euren@ttds.UUCP (Leif Euren) (06/06/85)
THE REAPER writes: >Leif Euren writes: >> WHY are we playing [A]D&D? ... >>it has some great advantages: : >> Combat - is fast and fair and has just as much luck-dependance to >>make it a thrill. With luck, you may slay a slightly more powerful enemy, >>but there are sure deaths too. > > How can D&D combat be a thrill? > It is totally to do with the luck of the dice roll and is only fair > if your dice are. > You would need a hell of alot of luck to slay a more powerful enemy > or lots of nice powerful magic .He can hit you easier and take the > damage you do without even blinking,while he can easily kill you > just because you made a lousy roll on your hit points. > I.e. 'D&D is D&D and there is NO WAY its combat can be a thrill, as thrill IS NOT in that game system! Combat should involve no luck AT ALL, but you should be able to lick even the most powerful enemy nonwithstanding.' Mr Reaper (or may I call you 'The'?). You read my article as the Devil reads the Bible. I didn't say the hit-point system was perfect (it's definitely not), but just that combat is fast and fair. Fast (two dice-throws and one table-look-up per blow) as slow combat procedures has NO thrill; fair (characters and monsters/NPCs alike have their level(HD), AC and HTK) as a little realism tend to appeal to almost every {:-)} RPGamer. >> Balance - is not very hard to achieve. > This is the the same for any game, the GM creates the balance. > A good GM will have a good balance and a bad GM will not.It has > no relavance to one game being better than another. I.e. 'All game rules are alike. It's always easy to compare different situations and encounters in a game, irrespective of how hairy the rules are.' I'd say clear rules helps a (n inexperienced) GM to achieve balance, and [A]D&D has the easiest and clearest (and crudest) of them all: take same level on monsters as on characters. >> Rules - exist in an unparallelled vastness... Everything (almost) is >>covered... A DM may choose what he like, and discard the rest. > It would help if the rules wre writen properly in the first place > then GM's would need to make up his own or alter the originals. {Did you do a typo here, The? It should read "wouldn't", shouldn't it?} I.e. 'There is only one truth, and it's THAT the rules should simulate. Playing should be the book, and AD LIB is a definite NO-NO.' True, the rules are not, repeat NOT, properly written. There are many, too many, and contradicting. If DMG or PH states one thing, one may be sure it's cancelled in the Dragon Magazine. But a DM may find rules covering fields of which he has no knowledge, whereas he mostly resorts to his own judgment. >> Character Classes - greatly helps the DM create interesting >>NPCs. > > UTTER BULLS**T! Any GM worth his salt can create an interesting > NPC with having to resort to silly and restrictive charachter > classes. > Monsters can be very interesting it just depends on the GM thats > running them. I.e. 'Allow only experienced GMs to master games. Inexperienced ones shouldn't even think of it. Everything helping an inexperinced GM in his task is of evil, as it will eventually destroy the whole gaming hobby.' Not every GM may be good. If the rules helps him to create interesting NPCs without causing him to much work, THATS good. And besides, a GM worth his salt steps outside the rules when he has to. >>The rules......... >>Players exchange their modifications (as said above) and other ideas, >>which mostly makes the game better, easier and more exciting to play. > No Kidding! > You mean these vast and comprehensive set of rules that cover just > about everything.Make your mind up either you wany rules to change > so they can be played properly or you want a set to actually play > by. I.e. (see under 'Rules -' above) The AD&D rules are indeed vast and inperspiscuous, and by no means easy to understand. But they are a base to build on. When I play, I want rules I can use when I don't know any better ones myself. >>I certaily enjoyed every AD&D-based campaign I've had the luck to be in. > Then you've either very lucky or you just haven't been in many games! I.e. 'Either you're a rookie or a liar!' Well, if I've been lycky, I'm not sad about it. Let's say we are blessed with the absence of Munchkins over here. > THE REAPER > Beware the friutbats they'll go for your private parts! Gee, you've got a strange name, even stranger than mine. And what is 'friut'? I think I've heard about them before, though. They were edible in some way, but you had to drink 'ckoe' to get them down. Well, it have been a nice chat anyway. Leif Euren euren@ttds (...mcvax!enea!ttds!euren)