As DM, ever TRIED a T.P.K. -- and FAILED?

[Rel]

It's not a trilogy; it's a novel in three parts.

That's a pretty fine distinction, but your point is well taken. I knew going into Paths that it probably wasn't going to have a "firm" resolution so I wasn't really disappointed. And one of the primary reasons that I enjoy Brust is the interactions between the characters moreso than the larger story. So that was another plus. I also particularly liked the "how to write like Paarfi" section at the back (dunno if that appeared in the hardback).

Oh, and to put an even finer distinction on your point above, it is actually (I'm guessing), a novel in six parts. That is assuming that the next two books are broken into halves with 17 chapters each, as has been the case with all the Paarfi Romances.

 

[LGodamus]

Sorry, couldn't help it, but this is a pet peeve of mine. Jumping through windows is nowhere near as casual a matter as adventure movies pretend it is. From Insultingly Stupid Movie Physics:

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That said, I'm not sure my players would be at all pleased if I made them suffer 5d6 points of damage for jumping through a window, so I'd probably let it slide, as did you.

yes glass is really sharp and dangerous...but you are saying 5d6? you realize that is as much as a grenade?....or 2 1/2 full strikes from a greatsword?

glass isnt THAT bad.

 

[MerakSpielman]

yes glass is really sharp and dangerous...but you are saying 5d6? you realize that is as much as a grenade?....or 2 1/2 full strikes from a greatsword?

glass isnt THAT bad.

OK, I might have been exagerating for effect...

but I guess in the real world you have extra things to worry about that are abstracted out of existence in D&D, like severing arteries and bleeding to death slowly if you don't get medical attention, or having fingers sliced off, or having shards of glass embedded in their flesh that need to be removed with surgury. Also, most everyday IRL people wear little to no protection against slicing damage, especially on their arms, heads or hands.

Most glass these days is safety glass. It's designed to break with curved edges (it's still sharp, but not razor-sharp), and a transparent filiment layer prevents the pane from shattering into a thousand pieces. It would suck to have, say, a non-safety glass sliding glass door. If you break the pane near the bottom, it could shatter all the way up to the top, creating the guillitine-type effect the article mentions - like razor blades, but with more mass. I don't find it too hard to believe that a pointy piece could pierce the skull like a dagger.

Also, it very much depends on exactly how you break the glass. Going through the pane is bad, since you have to deal with tiny fragments that are having your nice tender body shoved up against them. The faster you're going through the window, the worse this effect becomes. Staying put in the plane where the glass existed is the worst, since the glass above your position is busy falling on you, while you just sit there and take the loads of hurt until it finishes. However, it seems perfectly reasonable to assume that you could strike the glass hard enough to break it, but not hard enough to pass through it or enter its plane. Then the glass would fall to pieces in front of you and leave you reasonably unharmed.

BTW, you'll notice a distinct lack of people posting saying they didn't survive going through a plate glass window. Doesn't prove anything, of course, but you'll always be able to talk to many people who have survived an event, and few people who haven't. Doesn't make the event any safer.

 

[Henry]

...but you'll always be able to talk to many people who have survived an event, and few people who haven't. Doesn't make the event any safer.

In fact, I'd go so far as to say that unless you're John Edwards, you won't talk to ANYONE who "didn't survive the event."

 

[LGodamus]

John Edwards is a necromancer

 

[Vahktang]

BTW, you'll notice a distinct lack of people posting saying they didn't survive going through a plate glass window. Doesn't prove anything, of course, but you'll always be able to talk to many people who have survived an event, and few people who haven't. Doesn't make the event any safer.

You will also notice that we do not have people posting:

My (cousin, brother, friend, friend of a friend, guy I know, guy I know of) died from walking through a window.

Glass is dangerous.
So are swords.
D6 can kill a peasent.
And that's enough damage for a window.

And don't forget inertia when going through a window.
Running through it rather than walking has to be less damaging.
The glass wouldn't travel with you as much and you'd have less chance of being cut.

But that's just my opinion.

More later,

Vahktang

 

[Rel]

John Edwards is a necromancer

I think a pretty strong case can be made for Rogue too...

 

[LGodamus]

maybe ole jon is a charlatan Bard?