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In the spring of 1978 my players and I decided to ban Raise Dead and Resurrection. Since then I've ran many campaigns with lots of different players but kept the ban. Only of handful of the players ever complained. The vast majority were fine with it. As a player, I refused offers of Raise...

With all due respect to Umbran's experience in the SCA my experience with sword & shield as well as polearme has been a little different: When fighting with sword & shield, I would rush the polearm guys and get in close, attempting to pin their weapon. Most polearm fighters can't fight in...

Roll a d4: 1. Charlemagne’s Paladins Historical Campaign Sourcebook 2. A Mighty Fortress Histroical Campaign Sourcebook 3. The Crusades Historical Campaign Sourcebook. 4. Lionheart Living in History England 1190 AD by Edwin King published by Columbia Publications. Honourable Mentions: Robin...

For now we see through a glass, darkly; Yes I created and ran Grymwurld™ for around 25 years. “… No one doubted in the Middle Ages that the vast majority would be eternally damned. Salvandorum paucitas, damnadorum multitudo (Few saved, many damned) was the stern principle maintained from...

What's wrong with barbarians dominating a Conan-themed campaign? My interpretation of the REH Conan stories I've read is that barbarians dominate the campaign at low to mid levels but that sorcerers dominate at high levels. Note "sorcerer" in the Sword & Sorcery genre is not the same as the...

My bachelor party was an all-night D&D game. I was so bleary-eyed and tired the next day that some wedding guests said that I must've partyied pretty hard. If only they knew…!

QFT

I shamelessly base NPCs on people I know or knew. Why make up NPCs when you can populate your world with your family, neighbors, co-workers, classmates, bosses, and teachers? I've even recycled PCs from old campaigns -- it's good to keep character sheets from your players. In fact on more...

I applaud your astute answer! However, in the real world there are illiterate farmers in developing nations that accuse a successful neighbor of using black magic. And seek the help of illiterate "witch doctors" or "white witches" to remove curses. For that matter some scientists in...

Thanks, I will. :)

IIRC the RAW says that adventuring (PC) classes are only available to adventurers. All others must use the NPC classes. A commoner who becomes a blacksmith probably takes levels in expert. A commoner who achieves a ledership position in the community probably takes levels in aristocrat. An...

Agreed. But the poor farmer's wife did know a few charms to protect against 'elf-shot' and how to placate faeries. The farmer himself most likely performed rituals to ensure a bountiful crop and fertile yardstock. All in all a combination of cantrips and orisons. Not exactly game breaking. ;)

These are the same societies that hold on to 'magical thinking.' The same societies that try to influence the weather, fertility (crops, animals, humans), and in the case of non-Muslim Africa and South Asia still perform traditional religious observations that the West refer to as...

I disagree. My interpretation of the RAW is that it applies to all denizens. Why can't an NPC Commoner or Aristocrat take a level in Adept? I personally agree with this idea and think it applies to the Sorcerer class per the RAW. In the AD&D 2nd Ed Viking & Celtic historical campaigns this...

I voted Wizard because a wizard can learn any arcane spell.

Rtfm! All very interesting ideas but . . . they are in conflict with the RAW! By the RAW, the barbarian is the only class which has illiteracy as a class feature. By the RAW, it takes an Intelligence of 10, a Charisma of 10, or a Wisdom of 10 to learn and cast spells and to take a level in a...

Long Live the SCA Lord Griffith Dragonlake, AoA as registered with the Society for Creative Anachronisms (www.sca.org). Also an NPC in Grymwurld™ and a PC in Diablo, Diablo 2, and Diablo 2 LoD. My other nickname is The Grymlorde™ which is derived from my being the creator of Grymwurld.

Judges' Guild invented THAC0 I'm fairly certain that THAC0 was used by Judges' guild prior to 1e. I distinctly remember playing OD&D (White Box) with some Judges' guild weapon cards and THAC0 tables in Spring/Summer of 1978.

Whenever I see threads like this, I'm reminded of the new stories about how many times a pcp-crazed guys shot by the police and still keeps attacking. I also remember a samurai movie where the hero got shot by so many arrows (in armor) that he looked like a porcupine but still sliced and diced...

I think that in European folktalkes & mythology elves were like prepubescent (“tweens”) humans as they were described as perpetual children. IMC Grymwurld, I describe Elves as being physically similar to East Asian Humans, e.g. Chinese, Vietnamese, etc. That is, they have significantly less...