According to both the Monster Manual
and the Dungeon Masters Guide, the average
dwarf in the AD&D® game stands four
feet tall and weighs 150 pounds. To some,
the weight given may seem a bit high, even
for so stocky and dense a creature as the
typical dwarf is supposed to be. Well, it is
high. In fact, a six-foot-tall man built on the
same lines would weigh more than 500
pounds!

This is not a guess, but the result of a
simple calculation. If a dwarf stood six feet
tall (1½ times taller than four feet) and
retained the same proportions he had at the
four-foot height, he would weigh (1½
cubed) times as much: 1½ times 1½ times
1½ times 150 pounds is about 506 pounds.
The basis for the calculation performed
above is a fundamental rule of solid geometry.
The weight (or volume) of an object is
proportional to the product of its linear
dimensions (height, length, and width).
This can be demonstrated with a set of

cubes (6-sided dice are ideal). If, for instance,
a cube is made twice as long, twice
as wide, and twice as high as it was, its
weight is increased eightfold: 2 times 2
times 2, or one factor for each dimension.
The same rule applies to any object, for any
increase or decrease in size. (If you have 27
dice available, the results of a threefold
increase in each of the three dimensions can
be shown; 3 times 3 times 3 is 27.) Conversely,
if something is reduced by 20%, to
eight-tenths of its former height, and its
proportions in all three dimensions remain
the same, then its new weight will be (0.8
cubed) times the old weight: 0.8 times 0.8
times 0.8 is 0.512, so the object?s new
weight is a little more than half of what it
formerly was.

Such a simple and straightforward relationship
may be presumed to hold in the
AD&D game universe just as it does in the
real world, so that the probable weight of
any size creature can be calculated, given

an initial height and weight for comparison
and assuming no change in proportions.
The table below gives weights for humanshaped
creatures of various heights, based
on proportions of the typical human male in
the AD&D game (6 feet tall, 175 pounds).
With the exception of the first entry, the
weights given are rounded to the nearest
pound.
 

Height	Weight	Examples
1/2	1/10	galltrit
1 1/2	3	brownie
2	6	leprechaun, sprite
2 1/2	13	pixie
3	22	gnome, halfling, kobold
3 1/2	35	-
4	52	dwarf, goblin
4 1/2	74	mountain dwarf
5	101	elf
5 1/2	135	half-elf
6	175	orc
6 1/2	223	hobgoblin, tabaxi
7	278	bugbear, gnoll
7 1/2	342	-
8	415	yeti, qullan
8 1/2	498	-
9	592	ogre, troll
9 1/2	696	-
10	811	giant troll
10 1/2	939	hill giant, ogre mage
11	1080	-
12	1402	fire giant, stone giant
13	1783	ettin
14	2227	mountain giant
15	2739	frost giant
16	3324	-
17	3987	-
18	4732	cloud giant, titan
19	5566	-
20	6941	-
21	7515	storm giant

With radical differences in build or composition,
some of the creatures listed, might
be expected to average as little as half or as
much as twice the weight given. The stocky
dwarves, for instance, are probably at least
as heavy as elves, and the broad-bodied fire
giants probably weigh as much as frost
giants. A difference of more than a factor of
2, however, is unlikely in flesh-and-blood
beings. Even extraplanar creatures might be
expected to weigh about as much as their
less fantastic equivalents.

While giants can be expected to bulk
about as large as indicated, they might not
actually weigh that much. If they did, they
would probably collapse into hamburger
when they tried to stand up. This is because
weight increases with the product of the
three linear dimensions, but structural
strength only increases with the crosssectional
area, which is the product of two
dimensions. A giant's bones, ligaments, and
whatnot are therefore weak in proportion to
the weight they must bear. Someone of two
times human height has four times the
structural strength (2 squared), but eight
times the weight (2 cubed). Elephants have
proportionately thick legs in an attempt to
compensate for this fact; and elephant-sized
gazelle would be unable to move.

Most giants in the AD&D game, in the
tradition of giants everywhere, show few
signs of such an adaptation. Though they
are gross and coarse of feature and limb,
they are not nearly as thick as they need to
be; their proportions are essentially humanlike
(fire giants, being "almost like
dwarves," may be an exception, depending
on how thick you think dwarves are). Hill
giants, at a mere ten feet tall, are still relatively
safe, and the stocky fire giants might
be all right, but the larger giants would be
in serious trouble if they didn't inhabit an
imaginary universe.

Fortunately, their world is a magical one.
They are probably supported by some
permanent variant of the levitate spell, with
bone-strengthening magic thrown in for
good measure. Interestingly, the larger
giants (storm and cloud giants), like the
equally huge titans, have true levitation
powers -- perhaps a natural extension of
the talents of their lesser brethren.

While giants might be lighter (though not
less massive) than otherwise expected, there
is no such good reason why AD&D game
dwarves should be extraordinarily heavy. As
mentioned before, the official weight would
seem to imply a creature with either the
build or composition of a cannonball. With
bones of stone and muscles that would
frighten a bodybuilder, a dwarf still couldn?t
be expected to weigh as much as 150
pounds. That figure, remember, is only
average. At the top of the scale a four-foottall
dwarf might weigh as much as 174
pounds.

Since this is after all a fantasy game, it
might be argued that it doesn't matter how
much dwarves are defined as weighing.
However, it is just such realistic-looking
details as a character's height and weight
that make for a more willing suspension of
disbelief during a game session. Otherwise,
why bother with such statistics in the first
place? Plausibility, or "realism" as it is
sometimes called, is definitely a factor in the
enjoyment of even a fantasy game; the more
so where the game makes a relatively close
approach to reality.

Dwarves are not the only implausibly
heavy creatures in the AD&D game.
Gnomes and halflings are also extraordinarily
dense (or rotund) if the official figures
are accepted. This is readily apparent from

the previous table, but it is even more obvious
if the various races are compared at a
standard height. Given the proportions
indicated on page 102 of the Dungeon
Masters Guide, the table below shows how
much average members of the various
character races would weigh at a height of
5½ feet:
 

-	Male	Female
Dwarf	390	354
Elf	133	146
Gnome	310	363
Half-elf	130	121
Halfling	370	400
Half-orc	150	145
Human	135	130

Aside from heavy dwarves, gnomes, and
halflings (especially female halflings), certain
other peculiarities are revealed by this
comparison. For instance, elves are more
heavily built than half-elves. It is also apparent
that human and half-human females
weigh less for their height than do their
brothers. This is not the case with realworld
humans. In fact, the reverse is true,
due to differences in build. Though women
average lighter than men in absolute terms;
they are proportionately heavier, as may be
seen if the above exercise is carried out with
data from actual human populations.
Women mature earlier than men do, and
their long bones stop growing sooner. Evidently
shorter limbs, along with wider hips
and more body fat, more than make up for
the broader shoulders and heavier musculature
of the average male.

Other features of the official height and
weight tables are as questionable, and no
more difficult to uncover. For instance,
human males are 9% taller than females,
whereas in the real world this difference is
smaller. This ought to be rectified in the
interest of fairness if nothing else; combined
with the aforementioned slenderness, such
low stature ensures that female characters
will have a good deal less weight to throw
around than do males. As for the nonhuman
races, their sexes should be even
closer in height, since they are in other
respects more similar than men and
women. "Mannish" features, such as a
deeper voice, more body and facial hair, a
coarser face, and broader shoulders are
notable in female dwarves, gnomes, and
half-orcs, while these features are reduced
or absent in male elves, half-elves, and
halflings.

With halflings, there is still another argument
against females being smaller than
males. This is simply that if they were, they
would be at a serious disadvantage. According
to the DMG, female halflings average
only 33 inches tall. This is only a little more
than the height of a one-year-old human,
and significantly less than the height of the
average two-year-old. It is hard to imagine
so small an individual wielding so much as
a kitchen knife, much less a dagger. A short
sword would almost certainly be a two-
handed weapon. If such small people go
adventuring, they risk being stepped on by
a careless companion. The average height
of gnomes as given in the DMG has very
sensibly been increased by half a foot over
the figure given in the Monster Manual,
from 3 to 3½ feet. This is a large increase
(almost 20%), but a necessary one if
gnomes (and especially female gnomes) are
to be viable as player characters. Halflings
should also be taller than indicated in the
Monster Manual, to make them more
believable as adventurers and to bring them
level once more with gnomes.

Another problem with the official height
and weight tables is that the humans they
produce are too tall. If humans in the
AD&D game are to resemble real ones, they
should be a good deal shorter. The aborigines
of Sweden, Patagonia, and the upper
Nile, some of the tallest humans in the
world, average no more than 5' 10" or
5' 11" for healthy young men, and in most
of the rest of the world 5½ feet is closer to
the average. By AD&D rules, men stand
6 feet tall. The official tables are geared to
the production of giants; a height of 6½ feet
is unremarkable, and 7-foot-tall men are
almost commonplace. Arguably, fighter
characters should be tall, but this does not
apply to other character classes. While it
might be argued that a tall character is
more dramatic, the fun of playing one soon
palls when there are many more of the
same.

There are problems with the structure of
the official system as well. Height and
weight are determined independently of one
another, with the result that tall characters
are often thin, and short ones stout. The
taller or shorter the character, the more
likely it is that he or she will be freakishly
over or under weight. Also, the fact that
character height and weight are in no way
related to strength scores produces such
anomalies as the 18-strength fighter with the
build of a toothpick.

Lastly, the official height and weight
tables do not make provision for all the
allowable character races. Mountain
dwarves are ignored, as are the two special
sub-types of halfling.

If the problems described above are to be
resolved, then the height and weight tables
are in need of wholesale revision. Just such
a radically revised system is offered below.
While it doesn't slavishly imitate reality

Table A: Average heights (in inches)
 

Race	Males	Females
Dwarf	48	46
Dwarf, mountain	52	50
Elf, high	60	57
Gnome	42	40
Half-elf	61-66	57-62
Halfling	42	40
Halfling, stout	39	37
Halfling, tallfellow	45	43
Half-orc	61-66	58-63
Human	62-72	57-67

Table B1: Variation from average height

Dice score       Percent variation

(d1000)	Humans	Others
001-005	-(13-16)	-(10-12)
006-025	-( 9-12)	-( 7-9 )
026-150	-( 5-8 )	-( 4-6 )
151-350	-( 1-4 )	-( 1-3 )
351-650	none	none
651-850	+( 1-4 )	+( 1-3 )
851-975	+( 5-8 )	+( 4-6 )
976-995	+( 9-12)	+( 7-9 )
996-000	+(13-16)	+(10-12)

Table B2: Height adjustment by strength
 

Strength score	Height adjustment
3	-9%
4	-6%
5	-3%
6-15	none
16	+3%
17	+6%
18	+9%

Table C: Character weight by height*
 

Height (ins.)	Weight (lbs.)	Height (ins.)	Weight (lbs.)
110	625	70	161
109	608	69	154
108	592	68	148
107	575	67	141
106	559	66	135
105	544	65	129
104	528	64	123
103	513	63	117
102	498	62	112
101	484	61	107
100	470	60	101
99	456	59	96
98	442	58	92
97	429	57	87
96	415	56	82
95	403	55	78
94	390	54	74
93	378	53	70
92	366	52	66
91	354	51	62
90	342	50	59
89	331	49	55
88	320	48	52
87	309	47	49
86	299	46	46
85	288	45	43
84	278	44	40
83	268	43	37
82	259	42	35
81	250	41	32
80	240	40	30
79	232	39	28
78	223	38	26
77	214	37	24
76	206	36	22
75	198	35	20
74	190	34	18
73	183	33	17
72	175	32	15
71	168	31	14

* -- Females are treated as if 1 inch taller
than actual for weight determination

Table D: Weight modifiers by race
 

Character race	Modifier
Dwarf	1.9
Dwarf, mountain	1.8
Elf, high	0.94
Gnome	1.9
Half-elf	0.97
Halfling	1.5
Halfling, stout	1.7
Halfling, tallfellow	1.3
Half-orc	1.1

Table E1: Variation from average weight

Dice score                             Percent variation

(d1000)	Humans	Others
001-005	-(25-32%)	-(19-24%)
006-025	-(17-24%)	-(13-18%)
026-150	-( 9-16%)	-( 7-12%)
151-350	-( 1-8%)	-( 1-6%)
351-650	none	none
651-850	+( 1-8%)	+( 1-6%)
851-975	+(9-16%)	+( 7-12%)
976-995	+(17-24%)	+(13-18%)
996-000	+(25-32%)	+(19-24%)

Table E2: Weight adjustment by strength
 

Strength score	Weight adjustment
3	-20%
4	-16%
5	-12%
6	-8%
7	-4%
8-13	none
14	+4%
15	+8%
16	+12%
17	+16%
18	+20%

(this would be difficult, since dwarves,
elves, and the like are notoriously scarce in
the real world), it does avoid most of the
inconsistencies, improbabilities, and inequities
mentioned earlier. <^>

A character?s height depends primarily
on his or her race, as shown in Table A.
The average height for human and halfhuman
characters is given as a range, since
there is more variation between human
populations than between the less numerous
and widespread populations of demihumans.
The average height for a human
population may be chosen by the DM, or it
may be randomly determined by rolling 2d6
and adding the result to the appropriate
base number (60 for human males, 55 for
human females). For half-humans derived
from the same population, the result of the
2d6 roll is halved (rounding fractions up)
and added to the appropriate base number.
Thus, if the men in a human population
average 67 inches tall (60 + 7), women will
average 62 (55 + 7). Male half-orcs or halfelves
of this stock will average 64 inches tall
(60 + 4), female half-orcs 61, and female
half-elves 60. This makes adventurers fairly
tall on the average, but then they are presumed
to be well-nourished individuals.

A peculiarity of half-orcs is that they are
shorter than either their human or their
orcish parents (orcs average about 6 feet tall
according to the Monster Manual). Why
this should be so is unclear, but there is no good reason
to change it. There is no dis-
proportion involved, and it is not implausible
that some factor in the orcish-human
mix might produce shorter individuals.
Perhaps, for some reason, a half-orc?s long
bones stop growing early relative to the rest
of the body; this would account for a short
but relatively broad build.

The height of mountain dwarves has been
reduced, so that they do not loom quite so
large over their lowland kin. The proportional
difference between 4 feet and 4½ feet
is considerable ? greater, in fact, than that
between any two human populations, discounting
pygmies. For similar reasons, the
height differences between sub-races of
halflings have been reduced, though they
are still proportionately large. Note that
here the stout sub-race of halfling is given a
low average height. In the Monster Manual
there is some confusion on this point, since
while the description says they are shorter,
the height given makes them taller than
ordinary halflings.

A character may vary from average
height by a percentage obtained from Tables
B1 and B2. Humans are more variable in
height than are demi-humans or halfhumans,
because of their richer and more
varied heritage. Note that the strength score
used in Table B2 is the character's strength
score unmodified for age. Once calculated
and rounded to the nearest inch, a character
's height will not change permanently
except through the agency of some powerful
magic such as a wish spell, or possibly as a
side effect of a permanent change in his or
her basic strength score.

Character weight depends on height, as
shown in Table C. However, the weight
given applies only to human males. All
females are considered to be one inch taller
than actual for weight determination, and
weights for non-humans are multiplied by a
number taken from Table D. The result is
an average weight for characters of that
height, sex, and race. No range of averages
is given for humans, since human populations
differ less in build than in height.

A character's actual weight is determined
from Tables E1 and E2, just as Tables B1
and B2 modify height from the average.
The result, rounded to the nearest pound, is
the starting weight for the character, and
the weight toward which he or she will tend
under ideal conditions. A character?s weight
will change significantly only under special
conditions. However, DMs might want to
opt to use a character?s age-modified
strength score in Table E2, in which case
some individuals will ?fill out? at maturity,
and lose weight as they age further.
Tables B2 and E2 ensure that characters
with high strength scores will tend to be
taller and more heavily built than average,
while weak ones will tend, to be short and
underweight. There will of course be exceptions,
just as in the real world: the short,
wiry man of surprising strength, or the tall,
massive individual who is a weakling.

While this system has fewer inherent
problems than the official one, it takes only
marginally longer to use.

For example,
consider the case of Hargor the Hideous, a
half-orc. He has a strength of 18 (17 plus
age modifier), and on his human side comes
from a population in which males average
5?5" tall. If, therefore, he were of average
height, he would be 5?3? (60 inches, plus
2½, rounded up). A roll of 749 for height
(Table B1) means that he will be 1-3%
above average height. A further roll of 2 on
a d3 indicates that he is 2% taller than
average. His strength score (17) gives him
an additional 6% of height, for a total of
8%. In round figures, then, he will be 68
inches tall, or 5?8? ? a respectable height
for a half-orc, if anything about a half-orc
can be called respectable. He will weigh 148
pounds (he is a 68-inch-tall male), times 1.1
(he is a half-orc), with additional modifiers
for strength and individual variation. He
rolls a 97 for weight, indicating that he is
7-12% underweight. A roll of 6 on a d6
makes him 12% below normal. However,
his basic strength of 17 more than makes up
for that by adding 16%, leaving him with a
weight 4% above average. Hargor?s weight,
then, when he is lit and well-fed, is 169
pounds.

Hargor's case was a relatively complicated
one. Tables were consulted 7 times,
and random numbers generated 5 times. A
comparable case, using the tables in the
Dungeon Masters Guide, requires 6 to 8
consultations of the tables, and the genera-
tion of 4 to 6 random numbers. A little
more calculation is required under the
unofficial system, but nothing that can?t be
handled in about half a minute or less with
pencil and paper.

Another feature of this unofficial system
is its flexibility. It can be used to determine
the height and weight of any character of
any race, player or nonplayer, so long as
three bits of information are available: the
average height of one of the sexes, the relative
difference between sexes, and how
much, if at all, the race deviates from human
proportions. In some cases it might be
necessary to extend Table C, but this is not
difficult to do with pencil, paper, and patience,
or with somewhat less patience and a
calculator.

This feature allows for the use of nonstandard
character races. For instance,
DMs may wish to allow half-ogres, as outlined
by Gary Gygax in DRAGON® issue
#29 and further explained in an article in
issue #73. If so, it is not difficult to determine
heights for such characters with this
system. A less radical departure from offcial
rules is to allow players to choose nonstandard
sub-races of PC races, but to treat
the character in all important respects as a
member of one of the official PC races. A
caveman, for instance, might be played as a
normal human, or a valley elf might be
played as a high elf. The difference in such
cases is mostly cosmetic ? the character has
a different coloring, possibly a different
height, and almost certainly a different
background from the usual type, but has no
significant advantages or disadvantages.
Some additional information that might be
required in the above mentioned cases is
given below:

Ave. height (ins.) Weight
 

Character race	Males	Females	modifier
Elf, grugach	54	51	0.95
Elf, valley	66	63	0.9
Half-ogre	85-90	81-86	1.1
Human, cave	60	56	1.4

Half-ogres vary in height according to the
background of the human parent. The
height given for cavemen assumes a neanderthal
type. Other cavemen are merely
short, normal humans, possibly more heavily
built than average.
 

LETTERS
-
Height & weight
-
Dear Dragon,
The article by Stephen Inniss ("Realistic vital
statistics") in issue #91 was excellent. I would
appreciate some clarification concerning the
article:

1) Was it a matter of oversight that tables
A and D were missing some elves. Drow, Grey,
and Wood to be particular, or was it left up to the
discretion of the DM?

2) There was no mention
of exceptional strength on tables B2 and E2. I feel
it should have been listed because it has a bearing
on the height and weight of a character, just as a
3-18 score does.

3) Constitution is said to be "the
character's physique, health, resistance, and
fitness" (p. 15 DMG), so should it play a part in
determining the build of the character?

Tom Thrush Jr.
Buffalo, N. Y.
(Dragon #93)
 

The elf-types Tom mentions were not included
because the article only dealt with those races and
sub-races allowable for player characters; the
Players Handbook prohibits an elven player <UA update: a PC can be a drow, gray or wood elf>
character from being anything but a high elf In
contrast, the sub-races of mountain dwarf and
stout and tallfellow halflings are permitted for
PCs, and thus are included in the tables.

Tom's second and third questions have basically
the same answer. It's apparent to me that
Steve Inniss's design had a dual motivation of
realism and simplicity -- and whenever you go
for two diverse objectives at once, you usually
have to settle for a compromise between them.
Logically exceptional strength and constitution
both belong in any comprehensive system for
determining vital statistics. But making a system
all-encompassing could also mean making it
unwieldy or even unplayable.

In order to work as much realism into the
system as possible, Steve already had to sacrifice
some convenience; he admits that the system
takes "marginally longer to use" than the tables
in the Players Handbook, and he apparently felt <DMG: height and weight tables, male and female>
that injecting any more complexity would be
counterproductive. If your sense of logic demands
that constitution or exceptional strength is too
important to ignore, make up an extension of an
existing table, or an entirely new one, and dress
up the system to your heart's content.

-- KM
(Dragon #93)
 

THE FORUM
While I admire the detail of research and
reasoning in Stephen Inniss?s article (?Realistic
vital statistics,? #91), I think he?s made an error
by comparing the proportionate weight of a dwarf
expanded to six-foot stature to that of a six-foot
human. This is comparing apples with pears. A
dwarf is not human, therefore the human equivalent
needn?t apply. There?s nothing intrinsically
wrong with a four-foot dwarf, as in his example,
weighing 150 pounds, yet a six-foot dwarf of any
weight is absurd!

Additionally, he is imprecise in stating, ?the
weight (or volume) of an object is proportionate
to its linear dimensions.? He does not address a
third factor, the density of an object. A pound of
lead and a pound of feathers weigh the same but
have nowhere near the same volume. Therefore,
if the physical components of a six-foot man could
be compressed into the volume of a dwarf, the
density could skyrocket while the mass remains
the same.

Dwarves are essentially muscular creatures of
heavy build and short stature. It seems unfair to
limit them to the weights of small humans (children).
There are many people alive in our real
world, one a line actor in a well-known television
comedy, that disprove [the contention that] short
adults must weigh as [much as] children.

Ultimately, the statistics in the article render
dwarven characters less playable because they
disadvantage dwarves in combat. A lighter character
(logically) has greater difficulty overbearing
and using his weight against an opponent, as a
child would versus an adult. What justifies this
disadvantage?

A stronger case might be made for halflings,
who are very similar to small children. But,
again, why disadvantage such characters? They
are already disadvantaged in combat.

I must reject Mr. Inniss?s system because it
interferes with playability without appreciably
improving the game. But I reject it again because
it interferes with the fun. With the original system
in the DMG, <male, female> fantastic varieties of sizes and
weights can be generated, adding to the craziness
and fantasy elements of the game. A friend of
mine has an immensely obese halfling character
who never fails to amuse us all with his weight
problems. This in turn adds to the playability.

I respect the ?realism? in this newer system,
but it brings with it the relatively mundane
aspects of our real world, and that is what I wish
to escape through playing the AD&D game.

Tim Nye
Bellingham, Wash.
Dragon #94

*    *    *    *

I would like to respond to the points raised by
Tim Nye (The forum, issue #94) concerning my
article on heights and weights ("Realistic vital
statistics," #91). Mr. Nye contends that the article
is inaccurate, in that it ignores density as a factor
in weight. In fact, density is mentioned explicitly
no less than three times in the course of the
discussion, and the point is made more than once
that if dwarven, halfling, or gnome player characters
are given the heights and weights indicated in
the Dungeon Masters Guide, then they must be <male> <female>
improbably thick, or improbably dense, or both.

Mr. Nye goes on to state that the shorter demihumans
(particularly dwarves) are given the
weights of human children, and that this is an
unfair disadvantage that reduces ?playability.?
This is incorrect. For instance, the recommended
weights for dwarves make them almost twice as
heavy as humans in proportion to their stature.
As for the disadvantage involved, it is really quite
small: unarmed combat is not common in most
campaigns, and weight isn't always a factor.
(Particularly if, like Mr. Gygax himself, the DM
uses some other system than the one outlined in <male> <female>
the DMG. Many of these alternate systems
downplay the importance of weight for the sake of
simplicity.) Game balance is hardly endangered.

Another assertion, that reducing the number of
oddly proportioned characters "interferes with
the <FUN>," is really a matter of taste. Some people
like playing such characters, and some don?t. It is
noteworthy that the system described in the
article does allow for unusual builds. If a player
insists, the DM might alter the dice rolls a bit.

Mr. Nye's final objection, that the proposed
system brings with it mundane considerations
that he would rather ignore, seems to be at the
core of his criticism. In answer to this, it might be
pointed out that the AD&D system (like any
fantasy game system) is crammed with thousands
upon thousands of ?mundane? details: swords
are more dangerous than daggers, a big fall does
more damage than a small one, people need to
eat and rest, torches burn out after a while, gold
is heavy, and so on. The question is not whether
the real world should serve as a model for a
fantasy world, but when to use the model and
when to ignore it. This has been a source of
contention for some time, and doubtless will be
for years to come, since it is not the sort of question
that can be solved to everyone?s satisfaction.
Though there may be a vague consensus, it is
doubtful that any two people will draw the line in
the same place each time. Some, like myself, are
bothered by the implausibilities [in the standard
system] mentioned in the article. Others are not.
Similarly, some people are annoyed when a car
squeals its tires on a dirt road in a scene from an
adventure-oriented TV series. Others shrug it
off, pointing out that most of the action is hard to
believe anyway. Again, this is a matter of personal
taste.

There is a further consideration, though, which
merits some mention. Any work of fiction,
whether a novel, a movie, a lie, or a game, is
much stronger if it keeps the number of contradictions,
unplanned complications, and ad hoc
explanations to a minimum; it ought to be able to
stand up to a superficial examination at the very
least. For instance, if someone asks why dwarves
are so heavy for their stature in the AD&D game,
it might be answered (as Mr. Nye has suggested)
that a dwarf has all of the physical components of
a six-foot-tall man compressed into a dwarvish
volume. This is plausible, of course (albeit only in
fantasy), but it spawns a whole series of other
questions: Are dwarves made of flesh at all? What
are they made of? Does it feel like flesh? Why
doesn?t the extra density give them a better
armor class? Don?t they have trouble keeping
afloat in water?

The questions might be ignored, but that
would be an admission that the fantasy is not as
well constructed as it could be. They could be
answered, but each answer will surely give rise to
more questions. It really isn?t necessary to go to
all that trouble, though. It?s a lot simpler to
assume that dwarves are like short, heavily built
humans, and then go about altering the height
and weight figures to fit that idea. Contrary to
Mr. Nye?s idea, there is nothing to be lost in
doing this, and plenty to be gained.

Stephen Inniss
Bradner, B. C., Canada
Dragon #95

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