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You could name it life ward . It would protect you from positive energy (duh!) and from spells like undeath to death. Possibly it would make searing light & Co. less effective, making you a non-undead creature for the purpose of these spells.

I started with a well-worn photocopy of the Rules Cyclopedia . That was the only incarnation of D&D in Russia known to me at the time.

And a horrible one indeed...

...Of pure bliss.

Cain , by Lord Byron. Poems of William Wordsworth & William Blake.

Being the iconic bookish wizard (and a real nerd in the real life), I'd go for Intelligence. As a counterweight, I have a real-life Wisdom of 5 or 6. No joke.

If you don't mind the over-pathetic (and unbeliavable in the worst sense) finale, a few approximations, and a somewhat ahistorical feel to this movie, it's really pretty good.

I don't remember the story names :( so I'll refer to the contents: -Fafhrd becoming a devotee of Issek. I've never laughed so much in my life. -Fafhrd's and Mouser's journey to Simorgia. Very creepy and Lovecraftian. -The infestation of furtive birds stealing valuables from the Lankhmarian...

And quite useful in NPCs' hands, too: causing cave-ins, drowning, etc.

Some spells (including sepia snake sigil , hallucinatory terrain , guards and wards etc.) are vastly more useful to NPCs than to PCs. Most nearly useless spells are grouped at level 0, but some still can be employed in times of great need.

Sort of. The movie (man, I really adore Johnny Depp :) ) was somewhat loosely based on the novel.

Having our heads handed to us by a bunch of really annoyed trolls. That was no fun.

In the Ancient Hebrew language, "Elim" means "gods". By "Elimi", the author presumably wanted to say "my gods" (or "my God", as God is referred to in plural form in the Hebrew Bible), but it's a wrong form; the correct one is "Elai" AFAIK. Leviathan is a titanic sea monster described in chapter...

Lord, I am not worthy of Thy coming to my abode, but just utter a word, and my soul shall be healed... And I had a B grade in Latin :).

Yeah, the Chosen One syndrome is also pretty annoying - especially in conjunction with the Farmboy syndrome :). But it'd been mentioned so many times that I decided not to include it as something self-evident. Females as main villains is a very interesting idea, hearkening back to very archaic...

Hey, I really love this thread. You've all pointed out really intolerable archetypes (should I say clichees?) - especially the one with farmboy-turned-hero and "standard issue fantasy". I really hate Eddings' Belgariad for that matter. To these, I would add: -Relative ethics. (George Martin...

That's quite true. Theosophical ideas have had a large deal of influence on Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, and a host of minor authors.

Ever since my debut in D&D, paladins have been my favorite characters. So the alignment is definitely LG. Alas, too few DMs are tolerant to paladins :(.

I started playing when I was 11 or 12 (don't remember exactly). This ol' battered photocopy of the Rules Cyclopedia is still one of my most treasured possessions.

Mythic monsters all the way, especially serpentine/reptilian in appearance. Basilisks, nagas, couatls, hydras, medusae... they just cry "I'm cool!" Although some D&D baddies like yuan-ti or saskrith also are my favorites.