| Polyhedron | - | - | - | 1st Ed. AD&D |
Ever since the original D&D set
was
published, fantasy role players have been
searching for unique, unusual, and startling
tricks and traps. The "ogre jelly" of
that fabled edition, plus other infamous
tricks (and puns) gave rise ot the never-ending
search for the truly different, epidemic
among Dungeon Masters. This
column will provide an outlet for unpublished
and unsung creative minds across
the world, united through the RPGA
network.
Send us your goodies! IF you have a
really good, relatively unknown trick or
trap that you don't mind telling the world
about, we'll take a serious look at it and
maybe publish it here, giving you credit.
The deadline for the next issue is July 27,
1981.
2. The treasure seems unguarded, but
the sly mage has determined
otherwise; the area around it is magical.
A dispel magic might destroy
any potions therein, so a pet is sent
to the area; BANG goes the glyph,
leaving the treasure free for the taking.
Unfortunately, when picked up,
the treasure's second trap, a trip
wire, rings a Chime of Hunger and
wakes a few monsters nearby.
3. A bridge leads north across the underground
chasm to a 60' long
ledge, at each end of which is a door,
continuing north. The lege forms a
"T" with the bridge. As the party
progresses onto the ledge, it is
found to be on a pivot; the whole
party cannot progress through the
door(s) until they split up, keeping the
ledge balanced. They will reunite
eventually, but until then....
4. The party meets a set of guards, who
demand to see their papers. If they
have none, they are directed to the
nearest office, which will keep them
waiting for hours unless bribed; the
papers (not including the bribe) cost
100 gp per person, or 1000 gp, or whatever
fits the campaign. When asked
for their papers at the next meeting
with the guards, the party proudly
gives them -- only to have them eaten
by the guards. They must return
and buy more....
5. The NPC acquired by the party before
leaving for the adventure has a
severe problem. In times of stress,
he/she gets a bad case of very loud
hiccups. Especially when trying to
sneak up on something, or when
casting a critically needed spell.
(Well, I guess a cure disease would
calm him down for a while.)
6. The are of twisting corridors the
party is entering is the home turf of a
Cleric/Assassin, levels 4/7 or so. He
likes to run around wiht Dust of Disappearance
on (applied after sighting
the party through his peepholes)
and with a silence 15' radius
donned for the attack. The party members
start dropping likes flies, from the
rear forward, unless they take a
few precautions. (Foreshadow the
danger with bodies or blood, or this
one can be a real killer.)
7. The druid encountered with her own
party is relatively harmless; the party
is only about level 3-5. But the
druid is weaing a Girdle of Giant
Strength, and can do much damage
with ranged weaponry -- like darts
(3 attacks per round, damage d3/d2
plus strength bonus....)
<I would advise limiting the strength damage bonus of thrown weapons: a way to do it is to cap the strength bonus at the maximum damage of the weapon. So, a dart's strength damage bonus cannot exceed 3 points for small && medium targets, and 2 points for large targets. I am pretty such I got this advice from a Sage Advice answer>.
8. The four halflings encountered in
the woods give some help to the party,
and are quite friendly and courteous.
They are thieves but not armored,
and have all been charmed
successfully by an erinyes, who is
polymorphed into the shape of one
of them. (The party starts getting
worried when they must save vs.
spells (including wisdom adjust)
against charms, but nobody's
doing any spell casting... 'must be
something out there in the woods'
says a halfling.
9. The skeletons encountered are mostly
turned by the cleric, and the others
aer quickly dispatched by fihgters.
But they have been enchanted
to regenerate, and keep getting up!
The noise attracts something nasty
living nearby...
10.While heading down the corridor, a
section of wall ahead disintegrates.
Noises of battle are heard, and a
demon is seen fighitng with a group
of elves, who are losing badly. The
party decides to vacate the premises
rather quickly... and are thus scared
away by an illusion.
11. The mummies (or black pudding, or
other creatures susceptible to fire)
are infested by brown mold, which
grows rapidly when the fire is used...
Watch it. This one can be deadly,
too.
Notes for the Dungeon Master
Miscellaneous Notes, Part II
| Polyhedron | - | 1st Ed. AD&D | - | Polyhedron #2 |
Last issues' Notes dealt with some of
my favorite tricks and traps. This month's
has more, from RPGA Assistant Coordinator
Bill Hoyer, whose gaming experience
dates back to the first TSR game
conventions and beyond.
This can't go on very long, as everyone
runs out of ideas eventually; and the
smartest of you seem to be holding back,
saving your best for your players. More
power to you! But we hope that you'll
share with the rest of us, eventually.
In the fuutre, we hope to expand into
tips for good Dungeon Mastering, handling
problems in teh campaign and the
players, and other DMish activities. With
these, as well as with tricks and traps,
send your idea contributions to RPGA
HQ.
One parting warning; to be completely
fair, the characters should (with sufficient
ingenuity, contacts, and/or cash)
be able to duplicate the devices and
tricks you use. If you don't want them to
get them -- DON'T PUT THEM IN!
-- FM
1. One-way revolving gates, similar to
those in city subway exits, force the
players in a different direction (for nasty
purposes of your own, of course).
2. Upon opening the door, the room
beyond is seen to be totally dark. "Ah!"
says a cleric, "a darkness spell; I'll toss
in some magical light." However, the
walls, floor, and ceiling are covered
with mirrors. The resultant confusion
and blindness (and possibly magical
mirror effects as well) are worth
watching....
3. While proceeding down a sloping passage,
the party triggers a cascade of
slippery liquid, originating uphill from
them. The party members slide into
each other, from the rear forward. Flammable
slippery liquids, like oil, can be
ignited if desired.
4. That spongy floor, which didn't harm
anyone, turns out to have been a large
ink pad. The party has been leaving a
trail for over a turn, as the colorless ink
dries into luminescent footprints!
5. Another boring series of empty rooms
...well, not quite. As the characters proceed,
they slowly shrink; but the rooms
get a lot smaller, too. The dead-end
series is highlighted by a battle with
seemingly giant insects (actually normal
size); but the fun comes when,
upon leaving, the players find that the
rooms are getting a LOT bigger, and
the doors that much harder to open.
(Treat the duration similar to an Enlarge
spell, reversed.)
6. This one's an oldie but goodie: the
walls start closing in on the characters,
and they can't get the door open. The
walls stop about 18" apart (hardly room
to use a dagger, even). A perfect setup
...but nothing else happens, except that
the door opens by itself in an hour or
so.
Notes For the Dungeon Master
This time we've got a few ideas from
various members. Have fun, but remember
what I said before with regards
to odd items: if you don't want the players
to get them, DON'T PUT THEN IN!
Next issue we're going to change the
format; we're running out of gimmicks.
We'll have one or two tricks and traps,
but most of this column will give tips and
techniques for being a better dungeon
master.
-- F
1. CHAMBER OF CHAOS: A main 80'
square chamber is divided into 64 rooms,
each 10' square, each with a door in each
wall. When the party enters one, their
door of entry slams shut and cannot be
opened. There is a 50% chance that no
doors will open for an hour, regardless of
attempts; if not, then one of the doors
(roll randomly) can be opened, leading
to another little room.
Weapons are almost useless in this
small a space, and spell casting can be
tough when everyone's bumping into
each other. An audible glamer of other
doors slamming, footsteps, etc. just adds
to the fun, and a minor monster (with
body weapons) can wreak havoc.
-- AR, Los Angeles, CA
2. TIGHT SQUEEZE: The party enters an
area by a small secret door. A strange
blue light comes on once every turn;
those who fail to save (vs. spells) are
polymorphed into very fat orcs (or whatever
is preferable) and unable to fit out
the door. Fortunatel, a dispel magic effect
comes on once per day, removing
the effect if the party hasn't done it
already.
-- LE, Madison, WI
3. THE LOCK: Our wandering heroes
find a large and heavy chest in the room
after a hard fight. Numberous attempts at
picking the lock all fail, and the chest is
too fine ot ruin it by bashing it open. The
"lock" is a fake (or a trap only); the real
lock is on the back of the chest, disguised
as part of the design, and could
be found as if a secret door.
-- AS, West Bend, WI
4. THE PIT: The party easily spots a pit
ahead, on the left side of the corridor.
Moving to the right, they trigger the
REAL pit, carefully hidden on that side.
Variation: The floor of the corridor
ahead is a 5' square checkerboard pattern --
which are the pits, and which are
the safe spots? -- DS, Apple Valley, CA
5. BEHOLDER: Cautiously entering a
deep dungeon area, the party sees a beholder
that says "Leave immediately and
you might live." They scoot, of course,
chased away by a gaseous spore with a
magic mouth upon it (heh, heh, heh).
-- VB, APO San Francisco, CA
6. DEITY: The party meets a shining figure
who changes shapes at will and
glows like the sun, who claims to be a
demigod. But he's just an NPC evil cleric
who drank a potion of polymorph self.
-- SG, Framingham, MA
7. PROBLEM PALADIN: If that goody
two-shoes paladin keeps interfering and
you want to send him away for a while,
but neatly -- have him summoned by a
mage living on another plane. He'll be
sucked through as if by monster summoning,
and may not be back for weeks.
-- SG (MA) & F
8. VAMPIRE: Finally the party bursts into
the crypt, opens the coffin, and drives a
stake through the vampires heart -- but
he gets up anyway and starts his devastating
routine of charming and draining.
He keeps his heart in a jar under the
coffin, of course, where it probably won't
be found.
-- MM, Delta, BC, Canada
Two lethal ones from me, gang, so
watch it:
9. AMBUSH: Passing through a deserted
section of caves, the party is suddenly
fiercely attacked by hobgoblins -- moving
at blinding speed and with a really
nasty armor class. The hobgoblin shaman
had a scroll, captured earlier, with
haste and slow both on it and didn't blow
either one in the casting. The party was
slowed without knowing it, and the hasted
hobgoblins are attacking 4 times to
the character's once.
Spells are nearly impossible to cast in
this battle, because when the hobgobs
see someone start, they can easily move
in and interrupt them.
10. CHECKPOINT: The party encounters
a bunch of well-entrenched defenders,
but notices that they are low level
(their magic missile only does 8 points, a
fighter dies after taking 15, and so forth).
But the defending mage has a temporary
ring of spell storing (no permanency
added) made by the master of the complex,
containing a delayed blast fireball
(for 18d6+18), a teleport, and others.
No chance of error for the wimp mage,
as it's a ring, and he leaves just before the
blast goes off. Even if he gets captured,
the party only has the use of the ring's
spells once...and without that permanency,
it becomes non-magical when
emptied, much to their dismay.
Notes For the Dungeon Master
(Polyhedron #4)
Last issue we promised to give you
some tips and techniques for being a
better Dungeon Master, along with a few
tricks or traps. Let's start with preparing
for play.
There are a whole variety of things I do
to prepare for running an AD&D game.
Once the players are together and have
characters ready to go (assuming that
you've given them some mission to go
on, clues, rumors, or legends to trace, or
just the location of a dungeon or other
adventure), write down all the details on
a sheet from the Dungeon Master's Adventure
Log (from TSR) or a piece of
paper or a file card. The information to
have handy should include the player
name, character name, race, class(es),
level(s), alignment, Armor Class, hit
points, and (if you wish) magic items.
Add two dates to the sheet: realtime date
of play AND fantasy date. Your world
should have a dating and time system of
some type, to keep it organized and running
like clockwork (so to speak).
To keep track of all the characters,
both player and non-player, I have
standard 3" by 5" file cards for all of
them. I record all characteristic scores
plus all the information listed above. On
the back is a list of "standard spells" the
character would probably take on an average
adventure (adjustable for particular
circumstances), to speed up setup
time (vital for NPCs, optional for player
characters). I use different colored cards
for each race: plain white for humans,
green for elves, orange for dwarves, yellow
for gnomes, blue for halflings, and
pinkish for half-orcs. All of these colors
should be available at some type of local
store, often in drugstores and office
supply shops.
Keeping the books handy, all I need to
run the adventure is the record sheet and
my dungeon plan. My dungeons are usually
off in the wilderness somewhere,
so while the players are getting their
characters ready for the trip I roll for
wandering encounters, abbreviating details
(MV, AC, hp, #AT, D) and adding the
saving throw vs. spells (and wands, if the
party has any) and the score to hit AC0.
From this "THACO" (To Hit Armor Class
0) you can quickly add or subtract to find
the actual roll needed for any given
situation. Sometimes I check the % In
Lair figure ot see if they live nearby, but
I've got most of the lairs in my wilderness
preset, as to where an dhow much treasure,
so I just check my notes on the area
traversed. If I have specific plans for the
dungeon encounters and the party will
need a magic item or spell that they don't
have or didn't bring, I'll often toss that
item or scroll into the treasure carried by
the wandering creatures.
In future columns, I'll talk about running
intricate combats, NPC spell casters,
long-term campaign planning,
handling problem players and problem
characters (often different problems entirely),
and details on running game mechanics.
If you've got a specific problem
or situation you'd like me to explain or
offer advice on, let me know; write to me
care of RPGA HQ.
Now for a couple of goodies:
1. HO HUM, ANOTHER WIMP: DMs
should be unpredictable sometimes.
Weak monsters may come equipped with
unexpected magic to throw bored players
a few curves. For example, a limping
kobold approaching the party may have a
potion of giant strength and/or bracers,
heavy armor, or whatever, to change
a common predictable situation into a
surprising turnabout. To set the stage,
throw in identical normal monsters a few
times before slipping in the odd one.
-- CS, Rockford IL
2. MORE SURPRISES: If your dungeon
parties are used to mapping lots of uneventful
corridors, imagine the excitement
when one innocent walls turns out
to be illusory (they don't walk around
tappign the walls all the time, do they?),
behind which is a lairful of low-level nasties
(orcs, hobgoblisn, etc.) ready to run
out and spend 2-3 surprise segments
pounding on the whole party. The attacks
come all down one side, not just in
front or back.
-- RR, Conshoocken, PA
3. THE CHEAP GEM: This one's good for
low-level parties. They come across a
huge gem in an elaborate setting, anchored
firmly in a rock pedestal. No
amount of strength will release it. The
key is to cast an enlarge spell at the setting;
it pulls free of the rock, releasing
the gem. To sort out the "goats from the
cucumbers," the setting turns out to be
far more valuable than the large quartz
"gem"...
-- AM, Princetown, NJ
Notes For the Dungeon Master
Here's a few notes on encounters and
combats.
If you roll for the number of monsters
encountered, there will be a wide variance
in the results of the battles. For
example, according to the AD&D
Monster Manual, the party could run
across 2d10 ogres. If they are all level 1-3
characters and run into 15 ogres, they've
got problems; I'd give them ample opportunity
to evade or negotiate, setting an
encounter distance of about 200 yards.
However, I usually don't get into this
kind of problem; instead of rolling for the
number encountered, I'll grab a number
based on the talents and levels of the
characters. The players have more fun
when they don't have to run away from
everything (though escaping from potentially
lethal situations can be exhilarating
and is always educational); successful
combats are a high point of the
game.
To help me estimate the party's capabilities,
I jot down the total number of
levels in the party (counting a multiclass
3/3, for example, as 4.5) and divide
by the number of characters to get an
average party level. When using the
"Dungeon Random Monster Level Determination
Matrix" (DMG, pg. 174) the
average party level tells me which "Equivalent
Level of the Dungeon" line to use,
especially when the characters are in a
large one-level type of dungeon (such as
caves).
Before beginning any encounter, I estimate
what effect I'd like to have on the
party. Most encounters should just trim
off some hit points an duse up a spell or
two; occasionally someone dies from
missing a saving throw. The big finale of
the night's game should be a tough one,
satisfying everyone's desire for action
and puzzles, lethal enough to either kill
someone by attrition (just wearing away
their hit points) or close to it (even more
preferable; they love to be down to 1-3
hp and scared), but not a killer overall.
This finale should result in a major addition
to party resources: if anyone's lacking
a magic weapon, the very type desired
is found; a rare potion is discovered,
or a major clue ot the long-term
campaign comes to light. Of course,
cash is always appreciated.
I don't mean to imply that there's lots
of magic in my world. Most characters of
level 4-5 and above have a magic weapon,
a potion or two, and occasionally
some magic armor or shields; most items are
found regularly, but the parties almost
always divide everything equally by prior
agreement, and most are not wealthy
enough to balance the value of the item
against their fair share. They end up selling
the magic item in question to a local
shop, and never see it again, sharing the
proceeds from the sale equally. This is
fine with me, as I can introduce magic
items of some power without (usually)
worrying about the effects on the campaign;
the item is sold shortly after it's
found. I do watch thrifty characters, as
they can surprise everyone by showing
up with a lot of cash, enough to keep
interesting items in play.
After running one popular campaign
world for 7 years, I've developed a feel
for "guesstimating" encounter results
before they happen; you can too, just by
sticking with it. But to be able to watch
what goes on and learn from it, you have
to prepare your dungeons, encounters,
and NPCs before hand, otherwise you'll
be too ubsy with little details to overall
results.
In future columns, I'll talk aobut running
intricate combats, NPC spell casters,
long-term campaign planning,
handling problem players and problem
characters (often different problems entirely),
and more details on running game
mechanics. If you've got a specific problem
or situation you'd like me to explain
or offer advice on, let me know; write to
me care of RPGA HQ.
Now for a few goodies:
1. POOR THIEF: Encounter occurs, thief
drinks potion of invisibility. Thief climbs
wall. Wall isn't wall. Wall is either killer
mimic or stunjelly (from the FIEND FOLIO
Tome). Thief never returns. Poor thief.
-- AR, Los Angeles, CA
2. PIT: Here's a variation on the standard
pit trap which you may find amusing. A
25' deep pit tapers at the obttom, forming
a "V" shape; the victim's feet either stick
in the bottom, or breaks both ankles.
Simple enough.
-- ME, Brantford, ONT
3. THE POLE: Unknown to the sleeping
party, a mimic has crept in and looks just
like a ten-foot pole...
-- AR, Los Angeles, CA
4. WEIRDNESS: Try having a little fun
with the special abilities of creatures.
Imagin ea food fight with some djinn;
giants who roll huge bowling balls at the
party, instead of throwing them (rocks);
or the phase spiders who don't want to
hurt anybody; they just sneak up and do
a little thieving while the party's asleep.
-- F
This is a somewhat philosophical look
at realism and variants.
My chief objection to "realism" in any
fantasy role playing system is the simple
fact that it takes too long. Consider
taking a simple one-on-one combat to a
state of ultimate realism...
You determine the energy state of the
individual cells along each of the muslce
tissues in each portion of the entire body
of each of the participants. Add the
myriad of factors involving current
weather and climate of the battle area;
and details of the terrain; the overall "will
to win" of the fighters, based on their
lives so far, their current emotional and
physical state; the specific condition of
each individual element of the equipment,
and the probabilities of ideal vs.
actual performance of each element;
their degree of training in the weapons
and tactics used plus their ability to
apply this information --
I could go on for pages. The point is,
how "realistic" do you want to get -- and
at what price?
The AD&D combat system is not
designed nor intended to simulate realistic
combat. A completely realistically
simulated duel would either require more
knowledge than is currently available,
even with all our modern knowledge of
biology, history, the mind, and so forth,
or would have to be an actual duel: a reenactment.
We recommend that you NOT choose
the reenactment option; medieval times
and techniques were dirty, primitive, and
dangerous. I'll take modern medicine,
plumbing, and literature over the middle
ages any day, thank you.
The AD&D game WAS designed
or our fun, and also with several
criteria firmly in mind -- including
playability, entertainment value, self-consistency,
and many other things. I
think it's the best system in existence
when ALL these factors are considered.
In the mid-seventies first elements
of the AD&D game system were coming
out, and the transition between the
original and advanced versions was
confused. I've realized since then that
they're different systems entirely. As a
result, I treated the advanced system (at
first) as guidelines only, and immediately
decided that casting a magic missile
spell for a mere 6 seconds couldn't
possibly use up you actions for an
entire minute. The resulting variant of
multiple actions per round based on
casting time plus recovery time time resulted
in an imbalance of the game in favor of
magic-users. Other variants intended to
increase realism resulted in other
imbalances. It was quite a mess.
Everyone's free to make their own
mistakes. Once I stopped considering
the "flaws" as "obvious absurdities" and
looked at (and used) the system as
printed, I realized that I had fallen into
the Democratic Fallacy: the attitude that
my opinion was as good as anyone's.
This is wrong; the opinions of experts
and professionals are much more valid;
this is why they command good salaries
in the modern business world. The system
as published is a usable, workable
compromise between the various things
that make a good game. I don't know
how I got the idea that I could do a better
design than the professoinals, but I got
over it.
This is not to say that the designs are
perfect. Now that I've been in the
publishing business for a while, I know
that there are times when you have to
compromise between doing everything
the way you want to, as a gamer, and the
financial requirements of business,
legalities, and time. So when you do
find a flaw, or an area that wasn't fully detailed,
go ahead and try to work things out. But
be CAREFUL -- try to make the changes
and additions fit the system.
Here are some definitions, in my own
terms: a variant is a game procedure
which is done differently than the
procedure published in the system.
EXAMPLE: the multiple-spell-per-round
system I mentioned earlier; the books
state that it's to be done an entirely
different way.
A deduction is the fixing of a minor
hole in the system which is repaired by
considering the phrasing and context in
which the hole appears, and applying
the system's logic to fix it properly.
EXAMPLE: the Area of Effect of the
teleport spell says "Special"; spells which
apply only to one creature say so, as
"Creature Touched," "One Creature," or
something similar; therefore, the caster
CAN carry another person along as part
or all of the specified weight carryable.
A derivative is a whole procedure that
is never specified in the published game
system, which must be creted in detail
and usually from scratch. EXAMPLE:
Armor Class for horses in barding is
never specified. As an unarmored horse
is AC 7, I decided to award a 10% bonus
per class of barding (leather, chain, plate)
with the resultant armor classes of 5, 3,
and 1 respectively. I'm generous.
<update and link>
Feel free to use any of the above in
dealing with the player who complains
about lack of realism.
Feel free also to play games in whatever
form you want, using whatever rules you
want. But I urge all of you who are using
variants--procedures which are different
than those given in the system--to stop
and think a minute: did you give the
system a chance?
If you did, then great. Fine! GO AHEAD
and modify things you don't like; there's
no law that says you have to obey the
rules of an amusement form like this, and
there never will be. But note that you'll be
using the Official by-the-book system in
any and all Official tournaments, and
you better be GOOD at it if you expect to
win.
Now that that's out of my system, here
are two goodies from my campaign:
1. WHAT'S THE MATTER WITH KIDS
TODAY: Just after entering the caverns,
the party hears crying from behind them.
Looking around, they see a cute little girl
in a polka-dot dress, her eyes red from
crying. She's apparently wandered in
behind them, and is lost. Ahem -- it's
really a vampire (created when a "normal"
vampire slew one of the neighborhood
kids years ago; yeah, she does look a bit
pale, now that you ask) who got behind
the group using her gaseous form and then
materialized. Her main attack is running
up and grabbing someone's leg (ideally
a Lawful Good), for a 2-level drain but no
clawing damage...
2. SNOOP: A group of evil characters
got lost in some caves, and started calling
out for their deity (Set) to save them. And
lo and behold, "Set" arrived, chatted a bit
and changed himself into a red dragon
for his own convenience, explaining that
keeping his normal form would draw the
attention of the other gods. Well, this
"god" was really an ancient red dragon
with a polymorph self spell, who overheard
their chants while snooping around
in the caves... and had himself a nice
dinner.
The basic idea can be applied whenever
the party gets careless with the names of
deities, or abuses the intent behind divine
intervention.
<C6 image>
NOTES FROM THE DM
by E. Gary Gygax
In response to Notes For The DM, Issue
#6 of The POLYHEDRON
I very much enjoyed Volume 2, Number
3, of The POLYHEDRON Magazine. May
each each issue get better and better!
With regard to the number of actions
possible in a one-minute melee round,
please stress to your readership that the
time period is arbitrary -- other things
occur than are actually checked for, and
much of the game balance is based
around this period of time.
Let us assume, for the sake of argument,
that the segment of six seconds was
used as a base for action. Considerably,
a lightly armored fighter could strike
once every six seconds. This would make
fighters virtually unstoppable with respect
to other classes. That is, those less well
trained in fighting skills could not strike
this often, so fighters would quickly
assume the most powerful role in the
game. Magic-users would be doomed to
the use of nothing but low level spells,
because they wouldn't dare to try anything
which would require more than a
segment or two to cast.
As it is, the actions subsumed in the
round includes parrying, fencing, and
general circling for position. Several
actual feints and strikes take place, but
only one is assumed to be a serious
attack. Likewise subsumed within the
whole system is the power aura of a
magic-user. Their innate power, as well
as well as minor protections they place upon
themselves, make them formidable
opponents to attack. Thus, it is no easy
matter for a monster or another
character-type to actually manage to
attack them.
With regard to detailed combat, I can
easily do a system which does no have
undue complications. It would take into
account additional factors other than
those developed for the typical character.
The terrain would be considered.
Weapons would be very important.
Training and skill at both striking and
parrying would be important. Hit location
would be vital. Wear and tear would be a
big factor. Without undue complication,
a complex system of combat would
probably take something like a one hour
real time period to handle a fight between
two evenly matched opponents of about
sixth or seventh level. As I see it, the fun
is in role playing and adventuring, not
individual combat. Therefore, the
adventuring and role playing are stressed
-- combat is glossed over.
<c6 image>
NOTES FOR THE
DUNGEON MASTER
(Polyhedron #7)
In the ongoing campaign,
your players will
develop higher level characters.
On the average,
looking at data we've
received from hundreds of
DMs worldwide, it seems
that the average advancement
of a character is
about 2-3 levels per year.
In other words, a campaign
that's been running for 3
years usually has many
player characters averaging around 6th
to 9th level of experience.
The campaign then usually levels off,
to stabilize with a few powerful characters
(levels up into the twenties) but with the
bulk of them between 7th and 13th level.
Some lower levels are still around, but
this seems to be the most popular level of
play. This is one reason, incidentally,
that RPGA AD&D game tournament
adventures are usually for levels 5-9.
What do you, as DM, when a player's
high or moderate level character is lost?
This could be due to lack of available
spells, blowing a critical roll, or extreme
situations (such as total disintegration).
If there are no low-level characters in the
campaign, and the poor player is forced
to run a 1st level anything in higher-level
company, the character is handicapped
from the start and has a shorter life expectancy.
If the players are experienced enough
to handle it, I'll start characters off at a
higher level experience. (Gasp!) Note
the first part of that; if the players
themselves need more grounding in
strategy, spell use, or whatever, they all
keep working with the low levels until
they've go their act togethere. But It's
silly to tall a six-year veteran of the game
that he or she must run a character all the
way up from the bottom, even though
everyone else has a 7-9 level characters,
when the original character was lost due
to a blown saving throw or otherwise
uncontrollable situation. My method is a
variant from the system as published,
but it works and doesn't adversely affect
play in any way.
The first ground rule is NEVER to start
a characer equal to or greater than an
existing one. Obviously, the players have
spent a lot of time and effort getting
there, and it's unfair to pop someone up
into the same bracket. It always causes
some resentment and charges of
favoritism, so DON'T.
Decide on the starting level. I've used
1d4, 1d4+1, 1d3+1 and 1d3+2 for this,
depending ont he average level of the
characters already in the campaign, especially
for monk, druid, and other
specialized classes with regimented
hierarchies.
I set the experience point toal at
minimum for the level decided on, plus
d%10 (10-1000) additional. Cash on
hnad, AFTER the character is fully
equipped (house rules: up to 5 oil, 2 holy
water, 1 animal, any and all reasonable
other magical items) is set equal to
10% of the experience total. Finally,
magic items are rolled for to complete
the better-than-starting-level character.
(I use the "Chance Per Level for Magic
Item" table on DMG pg. 194, which is
supposed to be for NPC town encounters,
and cheerfully veto or change results as
desired. Another chart is given under
"Party Magic Items," DMG pg. 175-176,
which is supposed to be used for randomly
encountered parties.)
Finally, the player should be given
notes on the character's background,
acquaintances, and some history. In these
cases, I often alter past reality subtly; for
example, I'll the existent characters
that they have, at several points in the
past, run into this "new" character, and
have possibly adventured with him or
her (assuming that alignment, profession,
and other variables would have given
this result).
Presto -- an "old" character, from
scratch.
1. MAGIC MOUTH ALARM: The party
may find that the area they're
penetrating has an alarm system, if
there's a magic-user about who could
set one up. (Note that witch doctors
can cast a magic mouth, according to
DMG.) Just have each mouth instructed
"Scream when anything
screams within range." The residents
of the area, if they have time, need
only scream to set off the alarm. A
domino-type chain can be set up
merely by placing a magic mouth
every 20 or 30 feet, with the same
instructions, so that they set each
other off.
2. PROPORTIONS: A powerfully
enchanted corridor changes the
characters to 1/16" height, gradually
acting on them as it gets smaller so
they don't notice the change. There's
lots of fun in store as characters
fiercely battle a normal amoeba,
housefly, and other denizens of the
microscopic world. (Make sure you
decide on all related game mechanics
first). Caution, though; magical effects
should be of normal power but with
reduced areas and ranges, while
weapons will do insignificant damage.
The reverse can be quite strange,
with the characters enlarged to
hundreds of feet tall. They are seen as
huge marauders, invading giants
threatening the residents of the
countryside. The most powerful NPCs
in the world would certainly flock to
stop the characters from stepping on
the cows, accidentally triggering
earthquakes, and so forth.
<C6 image>
We're being lazy with
our monsters and treasures.
The party opens the
door, sees a few iron golems,
chops them up with
their +5 weapons, and gets
an Artifact for treasure.
Say what?
Dungeon Masters, you're
not using strategy. You're
not using your brains. Suppose they
open that same door and see an empty
room, go in, and get surprised (pre-set
by the DM) by a pack of carrior crawlers
hanging from the walls and the ceilings, for
a total of +8 or so to hit vs. AC Rear? Ever
see what the player of a 20th level paladin
looks like when he' go to make 40
saving throws vs. paralysis before doing
anything? (And a roll of 1 always fails...)
What does the 30th level mage do after
the Lich the party is looking for has
found them first, teleported in nearby
(invisibly), cast a time stop, and stolen
all the spell components (including holy
symbols), just for a good laugh? Or
when the fighters give all their weapons
(vorpal, sharpness, holy, etc.) away to a
Nilbog, without even a saving throw for
consolation?
Caution: don't pull this stuff on low-level
parties or novice players. But there's
plenty that a good DM can do to keep
those lordly super-characters in line,
just with preset conditions and tactical
encounters, without getting into unfair
"ZAP because I don't like you" situations.
Some folks complain about lairs without
good treasures. Well, you can (and
should) adjust rolls if the play is good
enough to have earned some goddies, or
if you really want to insert a nice item
into the game. But the treasures are
carefully balanced to fit the rest of the
system; if you give away outrageous
things, be prepared for outrageous use
of them.
What if a player says that his character
"invents" something -- like a tank? I'd
tell him "your character wouldn't think of
that". Remember the cultural setting;
there are lots of things that are obvious
to us, now that we've got technology and
science and all that finely developed
knowlege to go on. But the medieval
adventurer doesn't have those concepts
to build on, and therefore couldn't even
think of that elementary way (for US) of
putting a couple of routine items togethor
to get a blockbuster.
Leonardo Da Vinci invented lots of
stuff, sure. But that's literally one genius
in a million (or less); even a 20 intelligence
doesn't necessarily have creativity.
(Ever use a computer?) And, although
he sure came close, even Leonardo
couldn't figure out how to build a hang
glider.
<qv Dragon #124>
Fighting fire with fire
If your player characters are burning
every monster in sight with flasks of oil,
send a group of orcs or hobgoblins at
them that do the same thing. They could
have stolen a few dozen barrels of oil
from a merchant party (a plausible
enough occurence), and then set up all
kinds of traps based on it. Note that oil
does 3d6 per flask (spread out over 2
rounds), and that one small barrel probably
contains dozens of flasks of oil.
Once when I was feeling exceptionally
nasty, a group of characters went into a
very hot dungeon area hunting salamanders
and whatnot. No problem, they
thought, putting resist fire on everyone;
but alas, as they were approaching the
hottest area, their map went up in flames.
(Read the spell description carefully.) I
just reached over and took the players'
map away -- the one with 100+ rooms
that they'd been mapping for 12 adventures
or so. (I relented later under the
argument that more than one character
was mapping, including some that didn't
go on that particular trip. But the victims
had to find their way out first....)
<C6 image>
Don't look now, but ...
Most folks don't know good strategy. If
you throw a few creatures at them that
"break morale" and turn and fun, party
members will probably pursue, with their
toughest characters in front. Then hit
them from behind with the real problem.
Or, at a "T" intersection, attack from
both sides. If they split up to counterattack,
have a tougher force move in from
behind; it'll probably catch their wimps
(mage, thief) right at the intersection.
AARGH! You're not
sending in your tricks and
traps, so I'm forced to give
away some of mine. DO
you have any idea what
you're doing to my campaign?
Well, it's really that
bad. Most of my goodies
were worked out long ago.
Several sections -- whole dungeons,
even -- have been sitting around for
years, with no visitors to entertain the
monsters therein.
Some campaigns dwell heavily on encumbrance,
movement, components, and
other minutiae of the system. It takes a
good DM to keep track of all this stuff,
and incorporate it without boring the
players. But it also takes time, which I'm
sadly short on, so I skip it. Now, if the
players want to get into that, fine. I'll accomodate
anybody's style of play. But
I don't check up on them unless carrying
something gets strange. (You're carrying
20,000 gp? How? That's a whole ton!).
An emphasis on role playing comes
closer to the original concept of the
game than does an obsession with details.
Gary doesn't run a straight AD&D
campaign; he's too creative to feel comfortable
in that rigid system. You say you
are, too? How many games, modules,
and articles have you written lately?
Have you given the system, as published,
a chance? Have you tried the D&D
game, a flexible and adaptable framework,
instead of the far more complex
and regimented AD&D system?
As I mentioned before, I let my players
roll their own own everything. Of course,
sometimes I'm rolling for them at the
same time, especially in hairy cases
where their knowledge of apparent success
or failure could affect their characters'
actions. I also have them make saving
throws where none are necessary,
just for confusion. As a result, they can
never bank on the results of their rolls,
but they save me a lot of work in the
meantime.
We've gotten to the role playing aspect
so much that I can trust everyone to
try to do it right. For example, I usually
don't describe monsters; most of them
would know all the details anyhow. I'll
just tell them what it is, even giving out
Armor Class (though I do keep that one
secret fairly often), tell them their characters
don't know what it is, and off they
go.
But don't do this with novice players.
Remember the fun, excitement, and
mystery when you encountered your
first lycanthrope, and didn't quite know
what to do? Or that first meeting with a
powerful Undead? Stick to general descriptions
until you're absolutey sure
that all the players are jaded veterans
who can quote from stacks of stats from the
Monster Manual.
Then work on the FIEND FOLIO critters
for awhile.
Appearances
If you have problems with players who
know all about the monsters and can't
(or won't) keep the knowledge from leaking
over into the characters, try shuffling
appearances among creatures. For example,
humanoids that look just like
bugbears but have the stats of trolls,
and vice versa. Keeps 'em on their toes;
they can't be sure about things any
more. If you try this, be sure that the
critters are similar: it is just plain unfair to
the players if they meet Undead that behave
like dragons.
Foiling magic weapons
Sometimes it seems like the phrase
"silver or magic to hit" loses its touch,
when everyone's running around with
nice magical weaponry. Ever thought of
setting up a room, dungeon level, whole
dungeon, province, country, or world
where things get reversed -- where
non-magical weaponry is needed to hit? It
plays havoc with the confidence that
higher levels characters place in their
accouterments. You can apply this to
new monsters, and/or could even add
this to an otherwise normal campaign by
requiring non-magical weapons vs.
animals, or whatever. Be very careful
with this, though; it's not needed at all in
a low-level or normal campaign, but provides
a good DM's tool for controlling
runaway "Monty Haul" situations.
<c6 image>
POLYHEDRON #10
Gods are not characters or monsters.
When the DEITIES & DEMIGODS
Cyclopedia came out, everyone expected
an easy solution to the "god problem," as
I call it. The rules of the game imply that
high level characters can aspire to
demigodhood or better, so the solution
was expected in this work. And, upon
opening it, one finds the first 7 pages
describing these superbeings in a format
similar to monsters and characters. And
look! On page 11, it explains Ascension!
And so the poor beleagued DM, noting
those detailed explanations of Ability
Scores in the 19-25 range, and the class
and level notations in the descriptions,
tries to apply them. And the gods die in
mortal combat with arrogant high-level
characters who own artifacts and Girdles
and so forth.
This is absurd! Worse -- it's stupid,
and can wreck an otherwise good high-level
campaign. First of all, as soon as
any mortal being seriously considers the
idea of tackling a member of the Divine
Hierarchy, he should be instantly vaporized
by the multiversal equivalent of an
eraser. Even thinking about it is heresy,
by any definition, against which the
mythological gods are notoriously tough.
(But be nice, DM: don't take such radical
steps unless the characters are serious.)
And to make matters worse, the very
memory of the character's existence will
probably be vanished along with him,
leaving those who would Wish him back
with an interesting dilemma -- "Let's see,
I was about to Wish something, but
what?"
Secondly, when the nitpicker says "but
they can't do that!" the DM may easily
respond "Who says they can't?". DDG
Cyclopedia doesn't say they can't. TSR
doesn't say they can't. And the decision
is up to the DM in the first place! And
third, the astute debater then responds,
"But the rules don't deal with 'can'ts;
they deal with 'cans', and it doesn't say
they can, and you play this game by the
rules, don't you?" And the astute DM replies,
"Sure, but the gods are not characters
or monsters, and you're thinking of
them as such."
The exceptional nitpicker has thought
about this unexpected turn of events,
and now tries to tackle th eDM with his
own tools. "Doesn't my character's god
that erased you confers with your god,
and they hang you up in limbo while the
problem is resolved -- neither existing
nor eradicated, but in between: certainly
not in the campaign world."
How does the DM resolve this problem,
then? Well, the characters don't
have the divine perspective; the gods of a
pantheon form a stable, working Administration
for the business of reality. They
don't fight with each other if they can
help it; the battle might upset the multiverse.
So most problems must be resolved
through peaceful means. Note that any
mere mortal attempting ot upset this
balance risks not only the wrath of the
god being attacked, but the entire pantheon!
Of course, most pantheons include
both sides, good and bad, and the divine
enemies of the divine beings will try to
twist negotiations around for results most
beneficial for themselves. But the gods,
in their (infinite?) wisdom, don't want to
see their marvellous setup disrupted.
Yes, this argument is incomplete and
not entirely satisfactory. But whenever I
get a letter mentioning that someone's
character has slain a god, my immediate
response is twofold; either you just think
you've slain a god, and haven't, or your
DM hasn't read the section in DDG Cyclopedia
titled "Dungeon Mastering Divine
Beings."
Some DM's use all the mythoi in the
book, jumbled up like a tossed salad of
divine lettuce. This is incorrect. You can
use all of them by adding a multi-reality
aspect to the already multi-universal
setup of AD&D game reality. But the
pantheons do not combine well, and
should remain separate. (I can't even
accurately imagine a multiverse, let alone
complicating matters with transprobability
details.) The one exception to this
is the "Non-Humans' Deities" setion,
which can be added to any of the others
to help out the monsters.
Now you know how to avoid the problem.
But what do you do with existing
"god problems," and how you are supposed
to use the DDG Cyclopedia. And
what if you want to roleplay the god business?
I'm out of space -- tune in next issue!
<c6 image>
POLYHEDRON #11
Deities #2
Any foolish character who seriously
contemplates an assault on a member of
an AD&D divine hierarchy (whichever
pantheon is used by the DM) is in big
trouble. As outlined in the previous
NftDM, there are ways to prevent the
whole situation from ever occuring. And
as promised, here are some tips for handling
situations that have already
developed.
You've got supercharacters who have
already "slain a god" in an adventure you
ran. Question: Where do you go from
here? Answer: Backwards, sort of. You
do a little rewriting.
Option #1: Casually mention that the
clerics of that particular deity haven't
had any problems lately; the deity is still
granting 6th and 7th level spells, and it's
"business as usual" in the pantheon as a
whole.
What happened? Several explanations
are possible. An illusion produced by
any pantheon's Supreme Being could be
powerful enough to foil all mortal attempts
at disbelief, and the whole adventure
could have been illusory! Note that
experience points earned during such
an adventure should still apply, though
all treasures would mystically evaporate
afterwards. (How long afterwards? Why,
now that you mention it, they disappear
right about -- now!)
Option #2: The being slain was an
imposter. It was a monster, created by
the deity (or the deity's superiors) in a
near-perfect imitation of the real thing.
All reasures and Experience were real,
but the real deity wasn't even approached
by the characters.
After all, somebody up there would
have been forewarned of the characters'
plans and approach, and in plenty of
time to permit the creation of such a
simulacrum.
Option #3: It really happened, and the
deity was slain, but was immediately
replaced by the next immortal being
waiting in line for promotion. Since the
existant hierarchy worked as it was, the
being automatically assumed the full
persona of the deity slain. Nobody, either
in the deities' plane or on the Prime
Material, was inconvenienced in any way.
Think about this, too. The names used
for the deities couldn't possibly be their
real names. The new guy no doubt has
his own, but fills "job X" -- and the title of
that position is "Thor" or whever.
How are you supposed to use the
DDG? As a guideline for a rationale.
Clerics get their spells from "deities," so
who are the deities? Several mythological
ones are given in the book, and you
should pick one mythos and use it. The
statistics given are for comparison
between the deities -- not for comparisons
to supercharacters!
Remember that Gary didn't write <the> DDG.
Have you seen the Solars and Planetars
in DRAGON Magazine? There are some
examples of how tough other-planar
creatures can be, and they're just minions,
for <P>ete's sake! Can you imagine
the abilities of the higher-ups, in player
character terms? I'm waiting for Gary's
GODS OF GREYHAWK book (as I'm
sure you are) before I get into any
serious character vs. deity affairs.
If you like the epic sound of mythological
gods battling each other, or fighting
the monsters of the mythoi, you might
try making a separate game of it. Put the
characters aside for a night, and try role
playing the deities of Greek myth, having
a big battle after a serious disagreement
arises. (I strongly advise the DM to
research the mythos some more before
tackling this. DDG is nice, but space
didn't permit lengthy discussions of the
complete mythoi.)
You should also try the SAGE: Age of
Heroes minigame, which portrays the
famous battles of the legendary Norse
gods. Retail price is only $4.00, and it's a
pretty neat little game.
I suspect that the whole "god problem"
arose from misinterpretations of rules.
For example, some beginners saw the
Fighters Table (PH, pg.22) and read it
as "1d10 hp to start, 2d10 more at 2nd
level, 3d10 more at 3rd level, plus Constitution
bonuses to each die . . . ." thus
resulting in a 9th level Fighter Lord with
45 hit dice. This is wrong -- every class
gains only one hit die at a certain
point (9th for Fighter) and gain only hit
points thereafter. Thus, a 100th level
Fighter (egad!) has 9d10 + 243 hp, plus
Con bonus on 9 dice, for a maximum
total (with 25 Con, +7 hp per die) of 396
hp. Even that outstanding total can be
used up quickly when battling the minions
of a deity on its home turf, minions like
rocs, huge (unnamed) giants, and
anything else the DM can dream up.
So stop this nonsense! The ADVANCED
DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game system
was not designed for role playing or
fighting deities. They're included as
background information, and shouldn't
become the ultimate opponents. Their
existence and habits can be assumed
and not detailed, as are the thousands of
NPC beggars populating every medieval
AD&D game world. Religion causes
enough arguments in real life; don't bring
them into the game.