Reminiscing, Re:AD&D (Games 1 & 2 in progress in Playing the Game Forum....)

[Leif]

Would you be planning pure Player's Handbook for characters or would you bringing in that new-fangled Unearthed Arcana? Do you have an idea of what you want to run (a world of your own to share perhaps) or is the deciding still in the works?

I'm thinking for now that we'd stick to the three first books only - PH, MM, & DMG. Might be negotiable later on.

Don't forget your thief skills. My, Turthain of the Emerald Cloak may be 1st level for a while!

True, very true.

If you are just using the PHB multi class elves that are thieves cannot wear chainmail.

Multi-class thieves can wear chainmail, but can use none of the thief abilities whilst doing so.

Yes, this is absolutely correct, MerricB has the correct interpretation, and this also includes the backstab ability!

Yep, confirmed this in my PHB a few minutes ago.

So now we have:

DM: Leif
Players:
1. Jacob Marley - L/G Cleric of Pholtus
2. Kravell
3. steeldragons
4. Rhun- Elf Ftr/M-U/Thief
5. Keldryn

House Rules Evolving List:
A. Permissible Sources: PHB, DMG. Unearthed Arcana is NOT allowed.
B. Char Gen -- roll 4d6, discard lowest, to generate 8 scores, two to be dropped at player's discretion. Then modify for race and age. Unearthed Arcana is not allowed, so no Comliness.
C. Max HP at first level.
D. Clerics add Wis bonus and half caster level to dice rolled for cure spells, up to spell's maximum, so no more than 8 for CLW.
E. Druids only add Wis bonus to their cure spells.
F. A Bard may be permitted if someone gets OUTSTANDING ability rolls and wants to play one. [If we have two who qualify, I'm going to seriously consider calling BS!]
G. Magic-User/Illusionist starting spells will be rolled randomly by the DM.
[There will surely be more to follow]

MerricB and Crothian, are you just dropping in to be helpful or do you want to play, too? Six would be quite a large party, especially for PbP, but given that we've already had one player say that he can only post 3 times per week if we're lucky, it could work, I guess. It would also allow for a very diverse party, and let some lesser-used classes/races be explored further.

Class ability score requirements to be strictly enforced. I tend to disfavor triple-classed characters, Rhun, but I could see allowing one (and only one).

 

[MerricB]

MerricB and Crothian, are you just dropping in to be helpful or do you want to play, too?

Mainly to be helpful. I dislike PbP, and I've got enough face-to-face gaming to keep me busy. (And, with any luck, one or more of my players may soon be running an AD&D session).

Cheers!

 

[Leif]

Mainly to be helpful. I dislike PbP, and I've got enough face-to-face gaming to keep me busy. (And, with any luck, one or more of my players may soon be running an AD&D session).

Cheers!

Well, thanks! I wish you well with your gaming endeavors. Are you sure that I can't con you into DMing this little shindig? I'd kinda like to play, too....

 

[Leif]

Would you be planning pure Player's Handbook for characters or would you bringing in that new-fangled Unearthed Arcana? Do you have an idea of what you want to run (a world of your own to share perhaps) or is the deciding still in the works?

Didn't mean to overlook this question earlier. No Unearthed Arcana. My Arcana is still dirty as he**.

In the past, I always homebrewed my AD&D worlds. However, what with E.G.G. having passed and all, I tend to get all rheumy-eyed and wistful when I think of Greyhawk, so perhaps we should use that setting. Seems like there ought to be some resources that would lend themselves to an online game lurking on some server somewhere, like some electronic maps in a cobbwebby corner of some Wall Street Firm's server or something. That would be cool if we can find something like that, but if not I have hardcopies of the maps, so we can cobble something together. (Assuming that I can still find them, that is.....)

 

[Leif]

Honestly, I didn't really think this would come together as quickly as it has. I find myself in dire need of a detailed campaign plan, a map or three complete with key(s), and a city/town map and a map of at least a piece of a continent/kingdom/province to use. One thing that occurs to me is that we could use the CityState of the Invincible Overlord, I'd just have to stick it in Greyhawk somewhere, which presents little difficulty. And there are about a kazillion adventure hooks lurking behind every other wench of easy virtue in the CityState. {Man I just LURRVE Judges Guild!}

 

[Jacob Marley]

Honestly, I didn't really think this would come together as quickly as it has. I find myself in dire need of a detailed campaign plan, a map or three complete with key(s), and a city/town map and a map of at least a piece of a continent/kingdom/province to use. One thing that occurs to me is that we could use the CityState of the Invincible Overlord, I'd just have to stick it in Greyhawk somewhere, which presents little difficulty. And there are about a kazillion adventure hooks lurking behind every other wench of easy virtue in the CityState. {Man I just LURRVE Judges Guild!}

Rel Astra would be a very fitting City State of the Invincible Overlord.

...

I am looking at running:

Odo, Acolyte of Pholtus
Male Human Cleric
Lawful Good
Experience 0 (+10% bonus for high Wisdom)

Strength 14
Intelligence 12
Wisdom 17
Dexterity 13
Constitution 13
Charisma 13

[I'll finishing fleshing him out tomorrow.]

 

[Leif]

Greyhawk, CityState, and Deities

Greyhawk/CityState
I'm not familiar with Rel Astra. I did some excavating in my closet and found my Greyhawk boxed set, so that's good. Unfortunately, I couldn't locate CityState. And I was really looking forward to using it! It would have made my job about a thousand times easier, too. Drat! Oh, well, I'll keep looking, but I don't hold out much hope of finding it. So, until then, I guess it's on to Plan B! As soon as I figure out what that is, I'll clue you in. I also found my DM screens, so I have attack matrices now!

NOTE ON DEITIES!!
What I'm thinking about using is the Melnibonean Mythos from the 1st printing of Deities & Demigods. Donblas is the only good deity named in that mythos, I think. He's L/G, but we'll just say that he is the patron of all good worshippers of the pantheon. There are some elemental-type deities for neutrals, and, of course, there's a wide variety of evil/demonic patrons, chief among whom is Arioch.

 

[Leif]

CityState of the Invincible Overlord

Great news! I found a pdf copy online! Now finding a particular street on the map will be quite a challenge, but they're there somewhere! (Speaking of religion --- in CityState there are weird temples on just about every corner. These so-called 'deities' may or may not be what they claim to be. Clerics cast First Level spells with the energy in their own minds/bodies/spirits so what is commonly offered as 'proof' of a deities existence is actually invalid as proof of anything beyond the cleric's belief in the deity. Second-Fifth Level spells are granted by increasingly powerful minions of the deity. [Or minions of some deity wishing to perpetuate belief in the deity in question.] Sixth and Seventh Level spells come directly from the deity himself/herself. We'll go ahead and stick with the Melnibonean Mythos as primary, Donblas (L/G) being the most powerful good deity, worshipped by all Good alignments and even some Neutrals, mostly Lawful/Neutrals. [I'll allow clerics of all good alignments and even L/N to worship Donblas, to keep it simple.] There are dozens, hundreds, scads of churhes/temples all across the CityState. Most of these are dedicated to false gods -- the temples exist to ensnare the unwary and the gullible, and separate them from ther coin. There are some, however, that are truly malevolent and dangerously wicked.

The Overlord himself is probably on the questionable side of Neutral at best. (Like the saying goes: 'power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.') Nevertheless, he does manage to pull off a delicate balancing act and keep the powers in the CityState played-off against one another more or less evenly. It is likely that anyone vested with such power would eventually succumb to temptation and fall from grace at least somewhat. Therefore, while it might seem desirable to replace the Overlord with a Paladin, or other L/G Paragon of Virtue, there is really no viable way to do this, even if the current Overlord could be removed from power, which would be the very definition of a Formidable task.

 

[Keldryn]

Leif, do you have room for one more?

Never actually played PbP before!

 

[Leif]

Pholtus

I have no problem with your cleric worshipping Pholtus, Jacob M., as long as we can agree that Pholtus is an avatar, or a version, of Donblas. This will make no difference to you by and large. Your character will recognize Pholtus as his deity, and Donblas as Pholtus's boss or superego. Is that going to be a problem for you? Because if it is, we'll talk about it, and I'll try again.