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Rocket your D&D 5E and Level Up: Advanced 5E games into space! Alpha Star Magazine Is Launching... Right Now!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="(un)reason" data-source="post: 5786757" data-attributes="member: 27780">Dragon Magazine Issue 262: August 1999part 2/7Dungeoncraft: This month, Ray talks about making NPC's to fill your world with. This is one area where he sticks to his lesson of not doing more work than you need too. Only stat them up fully if they have a purpose in your campaign. Whether that's to create a challenge, provide plot hooks, be a source of services and equipment, or simply to look cool is up to you. Although I must warn about the dangers to excess exposition. Many players will ignore it, and wind up blundering into trouble. I guess that's another thing that's become a bit hackneyed since then, driven into the ground by huge unskippable cutscenes in computer RPG's. Of course, the fault could well be with the players as much as the DM. There's no shortage of annoying people on both sides of the screen, as both sage advice and the letters Ray gets prove. Once again, those are actually the most interesting part of the column, showing a little deranged creativity'll beat professionalism quite frequently at capturing the attention of people. I think they could do with letting a little more of that back into the magazine. Sage advice: Do charisma modifiers apply to all NPCs! (Yes. Don't be so surprised. Characters can still blow it by doing something stupid to piss them off. Even 19 charisma won't save you when you're caught in the treasury at midnight. ) Can you only use spellslaying in combat. (if you try it on someone out of combat, it'll become combat pronto. Messing up peoples magic is not something done in polite society. What does rain of blood do to characters with negative armor classes (not a lot)Do you take more damage if an arrow is stuck in you (no. Abstraction strikes again!)Is six dexterity checks to cross a single bridge too much. (if your DM thinks it's that hard, Skip's not going to stop him. )How exactly does stone shape progress over it's round. (Up to your GM to decide on the flavor text. But you definitely can't use it to crush people. Guess you'll have to settle for a slow lingering death instead. More time to gloat in) Can you stack a cloak of displacement and ring of blinking (oh yes. You can add on mirror image as well. Most confusing.)What are the real morale factors for henchmen and hirelings (Skip is the real morale booster. Oh Yeeeeeeeaaaaahhhhh. )What is the wisdom modifier for aleph 1 ( Your magical defense adjustment) What do you feel when a charm wears off. (Depends how they treated them while charmed. They do not automatically know they've been magicked. )What happens if you have both cover and concealment (use the better bonus)Is the first movement rate for the cube of force right (no) What level is darkening bolt (4th. Anyone using it as a 3rd level spell had better retcon sharpish) What does (rev) mean for sphere lists (read the book you're reading it in, because different authors tend to have different opinion on this) Can you create dimensional folding beneath someone's feet (no. It has to be an upright portal. You can create it and then push someone through though. )Can power words be used on creatures without minds ( Yes, if applicable)Can earth elementals be petrified (yes)How do fatigue points work. Do all these things deduct points (Yes. If you're a busy bunny, you get tired. )Can evil priests destroy paladins without a roll (no, thankfully. It's troublesome enough when they get turned and run away screaming. )  Skip is also going to start tackling Alternity stuff again. Lets do this while we still have a chance, and TSR cuts out the other stuff for good. Do mechalus data filaments count as NIJacks (yes) How do mechalus heal (normally. They may be mechanical, but they can still repair themselves. )Can you spend a last resort point to make an enemy critically fail (no. That's just mean)  How do you determine the result of a complex skill check (it's binary. Don't worry about it) How long does it take to use up the air in a powered down ship (quite a while. Lots of people will cut that down quickly though.) Can an accumulator be used with a mass reactor (no) Do you experience the time in drivespace (yes. It's pretty dull, usually.)What effect does punching a hole in the universe have in the long run ( Good question. None yet, but you never know when monstrosities from beyond space may start eating everything. )</blockquote>

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