Frank Daniels's page

My preferences regarding the D&D series of game systems, in order from most favored to least favored. If a system isn't listed, I'm not really considering playing it at all.

Pathfinder 1st Edition
AD&D 3.5
AD&D 3.0
AD&D 1.0
Basic D&D (1980s)
AD&D 4.0
AD&D 2.0
Chainmail/pre-1980s D&D
Pathfinder 2nd Edition

My friends and I tend to favor lots of options, skills, details, etc.. These shouldn't be rigid rules, but ideas that the DM/GM can use. AD&D 1st was particular fun for that reason. There were a lot of things that weren't scripted, and you could go almost anywhere with them.

Related game systems from TSR/Wizards that I have enjoyed:
Boot Hill (1st)
Gamma World (1st/2nd), although Starfinder is okay
Top Secret (1st-2nd)
Gang Busters
Dawn Patrol (1st)
Marvel Super Heroes was okay, but I thought it had major drawbacks compared to V&V and Champions
I never played Indiana Jones or Bullwinkle & Rocky.

Suppose the following...

A 5'5" human is standing on wet ground when the spell is cast on him, and he fails.

For 1-2 rounds, he is stuck in up to 4' of mud.

Now the spell ends.

Does the mud morph back into dirt, so that he winds up buried past his waist in dirt?

Or does the mud STAY mud until it naturally dries out?

Alright! Send the books now.
My friends and I are ready to commence play-testing.

Thanks, guys!

The rules only state that Total Defense is a standard action. Can you...

* use Total Defense when being shot at from long range (ranged attack, but not melee)?
* use Total Defense while you're not under attack? E.g., you anticipate that you might be under attack at some point. Alternatively, maybe you just want to walk around with Total Defense "on".

Also, same question for "Fighting Defensively".

What about this interpretation of delay poison?

Example:
A certain poison normally gives d4 CON damage each round for ten rounds. While the delay spell is in effect, the person takes no damage. After the spell wears off, the victim takes ONLY the damage for the rounds that are still in the future. (S)He takes no damage corresponding to the rounds while the spell was in effect.

Example:
A certain poison normally gives d6 STR damage one time only.
Since the poison wears off before the spell wears off, the victim takes no damage ever from that particular poison.

In the case provided by Bigtuna, while the protection is in effect, those rounds are treated as though the poison did not exist. There is no DC increase.

But how long do elves sleep? Assume that spells are not in play. Must all races sleep the same length of time?

Let a be the shortest distance from the center of the (regular) hexagon to any of its sides. By saying that a hex is 12 miles across, we mean that 2a = 12, or a = 6 miles.

This would mean that the length of one side, s, would be equal to 2a/sqrt3 = 12/sqrt3, which is approximately 6.9 miles. Therefore, the perimeter of this hexagon would be 72/sqrt3, or approximately 41.6 miles.

The area of a regular hexagon is A = (1/2)(ap).

The area of this hexagon would be A = (1/2)(6)(72/sqrt3) = (3)(72/sqrt3) = 72sqrt3, or approximately 125 sq. mi.

On the other hand...

Let r be the longest distance from the center of the (regular) hexagon to any of its sides. By saying that a hex is 12 miles across, we mean that r = 6 miles.

This would mean that the length of one side, s, would be equal to r, which is 12 miles. Therefore, the perimeter of this hexagon would be 72 miles.

For this same hexagon, a = 6sqrt3 miles...where a is the same measure as in the other hexagon, above.

The area of a regular hexagon is A = (1/2)(ap).

The area of this hexagon would be A = (1/2)(6sqrt3)(72) = 216sqrt3, or approximately 374 sq. mi..

Therefore, what the Pathfinder folks appear to mean is that 12 miles is the longest distance across the hexagon through its center.