steven@qubix.UUCP (Steven Maurer) (01/17/84)
References:
Must I ennumerate on this Xorn further???
It seems so...
The Xorn tried several manuvers to get out of its situation.
The first was to cut off the string. This worked for about 12
seconds until the owl got another string. The next thing it tried
was to pull on the string until it reached the end, and bat on the
owl. Unfortunately the owl just let go before it was able to
get all the way up, and when the end of the string fell down, the owl
simply grabbed it again. Then the Xorn tried yanking on the string
to try the pull the owl within reach... the string was yanked out
of the owl's grip. The Xorn tried throwing a clod of dirt at the
owl (handily provided by the DM behind the Xorn's ear), however the
players were able to convince the DM that a Xorn is not practiced
throwing dirt, while hanging upside down from a string, and so got
a -8 modifier to the roll; it missed. The owl was forced to make
a saving throw vs Poison (against it's fatigue poisons) to keep from
pooping out. The reason why the Xorn did not phase through the
string, is that the referee did not think of it..... and I highly
doubt that a Xorn in that situation would be able to think of something
the referee did not. (Also, if you read the spell discription,
it says that it affects the WEIGHT not the DENSITY -- so the Xorn's
density control did it no good).
The entire point of the previous, is not that the Xorn did not
have a chance to get out of the predicament, but rather that a first
level spell should not be so powerful. Another example of problems
with this spell, is the old "hook a big one" technique: Find a Whale,
harpoon it, cast Feather Fall, lift it with a Tensor's Floating Disk.
Carry it onto dry land. Get Treasure.
>> That fighter, by the way,
>> was making some really good rolls, let me tell you: less than 5% chance
>> of even attracting Demogorgon's attention, much less summoning him
I do not consider summoning Demogorgon to be a "really good roll".
>> poisons and poisoned weapons. I would probably allow the players to
>> try to extract poison from a dead creature, but there would be lots
>> of saving throws required, and the poison would have to be treated
>> by an Alchemist to put it in a suitable form for use on weapons (as
>> well as make it stable enough to keep without losing potency).
>> Like hell that's a kludge! I got that out of the DMG!
What happens if you miss your saving throw in D&D?? The poison
is at 1/2 effectiveness?? 0 effectiveness?? Where in D&D does it say
how long it takes for poison glands to rot? The only thing D&D has
in some stupid rules about being attacked by the poison you are trying
to apply (this leads certain players I know to extract
glands/coat weapons/etc. using an unseen servant).
>> Really, now. How many DM's allow you to walk around with a
>> dead Medusa's head? When a medusa dies, the magic of her gaze no longer
>> opeates; it is linked to her life force.
It is?? Where does it say that?? I suppose Trolls in your world
loose their Regeneration, because it is linked to their life force too.
Incedentally, your high-level MU (with Charm Monster), can create an army
of Trolls starting with only one.... (a sort of high-level Hobgoblin bug).
>> Sure, the rules have holes; I never denied it. A good DM, however, will
>> know how to fix them without always resorting to rewriting the rules.
>> What other game systems do you play (just curious what your comparing
>> AD&D with).
You are right. However, AD&D (and Traveller) seem to be two systems
that takes so much work to fix, that by the time you finish fixing them,
you no longer have the same system. This is called the Variant technique,
and I don't like it. As a Gamemaster, I like systems which are complete
and debugged, BEFORE I buy them.
Steven Maurer
p.s. I have a whole bunch of other D&D horror stories, if anyone wants
to read them -- including The Vampire Gambit (or how I went from 0 to 9th
level overnight), Phantasmal Lich, Troll bombs, How to Kill an ants nest
without really trying, Underground Glory, etc....argo@hou2a.UUCP (W.GARRETT) (02/02/84)
All right, let me into this. First off, your argument about your now famous xorn. For cryin' out loud, how long does that feather fall last!? Did your DM ever read the DMG, or is he just faking it. I happen to disagree with many of your uses of spells, and do not believe they are correct interpretations. As I have not been following your arguments too avidly, I did not understand most of your other references, so could not refute them also. Contact Has Been Made, Andrew Garrett