Recent content by mirivor

Very interesting. I think that I mis-labeled and mis-typed the whole darned thing. I should have said "failure" instead of "death". I have seen the kind of game where the players cannot screw up bad enough for the DM to simply alter his setting in order to reflect that badness. In other words...

As a DM of 18 years, it is my personal opinion that nothing is more satisfiying than creating/running a world and having the players and the random dice energize it and bring it to life. The interplay of chance and input from the players gives a setting a life that it otherwise would not have...

I think that this is the number one problem that actually exists for most people, even if they do not realize it. Huge stats lead to huge numbers and otherwise-difficult to obtain combinations. Worst of all, it is nearly impossible to correct it once the game has started without shattering...

Does anyone have any sort of system where you take points in like (as an example) "Knowledge: Science: Chemistry" and "Knowledge: Science: Physics" and the overall points in "Knowledge: Science: *" contribute somehow to checks made for a specific sub-skill? I actually do. Please bear in mind...

I would second the notion that you don't try an balance the classes. Let the notion stand that wizards are at a marked disadvantage. Perhaps their main NPC would be a wizard who, lacking the power of his predecessors, employs the PCs to go recover some for him. Sounds like a really cool way to...

Nail, I agree with you. I should have made it clear that it is not that mechanic of ability damage, necessarily, but rather the idea that all magic users have a list of "spontaneous spells" that they have access to that would greatly expand their general abilities. Clerics can spontaneously...

I only just, after owning the book since its release, realized that there were Sanctified Spells on page 84 of BoED. For some reason, these things are simply awesome. One of my biggest bugs with core magic is the lack of flexibility. Sure the wizard knows a billion spells, but he can only...

As an idea, they did do that back when the 2nd edition Options books came out. I think it was called DM's Option: High-level campaigns. From what I can remember (it is at home and I am not) it did a lot of the behind the curtains stuff. It discussed making lowly beasties into fearsome opponents...

It is not even the crushing damage. It is the acid that really hurts. Since acid ignores hardness and is one of the damage types that is not divided before being applied, it would be completely reasonable for your equipment to be completely destroyed. Each round of exposure, if taken on...

Surprised/Flat-footed Bluffed Paralyzed/Held Asleep DM Fiat Flanked ( I am not sure if this actually removes dex bonuses or is just used as a trigger for certain conditions) More if they come to me.

You may want to check out this little system from Sean K. Reynolds. http://www.seankreynolds.com/rpgfiles/misc/magicsys.html It is copyrighted, but so long as you ackowledge his credit you are good to go. Later!

Previously known, not originally objected to, only upset the player once it impacted him? Tell him, in a friendly and polite manner, to get stuffed. Later!

Because that is one of the keys to balancing mechanical advantages to role-playing disadvantages. People are wondering how to balance this class or that, when the problem generally speaking does not lie in mechanics so much as it lies in the generalization that DMs do not take those spiritual...

"Druids must revere nature, this is true. But they are by no means forbidden from having other goals, motivations and concerns. A Druid may care for his friends, his kingdom, or his own personal power just like anyone else. Just because Druids revere nature doesn't mean that they have to spend...

"So... you feel the great physical confrontation power is compensated for by the role-playing restrictions? I disagree with the premise, and feel that whatever your motivation may be, your mechanics should be balanced with everyone else's." In a perfect world, I agree. But D20 is not a...