Recent content by gideonn

Box v PDF Sorry, but, ahem, I am a real collector, of pre 3.0 stuff. But in the new world of 3.0, 3.5 and whatever else they have in store, I am willing, and even prefer, the PDFs. Hard drives and CDs are bigger than my basement.

PDF v. box Unless you are a real collector of D&D memorabilia, the PDF should be fine. Especailly considering the very low price. While the boxed set is beautiful, the big book is going to get, or will likely be, all bent out of shape. You can print the PDF out, you'll have easier access to...

low charisma and ugly Back in the days when I rolled dice to generate PCs, using 3d6, I came up with many good numbers, and one 3. I put the 3 in charisma. I decided that it would mean her face was disfigured in some horrible way. But how could she move about in public. I had her wear a veil...

It was supposed to be a relaxing Sunday afternoon playing a Living Greyhawk adventure with a set table of people I know and have gamed with before. And then . . . It seems that there were some extra players who were onsight earlier, playing an intro mod, and now they wanted to play in this...

And. TM, the best thing you are doing is just kinda watching, and sharing with us about it. We can enjoy their youthful exuberance and creativity vicariously. The moment you, or any of us, were to join in, chime in, or try to fit in, their game would become your/our game and their fun would be...

I think your experience is not of the norm, at least not today's norm. I have run game clubs in the high schools where I have taught since c. 1980. In the eighties club, there was only one girl during the three years the club lasted. But this girl did play in my outside of school game along with...

THAC0 v I Hit The only difference I note between the old THAC0 and the new 'I hit' is one of certainty, or uncertainty. In THAC0 the average player stated, "I hit AC 2." Now the average player asks, "Does 18 hit?" I currently run a PBEM in which the older PCs are 2nd Ed and the newer ones are...

all dressed up? Many years ago, after being the DM for too long, I got someone else to agree to run an adventure. I was playing a 'mysterious' PC whose alignment and class(es) were kept secret. To enhance this image I had a black hat, a black cloth to serve as a cloak, and even a cudgel at the...

Annual Spending I no sooner clicked 200-400 than I started a mental recalculation and more likely went 4-6. Still, this is a far cry from the good old days of TSR when I bought pretty much everything they published. Now my tastes vary more than just pure AD&D, not that it strictly speaking...

spending In the good old days of TSR and early days of Wizards I bought just about every supplement for either FR or Greyhawk. Since the switch to 3.0 and the quick fix of 3.5 I've become much more selective. So, put me in the 20-50 range. JJ

One solution: dump him It is that simple. The moment he termed the other PCs as 'crap,' the die was cast. Stop beating yourself up over this. Tell him to take a hike, hit the road, get lost. Been through this three times in three different game groups, and the person never changed. Doubt they...

Dwellers This was the second official mod I ever owned. I DM'd it many years ago, probably as a first edition game/group. Getting into the city was fun as that part had been used as a tournament mod, if I recall correctly. Once in the city things bogged down as there were only so many set...

old is as old does Funny, but I was reflecting on this a couple of weeks back when at 7:30AM on a Saturday morning I was driving downtown Montreal, Jet was playing 'Cold Hard B****' on the radio, and I was heading first to the Peel Pub for breakfast, then on to HyperBorea gaming store where I...

Never trust a woman My players no longer trust female NPCs of any kind. There were a spate of evil trickster type females for a while and that was it. Now even if she is a lawful good palladin of Heronius, they will still not trust her.

As a DM I regularly award bonuses to rolls for most skills when the player describes his actions, speaks his diplomacy, gather info, intimidate and the like. This encourages more roleplaying from everyone, including the NPCs. While the skills were a welcomed addition to D & D, if used just as...