When it comes to RPGs, how many choices are enough to make you feel that you actually have a choice, as opposed to having such an overwhelming number of choices that it is difficult to pick just one? I think that the early fathers of RPGs determined that the optimal number is "four" -- just enough to feel like you are making an informed decision based on min/max stats, preferences, and elimination processes, but not so many choices that you have to mull things over for a few minutes to an hour before you happen upon the best combination for you to play. If you think about it, most multiple choice surveys and tests also have four possibilities to choose from. I will refer to this as the "Rule of Four."
Classic D&D uses this principle, and it's one of the reasons I actually like the system. Choices are few but you feel like you have made an informed choice whenever you choose a race or class to play. By elimating some choices based on other choices you take a possible 16 combinations and whittle it down to a manageable amount. Moldvay Basic took some of that choice away, but in the end the results are not too different.
What more do you need than the basic four classes (Cleric, Fighter, Magic-user, Thief) and four basic races (Man, Elf, Dwarf, Halfling)? You can call them anything you like (Priest for cleric, Warrior for Fighter, Wizard for Magic-user, or Rogue instead of Thief; or exchange Hobbit for Halfling) but those four principle races exist in almost every version of the game from the original to the latest version. What you make of the class is up to the individual player. One player's fighter might prefer to use two-handed axes, light armor, and paint his face and shield to reflect his tribal colors; another fighter might use only noble weaponry, disdain missile weapons, and seek plate mail as soon as possible (as well as a warhorse) to be the stereotypical "knight in shining armor." Both are FIGHTERS, but they are played differently by their players. Sub-classes, which were added later in D&D and cemented in place with AD&D, simply serve to muddy the waters. They are not truly necessary and add very little to the gaming experience.
Now, races have changed dramatically from the original concepts. Dwarves can now be clerics, magic-users, paladins, and various other classes that were off limits to them in the original form of the game. I think that allowing all races to be all classes is fine if that is what all the players desire, but there must be some form of control to keep the demi-humans in check. This took the form of level limits for demi-humans. This is valid if most of the players stop adventuring in the mid-teen levels (say 14-16) and settle down to rule kingdoms. It otherwise handicaps the demi-humans severely. Demi-humans are also the only races allowed to multi-class in the original system, although even humans could have two classes, so long as they only operated in one at a time. Options were limited based on available classes, but all multi-class options were base-classes (except perhaps for ranger, which wasn't official until AD&D).
Now, there is little reason to play a human in a world where demi-humans exist. Only demi-humans gain bonuses and penalties to ability scores, only demi-humans can see with infravision, and only demi-humans can multi-class. So what's so great about playing a human? This was the reason for the limitations in the game regarding classes and levels. I would go one step further and say that only humans should gain the experience point bonus for high stats. I think that the lower limits in the original game were very harsh, but upper levels probably were only just being reached by the initial developers of the game. The higher level limits in Basic D&D and later versions is probably the way to go, with the Unearthed Arcana system allowing single-classed demi-humans to advance 2 levels higher than their maximum if they could have multi-classed and didn't. My current AD&D game has a 6th level halfling fighter running around with 9th-12th level characters in the G-series of adventures and he not only holds his own, he does better than some of the higher level characters! Due to his strength, he was originally limited to 4th level, but when we found the rule in UA, I allowed him to reach 6th. The limitation has not adversely affected his performance, although he is an NPC henchman to the party magic-user and run by that player, so I guess it's not the same.
Lots of pre-generated characters in the G and D-series of modules were demi-humans at their level limit (although some of the levels were in error according to AD&D rules). AD&D and D&D are similar but not exactly the same when it comes to level limits. For example, a Basic D&D Dwarf is essentially a Dwarven Lord at max level (12th), but an AD&D dwarf may be able to go no higher than 9th or so based on Strength. Original D&D dwarves I believe were limited to 6th! Elves in Basic D&D can get to 10th level (the equivalent of a 10th/10th level fighter/magic-user in AD&D) whereas they are limited in fighter in AD&D and may advance as high as 11th if their sub-race and Intelligence qualify them. Original D&D elves could go no higher than 4th in Fighter and no more than 9th in magic-user (depending on ability scores of course). Halflings are generally limited to 4th level as fighter and unlimited as thieves in AD&D and original D&D, but in Basic D&D they are sneaky fighters that can get to 8th level maximum regardless of ability score. In all systems, Men are able to advance unlimited in level (although 36th is the hard cap in Basic D&D). Most campaigns petered out shortly after 14th level -- I can think of only one or two TSR modules published for AD&D 1E that went beyond that level barrier (Isle of the Ape being one, and one of the Bloodstone modules as the other, but there could have been more). A level limit on demi-humans means very little when the campaigns only go on for about 3-5 levels beyond the cap.
The Rule of Four was also carried over to other games by TSR, most notably STAR FRONTIERS. There you have four basic races for characters to choose from -- Human, Dralasite, Vrusk, and Yazirian, with four Primary Skill Areas (their form of profession or class) - Weapons, Biosocial, Scispec, and Vehicles. It's interesting to note that most Fantasy MMORPGs also use this same method when determining roles -- tank (fighter), healer (cleric), melee dps (thief), and ranged dps (magic-user). Adding more than 4 choices starts to muddy the list up with unnecessary roles. One can simply add more 4-choice options to the game to make the permutations increase! This is why I believe the race as class system of Basic D&D never really caught on. It locked the choices to a set of 7 static categories which limits some creativity on the player's part. The race + class options of original D&D, AD&D, and later versions is superior as it keeps choices simple but opens up more permutations.
Monday, December 11, 2017
Monday, November 6, 2017
AD&D Against the Giants - High-Level Play
Last weekend we had a great time running the end portion of G2: GLACIAL RIFT OF THE FROST GIANT JARL. It's been a long year and a half of trying out different systems and playing alternate characters, but the players have slipped into their old character roles like putting on a pair of well-worn, but comfortable gloves. They are now in the 9th-12th level range and loving playing their high level characters!
The last session, I think, truly displayed the power at the beck and call of these high-level characters. The party magic-user can fire off 6 magic missiles nearly every round, doling out a consistent 12-30 points of damage. She also has a wand of fire, a wand of frost, a wand of conjuration, and 2 charges left in the Ruling Staff of Amun-Re (thunderclap ability only) as well as a robe of blending, ring of protection +4, cloak of protection +2, and now bracers of AC 3 traded to her by the cleric (who is now wearing magical plate mail). This provides a -3 AC....for a magic-user.... She also typically carries 2 fireballs, 2 slows, a hold monster or two, and several strength spells cast upon the party henchmen to make them more formidable.
The druid particularly impressed me. He is now able to summon an earth elemental AND a fire elemental, as well as casting his usual fire-based spells like produce fire, heat metal, and wall of fire, all of which cause creatures to burn and catch on fire! During this last session, his random roll for the fire elemental produced 3 salamanders! Not to mention that he also has with him 3 1st level druid servants, most of whom carry slings, and with extra spells to boot!
The party ranger is ridiculously powerful against giants, given his damage bonus of +9 per hit, and the fact that he attacks 3/2 due to his level. He lost his dancing falchion, but has replaced it with a +2 scimitar which he wields with a magic shield for a better armor class.
The party cleric is currently being run as an NPC because the player is away for the time being. She has been relegated to healer role and also takes protection spells and party boosters like bless and prayer.
Each of the henchmen have their own roles to play in the party. Most of these are straight fighters, but two are a dwarf and halfling who have excellent ACs against giants. The other wields a +3 longsword and has a low AC with magical plate and shield (his employer hooked him up). Two of the henchmen are now 7th level fighters and get 3/2 attacks. The halfling, although he is stuck at 6th level, owns a short sword of speed (once belonging to Markessa) which allows a first strike each round he begins next to an opponent in addition to his normal attack. As I mentioned before, all three fighter henchmen are strengthened by magic to be in the 18-percentile range of strength (most of the time).
They took out one frost giant guard at the entrance to the Jarl's personal chambers, two additional guards outside the Jarl's bedchamber, and 3 frost giants that came to investigate the noise from the Caverns of the Carls. The magic-user used a fireball in the large chamber (one of the only times this is a good idea to cast underground) while the druid simply commanded his elemental creatures to swarm in and attack (the salamander's were happy about the fireball, while the earth elemental simply sunk down into the earth to wait for anyone to approach the druid and the rest of the party in the rear). It took them only about 10 rounds total to complete the battle, and most of that was simply opponents moving into range. The Jarl sent out his winter wolves to attack the party, but they died shortly after emerging from the curtain. We ended with the party only slightly wounded outside the chamber with the Jarl and his wife.
Now, I'm all for them succeeding, but this frost giant is no stooge. I think there is something going on between the Jarl and the other giant clans. I believe he suspects that the giants are being used by the dark elves as pawns, and had the ancient temple to the Elder Elemental God collapsed in order to somehow regain control over his frost giants. However, he will probably escape with his wife (and the treasure) to the fire giants instead of letting the party kill him. This would leave the bulk of the lair's females and young behind, as almost all of the males are now slain.
But perhaps there is an alternative. I could have the cleric (with permanent tongues ability) talk with the Jarl and convince him to break the alliance in exchange for a ransom. In return the party would spare the lives of the remaining giants if the Jarl told them the easiest way to the Fire Giant Lair. The party knows the giants likely took the dragon hoard for their own, so they are looking to get that back - and since it was "found" treasure, the giants are likely to part with the bits they can't use. Then again, these giants are Chaotic Evil and will likely screw the party over somehow if they don't watch out.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this romp against the giants - almost as much as I did as a 13-year old playing a human fighter in my first actual campaign ever! The by-the-book timekeeping is really giving the campaign a realistic feel and the players are making more intelligent choices given the information they have. I can't wait to see how they are going to get all that treasure back to Quasqueton, including the horde of the two white dragons they killed on the mountainside the last time they treked home....
The last session, I think, truly displayed the power at the beck and call of these high-level characters. The party magic-user can fire off 6 magic missiles nearly every round, doling out a consistent 12-30 points of damage. She also has a wand of fire, a wand of frost, a wand of conjuration, and 2 charges left in the Ruling Staff of Amun-Re (thunderclap ability only) as well as a robe of blending, ring of protection +4, cloak of protection +2, and now bracers of AC 3 traded to her by the cleric (who is now wearing magical plate mail). This provides a -3 AC....for a magic-user.... She also typically carries 2 fireballs, 2 slows, a hold monster or two, and several strength spells cast upon the party henchmen to make them more formidable.
The druid particularly impressed me. He is now able to summon an earth elemental AND a fire elemental, as well as casting his usual fire-based spells like produce fire, heat metal, and wall of fire, all of which cause creatures to burn and catch on fire! During this last session, his random roll for the fire elemental produced 3 salamanders! Not to mention that he also has with him 3 1st level druid servants, most of whom carry slings, and with extra spells to boot!
The party ranger is ridiculously powerful against giants, given his damage bonus of +9 per hit, and the fact that he attacks 3/2 due to his level. He lost his dancing falchion, but has replaced it with a +2 scimitar which he wields with a magic shield for a better armor class.
The party cleric is currently being run as an NPC because the player is away for the time being. She has been relegated to healer role and also takes protection spells and party boosters like bless and prayer.
Each of the henchmen have their own roles to play in the party. Most of these are straight fighters, but two are a dwarf and halfling who have excellent ACs against giants. The other wields a +3 longsword and has a low AC with magical plate and shield (his employer hooked him up). Two of the henchmen are now 7th level fighters and get 3/2 attacks. The halfling, although he is stuck at 6th level, owns a short sword of speed (once belonging to Markessa) which allows a first strike each round he begins next to an opponent in addition to his normal attack. As I mentioned before, all three fighter henchmen are strengthened by magic to be in the 18-percentile range of strength (most of the time).
They took out one frost giant guard at the entrance to the Jarl's personal chambers, two additional guards outside the Jarl's bedchamber, and 3 frost giants that came to investigate the noise from the Caverns of the Carls. The magic-user used a fireball in the large chamber (one of the only times this is a good idea to cast underground) while the druid simply commanded his elemental creatures to swarm in and attack (the salamander's were happy about the fireball, while the earth elemental simply sunk down into the earth to wait for anyone to approach the druid and the rest of the party in the rear). It took them only about 10 rounds total to complete the battle, and most of that was simply opponents moving into range. The Jarl sent out his winter wolves to attack the party, but they died shortly after emerging from the curtain. We ended with the party only slightly wounded outside the chamber with the Jarl and his wife.
Now, I'm all for them succeeding, but this frost giant is no stooge. I think there is something going on between the Jarl and the other giant clans. I believe he suspects that the giants are being used by the dark elves as pawns, and had the ancient temple to the Elder Elemental God collapsed in order to somehow regain control over his frost giants. However, he will probably escape with his wife (and the treasure) to the fire giants instead of letting the party kill him. This would leave the bulk of the lair's females and young behind, as almost all of the males are now slain.
But perhaps there is an alternative. I could have the cleric (with permanent tongues ability) talk with the Jarl and convince him to break the alliance in exchange for a ransom. In return the party would spare the lives of the remaining giants if the Jarl told them the easiest way to the Fire Giant Lair. The party knows the giants likely took the dragon hoard for their own, so they are looking to get that back - and since it was "found" treasure, the giants are likely to part with the bits they can't use. Then again, these giants are Chaotic Evil and will likely screw the party over somehow if they don't watch out.
I'm thoroughly enjoying this romp against the giants - almost as much as I did as a 13-year old playing a human fighter in my first actual campaign ever! The by-the-book timekeeping is really giving the campaign a realistic feel and the players are making more intelligent choices given the information they have. I can't wait to see how they are going to get all that treasure back to Quasqueton, including the horde of the two white dragons they killed on the mountainside the last time they treked home....
Monday, October 9, 2017
AD&D: Against the Giants - Musings
We're back to our regularly scheduled campaign (already in progress) and have had a good run for the past couple of sessions. The party just reached the throne room of the Jarl in G2: GLACIAL RIFT OF THE FROST GIANT JARL, and I had to rearrange a few things based on what transpired before. Here are some details and thoughts about the module and how my party is proceeding...
First off, the party ran into the two white dragons some time ago. They ran afoul of the male who breathed on the party not once, but twice. This killed half the party (including the 0-level lantern bearer)! The rest of the party fell back to the entranceway and hid behind the boulder, taking shots when they could while the cleric valiantly held the dragon at bay. They were able to take out the male dragon with spells and melee but were in no shape to continue. When they moved forward to retrieve the fallen, the magic-user spotted the female moving in to investigate. They hastily threw up a wall of force, collected the dead, and hid out in one of the abandoned rooms of the glacier.
Meanwhile, the female dragon whacked her head on the force field, then shook off the pain and roared in rage at the sight of her dead mate. She took off, climbing the wall to the hole in the ceiling that opened on the rift. The dragon circled the rift for a few hours before retiring to the lair. Eventually, the giants checked in on the dragons (for feeding time) and found the male dead and the female agitated (these are non-speaking dragons that serve as mounts for the Jarl and his wife).
Once the party was feeling safe, they used their djinn servant to help transport the deceased back to their safe cave outside the glacier. Here they began the week long task of raising the dead, healing, and resting from the ordeal. Fully three characters died (plus one hireling), and all were raised successfully. The dwarf henchman, who had died several times before, is starting to see his Constitution drop to perilous levels. But his loyalty remains high, so he remains in the party (besides, where else would he go?). During the rest period, the magic-user periodically used a crystal ball to scry on the dragon and see what it was up to. She got various scenes of the Jarl's wife riding the dragon, searching the glacier for signs of the attackers. She also saw some feeding times, and the host of frost giants moving the dragon hoard to a more protected location (the Jarl's throne room, amidst the stone columns supporting the immense cavern). So the dragon cave was now abandoned, and the female white dragon was safe and secure, watched over by the frost giant guards of the throne room.
Several days later, after resting from their ordeal, some of the party members continued to explore the lower levels, but left the dragon cave alone and always scanned looking for the dragon. The last session, I rolled for random encounters and got one. Now, there are no inhabited encounter areas remaining in the upper level of the glacier (the party is very thorough), so the only thing left to encounter was the dragon! It was the first encounter roll of the day (early morning, with the winds whipping the snow across the glacier), and the dragon was clawing her way up the glacier walls to gain some height in order to take flight. It so happened she climbed up the same side and the same location as the party entering along the ledge on the eastern side of the rift.
The druid went to cast wall of fire and the others scrambled into the tunnels as the dragon breathed. We rolled simultaneous initiative, and the spell and breath went at the same time. So I reduced the effect of the cold breath by the damage done to the dragon, but still managed to catch three party members in the effect. They retreated quickly (as did the dragon) and hid out in the tunnels for a while, afraid to expose themselves on the ledge outside. Eventually they got brave enough to continue forward (meaning they crossed the ledges after much investigation) and headed down to the lower level.
Now the dragon, burned and in pain, fled back down to the lower level and back to the throne room. While the party hid and snuck around, she was licking her wounds. This also put the giants on high alert, although they had no idea what happened to the dragon (can't speak, remember?).
The party made its way to the western end of the main tunnel in the lower level and encountered 4 giants on guard in a roundish cave. Three engaged the party while one ran off to alert the guards. This set in motion the largest giant combat I have run in a while.
Now, the fact that lighting in the lower level is non-existent hurts the party. Plus, they rely on infravision and a continual light lantern to see. I know that all monsters in AD&D are supposed to have infravision of some sort (hokey, but hey, that's what Gygax said), but I decided that the giants have something akin to low-light vision (hence, the fire-beetle cages throughout their inhabited areas). The light was a big hindrance to the party - they could not see the entire cavern and the giants had them dead in their sights. But the stone columns hindered the archers from getting a clear shot at the party which mostly remained at the entrance. I had some of the carls from the other cave move in with two polar bears in order to prevent the party from attacking the Jarl. The dragon was waiting on its treasure pile in the center of the room.
We ran a good 20 rounds of combat between 4 giants at the entrance with 2 polar bears, the white dragon, and another 4 giant guards coming from the south. The Jarl was warned to prepare for battle and the other carls moved to protect the women and young. I got a lot of good hits on the party, dropping the magic-user with an unseen ballista missile, and nearly killing off the party fighters with a final dragon breath before the dragon died an untimely death (pinning her killer under her fallen body). One of the carls fled to save his own ass (chaotic evil, gotta love it!), but all the others were slain. The western ballista archer never got a good bead on a target, but no one knows he was even there! The party quickly retreated to the entrance, healed those they could back to consciousness, then fled the rift as quickly as possible (running into a random encounter at the top of the glacier - some camped ogres which they killed in a few rounds).
It seems that the conditions of the combat have me wondering what the giants will do next. The party has returned to the safe cave, rested, and returned to the glacier to retrieve treasures left behind on previous forays (the magic items frozen into the mural wall on the east, and the clear quartz gems in the pool of water on the west). They spoke to the snow leopards and are on good terms with them (druids, go figure), so they were left alone. All the male and female giants left below will likely make a last ditch stand to defend their home, but I'm toying with the idea of letting the Jarl and his wife flee to the fire giants through the magic teleportal behind their suite. The hill giants never had a chance, but things look grim for the frost giants, who are very aware of the situation with the hill giants (due to the cloud giant who escaped to warn them, and the stone giant females and young that were allowed to live and leave).
If this happens, the party may well defeat the frost giants and find nothing of value remaining to loot. I'm not sure what the frost giant Jarl should take with him, but I'm assuming that the invisible chest of goodies by the teleportal and maybe some trusted guards and his winter wolves would be all he needs. I've never had something like this occur in all my years of DMing, and it would be cool to actually use the tactics laid out in the module (for a change). I'm debating on whether or not to vacate the lower levels completely and have a mass exodus of frost giants to Snurre's Halls. To me, this seems counterintuitive, since the frost and fire giants are more likely to fight among themselves than cooperate, especially since the fire giants are in their element and the frost giants would be weakened. It would make sense for the frost giants to protect the women and young, but the males would likely also seek to escape certain death (chaotic evil = "save thy own ass first").
I don't know if the party will even locate the teleportal, but even if they do, it's unlikely they will seek to use it (because they have no idea where it leads) and will instead loot the giant lair for all they can get and then head home with all their treasure they stored in the safe cave. I've already given them XP for the treasure stored there (as suggested in the module), so we'll have some sessions of treasure removal to contend with before they move on to G3 HALLS OF THE FIRE GIANT KING. I'm tempted to add in a side trek against the ogre magi. I see them as assassination agents of the giants (and the dark elves) who could infiltrate Quasqueton (the party's base of operations) invisibly and attack the party when they least expect it. I'd like to keep this adventure going. The players are having a good time, even if they are wary about getting in too deep. I don't think D1-3 is an option for continued adventuring for them (they hate railroaded plots, and it seems that the drow will be beaten back). However, if I can keep Eclavdra alive and have her retreat as stated in the module, then I have given them incentive to chase down the dark elves and eliminate their threat once and for all! The druid in the party might simply decide to collapse the tunnels behind the retreating drow and be done with it. But knowing them, they never leave an enemy alive if they can help it! Besides, I've had dark elves pop up in the past - in the desert of desolation under the slaver's guild, directing frost giant attacks outside of Reedle, and involved with Zelligar at Quasqueton (detailed in his journals only). The dark elves should prove to be a threat enough for the party to take on.
Now, since this campaign is set in Mystara, I've toyed with using Shadow Elves instead. However, I much prefer the drow designed by Gygax (and the Elder Elemental God patron of Eclavdra) to the tragic shadow elves led by Rafiel. I'm not going to use Q1: QUEEN OF THE DEMONWEB PITS unless I highly modify it to be less of a cartoon-like romp and more like a terror-inspiring epic into the Abyss (as it should have been!). As I've stated in the past, the connection between D3 and Q1 is tenuous at best. Lolth had no involvement with the giants (Eclavdra was involved with the Elder Elemental God, not Lolth), and she might even applaud the party for eliminating that splinter cell of renegade drow from her Vault. She is a demon, though, and is not likely to allow them to live regardless, so perhaps Lolth now has designs on the weakened EEG to take over his power (and perhaps the EEG now has need of adventurers to protect him from the ambitious demoness)...
I just thought of something! What if the Elder Elemental God is Arak of the Hundred Eyes (from dungeon module B3)? They have already encountered this extraplanar entity and dealt him a blow in Haven. Perhaps the whole giant uprising was his doing, and now the PCs will have a chance to put an end to his meddling in the Prime Material Plane once and for all! Eliminating Lolth from the equation means completely redoing the whole premise of the adventure - but if Eclavdra is slain, the other drow will seek safety in numbers, perhaps recanting their worship of Arak and returning to Lolth in order to save their asses from the party! This could work, and allows me to introduce other enclaves of Arak worshippers in the underworld. I'm already blaming the "day without magic" at the end of the year as an effect of "Arak's Eye." This could really turn into a mind-stunning epic conclusion to a very long AD&D campaign! Now I need to work out the particulars.....
I like linking the demons and gods of AD&D to Earth deities. Perhaps Lolth's true name is Ariadne (of Greek Mythology fame), and Arak of the Hundred Eyes would be Argus (guardian of the Garden of the Hesperides), also a figure from the Greek myth of Hercules' 12 labors. Of course, they have transformed into new forms over the centuries and gained and lost power several times, but these entities are immortal and always seeking to increase their power across the endless planes. yes, this could work out quite well in the end, especially since I use Greek/Roman deities for Thyatis.
First off, the party ran into the two white dragons some time ago. They ran afoul of the male who breathed on the party not once, but twice. This killed half the party (including the 0-level lantern bearer)! The rest of the party fell back to the entranceway and hid behind the boulder, taking shots when they could while the cleric valiantly held the dragon at bay. They were able to take out the male dragon with spells and melee but were in no shape to continue. When they moved forward to retrieve the fallen, the magic-user spotted the female moving in to investigate. They hastily threw up a wall of force, collected the dead, and hid out in one of the abandoned rooms of the glacier.
Meanwhile, the female dragon whacked her head on the force field, then shook off the pain and roared in rage at the sight of her dead mate. She took off, climbing the wall to the hole in the ceiling that opened on the rift. The dragon circled the rift for a few hours before retiring to the lair. Eventually, the giants checked in on the dragons (for feeding time) and found the male dead and the female agitated (these are non-speaking dragons that serve as mounts for the Jarl and his wife).
Once the party was feeling safe, they used their djinn servant to help transport the deceased back to their safe cave outside the glacier. Here they began the week long task of raising the dead, healing, and resting from the ordeal. Fully three characters died (plus one hireling), and all were raised successfully. The dwarf henchman, who had died several times before, is starting to see his Constitution drop to perilous levels. But his loyalty remains high, so he remains in the party (besides, where else would he go?). During the rest period, the magic-user periodically used a crystal ball to scry on the dragon and see what it was up to. She got various scenes of the Jarl's wife riding the dragon, searching the glacier for signs of the attackers. She also saw some feeding times, and the host of frost giants moving the dragon hoard to a more protected location (the Jarl's throne room, amidst the stone columns supporting the immense cavern). So the dragon cave was now abandoned, and the female white dragon was safe and secure, watched over by the frost giant guards of the throne room.
Several days later, after resting from their ordeal, some of the party members continued to explore the lower levels, but left the dragon cave alone and always scanned looking for the dragon. The last session, I rolled for random encounters and got one. Now, there are no inhabited encounter areas remaining in the upper level of the glacier (the party is very thorough), so the only thing left to encounter was the dragon! It was the first encounter roll of the day (early morning, with the winds whipping the snow across the glacier), and the dragon was clawing her way up the glacier walls to gain some height in order to take flight. It so happened she climbed up the same side and the same location as the party entering along the ledge on the eastern side of the rift.
The druid went to cast wall of fire and the others scrambled into the tunnels as the dragon breathed. We rolled simultaneous initiative, and the spell and breath went at the same time. So I reduced the effect of the cold breath by the damage done to the dragon, but still managed to catch three party members in the effect. They retreated quickly (as did the dragon) and hid out in the tunnels for a while, afraid to expose themselves on the ledge outside. Eventually they got brave enough to continue forward (meaning they crossed the ledges after much investigation) and headed down to the lower level.
Now the dragon, burned and in pain, fled back down to the lower level and back to the throne room. While the party hid and snuck around, she was licking her wounds. This also put the giants on high alert, although they had no idea what happened to the dragon (can't speak, remember?).
The party made its way to the western end of the main tunnel in the lower level and encountered 4 giants on guard in a roundish cave. Three engaged the party while one ran off to alert the guards. This set in motion the largest giant combat I have run in a while.
Now, the fact that lighting in the lower level is non-existent hurts the party. Plus, they rely on infravision and a continual light lantern to see. I know that all monsters in AD&D are supposed to have infravision of some sort (hokey, but hey, that's what Gygax said), but I decided that the giants have something akin to low-light vision (hence, the fire-beetle cages throughout their inhabited areas). The light was a big hindrance to the party - they could not see the entire cavern and the giants had them dead in their sights. But the stone columns hindered the archers from getting a clear shot at the party which mostly remained at the entrance. I had some of the carls from the other cave move in with two polar bears in order to prevent the party from attacking the Jarl. The dragon was waiting on its treasure pile in the center of the room.
We ran a good 20 rounds of combat between 4 giants at the entrance with 2 polar bears, the white dragon, and another 4 giant guards coming from the south. The Jarl was warned to prepare for battle and the other carls moved to protect the women and young. I got a lot of good hits on the party, dropping the magic-user with an unseen ballista missile, and nearly killing off the party fighters with a final dragon breath before the dragon died an untimely death (pinning her killer under her fallen body). One of the carls fled to save his own ass (chaotic evil, gotta love it!), but all the others were slain. The western ballista archer never got a good bead on a target, but no one knows he was even there! The party quickly retreated to the entrance, healed those they could back to consciousness, then fled the rift as quickly as possible (running into a random encounter at the top of the glacier - some camped ogres which they killed in a few rounds).
It seems that the conditions of the combat have me wondering what the giants will do next. The party has returned to the safe cave, rested, and returned to the glacier to retrieve treasures left behind on previous forays (the magic items frozen into the mural wall on the east, and the clear quartz gems in the pool of water on the west). They spoke to the snow leopards and are on good terms with them (druids, go figure), so they were left alone. All the male and female giants left below will likely make a last ditch stand to defend their home, but I'm toying with the idea of letting the Jarl and his wife flee to the fire giants through the magic teleportal behind their suite. The hill giants never had a chance, but things look grim for the frost giants, who are very aware of the situation with the hill giants (due to the cloud giant who escaped to warn them, and the stone giant females and young that were allowed to live and leave).
If this happens, the party may well defeat the frost giants and find nothing of value remaining to loot. I'm not sure what the frost giant Jarl should take with him, but I'm assuming that the invisible chest of goodies by the teleportal and maybe some trusted guards and his winter wolves would be all he needs. I've never had something like this occur in all my years of DMing, and it would be cool to actually use the tactics laid out in the module (for a change). I'm debating on whether or not to vacate the lower levels completely and have a mass exodus of frost giants to Snurre's Halls. To me, this seems counterintuitive, since the frost and fire giants are more likely to fight among themselves than cooperate, especially since the fire giants are in their element and the frost giants would be weakened. It would make sense for the frost giants to protect the women and young, but the males would likely also seek to escape certain death (chaotic evil = "save thy own ass first").
I don't know if the party will even locate the teleportal, but even if they do, it's unlikely they will seek to use it (because they have no idea where it leads) and will instead loot the giant lair for all they can get and then head home with all their treasure they stored in the safe cave. I've already given them XP for the treasure stored there (as suggested in the module), so we'll have some sessions of treasure removal to contend with before they move on to G3 HALLS OF THE FIRE GIANT KING. I'm tempted to add in a side trek against the ogre magi. I see them as assassination agents of the giants (and the dark elves) who could infiltrate Quasqueton (the party's base of operations) invisibly and attack the party when they least expect it. I'd like to keep this adventure going. The players are having a good time, even if they are wary about getting in too deep. I don't think D1-3 is an option for continued adventuring for them (they hate railroaded plots, and it seems that the drow will be beaten back). However, if I can keep Eclavdra alive and have her retreat as stated in the module, then I have given them incentive to chase down the dark elves and eliminate their threat once and for all! The druid in the party might simply decide to collapse the tunnels behind the retreating drow and be done with it. But knowing them, they never leave an enemy alive if they can help it! Besides, I've had dark elves pop up in the past - in the desert of desolation under the slaver's guild, directing frost giant attacks outside of Reedle, and involved with Zelligar at Quasqueton (detailed in his journals only). The dark elves should prove to be a threat enough for the party to take on.
Now, since this campaign is set in Mystara, I've toyed with using Shadow Elves instead. However, I much prefer the drow designed by Gygax (and the Elder Elemental God patron of Eclavdra) to the tragic shadow elves led by Rafiel. I'm not going to use Q1: QUEEN OF THE DEMONWEB PITS unless I highly modify it to be less of a cartoon-like romp and more like a terror-inspiring epic into the Abyss (as it should have been!). As I've stated in the past, the connection between D3 and Q1 is tenuous at best. Lolth had no involvement with the giants (Eclavdra was involved with the Elder Elemental God, not Lolth), and she might even applaud the party for eliminating that splinter cell of renegade drow from her Vault. She is a demon, though, and is not likely to allow them to live regardless, so perhaps Lolth now has designs on the weakened EEG to take over his power (and perhaps the EEG now has need of adventurers to protect him from the ambitious demoness)...
I just thought of something! What if the Elder Elemental God is Arak of the Hundred Eyes (from dungeon module B3)? They have already encountered this extraplanar entity and dealt him a blow in Haven. Perhaps the whole giant uprising was his doing, and now the PCs will have a chance to put an end to his meddling in the Prime Material Plane once and for all! Eliminating Lolth from the equation means completely redoing the whole premise of the adventure - but if Eclavdra is slain, the other drow will seek safety in numbers, perhaps recanting their worship of Arak and returning to Lolth in order to save their asses from the party! This could work, and allows me to introduce other enclaves of Arak worshippers in the underworld. I'm already blaming the "day without magic" at the end of the year as an effect of "Arak's Eye." This could really turn into a mind-stunning epic conclusion to a very long AD&D campaign! Now I need to work out the particulars.....
I like linking the demons and gods of AD&D to Earth deities. Perhaps Lolth's true name is Ariadne (of Greek Mythology fame), and Arak of the Hundred Eyes would be Argus (guardian of the Garden of the Hesperides), also a figure from the Greek myth of Hercules' 12 labors. Of course, they have transformed into new forms over the centuries and gained and lost power several times, but these entities are immortal and always seeking to increase their power across the endless planes. yes, this could work out quite well in the end, especially since I use Greek/Roman deities for Thyatis.
Monday, August 21, 2017
Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 20 (Final)
Well, it's been a little over a year and a half since our regular campaign went on hiatus and we began a great experiment to see which version of the D&D game best fits our concept of the campaign we would like to play. Although the conditions of the experiment kept changing (different campaign worlds, different character classes and races, and differing numbers of players), I think we were able to come to a definite conclusion about a few things. Each system will be rated on the scale of: VERY FUN, FUN, INDIFFERENT, NOT FUN, NO FUN AT ALL.
BASIC D&D: This was our first attempt at something outside of the players' comfort zone. I think it went well, and the players all had a great time. We used the upper levels of the moathouse from T1 as the adventure for this version of the game. The combats went rather smoothly, even though I took extra time to explain everything that happened each round. The combat system was streamlined and easy to work with. The lack of rules is actually a benefit since the players are less concerned with specifics and able to enjoy themselves more. Character creation took a little over an hour, and most of that was me explaining the differences between this and AD&D, the players making gear selections, and coming up with names. The rulebook is well-organized and we were able to find most rules without much problem. My biggest problem was getting them to think in simpler terms with fewer options.
RATING = FUN
ADVANCED D&D DOGMA: This version took us back to AD&D, but using all the rules strictly as written, inconsistencies and all. We used the lower level of the moathouse for this version with different characters (all given enough XP to make a fighter 2nd midway to 3rd level). We found that multi-classed characters suffer from a lack of power that is disturbing at the lowest levels. Mortality rates are high, but the action is very exciting. Keeping track of large combats can be a bit of a chore, but the work is well worth it. I think this version was the most fun...and also the most disheartening. We spent a long time getting all the details of the characters right (a full 5 hour session to make sure 3 players had all their characters complete), but then spent a long time in town interacting with the populace. This, to me, is the essence of why T1 is such a great module. It gives the players a base home in which to invest their time and interest. If the DM makes the NPCs memorable and worth interacting with, then the whole thing comes alive. The party died once in the beginning to the zombies; we rebooted and continued since the cleric was unaware of how turning worked in this version of the game. They did very well until the final encounter, which I think is way too hard for a party of 1st level characters. The rulebooks are the biggest problem for this version of the game. The rules are spread out between three books (or more!) and rules were constantly being added in modules and supplements over the life of this version. We restricted our run to the core three books (PHB, DMG, and MM) and had trouble locating some specific rules during play.
RATING = FUN
2nd EDITION AD&D: I used the Forgotten Realms as the setting for this adventure, and used the adventure the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. In retrospect, I think that this was a bad move. I should have stuck with Greyhawk and used the Temple of Elemental Evil for 3rd level characters or higher instead of breaking the groove we had. We also should have tried keeping the same characters, but since those died in the last encounter, I felt a change was in order (plus half-orcs don't exist in 2nd edition as PCs). The party made more characters than usual, two players running 2 characters each, so we had 5 PCs this time. The module was not very well written or presented, and it seemed that the tricks and traps were deadlier than a 1st level dungeon should have had. The players were frustrated by choke points that prevented their advancement into the dungeon. They had spent one full session (plus a little more) to complete their characters. They were not impressed with non-weapon proficiencies. The strange thing is that I had run these players in 2nd edition before, but they had no memory of it. In the end, the players aborted the adventure because they just weren't getting anywhere. I don't think this version got a fair shake. The rulebooks were a bit better organized than 1st edition, but the rules were written almost verbatim from 1E, inconsistencies and all, with little or no editing!
RATING = NO FUN
3rd EDITION D&D: I decided that pre-made modules would not work with this group so I made up a quick scenario to see how this version of the game worked with my own homebrew campaign of Sturmgard. The character creation took about 1 full session because only some of the players had already played this version of the game. All the fiddly math was a bit much for one of the players. We played this version only a few sessions because I wanted to move quickly through the versions. The players tend to drag their feet even when I explain that we're not making these characters to keep forever. The scenario was a bit hard but rewarding. The characters survived, although they did take their lumps. I think this version played well, but I would have preferred a more neutral GREYHAWK type adventure. Players enjoyed the new character classes and how much more they could do even as 1st level characters. The rulebooks, although well organized, were quite dense and hard to locate specific information. The rules are so integrated that changing one stat affects a host of other stats. Creating encounters is a CHORE for DMs - one that I was not happy to re-experience.
RATING = FUN
4th EDITION D&D: I had a hard time explaining the rules on this one. The game is so different from anything resembling D&D that it was really hard to explain how it all related. The character choices were not based on intelligent decisions, but rather on following a template blindly. The character types selected were probably not optimal for the adventure and they were only a party of 3 characters, instead of the recommended 5. That was my fault, as I ran the adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell, straight from the book, without regard for the shortage of players. If we had the full complement of players, this could have actually worked better. As it was, we ran the first encounter twice, then, by the final encounter with kobolds the players had had enough! They kept dying to creatures who could stymie their powers easily. I think the players just felt embarrassed being beaten up by kobolds.... We aborted under player request and never got past the second encounter! The rulebooks were organized strangely, and I found myself constantly flipping back and forth. The plethora of powers, each with a few paragraphs of important data, would get to be a nightmare at higher levels.
RATING = NO FUN AT ALL
PATHFINDER: Although technically not D&D, it was a direction that D&D 3.5 went after the great diaspora of D&D fans. This time we had 5 players and a full complement of character types. I ran the old module Citadel by the Sea by Sid Fisher from DRAGON Magazine #78(?). The concept was sound and showcased all the things I wanted to highlight in the system. The players enjoyed role-playing their wacky characters and had a blast running the combats. I got more positive feedback on this adventure than any others we ran. The system had some very good points and ran well out of one rulebook. Characters were strong, even at 1st level, and had access to many powers that they could use continually. Level advancement was graded so one could run on a fast track, a normal level of xp, or a slow track. Many of the rules were optional. I have to say that this was one of my favorites to run, but took a lot of behind the scenes work to stat out all the monsters (most of whom were classed). This is one of the downfalls of the 3.5 or Pathfinder systems - DM burnout! The rulebooks are the best organized that I think I've ever seen. I knew just were to go to find each and every rule I needed, and as I said, the rules were mostly in the Core Rulebook.
RATING = VERY FUN
5th EDITION D&D: I did not run this adventure, it was run by one of the other players. She had experience in the 5th edition system as both player and DM, so I jumped at the opportunity to play. I found the character creation took a long time, seeing as the players had more decisions to make and additional role-playing options to incorporate. The system seems fairly robust and easy to run, but there seemed to be something lacking to me. The scenario we ran was not usual D&D, but a Ravenloft horror scenario. Therefore we were isolated and experiencing opponents that were dumbed down for our level. The XP system seemed a bit arbitrary - I never really looked at it myself, but it seemed that XP levels were assigned rather than actual points tallied for what we accomplished. Also, the creatures for the scenario were way out of our league! I suppose that highlights 5th edition's ability to use monsters of any level in any scenario? The at-will spells were very helpful to the party, but I can see this being a problem when used against the party. Despite all these boosts to the characters, we still managed to lose one character to the final encounter with a critical hit one-shot death. Talk about brutal! I didn't see anyone clamoring to continue running this scenario. The books had minimal information on some things (like skills) and too much information on others (backgrounds and other RP bits) for our tastes. Also, the digital versions were very hard to read due to the fonts and colors used. Rulebooks should be legible, not artistic expressions that conceal text and blur page numbers!
RATING = INDIFFERENT
I had planned to try two other clones - Basic Fantasy RPG and Castles & Crusades, but the players decided that they had had enough. We all just wanted to return to our characters stuck in the middle of G2 for the past year and a half!
The whole point of this experiment was to do what 5th edition should have done - take the best pieces of each system and stitch them into a coherent campaign setting and rule set. I like to think of it as Flesh Golem D&D (or FrankenD&D). We found nothing of use in 4th edition. 2nd edition was similarly useless as little more than a re-write of the 1st edition rules. 5th edition had its strengths, but those were mostly related to what I house-ruled in my own campaign already. Basic, 3rd edition, and dogma 1st edition rules were the most fun, even though the players found some bits useless or restricting. Everyone agreed that Pathfinder was by far the superior system. We had the most fun with this system.
So, to recap:
✰✰✰✰✰ PATHFINDER
✰✰✰✰ BASIC D&D, AD&D DOGMA, 3RD EDITION D&D
✰✰✰ 5TH EDITION D&D
✰✰ 2ND EDITION AD&D
✰ 4TH EDITION D&D
It is important to note that the players have taken to calling 4th edition "The Edition That Shall Not Be Named!" Whenever it comes up in conversation, they all groan and shake their heads. It had that much of an effect!
In the end, the players decided that our house-ruled AD&D 1st edition campaign is the system that best fits their needs for their current characters. Perhaps, if this campaign ever ends, we will create characters to adventure in Pathfinder, but I don't see this ending any time soon. It would have been better I think to have played through the versions as they came out, giving us longer time to experience the flaws and merits of each. No system is perfect, even Pathfinder (with its lack of carrying capacities for containers), and in the end it comes down to the preferences of the players and the DM as to which system is the best fit for them.
BASIC D&D: This was our first attempt at something outside of the players' comfort zone. I think it went well, and the players all had a great time. We used the upper levels of the moathouse from T1 as the adventure for this version of the game. The combats went rather smoothly, even though I took extra time to explain everything that happened each round. The combat system was streamlined and easy to work with. The lack of rules is actually a benefit since the players are less concerned with specifics and able to enjoy themselves more. Character creation took a little over an hour, and most of that was me explaining the differences between this and AD&D, the players making gear selections, and coming up with names. The rulebook is well-organized and we were able to find most rules without much problem. My biggest problem was getting them to think in simpler terms with fewer options.
RATING = FUN
ADVANCED D&D DOGMA: This version took us back to AD&D, but using all the rules strictly as written, inconsistencies and all. We used the lower level of the moathouse for this version with different characters (all given enough XP to make a fighter 2nd midway to 3rd level). We found that multi-classed characters suffer from a lack of power that is disturbing at the lowest levels. Mortality rates are high, but the action is very exciting. Keeping track of large combats can be a bit of a chore, but the work is well worth it. I think this version was the most fun...and also the most disheartening. We spent a long time getting all the details of the characters right (a full 5 hour session to make sure 3 players had all their characters complete), but then spent a long time in town interacting with the populace. This, to me, is the essence of why T1 is such a great module. It gives the players a base home in which to invest their time and interest. If the DM makes the NPCs memorable and worth interacting with, then the whole thing comes alive. The party died once in the beginning to the zombies; we rebooted and continued since the cleric was unaware of how turning worked in this version of the game. They did very well until the final encounter, which I think is way too hard for a party of 1st level characters. The rulebooks are the biggest problem for this version of the game. The rules are spread out between three books (or more!) and rules were constantly being added in modules and supplements over the life of this version. We restricted our run to the core three books (PHB, DMG, and MM) and had trouble locating some specific rules during play.
RATING = FUN
2nd EDITION AD&D: I used the Forgotten Realms as the setting for this adventure, and used the adventure the Haunted Halls of Eveningstar. In retrospect, I think that this was a bad move. I should have stuck with Greyhawk and used the Temple of Elemental Evil for 3rd level characters or higher instead of breaking the groove we had. We also should have tried keeping the same characters, but since those died in the last encounter, I felt a change was in order (plus half-orcs don't exist in 2nd edition as PCs). The party made more characters than usual, two players running 2 characters each, so we had 5 PCs this time. The module was not very well written or presented, and it seemed that the tricks and traps were deadlier than a 1st level dungeon should have had. The players were frustrated by choke points that prevented their advancement into the dungeon. They had spent one full session (plus a little more) to complete their characters. They were not impressed with non-weapon proficiencies. The strange thing is that I had run these players in 2nd edition before, but they had no memory of it. In the end, the players aborted the adventure because they just weren't getting anywhere. I don't think this version got a fair shake. The rulebooks were a bit better organized than 1st edition, but the rules were written almost verbatim from 1E, inconsistencies and all, with little or no editing!
RATING = NO FUN
3rd EDITION D&D: I decided that pre-made modules would not work with this group so I made up a quick scenario to see how this version of the game worked with my own homebrew campaign of Sturmgard. The character creation took about 1 full session because only some of the players had already played this version of the game. All the fiddly math was a bit much for one of the players. We played this version only a few sessions because I wanted to move quickly through the versions. The players tend to drag their feet even when I explain that we're not making these characters to keep forever. The scenario was a bit hard but rewarding. The characters survived, although they did take their lumps. I think this version played well, but I would have preferred a more neutral GREYHAWK type adventure. Players enjoyed the new character classes and how much more they could do even as 1st level characters. The rulebooks, although well organized, were quite dense and hard to locate specific information. The rules are so integrated that changing one stat affects a host of other stats. Creating encounters is a CHORE for DMs - one that I was not happy to re-experience.
RATING = FUN
4th EDITION D&D: I had a hard time explaining the rules on this one. The game is so different from anything resembling D&D that it was really hard to explain how it all related. The character choices were not based on intelligent decisions, but rather on following a template blindly. The character types selected were probably not optimal for the adventure and they were only a party of 3 characters, instead of the recommended 5. That was my fault, as I ran the adventure, Keep on the Shadowfell, straight from the book, without regard for the shortage of players. If we had the full complement of players, this could have actually worked better. As it was, we ran the first encounter twice, then, by the final encounter with kobolds the players had had enough! They kept dying to creatures who could stymie their powers easily. I think the players just felt embarrassed being beaten up by kobolds.... We aborted under player request and never got past the second encounter! The rulebooks were organized strangely, and I found myself constantly flipping back and forth. The plethora of powers, each with a few paragraphs of important data, would get to be a nightmare at higher levels.
RATING = NO FUN AT ALL
PATHFINDER: Although technically not D&D, it was a direction that D&D 3.5 went after the great diaspora of D&D fans. This time we had 5 players and a full complement of character types. I ran the old module Citadel by the Sea by Sid Fisher from DRAGON Magazine #78(?). The concept was sound and showcased all the things I wanted to highlight in the system. The players enjoyed role-playing their wacky characters and had a blast running the combats. I got more positive feedback on this adventure than any others we ran. The system had some very good points and ran well out of one rulebook. Characters were strong, even at 1st level, and had access to many powers that they could use continually. Level advancement was graded so one could run on a fast track, a normal level of xp, or a slow track. Many of the rules were optional. I have to say that this was one of my favorites to run, but took a lot of behind the scenes work to stat out all the monsters (most of whom were classed). This is one of the downfalls of the 3.5 or Pathfinder systems - DM burnout! The rulebooks are the best organized that I think I've ever seen. I knew just were to go to find each and every rule I needed, and as I said, the rules were mostly in the Core Rulebook.
RATING = VERY FUN
5th EDITION D&D: I did not run this adventure, it was run by one of the other players. She had experience in the 5th edition system as both player and DM, so I jumped at the opportunity to play. I found the character creation took a long time, seeing as the players had more decisions to make and additional role-playing options to incorporate. The system seems fairly robust and easy to run, but there seemed to be something lacking to me. The scenario we ran was not usual D&D, but a Ravenloft horror scenario. Therefore we were isolated and experiencing opponents that were dumbed down for our level. The XP system seemed a bit arbitrary - I never really looked at it myself, but it seemed that XP levels were assigned rather than actual points tallied for what we accomplished. Also, the creatures for the scenario were way out of our league! I suppose that highlights 5th edition's ability to use monsters of any level in any scenario? The at-will spells were very helpful to the party, but I can see this being a problem when used against the party. Despite all these boosts to the characters, we still managed to lose one character to the final encounter with a critical hit one-shot death. Talk about brutal! I didn't see anyone clamoring to continue running this scenario. The books had minimal information on some things (like skills) and too much information on others (backgrounds and other RP bits) for our tastes. Also, the digital versions were very hard to read due to the fonts and colors used. Rulebooks should be legible, not artistic expressions that conceal text and blur page numbers!
RATING = INDIFFERENT
I had planned to try two other clones - Basic Fantasy RPG and Castles & Crusades, but the players decided that they had had enough. We all just wanted to return to our characters stuck in the middle of G2 for the past year and a half!
The whole point of this experiment was to do what 5th edition should have done - take the best pieces of each system and stitch them into a coherent campaign setting and rule set. I like to think of it as Flesh Golem D&D (or FrankenD&D). We found nothing of use in 4th edition. 2nd edition was similarly useless as little more than a re-write of the 1st edition rules. 5th edition had its strengths, but those were mostly related to what I house-ruled in my own campaign already. Basic, 3rd edition, and dogma 1st edition rules were the most fun, even though the players found some bits useless or restricting. Everyone agreed that Pathfinder was by far the superior system. We had the most fun with this system.
So, to recap:
✰✰✰✰✰ PATHFINDER
✰✰✰✰ BASIC D&D, AD&D DOGMA, 3RD EDITION D&D
✰✰✰ 5TH EDITION D&D
✰✰ 2ND EDITION AD&D
✰ 4TH EDITION D&D
It is important to note that the players have taken to calling 4th edition "The Edition That Shall Not Be Named!" Whenever it comes up in conversation, they all groan and shake their heads. It had that much of an effect!
In the end, the players decided that our house-ruled AD&D 1st edition campaign is the system that best fits their needs for their current characters. Perhaps, if this campaign ever ends, we will create characters to adventure in Pathfinder, but I don't see this ending any time soon. It would have been better I think to have played through the versions as they came out, giving us longer time to experience the flaws and merits of each. No system is perfect, even Pathfinder (with its lack of carrying capacities for containers), and in the end it comes down to the preferences of the players and the DM as to which system is the best fit for them.
Monday, August 14, 2017
Dungeon & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 19
Well, we finally made it to the end. This should be the 2nd to last post on "Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions." This time, though, I was granted a reprieve and allowed to be a PLAYER (something that has not happened in almost 15 years).
We sat down to make 5th edition D&D characters a few weeks ago. We knew nothing of the adventure we would be running, only that we could only select choices from the Player's Handbook. This was fine, since the goal of this mission is to see how the base rules function without any bells or whistles. I actually jumped the gun (since I own the books) and made my character ahead of time. The others took to the internet for the rules and worked out their characters during the first session (as we have come to do through this process). In the end, the party was a mixed bag:
No rogue in this mix (not a great idea, but not planned). I went with Protection for my Martial type, the other fighter went for Great Weapon type, and the paladin went with protection also. The cleric took the doman of Life and the sorcerer went with Dragon sorcery. It took a long while to explain the concept of "proficiency" to people who come from a Weapon/Non-weapon Proficiency system. We had to tell them that Proficiency replaces the numbers on the charts for the stuff we used to be good at. The different saving throws also threw them for a loop. However, being back to the basic classes was heartening!
The next week we began the scenario, as we were pulled into....oh no! RAVENLOFT! Eeek!
Yes, Count Strahd von Zarovich had struck again, although this time I think it wasn't his fault. No, this time we found ourselves on the foggy streets of Barovia, deserted except for a pair of children in the middle of the street. We approached and learned that they were terrified of something in the basement. They were dodgy on where their parents were, and since there was no one else in this ghost town, we figured that we would enter the house and find out what was going on.
The lower levels of the place were immaculate but creepy. The place obviously belonged to some wealthy people. It was also completely empty - like totally devoid of anything alive. We spent the entire session exploring one empty room after another, even those in the upstairs. We ended just before going up to the 3rd floor.
The next session we encountered a suit of armor that tried to kill my dwarf fighter! We managed to defeat it but still could not find anything alive in the place. I was again attacked by a spectre defending a stillborn baby in a crib and nearly slain were it not for the quick actions of the party cleric. Another level up we found some bedrooms where the children were found again after they disappeared on us. We were starting to piece together the mystery of the place. By the end of this session we magically made 2nd level!
The next session had us finally locate a means of getting to the basement - from the attic no less! A secret spiral stair led down through the house to a deep cellar crypt. Here were crypts for the family; the mother and father were tucked away in their crypts (we did not disturb these), but the children (who we previously learned died in their rooms upstairs and were now ghosts inhabiting the house) were never buried. Also, the stillborn baby brother was never interred here although there was a crypt. We decided then and there to bury the bones of the children in their crypts (after we learned that the girl had possessed our cleric!). Once that was done we explored some more, until my dwarf fighter walked into a ghoul ambush! I got clobbered but not paralyzed, and retreated to let the others handle the undead. Saving throws in the game seem overused, but I suppose they had to change some of the mechanics. We walked around a bit and explored the basement, looking for the chanting that we could not find. I did manage to locate a spiked pit... did I mention we had no rogue in the group?
On the final session we located a stairway leading down to a chamber housing 13 strange relics with side passages leading to a bunch of holding cells for prisoners and a submerged chamber blocked by a heavy portcullis. We managed to lift the portcullis and enter the submerged chamber, only to be confronted with floating apparitions in the chamber (which appeared after I jumped onto the central dais). This set in motion the shambling mound in the cave-like alcove across the way! While it was forming up out of the mass of rotting vegetation on the floor, everyone took up defensive positions while Torinn went to confront it! Elander and Evek threw several spells at it but most were ineffective or of reduced effectiveness. Weapons seems to work well enough, although we suspect that they weren't doing full damage. Torinn was hitting it for all he was worth, as was Varnash and later myself (hey, it takes a long time to enter melee as a dwarf when you're across a chamber). Then Varnash took a critical hit after being wounded....and died instantly! He was brought down to his negative hp value by the crit and died there on the spot, no save possible! Ouch! We managed to finish off the shambling mound after a few more rounds, but it was a tough battle. After that we tried to leave the house, but the house wouldn't let us leave! It bricked up its windows and tried to kill us with poisonous smoke from the chimneys and pendulum blades at the doors. It took some doing, but we located a shortcut to the main floor lounge and then Torinn smashed through one wall with his maul (releasing a horde of rats which were easily overcome). Evek was poisoned by the smoke but he managed to fight through the pain and leapt through the blades guarding the exit. The rest of us followed, making saves to avoid being poisoned, Torinn hauling Varnash's body. I was the last out of the house, leaping mightily through the blades. Once outside, the fog lifted and the children could be seen waving from the upstairs windows. We had managed to survive a stint in Ravenloft!
By the end of the session we all made 3rd level, except Varnish who was deader than a door nail. The experience seemed...unfulfilling. Our DM was great, the players seemed to have a good time, but the game lacked a certain quality that I've come to expect in my D&D games. Maybe I've just been a DM too long. I try to solve problems from the DM perspective. I tried to role-play as much as possible, but since the scenario was atypical of normal D&D dungeons, I felt like my character's backstory and all those other role-playing elements that seemed so important during character creation were just glossed over. Now, I know that this was a one-shot, but it just seemed like all that time was wasted during character creation.
OK. So, we have now concluded the run of all the versions of D&D (plus Pathfinder), and it seems that, like the Star Trek films, there is a pattern of like and dislike. I found 5th edition to be better than 4th edition. But it seems that the characters are still way overpowered compared to the monsters. What I did not like about the scenario (which is a D&D module) is the monster selection for a 1st-3rd level group. I mean, come on....a SPECTRE?? a SHAMBLING MOUND?? These were high-level creatures only meant to oppose those characters of upper levels (8th+) in earlier editions. I was a bit shocked to encounter them at 2nd level. I believe that the experience point advancement is too fast as well. After about 2 encounters we all leveled up. If that occurred in original D&D, Gygax would never have laughed at the 40th level characters taking on gods! I dislike the firm Forgotten Realms direction they took the game (again, make it generic for core rules). I like the variations permitted to the characters, but I also found that most players would necessarily gravitate towards an "optimal build" (like they do in all those MMORPGs). I would give 5th edition a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It seems to be very coherent in theory and after first looks, but implementation seemed a bit off to me. There were so many things in the game that seemed like a gloss-over (mainly because players would either ignore the rules anyway, or they didn't fit the play style).
I wanted to play a standard race (dwarf) and a standard class (fighter) because a good game allows those to shine, without being overshadowed by the sub-classes or add-ons. It seemed that our fighters did just as well if not better than the paladin. The paladin could not match the cleric's healing either. but what he did do well no one else in the party could do. The sorcerer seemed to have too many spells, but again this is coming from my previous expectations. I'm sure that if I was playing a spellcaster over 5 sessions in the same adventure, I would not want to run out of spells! We only rested once during those 5 sessions, but it seemed like we were able to complete the adventure rather fast. Granted, 5 sessions to go from 1st to 3rd may seem slow to some people, but we like to take our time, we were learning a new system, and we tend to think before acting. The system seemed to reward some of what we did, but penalized us for taking our time. Either that or our DM was trying to shuffle us along to complete the adventure due to some unknown time-frame restriction. Perhaps if I played a rogue or wizard I would have had a different opinion of the system. It is definitely something that I would try again, perhaps even run.
It dismays me that the only adventures I have access to buy are for levels 1-20. Are the lower levels so fast that it isn't worth writing a full adventure for them? It also seems strange (still) to not stop and train. But this version, like 2nd edition and on, seems more story driven and glosses over some details (like training) that were inherent in the earlier game.
Next time, I'll try and go through all our experiences and see where my players stand and where we're going with my original campaign. The reason we did this experiment for the past year or more is to see which version of the game best matches our concept of fun and excitement. Granted, this is tainted somewhat by the learning curve inherent in trying a new game, but the basic premise of the game changed little (except during 4th). Ideally, I wanted to see what parts we could use to cobble together our own form of D&D. So far, though, 1st edition still seems to be the popular choice.
We sat down to make 5th edition D&D characters a few weeks ago. We knew nothing of the adventure we would be running, only that we could only select choices from the Player's Handbook. This was fine, since the goal of this mission is to see how the base rules function without any bells or whistles. I actually jumped the gun (since I own the books) and made my character ahead of time. The others took to the internet for the rules and worked out their characters during the first session (as we have come to do through this process). In the end, the party was a mixed bag:
- Grumbold, male dwarf fighter 1
- Evek, male half-elf sorcerer 1
- Elander, female dwarf cleric 1
- Torinn, male dragonborn (bronze) fighter 1
- Varnash, male dragonborn (copper) paladin 1
No rogue in this mix (not a great idea, but not planned). I went with Protection for my Martial type, the other fighter went for Great Weapon type, and the paladin went with protection also. The cleric took the doman of Life and the sorcerer went with Dragon sorcery. It took a long while to explain the concept of "proficiency" to people who come from a Weapon/Non-weapon Proficiency system. We had to tell them that Proficiency replaces the numbers on the charts for the stuff we used to be good at. The different saving throws also threw them for a loop. However, being back to the basic classes was heartening!
The next week we began the scenario, as we were pulled into....oh no! RAVENLOFT! Eeek!
Yes, Count Strahd von Zarovich had struck again, although this time I think it wasn't his fault. No, this time we found ourselves on the foggy streets of Barovia, deserted except for a pair of children in the middle of the street. We approached and learned that they were terrified of something in the basement. They were dodgy on where their parents were, and since there was no one else in this ghost town, we figured that we would enter the house and find out what was going on.
The lower levels of the place were immaculate but creepy. The place obviously belonged to some wealthy people. It was also completely empty - like totally devoid of anything alive. We spent the entire session exploring one empty room after another, even those in the upstairs. We ended just before going up to the 3rd floor.
The next session we encountered a suit of armor that tried to kill my dwarf fighter! We managed to defeat it but still could not find anything alive in the place. I was again attacked by a spectre defending a stillborn baby in a crib and nearly slain were it not for the quick actions of the party cleric. Another level up we found some bedrooms where the children were found again after they disappeared on us. We were starting to piece together the mystery of the place. By the end of this session we magically made 2nd level!
The next session had us finally locate a means of getting to the basement - from the attic no less! A secret spiral stair led down through the house to a deep cellar crypt. Here were crypts for the family; the mother and father were tucked away in their crypts (we did not disturb these), but the children (who we previously learned died in their rooms upstairs and were now ghosts inhabiting the house) were never buried. Also, the stillborn baby brother was never interred here although there was a crypt. We decided then and there to bury the bones of the children in their crypts (after we learned that the girl had possessed our cleric!). Once that was done we explored some more, until my dwarf fighter walked into a ghoul ambush! I got clobbered but not paralyzed, and retreated to let the others handle the undead. Saving throws in the game seem overused, but I suppose they had to change some of the mechanics. We walked around a bit and explored the basement, looking for the chanting that we could not find. I did manage to locate a spiked pit... did I mention we had no rogue in the group?
On the final session we located a stairway leading down to a chamber housing 13 strange relics with side passages leading to a bunch of holding cells for prisoners and a submerged chamber blocked by a heavy portcullis. We managed to lift the portcullis and enter the submerged chamber, only to be confronted with floating apparitions in the chamber (which appeared after I jumped onto the central dais). This set in motion the shambling mound in the cave-like alcove across the way! While it was forming up out of the mass of rotting vegetation on the floor, everyone took up defensive positions while Torinn went to confront it! Elander and Evek threw several spells at it but most were ineffective or of reduced effectiveness. Weapons seems to work well enough, although we suspect that they weren't doing full damage. Torinn was hitting it for all he was worth, as was Varnash and later myself (hey, it takes a long time to enter melee as a dwarf when you're across a chamber). Then Varnash took a critical hit after being wounded....and died instantly! He was brought down to his negative hp value by the crit and died there on the spot, no save possible! Ouch! We managed to finish off the shambling mound after a few more rounds, but it was a tough battle. After that we tried to leave the house, but the house wouldn't let us leave! It bricked up its windows and tried to kill us with poisonous smoke from the chimneys and pendulum blades at the doors. It took some doing, but we located a shortcut to the main floor lounge and then Torinn smashed through one wall with his maul (releasing a horde of rats which were easily overcome). Evek was poisoned by the smoke but he managed to fight through the pain and leapt through the blades guarding the exit. The rest of us followed, making saves to avoid being poisoned, Torinn hauling Varnash's body. I was the last out of the house, leaping mightily through the blades. Once outside, the fog lifted and the children could be seen waving from the upstairs windows. We had managed to survive a stint in Ravenloft!
By the end of the session we all made 3rd level, except Varnish who was deader than a door nail. The experience seemed...unfulfilling. Our DM was great, the players seemed to have a good time, but the game lacked a certain quality that I've come to expect in my D&D games. Maybe I've just been a DM too long. I try to solve problems from the DM perspective. I tried to role-play as much as possible, but since the scenario was atypical of normal D&D dungeons, I felt like my character's backstory and all those other role-playing elements that seemed so important during character creation were just glossed over. Now, I know that this was a one-shot, but it just seemed like all that time was wasted during character creation.
* * * * *
OK. So, we have now concluded the run of all the versions of D&D (plus Pathfinder), and it seems that, like the Star Trek films, there is a pattern of like and dislike. I found 5th edition to be better than 4th edition. But it seems that the characters are still way overpowered compared to the monsters. What I did not like about the scenario (which is a D&D module) is the monster selection for a 1st-3rd level group. I mean, come on....a SPECTRE?? a SHAMBLING MOUND?? These were high-level creatures only meant to oppose those characters of upper levels (8th+) in earlier editions. I was a bit shocked to encounter them at 2nd level. I believe that the experience point advancement is too fast as well. After about 2 encounters we all leveled up. If that occurred in original D&D, Gygax would never have laughed at the 40th level characters taking on gods! I dislike the firm Forgotten Realms direction they took the game (again, make it generic for core rules). I like the variations permitted to the characters, but I also found that most players would necessarily gravitate towards an "optimal build" (like they do in all those MMORPGs). I would give 5th edition a solid 3 out of 5 stars. It seems to be very coherent in theory and after first looks, but implementation seemed a bit off to me. There were so many things in the game that seemed like a gloss-over (mainly because players would either ignore the rules anyway, or they didn't fit the play style).
I wanted to play a standard race (dwarf) and a standard class (fighter) because a good game allows those to shine, without being overshadowed by the sub-classes or add-ons. It seemed that our fighters did just as well if not better than the paladin. The paladin could not match the cleric's healing either. but what he did do well no one else in the party could do. The sorcerer seemed to have too many spells, but again this is coming from my previous expectations. I'm sure that if I was playing a spellcaster over 5 sessions in the same adventure, I would not want to run out of spells! We only rested once during those 5 sessions, but it seemed like we were able to complete the adventure rather fast. Granted, 5 sessions to go from 1st to 3rd may seem slow to some people, but we like to take our time, we were learning a new system, and we tend to think before acting. The system seemed to reward some of what we did, but penalized us for taking our time. Either that or our DM was trying to shuffle us along to complete the adventure due to some unknown time-frame restriction. Perhaps if I played a rogue or wizard I would have had a different opinion of the system. It is definitely something that I would try again, perhaps even run.
It dismays me that the only adventures I have access to buy are for levels 1-20. Are the lower levels so fast that it isn't worth writing a full adventure for them? It also seems strange (still) to not stop and train. But this version, like 2nd edition and on, seems more story driven and glosses over some details (like training) that were inherent in the earlier game.
Next time, I'll try and go through all our experiences and see where my players stand and where we're going with my original campaign. The reason we did this experiment for the past year or more is to see which version of the game best matches our concept of fun and excitement. Granted, this is tainted somewhat by the learning curve inherent in trying a new game, but the basic premise of the game changed little (except during 4th). Ideally, I wanted to see what parts we could use to cobble together our own form of D&D. So far, though, 1st edition still seems to be the popular choice.
Saturday, July 1, 2017
Dungeons & Dragons Through the Versions - Part 18
It's been a while since I last posted on the experiment. My apologies! We HAVE been playing, though, so I'm using this post to recap how Pathfinder rules played out.
When we last left our intrepid band of adventurers, they were in hiding while one of the half-orc barbarians was playing bait. The ruse ended up working! While the orc-creature kept its attention glued on the strange, "drunk" half-orc in the empty fields to the west, the others were able to quickly slay it using missile fire and spells. They called Ludo back over to the ruins once they stowed the body. Then, one of the half-orcs got the great idea to toss the corpse over the cliff!
Meanwhile, the rogue proceeded to climb to the top of the ruins to get a better look inside. They already could see that the roof was gone over most of the structure (destroyed in a fire long ago) and that the only enclosed area was the tower to the northeast. Nicky got to the top and saw a large courtyard with an open well and a ruined statue. She also noted there were two orcs ready with missile weapons in a corridor of arrow slits below her (they were unaware of her presence). The others started scrambling up the wall as Nicky and Kruhnk jumped down and into combat. Axel climbed to the wall and remained there. Meanwhile, Elania took off down the corridor, completely oblivious to the danger of the arrow slits. She figured that making a moving target would save her. She unfortunately didn't count on the arrow slits at the far end of the corridor, and the fact that it made a U-turn before entering into the courtyard. She managed to get plugged once by an orc before she ran out of his sight around the corner. Ludo, not wanting to leave Crommard behind by himself, remained to escort the old man down the corridor cautiously, trying to avoid getting shot.
After the others took out the two orcs in the "shooting gallery" they moved into the courtyard, except for Nicky who tried climbing back onto the wall, and Axel who liked the advantage of higher ground. Orcs emerged from the north and east to take up defensive positions at the fallen statue and the entrance to the tower. The party (minus Ludo and Crommard who were STILL moving cautiously around the entrance U-turn corridor) moved south to explore the rooms, only noticing the orcs when they got closer. Axel was using his sorcerer spells to good effect from the wall, but Nicky just kept getting hurt falling off the wall (really bad rolls). Kruhnk and Elania moved in for melee combat. A grand melee began in the courtyard and spanned not one, but two whole sessions! The party faced about 4 orcs, an orc lietenant, 2 ogrillons, and an orc shaman. The shaman kept two pet dire rats on leashes. It took a lot of effort to slay them, but they eventually succeeded.
In the tower they found some captive kobolds who were used to perform menial labor for the orcs. They were thankful for being freed and agreed to leave the place when darkness fell (the sunlight hurt their eyes). Ludo, feeling sorry for the little wretches, gave up his rations for them to eat. To the south of the kobold room was a secret door left open. Beyond in the darkness, Kruhnk was able to make out some stairs heading down.
The party was curious about the well and the rooms surrounding the courtyard. They investigated the rooms but found only ruined equipment, bad gear, or orcish supplies. Nicky investigated the well by climbing down with a rope. At the bottom she saw what looked to be a wooden door set in the floor. When she grabbed for it, yellow mold spores erupted and filled the well! She was pulled up by the others but the spores had already caused her to lose a lot of Constitution.
Wounded and out of spells, the party decided to rest in the archery guard room next to the tower. They would remain here to tend the wounded and regain spells. In the morning they would continue into the lower levels of the ruins. Unfortunately, other events have to happen in the module as written. Below, Sethus located the spear Alkarg, an orcish weapon created long ago to slay elves. The party was in for a nasty surprise!
In the morning, after the party had rested and regained spells, Sethus (actually Serga, a half-orc cleric/rogue of Gruumsh) emerged with the remaining orcs from below, victorious! They were surprised by their dead comrades and the presence of the party, but Serga immediately started combat with them, ordering his weakened orc brothers to engage them in combat. The weakened orcs (and the weakened party) exchanged blows for some time, and Serga managed to put up a great fight! The elves were wounded by the spear and it was determined that they would have to stay far away if they intended to live. That left the half-orcs to battle alongside the rogue. Axel provided some support with spells from the confines of the tower. Elania provided some healing support with her channel energy ability. In the end, the PCs prevailed and slew Serga. Unfortunately, Ludo picked up the spear....
Immediately he was filled with a loathing for elves and the spear was actually able to take him over! A short battle concluded with Krunhk unconscious and Ludo near death. The spear was grabbed by the rogue using broken weapon hafts. The spear was then unceremoniously tossed down the well, there to cause more yellow mold to erupt. The bodies of the orc and Serga were looted and items taken included a necklace of adaptation (Nicky), a +1 shield (Kruhnk), and +1 leather armor (Axel).
Seriously injured, the party had to waste ANOTHER day here resting. Nicky, physically uninjured but weakened by the spores, volunteered to head back to Awad for help. It would take the rest of the day to make it to Awad and back. She broke into the old chapel and found some holy water, healing potions, and other clerical goodies including a scroll with delay poison. She hurried back to the others who were convalescing (both Elania and Kruhnk were in bad shape; Ludo had no one to blame for his condition but himself).
When she got back they administered the potions and rested yet another day. By now they were almost out of rations. They finally decided to finish exploring. They entered the lower levels and Kruhnk fell afoul of a crossbow trap in a hall decorated by orc statues and elf skeletons. They then proceeded on to find a squirrely little man who yelled at them to get out of his home. They eventually obliged, then set about killing rats behind a moldy tapestry in the hall outside. Angered that they would attack his "friends", the little man started to attack them with spells (he was an illusionist). They eventually forced him to retreat. Then he transformed into his rat form (he was a wererat) and invisibly escaped down an old drain pipe, followed shortly after by his rat familiar. The party, fooled by his deception, instead located the rest of his friends (15 dire rats) in a room that also held his treasures. The party defeated the rats easily and looted his chest - gaining a spellbook and some coin.
They then investigated a dead-end corridor where they found a stuck secret door. Kruhnk the half-orc charged the door to force it open, and ended up in the bottom of the well with the spear and yellow mold. He too lost Constitution as he clawed his way back out of the well. The explosion of spores filled part of the hallway so no one else could help him!
The place beyond was mostly empty. They passed some collapsed areas and a large hall filled with dead orcs and some sort of altar. They descended to the lower level. Nicky found a tripwire trap on the stairs and successfully disarmed the trap! They proceeded down into the hall of dead orcs. Here they entered the altar area and Ludo was scared by an orc skeleton holding a spear in its lap. He fled, terrified, with the light source, up the stairs until he was tackled and restrained by Elania and Axel (good review of unarmed combat procedures!). When they all returned to the others, they decided to avoid the fear-inducing altar and check out the north door. Beyond they were alerted to a possible trap. Axel used detect magic to locate a magical trap on the floor between two skeletons, and some magic treasure on corpses in the room beyond. Nicky bounded across the trap, setting it off (but avoiding the blast herself). She was then in the room beyond with the corpses. She grabbed the items mentioned by Axel and leapt back through the wall of flames, taking some damage. The rooms were filling with smoke so they all decided to retreat upstairs after closing the door.
In the hall of dead orcs they located some magic rings (thanks to Axel's detect magic cantrip) and decided to leave the place for good. They had apparently found all they could here, and learned the fate of Sethus (Serga). They were a little concerned about leaving the spear behind, but the yellow mold would prevent anyone else from grabbing it!
They returned to Awad, then continued on to Sandspoint and ended the adventure.
I gave the players some time to talk about the system after we finished. For the most part, the players enjoyed the variety and playability of the Pathfinder rules. They thought it was great that they could take and dish out so much damage at 1st level. After the main battle in the courtyard, everyone actually made 2nd level! I used the "fast track" experience totals to do this, since we wanted experience with the system and did not intend on making this a lasting campaign.
We were able to locate just about every rule in the Core Rulebook. I rarely looked in the Bestiary, and only referenced sections of the Game Mastery Guide outside of the game. This is good, because lugging all three books around was beginning to hurt my shoulder! Those books are thick and heavy!
The characters did not gain a 3rd level at the end - most of the combat and encounters were meant to delay and wear down defenses for the main combat at the end. However, the time wasted above allowed the end encounter to find the party! So we ran the module backwards - not the first time for this group! They still enjoyed themselves, and I think that adding the 2 extra players to the mix was key. All the characters had their moments to shine, although I wish the two half-orcs had selected different classes....
All in all the Pathfinder rules seemed to be very consistent with a fun, fast, and exciting game. I enjoyed running the combats almost as much as the players! Since the system is still new to all of us, there were surprises for everyone. Having played 3rd edition previously helped me tremendously - although it also caused me to assume certain things about the rules. There are many subtle differences between 3rd edition D&D and Pathfinder, most of them for the better!
We played this version for about 7 sessions. The first session was character creation, the second was mostly entering the adventure and doing some role-playing, and the last 5 sessions were spent playing the adventure. All the characters were 2nd level and well on their way to 3rd level by the end of the adventure. A lot of game time was spent healing and recovering between combats. The use of Game Table, a third party mapping program, helped with the combats immensely. We've been using it throughout the versions and it really helps the party visualize combat. It was even more useful here due to the nature of Pathfinder combat.
I'm taking a DM break for the last version. One of the new players is a DM in the 5th edition rules and she has graciously allowed me to play for a change! The next post on this topic will likely list our new 5th edition characters and how character creation is accomplished in the latest D&D game.
When we last left our intrepid band of adventurers, they were in hiding while one of the half-orc barbarians was playing bait. The ruse ended up working! While the orc-creature kept its attention glued on the strange, "drunk" half-orc in the empty fields to the west, the others were able to quickly slay it using missile fire and spells. They called Ludo back over to the ruins once they stowed the body. Then, one of the half-orcs got the great idea to toss the corpse over the cliff!
Meanwhile, the rogue proceeded to climb to the top of the ruins to get a better look inside. They already could see that the roof was gone over most of the structure (destroyed in a fire long ago) and that the only enclosed area was the tower to the northeast. Nicky got to the top and saw a large courtyard with an open well and a ruined statue. She also noted there were two orcs ready with missile weapons in a corridor of arrow slits below her (they were unaware of her presence). The others started scrambling up the wall as Nicky and Kruhnk jumped down and into combat. Axel climbed to the wall and remained there. Meanwhile, Elania took off down the corridor, completely oblivious to the danger of the arrow slits. She figured that making a moving target would save her. She unfortunately didn't count on the arrow slits at the far end of the corridor, and the fact that it made a U-turn before entering into the courtyard. She managed to get plugged once by an orc before she ran out of his sight around the corner. Ludo, not wanting to leave Crommard behind by himself, remained to escort the old man down the corridor cautiously, trying to avoid getting shot.
After the others took out the two orcs in the "shooting gallery" they moved into the courtyard, except for Nicky who tried climbing back onto the wall, and Axel who liked the advantage of higher ground. Orcs emerged from the north and east to take up defensive positions at the fallen statue and the entrance to the tower. The party (minus Ludo and Crommard who were STILL moving cautiously around the entrance U-turn corridor) moved south to explore the rooms, only noticing the orcs when they got closer. Axel was using his sorcerer spells to good effect from the wall, but Nicky just kept getting hurt falling off the wall (really bad rolls). Kruhnk and Elania moved in for melee combat. A grand melee began in the courtyard and spanned not one, but two whole sessions! The party faced about 4 orcs, an orc lietenant, 2 ogrillons, and an orc shaman. The shaman kept two pet dire rats on leashes. It took a lot of effort to slay them, but they eventually succeeded.
In the tower they found some captive kobolds who were used to perform menial labor for the orcs. They were thankful for being freed and agreed to leave the place when darkness fell (the sunlight hurt their eyes). Ludo, feeling sorry for the little wretches, gave up his rations for them to eat. To the south of the kobold room was a secret door left open. Beyond in the darkness, Kruhnk was able to make out some stairs heading down.
The party was curious about the well and the rooms surrounding the courtyard. They investigated the rooms but found only ruined equipment, bad gear, or orcish supplies. Nicky investigated the well by climbing down with a rope. At the bottom she saw what looked to be a wooden door set in the floor. When she grabbed for it, yellow mold spores erupted and filled the well! She was pulled up by the others but the spores had already caused her to lose a lot of Constitution.
Wounded and out of spells, the party decided to rest in the archery guard room next to the tower. They would remain here to tend the wounded and regain spells. In the morning they would continue into the lower levels of the ruins. Unfortunately, other events have to happen in the module as written. Below, Sethus located the spear Alkarg, an orcish weapon created long ago to slay elves. The party was in for a nasty surprise!
In the morning, after the party had rested and regained spells, Sethus (actually Serga, a half-orc cleric/rogue of Gruumsh) emerged with the remaining orcs from below, victorious! They were surprised by their dead comrades and the presence of the party, but Serga immediately started combat with them, ordering his weakened orc brothers to engage them in combat. The weakened orcs (and the weakened party) exchanged blows for some time, and Serga managed to put up a great fight! The elves were wounded by the spear and it was determined that they would have to stay far away if they intended to live. That left the half-orcs to battle alongside the rogue. Axel provided some support with spells from the confines of the tower. Elania provided some healing support with her channel energy ability. In the end, the PCs prevailed and slew Serga. Unfortunately, Ludo picked up the spear....
Immediately he was filled with a loathing for elves and the spear was actually able to take him over! A short battle concluded with Krunhk unconscious and Ludo near death. The spear was grabbed by the rogue using broken weapon hafts. The spear was then unceremoniously tossed down the well, there to cause more yellow mold to erupt. The bodies of the orc and Serga were looted and items taken included a necklace of adaptation (Nicky), a +1 shield (Kruhnk), and +1 leather armor (Axel).
Seriously injured, the party had to waste ANOTHER day here resting. Nicky, physically uninjured but weakened by the spores, volunteered to head back to Awad for help. It would take the rest of the day to make it to Awad and back. She broke into the old chapel and found some holy water, healing potions, and other clerical goodies including a scroll with delay poison. She hurried back to the others who were convalescing (both Elania and Kruhnk were in bad shape; Ludo had no one to blame for his condition but himself).
When she got back they administered the potions and rested yet another day. By now they were almost out of rations. They finally decided to finish exploring. They entered the lower levels and Kruhnk fell afoul of a crossbow trap in a hall decorated by orc statues and elf skeletons. They then proceeded on to find a squirrely little man who yelled at them to get out of his home. They eventually obliged, then set about killing rats behind a moldy tapestry in the hall outside. Angered that they would attack his "friends", the little man started to attack them with spells (he was an illusionist). They eventually forced him to retreat. Then he transformed into his rat form (he was a wererat) and invisibly escaped down an old drain pipe, followed shortly after by his rat familiar. The party, fooled by his deception, instead located the rest of his friends (15 dire rats) in a room that also held his treasures. The party defeated the rats easily and looted his chest - gaining a spellbook and some coin.
They then investigated a dead-end corridor where they found a stuck secret door. Kruhnk the half-orc charged the door to force it open, and ended up in the bottom of the well with the spear and yellow mold. He too lost Constitution as he clawed his way back out of the well. The explosion of spores filled part of the hallway so no one else could help him!
The place beyond was mostly empty. They passed some collapsed areas and a large hall filled with dead orcs and some sort of altar. They descended to the lower level. Nicky found a tripwire trap on the stairs and successfully disarmed the trap! They proceeded down into the hall of dead orcs. Here they entered the altar area and Ludo was scared by an orc skeleton holding a spear in its lap. He fled, terrified, with the light source, up the stairs until he was tackled and restrained by Elania and Axel (good review of unarmed combat procedures!). When they all returned to the others, they decided to avoid the fear-inducing altar and check out the north door. Beyond they were alerted to a possible trap. Axel used detect magic to locate a magical trap on the floor between two skeletons, and some magic treasure on corpses in the room beyond. Nicky bounded across the trap, setting it off (but avoiding the blast herself). She was then in the room beyond with the corpses. She grabbed the items mentioned by Axel and leapt back through the wall of flames, taking some damage. The rooms were filling with smoke so they all decided to retreat upstairs after closing the door.
In the hall of dead orcs they located some magic rings (thanks to Axel's detect magic cantrip) and decided to leave the place for good. They had apparently found all they could here, and learned the fate of Sethus (Serga). They were a little concerned about leaving the spear behind, but the yellow mold would prevent anyone else from grabbing it!
They returned to Awad, then continued on to Sandspoint and ended the adventure.
* * * * *
I gave the players some time to talk about the system after we finished. For the most part, the players enjoyed the variety and playability of the Pathfinder rules. They thought it was great that they could take and dish out so much damage at 1st level. After the main battle in the courtyard, everyone actually made 2nd level! I used the "fast track" experience totals to do this, since we wanted experience with the system and did not intend on making this a lasting campaign.
We were able to locate just about every rule in the Core Rulebook. I rarely looked in the Bestiary, and only referenced sections of the Game Mastery Guide outside of the game. This is good, because lugging all three books around was beginning to hurt my shoulder! Those books are thick and heavy!
The characters did not gain a 3rd level at the end - most of the combat and encounters were meant to delay and wear down defenses for the main combat at the end. However, the time wasted above allowed the end encounter to find the party! So we ran the module backwards - not the first time for this group! They still enjoyed themselves, and I think that adding the 2 extra players to the mix was key. All the characters had their moments to shine, although I wish the two half-orcs had selected different classes....
All in all the Pathfinder rules seemed to be very consistent with a fun, fast, and exciting game. I enjoyed running the combats almost as much as the players! Since the system is still new to all of us, there were surprises for everyone. Having played 3rd edition previously helped me tremendously - although it also caused me to assume certain things about the rules. There are many subtle differences between 3rd edition D&D and Pathfinder, most of them for the better!
We played this version for about 7 sessions. The first session was character creation, the second was mostly entering the adventure and doing some role-playing, and the last 5 sessions were spent playing the adventure. All the characters were 2nd level and well on their way to 3rd level by the end of the adventure. A lot of game time was spent healing and recovering between combats. The use of Game Table, a third party mapping program, helped with the combats immensely. We've been using it throughout the versions and it really helps the party visualize combat. It was even more useful here due to the nature of Pathfinder combat.
I'm taking a DM break for the last version. One of the new players is a DM in the 5th edition rules and she has graciously allowed me to play for a change! The next post on this topic will likely list our new 5th edition characters and how character creation is accomplished in the latest D&D game.
Thursday, June 15, 2017
AD&D 1st Edition: Magic-users and Spellbooks
AD&D has a built-in complexity that derives from a desire to clarify a system to the nth degree. Gygax wanted there to be little uncertainty in how to run the game "by the book" since this was to become the ruleset by which convention tournaments were run. Unfortunately, his explanations were about as clear as mud to the uninitiated. It seems he spent too much time in the company of geniuses and not enough time trying to explain these concepts to the common man. So, in essence, the game is written with an air of superiority. I actually like his writing style, but his explanations leave some scratching their heads.
So it was with the Intelligence tables for use with magic-users. I've been going over many Sage Advice columns lately and it seems that even the authors were getting the rules wrong. It's really not all that difficult to understand once you know why this system was put into place. Obviously, magic-users were very popular back in the day. Then again, since there were only 3-4 classes to choose from originally, it's no wonder! Players being what they are, once they hit upon a winning combination of spells, that combination was copied by all other magic-users until each one becomes a carbon copy of the other. This stifles creativity, free thinking, and makes for a boring game environment. If all 1st level magic-users had sleep as their one and only spell, then opponents would soon come up with ways to defeat the use of that spell. An arms race then escalates as new methods are devised and countered.
In order to combat the "best-spell-selection" magic-user, Gygax implemented a rule in the Greyhawk Supplement that was carried into 1st edition AD&D that basically made each magic-user unique (and randomized the spells a bit more). Now, each magic-user received a random assortment of starting spells, knew a few others that he did not yet possess in a spellbook, and had some spells that could not be learned (until such time as their Intelligence score was permanently increased). So was born Intelligence Table II in the Players Handbook!
Let's take a look at how the process is done. The DM, after reading the section on spells for 1st level characters, sits down with his prospective M-U player and says that his master has taught him some magic and has graciously gifted him with a spellbook. Of the spells the character "knows" (was taught to use by 1st level), the master has prepared a spellbook containing one offensive, one defensive, and one utilitarian spell, along with read magic which is required for ALL magic-users to learn from the start. Therefore, all magic-users begin play with FOUR spells in their book (regardless of Intelligence score). This provides a selection from which they may choose their ONE spell they may cast for the day.
However, looking at the Intelligence table, one sees that there is a minimum and maximum number of spells that can be known per level. The magic-user rolls on the table to see if what other spells they already "know" and understand, up to the minimum number on the 1st level spell list. No "named spells" can be checked, since these must be found as treasure or during play. These "named spells" are also not on the tables for the spellbook contents of a 1st level magic-user in the DMG. Examples on the 1st level list include Tenser's floating disc and Nystul's magic aura. Since these spells were developed by other mage's for their own use, they can only be found on scrolls, in personal spellbooks, or used as trade between those wizard's and their students. The same applies to any spells developed by the player character magic-users. So, the unnamed spells represent the common spells used by all magic-users, the "basic syllabus" if you will.
So now, the magic-user must keep track of THREE lists when the character is created:
For example, Marlin the Prestidigitator with 15 Intelligence has a spellbook containing 4 spells (read magic, charm person, shield, and identify), knows 3 more to bring his spells known to his minimum (7) (these being magic missile, sleep, and burning hands; all selected and rolled for by the character from the 1st level list), and can never learn feather fall or protection from evil (he failed his roll on these two spells). He then adventures and finds a scroll of 5 first level spells. One of these spells he already knows (magic missile) but the other four are unknown to him (comprehend languages, hold portal, message, and spider climb). He decides to keep the scroll for future scribing. If he succeeds in rolling his chance to know on all 4 of those spells, he can add them to his spellbook. However, these spells are now the ONLY 1st level spells he will EVER know (since he has now hit his maximum # of spells for his Intelligence). His first level list would thus have 11 spells listed, and the character should write the word (COMPLETE) above this level list's header. Once known, these spells can never be unlearned. A character never need check the Chance to Know until he or she is ready to scribe spells into their spellbook. If he later finds another scroll with different spells on it, he does not even bother to check his Chance to Know again since his limit has been reached.
If a character's Intelligence is permanently increased during the course of play, their minimum and maximum numbers of spells may increase. Conversely, if Intelligence is permanently lowered, they may lose the knowledge of one or more spells permanently. In the former case, the magic-user has more unused slots he can fill on his SPELLS KNOWN list if he locates new spells; in the latter case, the DM may make him randomly choose which spell(s) are lost from his SPELLS KNOWN list. A spell in his spellbook that is no longer known can no longer be memorized (although it is still listed in his spellbook).
In the unlikely event that one pass through the 1st level list generates less than the minimum after checking all the possible spells, the magic-user may go back through the list and try once more to learn a spell that failed the first time until the minimum is achieved.
KNOWING a spell and having it in your spellbook are two separate things. Knowledge of a spell only means that you can write it into your spellbook without having to check the Chance to Know. It has no other bearing on the workings of the magic-user in play. A read magic spell is still required to read any spell scroll found, even if it contains a spell the character already knows. Scrolls are all written in a special cipher used by magic-users and the spell is required to decipher the symbols and script.Although the above magic-user (Marlin) knows magic missile, he cannot prepare it for use from his spellbook since it isn't written there. He may only prepare one spell from his choice of four spells in his spellbook.
Note that this produces unique magic-users with differing spell lists, instead of cookie-cutter mages that all cast the same spell over and over again. It also forces magic-users to "make do" with the spells that were provided by their master, come up with interesting ways in which to use these spells, and basically makes them think about what a magic-user truly is in a party - an Intelligent man respected more for his knowledge, not simply the spells he can cast. This, more than anything else, balances out the class with the fighter. Those who ignore these rules risk unbalancing the way the game is played, relegating fighters to little more than meat shields protecting the true firepower in the rear ranks - their wizards! It also makes wands and staves more useful to the magic-users who cannot personally cast the spells they contain. After all, why use a 6d6 fireball from a wand of fire if you're 10th level and can do 10d6? If fireball is not on your spell list (and/or you failed to know this spell) this still permits you to cast fireballs from the wand, although not with the same ability as a magic-user who learned and understood the spell.
Some players may consider these rules too random or unnecessarily restrictive. After all, most magic-users want to be the "star of the show," blasting large quantities of monsters with their uber-powerful area of effect spells and unerring magic missiles. Well, there's more to being a magic-user than that! If they think it's not their thing, suggest another class!
Remember that Illusionists, as a sub-class of magic-user, also abide by these rules and have their own spellbook tables in the DMG. The only difference being that they do not require a read magic spell to learn their spells since they write everything in a non-magical secret code (later changed in Unearthed Arcana). Otherwise, the rules for Intelligence remain the same.
One final tidbit -- each level of spells takes up its own spellbook. Thus, a 1st level magic-user has 1 spellbook, a 3rd level magic-user has 2 spellbooks (one of first level spells, and one of second level spells), a 5th level magic-user has 3 spellbooks (one each of first, second, and third level spells), etc. This gets to be a lot of weight and cost! This is why magic-users are NOT supposed to carry their spellbooks to the dungeon with them. Long trips into hostile territory also restrict the amount of weight a magic-user may take with them. This is why the travelling spellbook was developed in Unearthed Arcana. However, the limited space in these spellbooks forces the magic-user to only take those spells they will definitely need on their journey. I believe that the "one level of spells per book" rule was changed sometime after the Players Handbook was published, but I'm not sure when. It was rarely adhered to in the modules written for 1st edition and is just one more check to keep magic-users in line with the power of fighters.
So it was with the Intelligence tables for use with magic-users. I've been going over many Sage Advice columns lately and it seems that even the authors were getting the rules wrong. It's really not all that difficult to understand once you know why this system was put into place. Obviously, magic-users were very popular back in the day. Then again, since there were only 3-4 classes to choose from originally, it's no wonder! Players being what they are, once they hit upon a winning combination of spells, that combination was copied by all other magic-users until each one becomes a carbon copy of the other. This stifles creativity, free thinking, and makes for a boring game environment. If all 1st level magic-users had sleep as their one and only spell, then opponents would soon come up with ways to defeat the use of that spell. An arms race then escalates as new methods are devised and countered.
In order to combat the "best-spell-selection" magic-user, Gygax implemented a rule in the Greyhawk Supplement that was carried into 1st edition AD&D that basically made each magic-user unique (and randomized the spells a bit more). Now, each magic-user received a random assortment of starting spells, knew a few others that he did not yet possess in a spellbook, and had some spells that could not be learned (until such time as their Intelligence score was permanently increased). So was born Intelligence Table II in the Players Handbook!
Let's take a look at how the process is done. The DM, after reading the section on spells for 1st level characters, sits down with his prospective M-U player and says that his master has taught him some magic and has graciously gifted him with a spellbook. Of the spells the character "knows" (was taught to use by 1st level), the master has prepared a spellbook containing one offensive, one defensive, and one utilitarian spell, along with read magic which is required for ALL magic-users to learn from the start. Therefore, all magic-users begin play with FOUR spells in their book (regardless of Intelligence score). This provides a selection from which they may choose their ONE spell they may cast for the day.
However, looking at the Intelligence table, one sees that there is a minimum and maximum number of spells that can be known per level. The magic-user rolls on the table to see if what other spells they already "know" and understand, up to the minimum number on the 1st level spell list. No "named spells" can be checked, since these must be found as treasure or during play. These "named spells" are also not on the tables for the spellbook contents of a 1st level magic-user in the DMG. Examples on the 1st level list include Tenser's floating disc and Nystul's magic aura. Since these spells were developed by other mage's for their own use, they can only be found on scrolls, in personal spellbooks, or used as trade between those wizard's and their students. The same applies to any spells developed by the player character magic-users. So, the unnamed spells represent the common spells used by all magic-users, the "basic syllabus" if you will.
So now, the magic-user must keep track of THREE lists when the character is created:
- SPELLS IN SPELLBOOK: This list is generated at 1st level from random rolls on a table in the DMG with help from the DM. It represents knowledge provided by the master as part of training and includes read magic, one offensive spell, one defensive spell, and one utility spell. This is the list used to prepare spells for the day (of which the 1st level magic-user can cast only ONE). No chance to know these spells is necessary; it is assumed to have happened already during training to become 1st level.
- SPELLS KNOWN: This list consists of spells that the character was exposed to during training and which he has an understanding of (i.e. succeeded on a Chance to Know percentage roll). These spells are understood by the magic-user although they are not written in his spellbook. However, if such spells can be found on scrolls, they can be written into the spellbook without any need to roll to know the spell. When the magic-user is created, the 1st level list is checked until the minimum number of spells is achieved. Then stop rolling on the list.
- SPELLS THAT CANNOT BE LEARNED: Any spell checked on the list that the character fails to know (by rolling over the Chance to Know percentage) is placed on this list. This spell can never be learned by the character; however, it can be read off scrolls if found. It simply is too difficult for the character to grasp or understand, so they will never be able to write it into their spellbook.
For example, Marlin the Prestidigitator with 15 Intelligence has a spellbook containing 4 spells (read magic, charm person, shield, and identify), knows 3 more to bring his spells known to his minimum (7) (these being magic missile, sleep, and burning hands; all selected and rolled for by the character from the 1st level list), and can never learn feather fall or protection from evil (he failed his roll on these two spells). He then adventures and finds a scroll of 5 first level spells. One of these spells he already knows (magic missile) but the other four are unknown to him (comprehend languages, hold portal, message, and spider climb). He decides to keep the scroll for future scribing. If he succeeds in rolling his chance to know on all 4 of those spells, he can add them to his spellbook. However, these spells are now the ONLY 1st level spells he will EVER know (since he has now hit his maximum # of spells for his Intelligence). His first level list would thus have 11 spells listed, and the character should write the word (COMPLETE) above this level list's header. Once known, these spells can never be unlearned. A character never need check the Chance to Know until he or she is ready to scribe spells into their spellbook. If he later finds another scroll with different spells on it, he does not even bother to check his Chance to Know again since his limit has been reached.
If a character's Intelligence is permanently increased during the course of play, their minimum and maximum numbers of spells may increase. Conversely, if Intelligence is permanently lowered, they may lose the knowledge of one or more spells permanently. In the former case, the magic-user has more unused slots he can fill on his SPELLS KNOWN list if he locates new spells; in the latter case, the DM may make him randomly choose which spell(s) are lost from his SPELLS KNOWN list. A spell in his spellbook that is no longer known can no longer be memorized (although it is still listed in his spellbook).
In the unlikely event that one pass through the 1st level list generates less than the minimum after checking all the possible spells, the magic-user may go back through the list and try once more to learn a spell that failed the first time until the minimum is achieved.
KNOWING a spell and having it in your spellbook are two separate things. Knowledge of a spell only means that you can write it into your spellbook without having to check the Chance to Know. It has no other bearing on the workings of the magic-user in play. A read magic spell is still required to read any spell scroll found, even if it contains a spell the character already knows. Scrolls are all written in a special cipher used by magic-users and the spell is required to decipher the symbols and script.Although the above magic-user (Marlin) knows magic missile, he cannot prepare it for use from his spellbook since it isn't written there. He may only prepare one spell from his choice of four spells in his spellbook.
Note that this produces unique magic-users with differing spell lists, instead of cookie-cutter mages that all cast the same spell over and over again. It also forces magic-users to "make do" with the spells that were provided by their master, come up with interesting ways in which to use these spells, and basically makes them think about what a magic-user truly is in a party - an Intelligent man respected more for his knowledge, not simply the spells he can cast. This, more than anything else, balances out the class with the fighter. Those who ignore these rules risk unbalancing the way the game is played, relegating fighters to little more than meat shields protecting the true firepower in the rear ranks - their wizards! It also makes wands and staves more useful to the magic-users who cannot personally cast the spells they contain. After all, why use a 6d6 fireball from a wand of fire if you're 10th level and can do 10d6? If fireball is not on your spell list (and/or you failed to know this spell) this still permits you to cast fireballs from the wand, although not with the same ability as a magic-user who learned and understood the spell.
Some players may consider these rules too random or unnecessarily restrictive. After all, most magic-users want to be the "star of the show," blasting large quantities of monsters with their uber-powerful area of effect spells and unerring magic missiles. Well, there's more to being a magic-user than that! If they think it's not their thing, suggest another class!
Remember that Illusionists, as a sub-class of magic-user, also abide by these rules and have their own spellbook tables in the DMG. The only difference being that they do not require a read magic spell to learn their spells since they write everything in a non-magical secret code (later changed in Unearthed Arcana). Otherwise, the rules for Intelligence remain the same.
One final tidbit -- each level of spells takes up its own spellbook. Thus, a 1st level magic-user has 1 spellbook, a 3rd level magic-user has 2 spellbooks (one of first level spells, and one of second level spells), a 5th level magic-user has 3 spellbooks (one each of first, second, and third level spells), etc. This gets to be a lot of weight and cost! This is why magic-users are NOT supposed to carry their spellbooks to the dungeon with them. Long trips into hostile territory also restrict the amount of weight a magic-user may take with them. This is why the travelling spellbook was developed in Unearthed Arcana. However, the limited space in these spellbooks forces the magic-user to only take those spells they will definitely need on their journey. I believe that the "one level of spells per book" rule was changed sometime after the Players Handbook was published, but I'm not sure when. It was rarely adhered to in the modules written for 1st edition and is just one more check to keep magic-users in line with the power of fighters.
Monday, June 12, 2017
Sage Advice in DRAGON Useless?
I spent last weekend reviewing my Dragon Magazine Archive looking to compile all the "Sage Advice" columns pertinent to 1st edition AD&D. In my quest for AD&D "Dogma" perfection, I'm trying to get a firm grip on ALL the little nuances of the game as seen from the perspective of the creators of the game, and Gygax's original vision in particular.
The first "Sage Advice" column I found was in DRAGON #31, authored by Jean Wells of B3: Palace of the Silver Princess fame. I have heard her name slandered in message boards more than once and thought nothing of it. In fact, I sort of like her writing style and could not see what was so bad about what she wrote. Then, a few articles along I detected a sort of "devil-may-care" attitude about responding to rules-specific questions (few and far between in the mess of munchkin whining and bizarre posts about female dwarf beards, pregnant paladins, and other bizarre questions). It seems she was merely giving her opinion on what to do in all circumstances, not following the new mantra of AD&D which was uniformity in the rules presented.
In the issues before her column ran, and in several "Up on a Soapbox" articles, Gygax spelled out with no uncertain wording that if the rules of the AD&D system were being ignored or changed willy-nilly, then you weren't playing AD&D, but some version of the game unrecognizable to the masses. Then, some issues later, Ms. Wells was spouting out personal solutions to rules-specific questions that contradicted the rules as written. In particular, Gygax felt the need to write an "Out on a Limb" letter calling her out on her decision of whether or not a magic-user could cast a spell while holding a dagger, wand or staff. Her response had been to say that it was permitted, while the rule in the PHB clearly states that BOTH hands must be empty to cast spells. Gygax seemed rather irate about her blatant disregard of the rules and misleading answers. In his usual column, "From the Sorcerer's Scroll" he then continued to point out other problems with the questions she had answered. Interestingly, her "Sage Advice" article, which had run regularly in DRAGON up to that point, failed to make an appearance that issue...
Later articles put forth a disclaimer that only rules-specific questions would be answered. All other matters which were the purview of the individual campaign DM would not be answered. They also changed their policy of answering each and every question sent by mail; from that point onward only pertinent rules questions would be answered, and only in the pages of The DRAGON. I had no idea Ms. Wells had stirred up so much controversy in the early days of The DRAGON. No wonder she's considered a pariah in discussions of rule authenticity. Later articles of "Sage Advice" are more sporadic and have different authors, including Ward, Niebling, and Ms. Wells again, with some reference to "The Sage" whom I believe is actually Gary Gygax.
With all the authors, however, we still got a plethora of answers regarding the same subject. For instance, some authors state that rangers and paladins cast spells at their character level, instead of starting at 1st level and increasing with increasing level. Others make claims that bards receive bonus spells for high Wisdom, while later authors claim this is not the case. Mr. Ward actually answered a question about color spray (which I've touched upon in a previous article), in which he completely ignored the 1 HD per caster level line of the spell. Many questions were raised about trivial rules that could have been answered with simple research. The most important rules regarding initiative and surprise were almost NEVER covered in "Sage Advice" which leads me to believe that they all KNEW that the rules made no sense and could never truly be explained.
So, after compiling over 40 pages of questions and answers from roughly 50 issues of the magazine, I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to continue. The last few articles were spread thinly between a dozen issues of the magazine and dealt with articles covered in the Dragon (which are NOT considered "Official" AD&D rules, unless they received the blessing from Gygax himself). I'm not sure how useful such information will be if this continues. I remember the "Sage Advice" column being much more useful in the 2nd edition era that followed, but since my compilation only brought me up through early 1984, I have 4 more years of issues to slog through in search of golden information for 1st edition AD&D.
The first "Sage Advice" column I found was in DRAGON #31, authored by Jean Wells of B3: Palace of the Silver Princess fame. I have heard her name slandered in message boards more than once and thought nothing of it. In fact, I sort of like her writing style and could not see what was so bad about what she wrote. Then, a few articles along I detected a sort of "devil-may-care" attitude about responding to rules-specific questions (few and far between in the mess of munchkin whining and bizarre posts about female dwarf beards, pregnant paladins, and other bizarre questions). It seems she was merely giving her opinion on what to do in all circumstances, not following the new mantra of AD&D which was uniformity in the rules presented.
In the issues before her column ran, and in several "Up on a Soapbox" articles, Gygax spelled out with no uncertain wording that if the rules of the AD&D system were being ignored or changed willy-nilly, then you weren't playing AD&D, but some version of the game unrecognizable to the masses. Then, some issues later, Ms. Wells was spouting out personal solutions to rules-specific questions that contradicted the rules as written. In particular, Gygax felt the need to write an "Out on a Limb" letter calling her out on her decision of whether or not a magic-user could cast a spell while holding a dagger, wand or staff. Her response had been to say that it was permitted, while the rule in the PHB clearly states that BOTH hands must be empty to cast spells. Gygax seemed rather irate about her blatant disregard of the rules and misleading answers. In his usual column, "From the Sorcerer's Scroll" he then continued to point out other problems with the questions she had answered. Interestingly, her "Sage Advice" article, which had run regularly in DRAGON up to that point, failed to make an appearance that issue...
Later articles put forth a disclaimer that only rules-specific questions would be answered. All other matters which were the purview of the individual campaign DM would not be answered. They also changed their policy of answering each and every question sent by mail; from that point onward only pertinent rules questions would be answered, and only in the pages of The DRAGON. I had no idea Ms. Wells had stirred up so much controversy in the early days of The DRAGON. No wonder she's considered a pariah in discussions of rule authenticity. Later articles of "Sage Advice" are more sporadic and have different authors, including Ward, Niebling, and Ms. Wells again, with some reference to "The Sage" whom I believe is actually Gary Gygax.
With all the authors, however, we still got a plethora of answers regarding the same subject. For instance, some authors state that rangers and paladins cast spells at their character level, instead of starting at 1st level and increasing with increasing level. Others make claims that bards receive bonus spells for high Wisdom, while later authors claim this is not the case. Mr. Ward actually answered a question about color spray (which I've touched upon in a previous article), in which he completely ignored the 1 HD per caster level line of the spell. Many questions were raised about trivial rules that could have been answered with simple research. The most important rules regarding initiative and surprise were almost NEVER covered in "Sage Advice" which leads me to believe that they all KNEW that the rules made no sense and could never truly be explained.
So, after compiling over 40 pages of questions and answers from roughly 50 issues of the magazine, I'm wondering if it's worth the effort to continue. The last few articles were spread thinly between a dozen issues of the magazine and dealt with articles covered in the Dragon (which are NOT considered "Official" AD&D rules, unless they received the blessing from Gygax himself). I'm not sure how useful such information will be if this continues. I remember the "Sage Advice" column being much more useful in the 2nd edition era that followed, but since my compilation only brought me up through early 1984, I have 4 more years of issues to slog through in search of golden information for 1st edition AD&D.
Thursday, June 1, 2017
The Dice are Trying to Kill Them
We've been switching editions for over a year now, and in all this time one thing has become abundantly clear: No matter the game, the dice have it in for my players!
Now, as the title of my blog suggests, I've been a victim of Murphy's Law for as long as I can remember. It's been the one constant in my life. However, it now appears that when I DM adventures for other people, the dice become maliciously evil and decide to roll critical hits (natural 20s), and just screw with the players. I've switched out sets of dice with the same effect every week. The problem seems to have infected the player's dice as well. The other week one player rolled three consecutive 1's on different dice. Another player has trouble rolling anything in double digits. A third player fails every single saving throw ever rolled. And so it goes, week after week.
This downward spiral of bad luck has to end soon. The players are starting to get aggravated by the karmic suck affecting their dice. I wonder if there's a way to exorcise whatever imp is causing the problem...
Now, as the title of my blog suggests, I've been a victim of Murphy's Law for as long as I can remember. It's been the one constant in my life. However, it now appears that when I DM adventures for other people, the dice become maliciously evil and decide to roll critical hits (natural 20s), and just screw with the players. I've switched out sets of dice with the same effect every week. The problem seems to have infected the player's dice as well. The other week one player rolled three consecutive 1's on different dice. Another player has trouble rolling anything in double digits. A third player fails every single saving throw ever rolled. And so it goes, week after week.
This downward spiral of bad luck has to end soon. The players are starting to get aggravated by the karmic suck affecting their dice. I wonder if there's a way to exorcise whatever imp is causing the problem...
Friday, May 12, 2017
AD&D: Problems with Color Spray
I have finally completed my project to convert the Players Handbook into a searchable, editable Word file on my computer, faithfully reproduced with the Twentieth Century font and scanned images. I've noticed quite a few typos and omissions in the text, mainly in the spells section. It also seems that near the end of the book, Gary ran out of space and had to cut short his excellent advice on dungeon (and wilderness) adventures.
However, the glaring errors occur in the spells section. Sloppy editing or just plain not bothering to re-read the spells as written, is probably to blame. But the illusionists seem to have gotten the worst of it. Besides the problems encountered in trying to DM illusions (which were poorly explained to begin with), some of the spells just don't work.
In this example, we will be looking at Color Spray:
COLOR SPRAY
Level: 1
Range: 1"/level
Duration: 1 segment
Area of Effect: ½" x 2" x 2" wedge
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 segment
Saving Throw: Special
Explanation/Description: Upon casting this spell, the illusionist causes a vivid fan-shaped spray of clashing colors to spring forth from his or her hand. From 1 to 6 creatures within the area of effect can be affected. The spell caster is able to affect 1 level or hit die of creatures for each of his or her levels of experience. Affected creatures are struck unconscious for 2 to 8 rounds if their level is less than or equal to that of the spell caster; they are blinded for 1 to 4 rounds if their level or number of hit dice is 1 or 2 greater than the illusionist; and they are stunned (cf. power word, stun, seventh level magic-user spell) for 2 to 8 segments if their level or number of hit dice is 3 or more greater than the spell caster. All creatures above the level of the spell caster and all creatures of 6th level or 6 hit dice are entitled to a saving throw versus the color spray spell. The material components of this spell are a pinch each of powder or sand colored red, yellow and blue.
The first line indicates that this spell creates a fan-shaped spray of colors from the caster's hands. Nothing special about that. It's like the fan of burning hands, but more technicolor. Then it states that 1 to 6 creatures within this area are affected. Is that supposed to be a random roll? or is it based on something? The next line states that the caster can affect 1 level/HD of creature per caster level. OK, so that limits the number of creatures to be affected I guess, sort of like the sleep spell. So long as the levels or HD are less than or equal to the caster, the affected creatures are struck unconscious for 2-8 rounds. Awesome! Sort of a burning hands effect that causes sleep!
Then the rest of the spell makes little or no sense. It seems that if the levels/HD of the affected creatures are 1 to 2 levels above the spell caster.... wait, HUH? How can that ever be? Remember that the caster can only affect a number of HD/levels equal to his caster level. So how can this EVER happen? It then goes on with another stipulation if the levels/HD affected are 3+ levels more than the caster, but this can never happen either! Something is screwy here...
As an example, lets take a look at some illusionists and creatures:
1st level illusionist -- he can affect 1 HD of creature (1 orc or normal man, or 2 kobolds)
2nd level illusionist -- he can affect 2 HD of creatures (1 gnoll, 2 orcs or men, or 4 kobolds)
3rd level illusionist -- he can affect 3 HD of creatures (1 bugbear, 3 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds)
4th level illusionist -- he can affect 4 HD of creatures (1 ogre, 2 gnolls, 4 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
5th level illusionist -- he can affect 5 HD of creatures (2 gnolls + 1 man,
5 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
6th level illusionist -- he can affect 6 HD of creatures (1 troll, 3 gnolls, 6 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
*Remember, the number of creatures is only 1 to 6 in the area of effect, no matter their HD.
How will the illusionist ever be able to affect more HD than he has levels according to this description? Say he's a 1st level illusionist up against an ogre (mean, but it has happened). His caster level is only 1 vs. a 4 HD creature. There is only 1 ogre. But the illusionist doesn't have enough HD of effect to cause the spell to work against the ogre. So he CANNOT stun the target creature in the area of effect because he can only affect 1 HD of creatures at 1st level.
UNLESS.... the line about HD/Levels is WRONG!! perhaps it was supposed to read that the illusionist can affect 1 CREATURE per caster level in the area of effect, up to 6. That would allow the rest of the spell description to work properly. Because then the ogre in the example above would be 1 creature in the area of effect of 3+ HD above the level of the caster, and would be stunned for 2-8 segments by the spell.
Hmm, all creatures above the level of the caster and those of 6 levels or 6 HD are entitled to a save. That would never happen in the spell description as written until the caster himself is at least 6th level, because he could not ever affect more HD/Levels than his caster level, and would not be able to affect creatures of 6 HD/Levels until he is himself a 6th level caster.
There is another interpretation of the spell, but it is rather convoluted and is not really supported by the language. In this interpretation, the main effect of the spell (unconsciousness) only affects those creatures of equal to or less than the caster level of illusionist. However, if there are any creatures above and beyond this level in the area of effect, they will be either blinded or stunned, as appropriate, according to their HD/Level. No more than 6 creatures can be affected by the spell.
I'm not really sure which interpretation is correct, or if the spell is simply broken. It really makes no sense as written.Let's see some more hypothetical examples:
1) A 1st level illusionist and his party comes across a band of 7 goblins in a dungeon corridor. He casts color spray on the 1st round. What happens? Does he affect only 1 goblin? Does he affect up to 6 goblins?
2) A 5th level illusionist and his party encounters a pair of trolls in a dungeon chamber. He casts color spray on the two trolls. What happens? Does he fail to affect the trolls? Does he affect both trolls but only blinds them? Do they get saving throws?
3) A 7th level illusionist and her party encounters a mind flayer in the tunnels of the underworld. She casts color spray at the creature. What happens? Is the creature affected? If so, is it blinded if it fails it's save?
4) A 9th level illusionist and her party encounters a fire giant and a pair of large hell hounds. She casts color spray at them. Will she be able to affect more than one of the creatures? Does it affect the lower HD creatures first? Will it affect all the creatures with different results for each type? Will it affect the giant at all?
Let's go back to the original spell description in DRAGON Magazine #1:
Color Spray: A sheet of bright conflicting colors. They affect 1-6 levels of creatures, rendering them unconscious through confusion. (Note: for every 5 levels above Trickster the caster has obtained,
add one to the die roll for amount of levels, the number never to exceed 6.) The distribution of the effect if there are more target levels than spell levels is semi-random, first one creature is fully affected, then another, till all the levels are assigned, there being no more than one partially affected creature. There is no saving throw vs this spell if the creature is fully affected, if all but one level is affected, it gets a normal saving throw, for every level unaffected beyond the first, it gets an additional +2 on its saving throw, in any case, it will not affect any creature above the 6th level. Range 24”.
Well, at least that's a bit more concise. The range is ridiculous on this version of the spells, assuming that the effect begins at the caster. Then again, the range of the spell in 1st edition makes little sense, assuming that it springs from the caster's hands. How can it be 1"/level if the area of effect is a static 5' x 20' x 20' wedge? Someone didn't think this through very well.....
It appears that, as with the sleep spell, there is a hard limit of 6 HD/levels that can be affected by the spell. However, the saving throw makes more sense. Those affected FIRST by the spell are those of the least HD. Anyone of higher HD that is partially affected gets a save, otherwise, no save. For every level unaffected, the save is at a bonus of +2. Therefore, using this version of the spell, if the 1st level illusionist uses this spell on the ogre and rolls a 2 for the levels affected, the ogre gets a saving throw at +4 to avoid the effects, otherwise he is unconscious from the colors. There is no duration listed here so it's assumed that it lasts until the creature is revived somehow. There is a hard limited of 6 HD, meaning that this spell would be useless on giants, powerful dragons, etc. This makes more sense than the convoluted spell description for AD&D 1st edition. But still not very helpful.
OK, so perhaps the whole "higher HD than the illusionist" thing occurs only when an illusionist casts this on a creature not normally affected by the spell (i.e. higher than the spell's HD capacity). This would give the creature a saving throw against the effect AND only be able to blind or temporarily delay the actions of the creature. It's important to note that if the DM doesn't understand initiative, then the segments duration of the stun effect will probably be taken incorrectly or ignored. Ugh, such a confusing spell! But I can see how the original was twisted into the current AD&D version. It could have been much better explained in my opinion, since it obviously was meant to allow illusionists to keep using the spell beyond 6th level casting ability.
However, the glaring errors occur in the spells section. Sloppy editing or just plain not bothering to re-read the spells as written, is probably to blame. But the illusionists seem to have gotten the worst of it. Besides the problems encountered in trying to DM illusions (which were poorly explained to begin with), some of the spells just don't work.
In this example, we will be looking at Color Spray:
COLOR SPRAY
Level: 1
Range: 1"/level
Duration: 1 segment
Area of Effect: ½" x 2" x 2" wedge
Components: V, S, M
Casting Time: 1 segment
Saving Throw: Special
Explanation/Description: Upon casting this spell, the illusionist causes a vivid fan-shaped spray of clashing colors to spring forth from his or her hand. From 1 to 6 creatures within the area of effect can be affected. The spell caster is able to affect 1 level or hit die of creatures for each of his or her levels of experience. Affected creatures are struck unconscious for 2 to 8 rounds if their level is less than or equal to that of the spell caster; they are blinded for 1 to 4 rounds if their level or number of hit dice is 1 or 2 greater than the illusionist; and they are stunned (cf. power word, stun, seventh level magic-user spell) for 2 to 8 segments if their level or number of hit dice is 3 or more greater than the spell caster. All creatures above the level of the spell caster and all creatures of 6th level or 6 hit dice are entitled to a saving throw versus the color spray spell. The material components of this spell are a pinch each of powder or sand colored red, yellow and blue.
The first line indicates that this spell creates a fan-shaped spray of colors from the caster's hands. Nothing special about that. It's like the fan of burning hands, but more technicolor. Then it states that 1 to 6 creatures within this area are affected. Is that supposed to be a random roll? or is it based on something? The next line states that the caster can affect 1 level/HD of creature per caster level. OK, so that limits the number of creatures to be affected I guess, sort of like the sleep spell. So long as the levels or HD are less than or equal to the caster, the affected creatures are struck unconscious for 2-8 rounds. Awesome! Sort of a burning hands effect that causes sleep!
Then the rest of the spell makes little or no sense. It seems that if the levels/HD of the affected creatures are 1 to 2 levels above the spell caster.... wait, HUH? How can that ever be? Remember that the caster can only affect a number of HD/levels equal to his caster level. So how can this EVER happen? It then goes on with another stipulation if the levels/HD affected are 3+ levels more than the caster, but this can never happen either! Something is screwy here...
As an example, lets take a look at some illusionists and creatures:
1st level illusionist -- he can affect 1 HD of creature (1 orc or normal man, or 2 kobolds)
2nd level illusionist -- he can affect 2 HD of creatures (1 gnoll, 2 orcs or men, or 4 kobolds)
3rd level illusionist -- he can affect 3 HD of creatures (1 bugbear, 3 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds)
4th level illusionist -- he can affect 4 HD of creatures (1 ogre, 2 gnolls, 4 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
5th level illusionist -- he can affect 5 HD of creatures (2 gnolls + 1 man,
5 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
6th level illusionist -- he can affect 6 HD of creatures (1 troll, 3 gnolls, 6 orcs or men, or 6 kobolds*)
*Remember, the number of creatures is only 1 to 6 in the area of effect, no matter their HD.
How will the illusionist ever be able to affect more HD than he has levels according to this description? Say he's a 1st level illusionist up against an ogre (mean, but it has happened). His caster level is only 1 vs. a 4 HD creature. There is only 1 ogre. But the illusionist doesn't have enough HD of effect to cause the spell to work against the ogre. So he CANNOT stun the target creature in the area of effect because he can only affect 1 HD of creatures at 1st level.
UNLESS.... the line about HD/Levels is WRONG!! perhaps it was supposed to read that the illusionist can affect 1 CREATURE per caster level in the area of effect, up to 6. That would allow the rest of the spell description to work properly. Because then the ogre in the example above would be 1 creature in the area of effect of 3+ HD above the level of the caster, and would be stunned for 2-8 segments by the spell.
Hmm, all creatures above the level of the caster and those of 6 levels or 6 HD are entitled to a save. That would never happen in the spell description as written until the caster himself is at least 6th level, because he could not ever affect more HD/Levels than his caster level, and would not be able to affect creatures of 6 HD/Levels until he is himself a 6th level caster.
There is another interpretation of the spell, but it is rather convoluted and is not really supported by the language. In this interpretation, the main effect of the spell (unconsciousness) only affects those creatures of equal to or less than the caster level of illusionist. However, if there are any creatures above and beyond this level in the area of effect, they will be either blinded or stunned, as appropriate, according to their HD/Level. No more than 6 creatures can be affected by the spell.
I'm not really sure which interpretation is correct, or if the spell is simply broken. It really makes no sense as written.Let's see some more hypothetical examples:
1) A 1st level illusionist and his party comes across a band of 7 goblins in a dungeon corridor. He casts color spray on the 1st round. What happens? Does he affect only 1 goblin? Does he affect up to 6 goblins?
2) A 5th level illusionist and his party encounters a pair of trolls in a dungeon chamber. He casts color spray on the two trolls. What happens? Does he fail to affect the trolls? Does he affect both trolls but only blinds them? Do they get saving throws?
3) A 7th level illusionist and her party encounters a mind flayer in the tunnels of the underworld. She casts color spray at the creature. What happens? Is the creature affected? If so, is it blinded if it fails it's save?
4) A 9th level illusionist and her party encounters a fire giant and a pair of large hell hounds. She casts color spray at them. Will she be able to affect more than one of the creatures? Does it affect the lower HD creatures first? Will it affect all the creatures with different results for each type? Will it affect the giant at all?
Let's go back to the original spell description in DRAGON Magazine #1:
Color Spray: A sheet of bright conflicting colors. They affect 1-6 levels of creatures, rendering them unconscious through confusion. (Note: for every 5 levels above Trickster the caster has obtained,
add one to the die roll for amount of levels, the number never to exceed 6.) The distribution of the effect if there are more target levels than spell levels is semi-random, first one creature is fully affected, then another, till all the levels are assigned, there being no more than one partially affected creature. There is no saving throw vs this spell if the creature is fully affected, if all but one level is affected, it gets a normal saving throw, for every level unaffected beyond the first, it gets an additional +2 on its saving throw, in any case, it will not affect any creature above the 6th level. Range 24”.
Well, at least that's a bit more concise. The range is ridiculous on this version of the spells, assuming that the effect begins at the caster. Then again, the range of the spell in 1st edition makes little sense, assuming that it springs from the caster's hands. How can it be 1"/level if the area of effect is a static 5' x 20' x 20' wedge? Someone didn't think this through very well.....
It appears that, as with the sleep spell, there is a hard limit of 6 HD/levels that can be affected by the spell. However, the saving throw makes more sense. Those affected FIRST by the spell are those of the least HD. Anyone of higher HD that is partially affected gets a save, otherwise, no save. For every level unaffected, the save is at a bonus of +2. Therefore, using this version of the spell, if the 1st level illusionist uses this spell on the ogre and rolls a 2 for the levels affected, the ogre gets a saving throw at +4 to avoid the effects, otherwise he is unconscious from the colors. There is no duration listed here so it's assumed that it lasts until the creature is revived somehow. There is a hard limited of 6 HD, meaning that this spell would be useless on giants, powerful dragons, etc. This makes more sense than the convoluted spell description for AD&D 1st edition. But still not very helpful.
OK, so perhaps the whole "higher HD than the illusionist" thing occurs only when an illusionist casts this on a creature not normally affected by the spell (i.e. higher than the spell's HD capacity). This would give the creature a saving throw against the effect AND only be able to blind or temporarily delay the actions of the creature. It's important to note that if the DM doesn't understand initiative, then the segments duration of the stun effect will probably be taken incorrectly or ignored. Ugh, such a confusing spell! But I can see how the original was twisted into the current AD&D version. It could have been much better explained in my opinion, since it obviously was meant to allow illusionists to keep using the spell beyond 6th level casting ability.
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
OD&D 1974 Character Creation
I was in a nostalgic mood today and decided after work that I would sit down and create a character "Old School" style. So I opened up my pdf version of Men & Magic, got out my d6 brick, and started rolling! Here's the result:
DARNOK THE ACOLYTE (Lawful)
1st level Cleric (Man), Hit Points: 4 Exp. = 0
Equipment: (Encumbrance = 830 GP WT., Move = 9"/turn)
I can use magic armor like a fighter, and non-edged magic weapons.
I have 7 GP left at the start of the game.
Although I can't cast spells yet, I can Turn Undead (Skeletons 7, Zombies 9, Ghouls 11) on a 2d6 roll.
So, not a bad character! He needs to be in a large party in order to survive. Those 4 Hit Points are not gonna do him much good I'm afraid. One good hit and he will drop like a sack of potatoes. Since his Con is slightly below average I'm giving him a hacking cough which he acquired after fasting and praying in nothing but a thin linen robe for a week in penance. Although he is pious and faithful, his studies have fallen to the wayside. He is competent enough to hold his own in weapons practice though, and he gets along well with his fellows at the monastery. Not sure about religion in OD&D though. It seems like the implied religion here is Christian-like -- no doubt because of the presence of holy crosses and other aspects. I would assume, however, that this character does NOT exist in an Earth-like world at all (since this is D&D and magic & monsters exist). Let's assume that this character actually exists in the old Greyhawk campaign -- and let's assume that he is a worshipper of St. Cuthbert (a somewhat Christian-like deity). Beyond this, I don't think I need to go into any more detail than I already have. The character is complete!
I doubt 7 GP will be enough to hire many henchmen. Perhaps he should just try and get some men-at-arms to accompany him on his first adventure. For 4 GP he can hire two light foot men-at-arms for a month. I assume they are dressed in leather armor, with or without shield, and with light weapons like spears and short swords. If Darnok has to equip these men then he can't afford to hire them!
With my new guardsmen, Darnok is ready to find others willing to locate and enter a dungeon! Now if only I knew of a Dungeon Master who still ran OD&D....
- Strength 11
- Intelligence 11
- Wisdom 12
- Constitution 8
- Dexterity 8
- Charisma 12
DARNOK THE ACOLYTE (Lawful)
1st level Cleric (Man), Hit Points: 4 Exp. = 0
- Strength 11
- Intelligence 9
- Wisdom 13 (+5% earned Exp.)
- Constitution 8 (50% survival chance)
- Dexterity 8 (-1 missiles)
- Charisma 12 (4 henchmen max.)
Equipment: (Encumbrance = 830 GP WT., Move = 9"/turn)
- Chain Mail Armor (30 GP)
- Shield (10 GP)
- Helmet (10 GP)
- Mace (5 GP)
- 50' Rope (1 GP)
- 2 Small Sacks (2 GP)
- Silver Cross (25 GP)
- Holy Water (25 GP)
- 1 Week Std. Rations (5 GP)
I can use magic armor like a fighter, and non-edged magic weapons.
I have 7 GP left at the start of the game.
Although I can't cast spells yet, I can Turn Undead (Skeletons 7, Zombies 9, Ghouls 11) on a 2d6 roll.
So, not a bad character! He needs to be in a large party in order to survive. Those 4 Hit Points are not gonna do him much good I'm afraid. One good hit and he will drop like a sack of potatoes. Since his Con is slightly below average I'm giving him a hacking cough which he acquired after fasting and praying in nothing but a thin linen robe for a week in penance. Although he is pious and faithful, his studies have fallen to the wayside. He is competent enough to hold his own in weapons practice though, and he gets along well with his fellows at the monastery. Not sure about religion in OD&D though. It seems like the implied religion here is Christian-like -- no doubt because of the presence of holy crosses and other aspects. I would assume, however, that this character does NOT exist in an Earth-like world at all (since this is D&D and magic & monsters exist). Let's assume that this character actually exists in the old Greyhawk campaign -- and let's assume that he is a worshipper of St. Cuthbert (a somewhat Christian-like deity). Beyond this, I don't think I need to go into any more detail than I already have. The character is complete!
I doubt 7 GP will be enough to hire many henchmen. Perhaps he should just try and get some men-at-arms to accompany him on his first adventure. For 4 GP he can hire two light foot men-at-arms for a month. I assume they are dressed in leather armor, with or without shield, and with light weapons like spears and short swords. If Darnok has to equip these men then he can't afford to hire them!
With my new guardsmen, Darnok is ready to find others willing to locate and enter a dungeon! Now if only I knew of a Dungeon Master who still ran OD&D....
Monday, May 1, 2017
Hopeless Characters
I've been looking over a few posts on other web sites in the past few weeks regarding characters with low ability scores, or "Hopeless" characters. This sentiment has been around for a while now, even appearing in the rules for AD&D and Basic/Expert D&D back in 1979/1980. The thing about it is that I don't think that a character is truly hopeless unless the PLAYER thinks it is.
The premise of the original D&D game appears to be that of a bunch of people who have apprenticed in a chosen profession (class) heading off to a dungeon to recover treasure and make a name for themselves. Along the way they face terrible monsters, deadly traps, and devious puzzles. Those that overcome these become rich and famous. Those that don't...? Well, they become dungeon dressing to be found by those who later enter said dungeon in search of their own glory.
But here's the thing... abilities are MEANT to be random. If they weren't, then why roll the dice at all? If you won't play a character with any score lower than 10, why even roll the dice? It's statistically possible to have a character with all 3's. The same probability exists to roll a character with all 18's. But it's more likely that your score will fall in the 9-12 range.
Let's face it. No one wants to play someone JUST LIKE THEM in real life. No one who plays D&D or AD&D wants to play the couch potato with the huge gut who can barely lift a sword, no less swing one. No one wants to be the bumbling klutz or the moron who can't remember where he left his glasses (which are on his head...). No one wants to be known as the guy who foolishly agreed to some plan suggested by an NPC, just because he wasn't savvy enough to realize he was being duped. No, everyone wants to be the god-like hero of myth, the mighty warrior who gets all the girls, the powerful magic-user able to routinely hold dozens of spells in his memory at once, or the wise cleric who can see through deceit and resist the most potent charms. Let's face it, no one wants to play themselves in their fantasy.
But, I have to tell you, playing the foibles of lackluster characters is sometimes fun. Our most memorable characters were not the ones with 18 percentile strength, but rather the weakling mage who can't even hold his own cat familiar without becoming tired; or the fighter whose wisdom was so low that she could be convinced of just about anything; or the charismatic fighter who really wanted to be a paladin but just could not cut it. These low scores that "prevent" us from enjoying a character really give the character personality and background. However, this is not for everyone.
One of my friends once put this in terms I could understand. Superman is invulnerable, he's the fastest hero around, he's the strongest hero around, he has a computer-like brain, and he's dashing and charismatic. However, the character is boring as hell. Even the writers couldn't figure out how to write good stories about him. However, his bumbling sidekick Jimmy Olsen, or not-so-wise love Lois Lane (always getting into trouble) were much more interesting to write about. And so, although Superman could be said to have 18s in all his stats, he was still just a ho-hum character. You always knew he would save the day. There was no doubt about it. And when something becomes an absolute, when there's no chance of failure, the action becomes routine and boring.
Some players yearn to be Superman from 1st level. They want to win all the time. They need to succeed and be the best. They hate losing. Low stats means they have lost or aren't good enough. There is a section in the beginning of the Players Handbook regarding such a thing. In fact, later versions of the game assume that the characters are a cut above the rank and file of humanity (or dwarf-, elf-, and halfling-kind). But this is not how swords & sorcery fantasy should be. Everyone has to start somewhere. The game assumes that you are beginning at the ground floor and working your way up to fame and fortune, power and prestige. If you START at the top, as the saying goes, there's nowhere to go but down.
The definition of "hopeless character" has changed over time. Original D&D had no such thing. But if you look at the way the game played, ability scores were not very important. Basic D&D, which is based on OD&D, stated that characters whose ability scores were all under 9 were unplayable, but this was the first time that minimum scores were stated in the rules for each class. Before this, you could be a fighter with a 7 strength, or a magic-user with a 5 intelligence. You wouldn't be very good, but you could still exist. By AD&D, all the major classes needed at least a 9 in their "prime requisite" to qualify for a class. It was recommended that you have at least two scores of 15 or higher and no more than one score in the very low range (3-6).
The reason I'm bringing this up is that I'm trying to figure out why people hate 3d6 rolled in order as a method of generating characters. To me it makes little difference. But there are some people who adamantly despise this method of rolling. It seems that it boils down to two real ideologies here:
Call me a grognard, but I think that everyone should try and play a 3d6-straight rolled character at least once. Old style gaming can be a real fun time if everyone is on the same page. Just for kicks, I rolled up three characters using 3d6 rolled in order. These are my stats
For example: It was assumed that players would seek out NPCs to assist them in their adventures. The concept of hirelings and henchmen has been around since the beginning. Of course, the terms "meat shield" or "red-shirts" have also, unfortunately, been around for that long as well. Let's face it - adventuring is risky business; you're going to get hurt and will most likely die unless you are very careful. The more targets there are, the less likely a casualty will be a player character. It's not a very heroic concept, sacrificing others so that you can survive. Then again, the premise of the game is not very heroic either - entering dank dungeons and stealing away with treasure that belonged to someone else (or guarded/protected by magic and traps). These are things that THIEVES are meant to do. They sneak into bad places and steal away with treasure, hopefully without any harm coming to themselves. So, in essence, ALL characters are really thieves (or "murder-hobos" as some refer to them). And the typical depiction of a thief is a rough-and-tumble scrawny guy who lies, cheats, and wheedles his way through life, avoiding combat when possible, and making out with as much treasure as he can carry. THIS is the way the game was envisioned by the creator(s). It didn't matter much what your strength, intelligence, wisdom, or dexterity were. What mattered is that you lived - by any means possible!
But back to "hopeless characters." We can now see that "heroic" characters were made to cater to individual desires. They were not meant to be adventurers in the original D&D sense. But let's face it, when you think medieval society, you assume knights, dragons, and damsels in distress. Enter the paladin. I believe that this sub-class was created to cater to those who needed to be the superhero. They needed high stats and a moral code. Strangely enough, no one I knew back in the day wanted to play a paladin as Lawful and Good. All they really wanted were the stats. And who wants to play a lowly fighter when you can play a demi-god of holy prowess? Eventually, sub-classes came to rule the D&D landscape. Since they needed higher scores to qualify, people started seeing 3d6 as "not good enough." So alternate methods were devised. Looking at the characters I generated above, I don't think any of them qualifies to be a sub-class (perhaps #3 could be an assassin?). And if your only goal in the game is to "be the best" or, more disturbingly, "be better than everyone else playing the game," then 3d6 isn't going to cut it. The added character classes and races in Unearthed Arcana continued this disturbing trend with barbarians, cavaliers, dark elves, duergar, etc. The new method of rolling characters (Method V) had players rolling multiple dice for certain key stats and taking the best 3 rolls. If you wanted to play a human fighter, you got to roll 9d6 and take the highest 3 rolls. Soon, if you were a fighter without percentile strength you were "doing it wrong."
To me, no character is truly hopeless. The lack of a stat does not mean that the character is worthless. In a truly randomly-rolled game, there is just as much chance of your 18/00% Strength fighter dying as there is my 10 Strength fighter. That 9 Intelligence magic-user may not know as many spells as your 18 Intelligence magic-user, but the game plays the same regardless. What needs to be addressed BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS is which type of characters the players prefer. Once a consensus is achieved, the Method of rolling can be established and the game can proceed. The DM also should establish guidelines for when a character may be scrapped because scores are not high enough for survivability; but even this can be waived if the player really wants to play such a character. They can be just as much fun, and usually more memorable, than those with god-like stats. Remember that magic items typically enhance abilities, and once the characters are beyond 1st level ability scores take a back seat to class mechanics.
My rule of thumb for "Hopeless Characters" is if you have more penalties than bonuses, you probably should rethink your character's chance to survive or even perform adequately in the chosen class. In the above examples, character #1 has 4 scores below 10. In Basic D&D one of these (strength) would result in a -1 penalty to hit and damage. But this is balanced by the +1 bonus gained from Constitution. In AD&D Strength of 7 would only cause a -1 to hit. This is a perfectly valid character, although some people see the lack of bonuses as a problem. After all, thieves don't really NEED strength to perform as thieves. Character #2 is dead average - he could qualify for any of the base classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, or thief). Again, this is a valid character. However, the lack of bonuses seems to turn some people off. Character #3 is an amazing example of the randomness of rolling 3d6. This character would make a powerful magic-user.... or would it? What benefit does a Basic D&D magic-user gain from such high Intelligence? They can still only cast a limited number of spells, same as a 9 Int M-U. Sure, they can speak 3 extra languages, but this doesn't affect their survivability all that much. In AD&D, that magic-user has a better chance of knowing more spells, and has more spells in their spellbook, and will likely level faster thus getting the character out of danger of dying too soon. However, they can still only cast ONE of those spells for the day, regardless of Intelligence. So you see, a high score is only desirable in the mind of the player. The game doesn't care WHAT your score is. The only classes that really suffer from low scores are fighters and clerics. Fighters with lackluster Strength can't kill things very fast, and may miss more often than one with high Strength. Low Wisdom clerics in Basic D&D have no real penalties; however, those with low wisdom (9-12) in AD&D have a chance of miscasting their spells! Thieves in D&D are not terribly impacted by average or high Dexterity in their class abilities; however, it provides a penalty or bonus to thief abilities in AD&D and high Dex may improve the chances of survival in combat by lowering AC in either system.
Comparing the ability bonuses in Basic D&D and AD&D, one can see that in Basic D&D, bonuses and penalties occur immediately beyond the average 9-12 range. In AD&D it depends on the ability score; some gain penalties/bonuses at very low/high numbers and some give benefits a bit above average. But generally speaking, in AD&D you want scores of 15+ to gain the bonuses provided on the charts. And this is the reason why Gygax made that statement of wanting at least two scores in the 15+ range. Also, if you peruse the charts in the Players Handbook, you will see that if an ability score is lower than a 6, it locks you into a particular class. For instance, a character with a 5 or lower strength can ONLY be a magic-user. It doesn't matter what your intelligence is (so long as it is 9 or higher). If you had scores of Str 5 and Int 8, then that would truly be a hopeless character. In the examples above, the only character with a score of 5 or lower is #3. That character has a Charisma of 5. Sure enough, consulting the PHB states that this character can ONLY be an assassin! However, the character has an 11 Dex and needs a 12 to qualify for assassin. Interestingly enough, this character is considered HOPELESS according to the rules since he cannot qualify for ANY class based on those stats. The DM would require the player to reroll, despite having rolled an 18 in Intelligence!! If the player wanted to still run the character, the DM would likely enforce the need to be an assassin and have the player run an elf to get the Dexterity up one point. However, elves must have a minimum Charisma of 8 so this character is unplayable!! The only way this character could work is if the DM made an exception to the rules, something the other players may not agree with as it seems as if the DM is playing favorites (especially if they are settling for a character they didn't really want to play based on their stats). The same does not apply to Basic D&D characters. Character #3 could be an intelligent fighter, a strong magic-user, or an elf character with no problems. It could also be a thief character (with good strength and great intelligence). The charisma in Basic D&D really has no effect on character choice at all.
So, as you can see, "hopeless" characters are really dependent on the version of the game you are playing, the rules/guidelines being used by the DM, and the desires/needs of the players. A 3d6-straight character is no more or less valid than any other method of rolling. The only way to get a character you truly want to play with the stats desired is pretty much selecting from a given array or selecting the class and rolling ranges between the minimums and maximums. For example, monks are one of the hardest classes to qualify for in AD&D. They require 15 Str, 15 Wis, 15 Dex and 11 Con. Rolling that with 3d6 is really hard - it's even pretty tough with 4d6 drop the lowest. Some DMs allow a player to choose their class before rolling dice, then roll ability scores. For example, a DM might allow a player to choose monk, then have them roll 1d4+14 for Str, Wis, and Dex, and 1d8+10 for Con while all other stats are rolled using the normal method. Again, it is the DMs prerogative and the player's desires which drive this. The rules used are not "lame", "broken," or antiquated, they simply have evolved over time to suit different needs.
The premise of the original D&D game appears to be that of a bunch of people who have apprenticed in a chosen profession (class) heading off to a dungeon to recover treasure and make a name for themselves. Along the way they face terrible monsters, deadly traps, and devious puzzles. Those that overcome these become rich and famous. Those that don't...? Well, they become dungeon dressing to be found by those who later enter said dungeon in search of their own glory.
But here's the thing... abilities are MEANT to be random. If they weren't, then why roll the dice at all? If you won't play a character with any score lower than 10, why even roll the dice? It's statistically possible to have a character with all 3's. The same probability exists to roll a character with all 18's. But it's more likely that your score will fall in the 9-12 range.
Let's face it. No one wants to play someone JUST LIKE THEM in real life. No one who plays D&D or AD&D wants to play the couch potato with the huge gut who can barely lift a sword, no less swing one. No one wants to be the bumbling klutz or the moron who can't remember where he left his glasses (which are on his head...). No one wants to be known as the guy who foolishly agreed to some plan suggested by an NPC, just because he wasn't savvy enough to realize he was being duped. No, everyone wants to be the god-like hero of myth, the mighty warrior who gets all the girls, the powerful magic-user able to routinely hold dozens of spells in his memory at once, or the wise cleric who can see through deceit and resist the most potent charms. Let's face it, no one wants to play themselves in their fantasy.
But, I have to tell you, playing the foibles of lackluster characters is sometimes fun. Our most memorable characters were not the ones with 18 percentile strength, but rather the weakling mage who can't even hold his own cat familiar without becoming tired; or the fighter whose wisdom was so low that she could be convinced of just about anything; or the charismatic fighter who really wanted to be a paladin but just could not cut it. These low scores that "prevent" us from enjoying a character really give the character personality and background. However, this is not for everyone.
One of my friends once put this in terms I could understand. Superman is invulnerable, he's the fastest hero around, he's the strongest hero around, he has a computer-like brain, and he's dashing and charismatic. However, the character is boring as hell. Even the writers couldn't figure out how to write good stories about him. However, his bumbling sidekick Jimmy Olsen, or not-so-wise love Lois Lane (always getting into trouble) were much more interesting to write about. And so, although Superman could be said to have 18s in all his stats, he was still just a ho-hum character. You always knew he would save the day. There was no doubt about it. And when something becomes an absolute, when there's no chance of failure, the action becomes routine and boring.
Some players yearn to be Superman from 1st level. They want to win all the time. They need to succeed and be the best. They hate losing. Low stats means they have lost or aren't good enough. There is a section in the beginning of the Players Handbook regarding such a thing. In fact, later versions of the game assume that the characters are a cut above the rank and file of humanity (or dwarf-, elf-, and halfling-kind). But this is not how swords & sorcery fantasy should be. Everyone has to start somewhere. The game assumes that you are beginning at the ground floor and working your way up to fame and fortune, power and prestige. If you START at the top, as the saying goes, there's nowhere to go but down.
The definition of "hopeless character" has changed over time. Original D&D had no such thing. But if you look at the way the game played, ability scores were not very important. Basic D&D, which is based on OD&D, stated that characters whose ability scores were all under 9 were unplayable, but this was the first time that minimum scores were stated in the rules for each class. Before this, you could be a fighter with a 7 strength, or a magic-user with a 5 intelligence. You wouldn't be very good, but you could still exist. By AD&D, all the major classes needed at least a 9 in their "prime requisite" to qualify for a class. It was recommended that you have at least two scores of 15 or higher and no more than one score in the very low range (3-6).
The reason I'm bringing this up is that I'm trying to figure out why people hate 3d6 rolled in order as a method of generating characters. To me it makes little difference. But there are some people who adamantly despise this method of rolling. It seems that it boils down to two real ideologies here:
- The camp that believe that all characters should be a "cut above" and be heroic in all ways. They believe that such characters should have no flaws, because weakness is no fun to play (for them). These people already know exactly what character they want to play.
- The other camp seems to like organic character creation. These folks have no idea what they want to play and allow the dice to tell them what they can play. They don't go into the game needing to play a certain type of character, but rather learn about what character they just rolled.
Call me a grognard, but I think that everyone should try and play a 3d6-straight rolled character at least once. Old style gaming can be a real fun time if everyone is on the same page. Just for kicks, I rolled up three characters using 3d6 rolled in order. These are my stats
- Str 7, Int 7, Wis 9, Dex 12, Con 14, Cha 8 (possible thief)
- Str 10, Int 11, Wis 12, Dex 9, Con 11, Cha 14 (any base class, leaning towards cleric)
- Str 15, Int 18(!), Wis 9, Dex 11, Con 13, Cha 5 (likely fighter/magic-user, or MU at least)
For example: It was assumed that players would seek out NPCs to assist them in their adventures. The concept of hirelings and henchmen has been around since the beginning. Of course, the terms "meat shield" or "red-shirts" have also, unfortunately, been around for that long as well. Let's face it - adventuring is risky business; you're going to get hurt and will most likely die unless you are very careful. The more targets there are, the less likely a casualty will be a player character. It's not a very heroic concept, sacrificing others so that you can survive. Then again, the premise of the game is not very heroic either - entering dank dungeons and stealing away with treasure that belonged to someone else (or guarded/protected by magic and traps). These are things that THIEVES are meant to do. They sneak into bad places and steal away with treasure, hopefully without any harm coming to themselves. So, in essence, ALL characters are really thieves (or "murder-hobos" as some refer to them). And the typical depiction of a thief is a rough-and-tumble scrawny guy who lies, cheats, and wheedles his way through life, avoiding combat when possible, and making out with as much treasure as he can carry. THIS is the way the game was envisioned by the creator(s). It didn't matter much what your strength, intelligence, wisdom, or dexterity were. What mattered is that you lived - by any means possible!
But back to "hopeless characters." We can now see that "heroic" characters were made to cater to individual desires. They were not meant to be adventurers in the original D&D sense. But let's face it, when you think medieval society, you assume knights, dragons, and damsels in distress. Enter the paladin. I believe that this sub-class was created to cater to those who needed to be the superhero. They needed high stats and a moral code. Strangely enough, no one I knew back in the day wanted to play a paladin as Lawful and Good. All they really wanted were the stats. And who wants to play a lowly fighter when you can play a demi-god of holy prowess? Eventually, sub-classes came to rule the D&D landscape. Since they needed higher scores to qualify, people started seeing 3d6 as "not good enough." So alternate methods were devised. Looking at the characters I generated above, I don't think any of them qualifies to be a sub-class (perhaps #3 could be an assassin?). And if your only goal in the game is to "be the best" or, more disturbingly, "be better than everyone else playing the game," then 3d6 isn't going to cut it. The added character classes and races in Unearthed Arcana continued this disturbing trend with barbarians, cavaliers, dark elves, duergar, etc. The new method of rolling characters (Method V) had players rolling multiple dice for certain key stats and taking the best 3 rolls. If you wanted to play a human fighter, you got to roll 9d6 and take the highest 3 rolls. Soon, if you were a fighter without percentile strength you were "doing it wrong."
To me, no character is truly hopeless. The lack of a stat does not mean that the character is worthless. In a truly randomly-rolled game, there is just as much chance of your 18/00% Strength fighter dying as there is my 10 Strength fighter. That 9 Intelligence magic-user may not know as many spells as your 18 Intelligence magic-user, but the game plays the same regardless. What needs to be addressed BEFORE THE GAME BEGINS is which type of characters the players prefer. Once a consensus is achieved, the Method of rolling can be established and the game can proceed. The DM also should establish guidelines for when a character may be scrapped because scores are not high enough for survivability; but even this can be waived if the player really wants to play such a character. They can be just as much fun, and usually more memorable, than those with god-like stats. Remember that magic items typically enhance abilities, and once the characters are beyond 1st level ability scores take a back seat to class mechanics.
My rule of thumb for "Hopeless Characters" is if you have more penalties than bonuses, you probably should rethink your character's chance to survive or even perform adequately in the chosen class. In the above examples, character #1 has 4 scores below 10. In Basic D&D one of these (strength) would result in a -1 penalty to hit and damage. But this is balanced by the +1 bonus gained from Constitution. In AD&D Strength of 7 would only cause a -1 to hit. This is a perfectly valid character, although some people see the lack of bonuses as a problem. After all, thieves don't really NEED strength to perform as thieves. Character #2 is dead average - he could qualify for any of the base classes (fighter, magic-user, cleric, or thief). Again, this is a valid character. However, the lack of bonuses seems to turn some people off. Character #3 is an amazing example of the randomness of rolling 3d6. This character would make a powerful magic-user.... or would it? What benefit does a Basic D&D magic-user gain from such high Intelligence? They can still only cast a limited number of spells, same as a 9 Int M-U. Sure, they can speak 3 extra languages, but this doesn't affect their survivability all that much. In AD&D, that magic-user has a better chance of knowing more spells, and has more spells in their spellbook, and will likely level faster thus getting the character out of danger of dying too soon. However, they can still only cast ONE of those spells for the day, regardless of Intelligence. So you see, a high score is only desirable in the mind of the player. The game doesn't care WHAT your score is. The only classes that really suffer from low scores are fighters and clerics. Fighters with lackluster Strength can't kill things very fast, and may miss more often than one with high Strength. Low Wisdom clerics in Basic D&D have no real penalties; however, those with low wisdom (9-12) in AD&D have a chance of miscasting their spells! Thieves in D&D are not terribly impacted by average or high Dexterity in their class abilities; however, it provides a penalty or bonus to thief abilities in AD&D and high Dex may improve the chances of survival in combat by lowering AC in either system.
Comparing the ability bonuses in Basic D&D and AD&D, one can see that in Basic D&D, bonuses and penalties occur immediately beyond the average 9-12 range. In AD&D it depends on the ability score; some gain penalties/bonuses at very low/high numbers and some give benefits a bit above average. But generally speaking, in AD&D you want scores of 15+ to gain the bonuses provided on the charts. And this is the reason why Gygax made that statement of wanting at least two scores in the 15+ range. Also, if you peruse the charts in the Players Handbook, you will see that if an ability score is lower than a 6, it locks you into a particular class. For instance, a character with a 5 or lower strength can ONLY be a magic-user. It doesn't matter what your intelligence is (so long as it is 9 or higher). If you had scores of Str 5 and Int 8, then that would truly be a hopeless character. In the examples above, the only character with a score of 5 or lower is #3. That character has a Charisma of 5. Sure enough, consulting the PHB states that this character can ONLY be an assassin! However, the character has an 11 Dex and needs a 12 to qualify for assassin. Interestingly enough, this character is considered HOPELESS according to the rules since he cannot qualify for ANY class based on those stats. The DM would require the player to reroll, despite having rolled an 18 in Intelligence!! If the player wanted to still run the character, the DM would likely enforce the need to be an assassin and have the player run an elf to get the Dexterity up one point. However, elves must have a minimum Charisma of 8 so this character is unplayable!! The only way this character could work is if the DM made an exception to the rules, something the other players may not agree with as it seems as if the DM is playing favorites (especially if they are settling for a character they didn't really want to play based on their stats). The same does not apply to Basic D&D characters. Character #3 could be an intelligent fighter, a strong magic-user, or an elf character with no problems. It could also be a thief character (with good strength and great intelligence). The charisma in Basic D&D really has no effect on character choice at all.
So, as you can see, "hopeless" characters are really dependent on the version of the game you are playing, the rules/guidelines being used by the DM, and the desires/needs of the players. A 3d6-straight character is no more or less valid than any other method of rolling. The only way to get a character you truly want to play with the stats desired is pretty much selecting from a given array or selecting the class and rolling ranges between the minimums and maximums. For example, monks are one of the hardest classes to qualify for in AD&D. They require 15 Str, 15 Wis, 15 Dex and 11 Con. Rolling that with 3d6 is really hard - it's even pretty tough with 4d6 drop the lowest. Some DMs allow a player to choose their class before rolling dice, then roll ability scores. For example, a DM might allow a player to choose monk, then have them roll 1d4+14 for Str, Wis, and Dex, and 1d8+10 for Con while all other stats are rolled using the normal method. Again, it is the DMs prerogative and the player's desires which drive this. The rules used are not "lame", "broken," or antiquated, they simply have evolved over time to suit different needs.
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