brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) (06/04/85)
< The Line-Eater Hits. --More-- >
Why do you always hear about magical artifacts and such being
made by elves? The AD&D Players Handbook says that the maximum
level for an elven magic user is 11, well at 11th level you can
cast spells up to 5th level... "Enchant An Item" is a 6th level
spell.. There is a 4th level spell "Enchant Weapon" but this has
a limited duration of 5 rounds/level and only enchants things to
+1 for that time...
Why is this??
Also, If you are falling at a velocity of say 15m/sec and you
teleport back to your castle are you going to be mashed into the
floor?? If so & if you teleported so you "landed" up-side-down
would you go flying up into the air?? If you were visiting a
planet that was revolving faster then good old Greyhawlk and
then teleported back would you go skipping along the ground at
a few hundred km/hr?? What happens to the air that is displaced
then you teleport in?? Would you make a small thunder-clap when
you teleport away??
Brad Harrington
{ihnp4,sun,ucbvax}!dual!brad
{ihnp4,sun,ucbvax}!dual!vanguard!bradoyster@uwmacc.UUCP (Vicious Oyster) (06/04/85)
In article <1028@dual.UUCP> brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) writes: > > Also, If you are falling at a velocity of say 15m/sec and you > teleport back to your castle are you going to be mashed into the > floor?? If so & if you teleported so you "landed" up-side-down > would you go flying up into the air?? If you were visiting a > planet that was revolving faster then good old Greyhawlk and > then teleported back would you go skipping along the ground at > a few hundred km/hr?? What happens to the air that is displaced > then you teleport in?? Would you make a small thunder-clap when > you teleport away?? Do what you want, and to blazes with the net.games.frp.physics'ers. I rather like the idea of penalizing (slightly) PCs who think they can easily avoid the perils that you so lovingly set up; the least you can do is make them teleport in upside down, for n points of damage, and have them make saving throws for breakable items. I wouldn't go so far as to defy the laws of physics (?) so much that the PC goes shooting up into the air, or skipping along *too* fast-- perhaps several bounces, and he/she can't sit down for several days (travel by horse included). And a small thunderclap is a good idea, and may suitably impress the natives. -- - joel "vo" plutchak {allegra,ihnp4,seismo}!uwvax!uwmacc!oyster "Take what I say in a different way and it's easy to say that this is all confusion."
chrisa@azure.UUCP (Chris Andersen) (06/07/85)
> > Also, If you are falling at a velocity of say 15m/sec and you > teleport back to your castle are you going to be mashed into the > floor?? If so & if you teleported so you "landed" up-side-down > would you go flying up into the air?? If you were visiting a > planet that was revolving faster then good old Greyhawlk and > then teleported back would you go skipping along the ground at > a few hundred km/hr?? What happens to the air that is displaced > then you teleport in?? Would you make a small thunder-clap when > you teleport away?? > > > Brad Harrington > {ihnp4,sun,ucbvax}!dual!brad > {ihnp4,sun,ucbvax}!dual!vanguard!brad This sounds very similar to past discussions I have heard concerning the transporters on the Enterprise. I would guess that any solutions in that case would also be applicable to teleportation. Chris Andersen tektronix!azure!chrisa
dave@garfield.UUCP (David Janes) (06/08/85)
In article <1028@dual.UUCP> brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) writes: | Why do you always hear about magical artifacts and such being | made by elves? The AD&D Players Handbook says that the maximum | level for an elven magic user is 11, well at 11th level you can | cast spells up to 5th level... "Enchant An Item" is a 6th level | spell.. I think Gygax's reasoning on this subject is that Player Characters are limited to these levels, but some super-exceptional NPC's have been granted the ability by the ghods to progress to unlimited levels. I believe there are a few dwarvish magic items to which present similar problems. (actually, E.G.G.'s reasoning was probably "'cause I said so" :-) | Also, If you are falling at a velocity of say 15m/sec and you | teleport back to your castle are you going to be mashed into the | floor?? If so & if you teleported so you "landed" up-side-down | would you go flying up into the air?? If you were visiting a | planet that was revolving faster then good old Greyhawlk and | then teleported back would you go skipping along the ground at | a few hundred km/hr?? What happens to the air that is displaced | then you teleport in?? Would you make a small thunder-clap when | you teleport away?? Read Larry Niven's "The Theory and Practice of Teleportation" in "All the Myriad of Ways" (I think.) Basically, the same type of problem occurs when you teleport to different altitudes, or to the other side of the earth (it is moving very fast in exactly the opposite direction.) When you teleport somewhere, the air in that spot is teleported back to where you teleported from (neat, hey?) dave -- The UUCP: {utcsri,ihnp4,allegra,mcvax}!garfield!dave Mercenary INTERNET: dave@garfield.uucp Programmer CDNNET: dave@garfield.mun.cdn "There are two types of people in the world, those who divide the people of the world into two types, and those who can't"
hollombe@ttidcc.UUCP (The Polymath) (06/11/85)
In article <229@azure.UUCP> chrisa@azure.UUCP (Chris Andersen) writes: >> >> Also, If you are falling at a velocity of say 15m/sec and you >> teleport back to your castle are you going to be mashed into the >> floor?? If so & if you teleported so you "landed" up-side-down >> would you go flying up into the air?? If you were visiting a >> planet that was revolving faster then good old Greyhawlk and >> then teleported back would you go skipping along the ground at >> a few hundred km/hr?? What happens to the air that is displaced >> then you teleport in?? Would you make a small thunder-clap when >> you teleport away?? > > This sounds very similar to past discussions I have heard concerning >the transporters on the Enterprise. I would guess that any solutions in that >case would also be applicable to teleportation. Larry Niven addressed most of these problems in his stories and dissertations on transporter booths. His solution to the intrinsic kinetic energy problem was to electronically divert it elsewhere (into an energy sink) -- not useful in a magical system. He solved the problem of the air by having the contents of the transporter booth go with you (and be exchanged for the contents of the booth at the other end). The DM I play with has the simplest answer to all these questions: "It's magic, dammit!" -- -_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_- The Polymath (aka: Jerry Hollombe) Citicorp TTI "How goes the rat race?" 3100 Ocean Park Blvd. "The rats are winning." Santa Monica, CA 90405 -- Paul Lynde (213) 450-9111, ext. 2483 {philabs,randvax,trwrb,vortex}!ttidca!ttidcc!hollombe
pop@bunkerb.UUCP (Paul Pederson) (06/13/85)
In article <1028@dual.UUCP> brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) writes: > > Why do you always hear about magical artifacts and such being > made by elves? The AD&D Players Handbook says that the maximum > level for an elven magic user is 11, well at 11th level you can > cast spells up to 5th level... "Enchant An Item" is a 6th level > spell.. There is a 4th level spell "Enchant Weapon" but this has > a limited duration of 5 rounds/level and only enchants things to > +1 for that time... > > Why is this?? I do believe it is also stated (either in DMG or Dragon) that level restrictions are for player characters only. NPCs may be of any class, and level. I'm not positive as to WHY NPCs have such freedom -- possibly to give the game more balance? It seems that there is a big hang up about AD&D rules by several people on the net. Let it be said that any system which attempts to define a universe (or a broad portion of it) will be full of inconsistancies. You will find it true in mathematic theory, justice systems, etc.. How can a rules system which attempts to define the constraints of an alter-ego within an imaginary universe be any different? The only way to avoid the inconsistancies is to vastly limit the system, not the rules which define the system. Not only will a large system be full of inconsistancies, but also full of paradoxes. Neither the inconsistancies nor the paradoxes invalidate the system. For each inconsistancy, there is an exception to the rule (again, think of mathematics - imaginary numbers, mapping of fractions to a real number system, etc.). Therefore, any system which attempts to define the rules of system as broad as 'constraints of an alter-ego in an imaginary universe' will be full of inconsistancies. Exceptions to the general rule is the only way to patch up these inconsistancies. If you believe that AD&D fails as a game system because of these inconsistancies or exceptions to the rule, then you must also believe that any other system which attempts to define rules for the same will also fail. -Paul Pederson .
tihor@acf4.UUCP (Stephen Tihor) (06/16/85)
The only way to avoid the inconsistancies is to vastly limit the system, not the rules which define the system. Not only will a large system be full of inconsistancies, but also full of paradoxes. Neither the inconsistancies nor the paradoxes invalidate the system. For each inconsistancy, there is an exception to the rule (again, think of mathematics - imaginary numbers, mapping of fractions to a real number system, etc.). There are certain limits on the power and consistency of any formal system but they aren't really relevant to this discussion. To the extent that a set of rules is sparse and cleanly designed working froma small number of axioms they can successfully model any consistent reality well enough for almost all practical purposes. FRP rules have a particular problem since many of the works of Fantasy which one wishes to evoke with the game were not designed with internally consistent physics that encompass magic and many of the ones which were are not mutually consistent. This doesn't mean that it can not be done. I have written too many rules and know too many game designers who have produced consistent systems to believe that one can not model however much of reality you want. The thing about D&D/AD&D is that it is clear that there is no single clear set of principles to fuse (half Newtonian) physics, the Golden Bough, assorted scrapings of Christianity, Errol Flynn, Tolkein, and Michael Moorcock into a set of rules with the coherency of even the Hero System, Runes is Space, or Lands of Adventure.
dac1@ukc.UUCP (D.Caldwell) (06/17/85)
In article <1028@dual.UUCP> brad@dual.UUCP (Brad Harrington) writes: > > Why do you always hear about magical artifacts and such being > made by elves? The AD&D Players Handbook says that the maximum > level for an elven magic user is 11, well at 11th level you can > cast spells up to 5th level... "Enchant An Item" is a 6th level > spell.. There is a 4th level spell "Enchant Weapon" but this has > a limited duration of 5 rounds/level and only enchants things to > +1 for that time... > > Why is this?? - Yet another inconsistency in the pathetic AD&D rules... - David Caldwell, Canterbury, England.
wlb@rruxo.UUCP (B Boutin) (06/19/85)
Yes, the rules for player characters are different than non player characters. The AD&D rules state that maximum level and even class restrictions are for Player Characters only. Therefore, you can have a 19th level Elf making whatever magic items he or she may want or have the capability of making. And to continue, Enchanting an Item is only temporary unless you also throw a Permanancy on the item also. Happy DMing -- Bill Boutin, Bell Communications Research, Inc., 444 Hoes Lane, Room 4D-336, Piscataway, NJ, 08854 201-699-4700