a pretty good addition to their tactical arsenal, that I'm vaguely surprised I've never seen before. We also get the Xotzcoyotl, or cave dogs, which can be found living with all sorts of underground creatures, in various breeds. With superlative hearing and smell, it's pretty much a waste of time trying invisibility around them. While not very pretty (unless you find hairless bats cute. ) they too can make a loyal companion for an adventurer, helping you deal with hazards even demihumans would be hard pressed to detect until it's too late. A welcome return for one of our regular writers. He's producing content as well researched and solidly designed as ever.
Fun without fighting: Speaking of regulars, here's Scott Bennie again, with another quick reminder that there are plenty of plots you can have without combat, and your personal badassedness and degree of social respect and influence are not always related. Romance, children, business, honour, social climbing. All are valid goals you can have a lot of fun striving for. While not bad at all, this is the third bit of basic roleplaying advice in one issue. I'm feeling a bit tired of that by now, especially as we're not even halfway through yet. I hope there were some more recently started readers that are getting more out of this stuff than I am, because they have been pushing it strongly since 1983, and I think I have it pretty well internalized by now. Course, that doesn't necessarily mean I'll be able to put it into practice, and actually run games any better, but we can certainly hope.
) Anyway, once again, we're getting a big batch of stuff from the ruins of Myth Drannor. (What's the betting that when FR becomes a full setting, that'll be one of the first places to get a supplement dedicated to it.) The horned mask gives you lots of cool perception related powers. The veil mask keeps your mind from being read. The winged mask lets you fly. The Skull mask protects you from undead special abilities, but also pisses them off, so they attack you first. Better make sure a Defender is wearing it then. The mask of magic lets you see magical energies. The fanged mask lets you chomp on your enemies. The mirror mask reflects gaze attacks back. The mask of silence lets you prevent other creatures from making any sound, perfect for assassins. And the mask of winds is basically just a gasmask, protecting you from nasty poisonous gasses and the like. Not a very inspired collection this month. Very few of them have the quirky additional effects we've come to know and love from Ed, and the setting and historical chatter has been almost completely cut to focus on their mechanical properties. You'd barely know it was him at all. Which isn't very pleasing, even if they're still entirely usable. What's up with that? Hopefully he'll get back on form soon. 
