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women get +2 to CON? Returning to the hijack ... I mean fascinating discussion of women's physical capacities… As I understand it, there is a lot of evidence that women have greater stamina and pain-tolerance than men. I saw a documentary years ago which tried to come up with a meaningful way...

Energy drain, permanent CON drain, kill (Why vampires are scary) As the title says: (1) Energy drain the target back to level 1; then (2) kill the target by permanelty draining CON to 0. Raising reduces level by 1 or, if the deceased is already level 1, reduces Con by 1... Thus vampires...

I'm not so sure this is evil, IMHO. If the paladins truly believe that each is a threat and or a disgrace to the order - and so long as they don't lie or cheat or murder, etc - I don't see this sort of ongoing fued as evil. Of course, taking pleasure in your rival's downfall and lacking...

Maybe I'm just pessimistic by nature, but I don't see selfishness as the essence of evil - in fact I see selfishness as the essence of neutrality (on the good-evil axis). My reasoning is that most people are selfish in RL and most people are neutral in DnD. Moreover, some of the most vile...

Good and Evils as kinds of Empathy I've always seen the good-evil axis on the alignment "graph" as representing levels of empathy. But with a slight twist. IMC, "good" is the ability to empathises with others, and a desire to live their joys and alleviate their pains. A "good' person is...

I do remember something in the rules to the effect that making an attack on someone means they automatically spot you, but with sniping, i find this a little unrealistic. From watching movies (we're talking cinematic realism here) and playing various video games (Goldeneye and Halo are good...

Re: Re: Gnomes as female dwarves Yes, but my ideas has both "genders" (dwarves and gnomes) behaving in a manner which more conventionally gendered races (humans, elves, halflings) would consider masculine. To the extent that humans, et al perceive a particular dwarf as female or (more likely)...

Gnomes as female dwarves A few years ago I had a quirky campaign idea. There's this ongioing problem with the idea of female dwarves. Are they bearded and look like male dwarves to non-dwarves? Are the recognisably female but for cultural reasons they are kept sequestered at home? Then we...

Post Traumatic Stress Just an idea off the top of my head... In Martin Seligman's book What You Can Change and What You Can't he presents a chillingingly persuasuve case for whay post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), as opposed to depression and anxiety, can't be cured. His argument seems...

Lineage of Anduril (aka Narsil) Narsil ("Sun-Moon") was forged by Telchar of Nogrod, a dwarf, in the First Age. Telchar also forged Angrist ("Iron-Cleaver"), which Beren took from one of Feanor's sons (can't remember the name, one of the really nasty ones) and used to cut the Silmaril from...

Hong, are you and actuary? Hong, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while. One of my former players (when I lived in Sydney up until a few months ago) is an actuary and, when people inevitably ask, "What's an actuary?" she describes it as, "A kind of financial statistician." I remember...

One of the things I found most impressive about Jackson's adaptation of LotR was the use of the "Other Realm". When Frodo wears the ring and when he is close to becomming a wraith, he sees into this "Other Realm". In this realm mere mortals are just faint shadows (e.g. the patrons at teh...

This discussion is great. it's waht i call "real" scinece fistion: positing a change in the lwas of nature or a technological development and then working ot the likely consequences of that change. For a look at what migt happen to or modern society if lifespans were greatly increased, see Kim...

Give Half-Elves a Break! Yeah, I've also nitced the drop-off in the use of half-elves as a PC race. It bothers me. From a role playing perspective, half-elves make perfect sense as adventurers. Thier inability to fully "fit-in" to either race's soceity (chiefly becuase of their mis-matched...

What we know... We know Palpatine was the Senator from Naboo at the start of TPM. That tends to indicate that he was from Naboo. If he wasn't born there, he'd have had to be a long-standing immigrant. Of course it's possible that planets hire political "professionals" from outside to be their...

Skill vs Power I think one of the themes of the books is magical skill and knowledge vs magical power. Think of it as strength vs technique in a fistfight. An untrained but very strong man is almost certainly going to be pasted by a much weaker but well trained one; but if they both had the...

A couple of points: 1. Jango Fett is not necessarily the "Number One Assasin in the Galaxy". The Jedi (i.e. the Galactic Police) had never heard of him. He's clearly very good (he fought Obi-Wan to a standstill, though with some significant tactical advantages), but there's nothing to say he's...

Re: Re: Palpatine's chair Ah, KidC, wise you are in the ways of the geek. Hmmm. :)

Theory for SW-III. Everybody expect the third film to end with Anakin strapping on the balck armour and helmet and becoming Darth Vader. I’ve heard a rumour to the contrary which would be So cool if it were true. SW-III opens with the Jedi being very afraid. The Clone Wars have dangerously...

Palpatine's chair The chair in which Supreme Chancellor Palpatine sits in his office in "Attack of the Clones" is the same chair in which the Emporer (i.e. Palpatine) sits in "Return of the Jedi". Also, the guards outside the Chancellor's office are wearing the same helmets and uniforms as the...