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Topic: More baby pics - Saara
Subject: wow
Pekka, she is beautiful!
Love all of the pics. Hehe, I'll have to post some more of my own, soon.
Posted on 2008-03-26 at 13:15:13.
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Topic: A few questions for 2nd edition DMs
Subject: good questions!
Good questions, all. Since I almost exclusively DM 2nd edition, I feel qualified to answer. Of course, please realize that what works for my games won't necessarily work for everyone's.
1. A lot of the spells presented in the PHB aren’t exactly balanced. This one really came to my attention about a week ago when I was statting up a spell-using enemy of the party. A lot of the spells restricted from use in underground encounters seem particularly overpowered (e.g. Call Lightning) … presumably because the writers assumed they’d only ever be used in the one or two random encounters on the way to the adventurers’ latest dungeon crawl. As written, a lot of low level spells also don’t give saves that IMHO really should (Silence 15’ radius and Colour Spray- I’m looking at you).
Some feel that 2nd edition spells are quirky and not always balanced - and they are right. *shrug* I don't subscribe to the opinion that every class should be equal in power. A rogue can do things no one else can, but if they don't outsmart their opponents, they will be carved to bits by a fighter or reduced to ash by a wizard - and the universe has no issues with this.
I might allow a saving throw for silence, 15' radius if it were cast AT someone, but if it is cast in an area, nope. Such are the breaks.
As for color spray, it is very powerful at low levels. Then again, at low levels, the wizard has one, two spells and is then useless for the rest of the fight. As the wizard gains in power, so do his enemies (unless your campaign is realy boring) and color spray has less of an effect... which ends up being none at all. Unless you see some spell that really ruins things for your game, I wouldn't overthink it too much.
2. If a Cleric turns undead to force them to retreat and then uses ranged weapons to fure on the undead while they’re moving away then is the enchantment broken? All the PHB says is that turned undead are compelled to retreat from the caster. My first inclination was just to say “yes” (for the same reason that I wouldn’t let undead with bows fire on the party once they’d been turned) but I’d be curious to see how other DMs have handled this one?
For this, let us reference the DM's guide.
If the character forces the free-willed undead to come closer than 10 feet, by pressing them into a corner, for example, the turning is broken and the undead attack normally.
It would seem to me that turning is meant to shield the characters from the undead, but if they exploit this, the effect is broken. I have always ruled that any attack instantly breaks the turning; it doesn't make much sense that following the undead breaks the effect, but that attacking them does not.
3. I’ve been looking over the “overbearing” rules in the PHB. Do you allow armour to count against grappling attacks? As wearing a set of full plate would, if anything, unbalance a character I can’t think of a good reason why it should give any sort of protection against being grappled. But if it doesn’t then overbearing suddenly becomes an all-too deadly tactic both for swarm monsters (10 orcs making an overbearing attack against a 5th level fighter) or for PCs to use against more powerful adversaries (5 party members grappling that one 12th level enemy). Neither of which really fit the fantasy genre particularly well.
Again, let us reference the DM's guide.
When punching or wrestling, a normal attack roll is made. The normal Armor Class of the target is used. If a character is attempting to wrestle in armor, the modifiers on Table 42 are used (these are penalties to the foe's attack roll). Normal modifiers to the attack roll are also applied.
The modifiers referenced here are penalties to one's attack roll for trying to wrestle while in restrictive armor.
And further...
To overbear an opponent, a normal attack roll is made. For every level of size difference (1 if a Large attacker takes on a Medium defender, for example), the attack roll is modified by 4 (+4 if the attacker is larger; -4 if the defender is larger).
Seems to me that the DMG is very clear on this: grapple-style attacks are done against the same armor class that a sword attack is done against. I see your point about real world armor, and making one less stable, but D&D specifically tries to abstract combat. Only if the defender could not move away from an attack would I consider ignoring the bonus offered by armor, and the passages here state pretty clearly that they should never be ignored.
Great questions! Makes me wonder if I should reconsider letting old Aerolus start his advice column back.
Posted on 2008-03-25 at 16:21:32.
Edited on 2008-03-25 at 16:24:24 by t_catt11
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Topic: Continuing Where We Last Left Off Q&A
Subject: hey!
I thoguht Arien was the one who is supposed to do stupid, self-sacrificing things!
Oh, wait. He's outside fighting mister green robo arm. Nevermind, carry on.
Posted on 2008-03-14 at 17:06:07.
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Topic: Continuing Where We Last Left Off Q&A
Subject: American Idol?
 and people say *I* am the cruel DM!
Posted on 2008-03-13 at 13:59:58.
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Topic: Continuing Where We Last Left Off Q&A
Subject: oi
Man, I hope not. Jal is such a cool character, I hate to see him die in a plot device.
'course, I'd likely have killed him already, myself, so I certainly can't judge. 
Posted on 2008-03-13 at 13:13:04.
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Topic: Been Awhile
Subject: welcome back!
Good to see you! Don't be such a stranger for so long again. 
Posted on 2008-03-10 at 21:19:46.
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Topic: Where I've been
Subject: thank you
Thank you all for your kind words.
Posted on 2008-03-06 at 20:28:47.
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Topic: Where I've been
Subject: Where I've been
I have been missing for a few days, here is why:
On Friday evening (February 29th), my grandfather passed away from cancer, about two weeks shy of his 89th birthday. Yes, it was a long, full, life, but his death is one of those where it is still a shame.
You see, up until one month before his death, Paw (as we called him) was still quite active. If you wanted to see him, you'd better come to visit early in the morning, or prepare to wait until after supper time. Otherwise, you could forget it - he was out and about each and every day.
A member of our "greatest generation", (Chief) Clarence Oliver Davis served in the Navy during World War II... a subject he never discussed.
He joined the fire department of Bessemer, Alabama, and became chief just six years later. When he took over, the city had one old, dilapidated fire house. During his tenure as chief (around twelve years, from what I can tell), he oversaw construction of four new fire stations - which he personally designed (though he had no formal training as an architect). He was also responsible for the city getting their first paramedic unit.
He retired early, by his own choice, and spent almost thrity-two years doing whatever he felt like doing. I remember him giving me an excellent piece of advice right after my twenty-first birthday. "Boy," he told me, "you're old enough now to be just smart enough to realize how dumb you really are." He was right.
I wish I'd known him better... he just wasn't the kind of guy to sit down and share his feelings. Still, he was a good man, and left more of a legacy than I'd ever imagined (I didn't know about the fire department items until after his death... he never talked about the past at all). We did spend some good time together visiting in the past couple of weeks; he opened up like he had never done before, held my hand, talked. He did not want to die, but was accepting of it.
The fire department sent an honor guard to the viewing, and they stood at attention, two by the casket, one at the entrance of the chapel, for the entire three hours. On the morning of the funeral, six firefighters in dress blues served as pallbearers; close to twenty firemen attended, bringing three trucks and the fire car. From the top of the ladder truck, they flew a huge American flag in his honor, and the US government provided a flag for his coffin (due to his WWII veteran status). After the preacher spoke, the fire chief talked about firemen, their bond, their duty, and then, they rang a silver bell to signify the end of his life's duties. It was a somber moment, one that still brings tears to my eyes.
I was touched that firemen that were not even born when he served came to his funeral, and was moved by the seriousness that they treated the affair with.
I wish I had something eloquent to say here, but I don't. I just wanted to share a bit of the experience with you.
Posted on 2008-03-05 at 16:50:48.
Edited on 2008-03-05 at 16:51:07 by t_catt11
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Topic: Gary Gygax has passed away
Subject: hats off
Without Gary, there would be no D&D, hence no Red Dragon Inn, and I wouldn't have had the pleasure of making some very good friends. Rest in peace, good sir.
Posted on 2008-03-05 at 16:37:11.
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Topic: How Creative is your Mind?
Subject: huh
73%
A tad better than I thought I might do.
Posted on 2008-02-28 at 21:49:46.
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Topic: William Pictures
Subject: whoa!
Check him out! Man, you are right - he IS a big fella!
Love the pics, man.
Posted on 2008-02-22 at 15:37:04.
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Topic: Olan's baby photobucket
Subject: yep, it's that time again...
...more pictures!
Noah is a lot of fun... and has discoverd the computer. He is difficult to hold if you are sitting at the computer desk, because he wants to play. He'll bang delightedly on the keyboard. Donna has found some simple games on the internet that are made for babies, and he LOVES to play them.
Posted on 2008-02-22 at 14:59:44.
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Topic: LUNAR Eclipse
Subject: we tried...
But you couldn't see a single star last night in Aabama due to the cloud cover.  I was really looking forward to the eclipse, plus a nice peek at Saturn's rings... but it wasn't meant to be.
Posted on 2008-02-21 at 14:32:09.
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Topic: Star Trek: Operation:Persephone - Q&A
Subject: well
I'm sitting on half-written posts for both ships; if I can dig myself out, I'll post. Sorry for the delay!
Posted on 2008-02-20 at 22:59:54.
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Topic: yet another movie thread...
Subject: another "kid" movie
We went and saw The Spiderwick Chronicles this past weekend. Well worth the price of admission!
My daughter has read all of the books, and had no complaints, so apparently, it follows them pretty well. The effects were nice, the acting was good, and there was plenty of humor to keep it fun.
I could quibble that the older sister's fencing skills seemed to translate unrealistically well to slashing swordplay, but yeah, I'd be quibbling. Boy, the girl in the end looks awfully big for six... *smack*. Shut up and enjoy the movie, Olan!
Seriously, a lot of fun... the hobgoblin was great. I can tell you, in good conscience, to see this film.
Posted on 2008-02-20 at 20:19:47.
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Topic: A Cold Day in Hell Q&A
Subject: woot!
Congrats, man! Best of luck to ya.
Posted on 2008-02-20 at 14:27:50.
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Topic: Hello All Been Awhile
Subject: bah
Whaever... I checked the ads in Firefox, they are no bigger there. Whiner!
Posted on 2008-02-20 at 14:27:04.
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Topic: Happy Birthday Me!!
Subject: woot!
Happy birthday, Skari! All the cool kids were born in February. 
Posted on 2008-02-20 at 14:20:09.
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Topic: Hello All Been Awhile
Subject: welcome back!
Good to see ya, Gruggster.
Deal with the ad. You've lost your window to gripe about it by flaking on us. 
Posted on 2008-02-19 at 14:21:36.
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Topic: A Cold Day in Hell Q&A
Subject: nope
I'll post this to the game thread, but these guys seem fine, overall.
Posted on 2008-02-18 at 14:22:47.
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Topic: Continuing Where We Last Left Off Q&A
Subject: love interest?
Sure, Arien will take a love interest. It's well provided for in his character sheet.
Oh, wait. You meant something about being interested in still playing? Uh, duh. I'm here, man! Gotta finish this thing!
Posted on 2008-02-18 at 14:21:23.
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Topic: The Cannibal Quiz
Subject: well, I'm dead
28%
But then again, the quiz doesn't cover strangers! 
Posted on 2008-02-15 at 15:39:46.
Edited on 2008-02-15 at 15:41:11 by t_catt11
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Topic: A Cold Day in Hell Q&A
Subject: great news!
HVAC is a good field. And less than $4k to pay back for an education is WORTH IT.
And yes, I agree with your picks for guard duty - I was hoping you'd leave the inactives behind.
Posted on 2008-02-15 at 15:12:03.
Edited on 2008-02-15 at 15:19:51 by t_catt11
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Topic: Sojourn in Middle Earth
Subject: well...
I enjoyed his little wargame blog... feel free to post your own!
Posted on 2008-02-14 at 17:23:14.
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Topic: Happy Valentine's Day!!
Subject: hrm
Maybe not traditional romance to everyone, but a couple years back, my wife gave me a baseball glove for my birthday... inside of the glove were tickets to a Cubs-Cardinals game at Wrigley Field. Being a lifetime Cubs fan (who lived in Alabama, not Illinois), that was a huge gesture.
Posted on 2008-02-14 at 17:09:53.
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