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Thanks for catching that. Sorry for the error.

I randomly came upon a source for my own supposition. I was listening to an interview with Lawrence Whitaker (co-designer of Mythras and other BRP games for many years), and he said RuneQuest came about when Steve Perrin decided to adapt the Thief skill system into a full percentile skill...

It does kinda suck, though it would be awkward to fix now. Supposed they started including a code to redeem for a free PDF: all old purchasers just don’t get it? Selling through B&N, Amazon, etc also doesn’t seem as optimized for the physical plus PDF system. DriveThruRPG offers it, but Wizards...

Cloud Giant 26 Cloud Giant Smiling One 18 Cyclops 28 Ettin 28 Fire Giant 27 Fire Giant Dreadnought 17 Fog Giant 20 Frost Giant 33 Frost Giant Everlasting One 7 Guardian Giant 18 Hill Giant 28 Hill Giant Sergeant 13 Hill Giant Subchief 11 Ice Troll 14

I agree that the OG Thief has tons of issues. The best example was just how poorly defined backstab was. I skipped over 2E (it never seemed different enough from 1E to warrant the new rules purchase and I was exploring other games by them), but in those original incarnations it was essentially...

My favorite personal conceit is that magic enchantment only works a single way: an item can be enchanted with qualities but not any great deal of power. The power of the item grows over time. There are no exceptions to this rule in my metaphysics. Thus, magic items become valued antiques and...

Cloud Giant 27 Cloud Giant Smiling One 18 Cyclops 26 Dire Troll 6 Ettin 26 Fire Giant 26 Fire Giant Dreadnought 19 Fog Giant 19 Frost Giant 32 Frost Giant Everlasting One 10 Guardian Giant 18 Hill Giant 27 Hill Giant Sergeant 15 Hill Giant Subchief 15 Ice Troll 15 Here’s a vote to work toward...

This is all true, but I was disappointed in the way they changed Thief to Rogue starting in 3E. The “high DPS” archetype for Rogue has always seemed uninspired to me. They gave them more skills to replicate the older Thief, but none of them were mandatory. Most players would take Stealth at...

Those are some giant-sized assumptions. I was playing about 1979 onward, for whatever that’s worth. I referenced Basic Role-Playing, which was clearly based on D&D stats with percentile skills added, and Rolemaster, which literally began as options modules for D&D before become its own system...

While I wouldn’t be so bold as to claim this is untrue, I find it highly unlikely. As much as D&D grew out of wargaming, my recollection is the vast majority of other RPGs took their inspiration directly from D&D. there is very little trace of wargaming in most RPGs. That D&D serviced the...

The Thief skills may well have been the direct inspiration for many early percentile-based RPGs, like Basic Role-Playing and Rolemaster.

What does the black text represent?

Assassin Vine 5 Shambling Mound 6 Shrieker 7 Treant 5

I meant exactly what you're saying. When I said "ratcheted up the technology," I meant they improved the amount of gameable crunch and mechanical synergy so that it became the ideal playground for people who like to optimize systems. But that kind of play isn't fun for me in tabletop RPGs.

Shrieker is best. One of the few old school silly trap monsters that feels realistic and sensible. An all-time Classic!

2E: Getting repetitive by now, but yes it’s the campaign settings. Top 3 most interesting to me are Dark Sun, Birthright, Spelljammer (#1-#3 in that order). 3E: Tough for me because it lost the best part of 2E (settings) and ratcheted up the worst part of it.The splat book technology of 2E went...

Assassin Vine 12 Corpse Flower 8 Shambling Mound 14 Shrieker 12 Treant 4 Violet Fungus 3

A bold, yet sexy, recommendation.

49. First book was a beat up AD&D Monster Manual in 1979 or so, which my dad found in a giveaway box at the bookstore. He thought I’d like the pictures and fantasy statistics because I liked animal facts as a child. Shortly after, I cajoled my parents into getting me a Holmes boxed set. Mine...

Assassin Vine 17 Corpse Flower 12 Shambling Mound 16 Shrieker 11 Treant 11 Violet Fungus 11 What can I say? The 1E AD&D Monster Manual was the first RPG product I ever saw and owned.