Digitalelf's page

I found this for recommended levels using 2nd Edition AD&D rules:

A party of 4-6 characters level 4-6 starting this adventure should be fine, presuming they are character kits/classes particular to Zakhara. If they are foreigners, they're going to have a tougher time. But it's a very open-ended adventure, so they may stumble into something beyond their abilities and either die or run away.

So, bringing that forward using PFRPG rules, I would have run it for characters of levels 5-7.

I say "would have" because I currently use 2nd Edition AD&D, but I did use 3.5 and PF for over 8 years. And while I am very familiar with the Al-Qadim setting, I too have never run Golder Voyages.

As for placement within Golarian, Katapesh and the Obari Ocean look like the closest, if not the best fit. While the coast off of Katapash lacks the sheer number of islands within Al-Qadim's Crowded Sea, the islands actually used and/or mentioned are small enough that at the very least, those could be very easily added.

I've had to cancel more than one game due to my innards fomenting rebellion against the rest of my body.

Sadly, I've found that as I've gotten older, my once Cast-Iron stomach has rusted.

For that matter the players don't even need the GM. Just roll to see if they meet monsters and then battle them themselves.

That's a bit extreme don't you think?

And it's a far cry from having randomized guard patrols within a castle for example.

Think of this example: The PCs are sneaking though the king's castle, and they turn a corner and... run right into one of the servants bringing a midnight snack to the queen. Can this be scripted? Sure, but if your players know you don't use random encounters, well, then they know that no matter how careful they were, this encounter would have happened anyway. Or, that you placed this encounter by fiat alone...

its gotta have a root somewhere I've just never seen it

It goes back to Original D&D (and somewhat to 1st Edition AD&D) where monsters provided very little XP, and treasure was the major source for a party's XP (which included XP for magical items). So the thought was to avoid random encounters, because they ate up valuable resources and gave little in the way of XP/treasure.

Coming from a background with this mindset, I like random encounters; but then I don't think everything in a campaign needs to have a reason for being there - or a need to contribute to the overall story.

I too, have reams of old game notes that (in some cases) date back to the early 1980's. I even have articles I had downloaded and printed from the old "TSR Online" on AOL back in the mid to late 1990's.

And like you, a lot of those old notes and articles never saw the light of day. Hopefully, given enough time, they will! :-D

Good luck getting new players- some of whom were born after the last updates to the setting- to find, much less sift through, ancient stuff and read your homebrew material that updates it for a current ruleset.

Not being a jerk, seriously good luck, that takes cult of personality level charisma and dedication.

I don't think I have anywhere near that level of charisma. ;-)

But not only do I still use the old settings, but I actually went back to 2nd Edition AD&D (and have successfully introduced new players to this old edition as well).

I think a lot, or at least a good portion of it has to do with what "ultimatepunch" said above... Run a good game, the players wont care. I know this isn't necessarily true for everyone, but it has certainly rang true for me these past 34/35 years.

first level doesn't mean what you think it means. Look at the iconic Wizard and the iconic investigator. The Wizard is 42 his parents were traders. He's been places seen things but at 42 he's still a first level wizard. The investigator is similar except he's 36. So travelling from one end of the world to the other say by ship - or form Tian to say Varisia across the crown of the world - doesn't mean you still won't be 1st level.

...And then, all of a sudden, once actual play starts, the aforementioned wide and far traveled 1st level character, instantly begins to accumulate XP, being beset by goblins or what have you just while simply traveling from one city to the next - which as it so happens, is exactly what he has been doing all along before play began (i.e. simply travelling)... It's amazing, this far traveled globe-trotting neophyte character, never once, encountered bandits, goblins, or anything else that would have normally provided XP if said travel actually occurred during a game session, now all of a sudden, is a monster magnet.

Makes sense to me... 8-)

But hey, whatever works for you and your games. YMMV and all of that. :-D

Warhammer has nothing to do with this.

It does in the context of the conversation regarding the question of whether or not a GM/DM is bad if he bans or places limitations upon in-game options, as that question transcends game systems, editions, and genres.

So it does not matter if the examples used are: Space Marines, Kender, or Bazookas; the question remains unchanged.

The issue I have with characters from exotic locals (e.g. the samurai from Tian Xia), is if the location is far away (e.g. the other side of the planet), how is such a character, a would-be adventurer, still only 1st level after such a long journey? I mean even the far-side of the continent stretches my suspension of disbelief.

Sometimes, I miss 2e D&D, but then I crack open the books and recognize the problem. A lot of stuff there is so flavorful and interesting, but trying to balance it all? Doesn't work very well.

I missed it so much, that in 2013 (give or take a year or so), I went back... I got so utterly disgusted with 3rd edition and Pathfinder, with their rules for almost every little detail.

Second edition may have its warts, but to me, it's a beautiful system, as it gives me ample room to breathe.

YMMV of course. :-)

My wife only plays because I do (though she enjoys the experience)... That said, she prefers 2nd edition over 3.5 and PF.

when something bad or emotional happens to a character you like, it's hard not to sympathize with her.

In a solo game I ran for my wife (I run a lot of solo games), my wife's character started out on a journey for the local lord as a caravan guard. During the course of the adventure, she needed to leave the caravan towards the end of their journey in order to do a much more pressing job (again, for the local lord).

During the journey with the caravan, she had gotten to know the NPCs she was protecting and travelling with, befriending them in the process. And because of this, my wife was more than a little sad to leave her character's new friends behind.

Freehold DM wrote:

fires shotgun blindly

Werewolf! Werewolf!

There wolf. :)

There castle. ;-)

I posted this to another, similar thread, back in November of 2012... But it is still one of my favorites.

This was back in 98’ so we were using 2nd Edition AD&D.

I was running a solo campaign for a friend, and during this long running campaign, her character encountered a powerful vampire lord that intended to make her [male] character into his “bride”.

Well, eventually she managed to escape this vampire lord's clutches (and caused the vampire lord a whole lot of grief in the process). So as an act of revenge against her character, the vampire lord captured and then turned her character’s lover into a vampire...

Long story short... In a truly dramatic fashion, the former lover wound up so grief-stricken and heart-broken, he committed suicide by going out into the light of day.

We had to stop that particular session and take a short break, as my friend was crying (IRL)...

It was the first time that I encountered a player who was able to place herself so much into the setting, story, and the characters involved, that she was literally moved to tears by a tragic event in game...

Quite frankly, I was honored (if a bit overwhelmed)... :-)

Was he involved in old WoD or something?

He worked for the "Alderac Entertainment Group" and worked on the "7th Sea" & "Legend of the Five Rings" RPGs.

I. Hate. Bots.

Ebay bids for you incrementally when you place a bid amount that is higher than the current bidding price.

For example, if the current bid on an item is $2.00, and you place a $50.00 bid, Ebay sets your bid at only $2.00 (or a little bit more in some cases), as that is the current bid; when someone else places a bid after you, the price goes up a small fraction, and then ebay, acting as your proxy, places another bid for you (in the appropriate amount), and does this for you right up to the maximum bid you set (which for this example, was $50.00). If the other person bidding against you set his maximum bid at $25.00, there would be an automatic back and forth as ebay, acting as proxy for the both of you, placed small bids, until you, having bid a maximum of $50.00, come up as the highest bidder.

So in your situation, you were out-bid in both auctions by someone that was willing to pay more money for the item than you were by entering a higher maximum bid. Ebay was simply acting as their proxy.

The process may be automatic, but the maximum bids are set by real people.

I'm not the greatest GM, but have a good time and that's what's most important.

Amen to that!

That's what it's all about. :-D

The Thief however is almost pure Lieber

You'd have to ask DrDeth, not Gygax for the inspiration of the thief class. :-)

My group never chooses the options I think they will, and it throws module loving GMs completely off the rails. They prefer a more free form way of playing

It's been my experience (like you, over 30+ years of being the primary DM), that modules and other published adventures need players to be on-board with a willingness to follow where ever the story might take them.

Probably won't buy it now, just like I haven't bought the other 5th edition adventures for the same reason. People will tell me I can just drop it in anywhere, and yes I could, I don't want to though.

This happened back in the days of 1e and 2e, and I just don't understand the stance.

Why would one want to limit the potential for new ideas, inspiration, and/or new game material just because the book has or does not have a particular setting logo printed on the cover...

I used FR for the most part back in the 80s & 90s, but I still bought books for the other settings as well because they contained material I could take and then very easily add to my FR campaigns to make them that much better.

A practice I still use to this day.

I frame the world maps (as well as poster-sized local maps) I use with inexpensive poster-frames that can be purchased in stores like Target and Wal-Mart. They look really nice IMO...

If I need to refer to them during play, I remain seated and just use a laser-pointer to indicate to the players where their characters are or where some specific site is located on the map. And like Usual Suspect said, I only display small local maps on the table when/where needed.

Golarion is neither a medieval setting nor is it the Middle Ages.

This is true for the majority of published settings, going all the way back to the older TSR settings.

mostly based on which deity the player character worships and which spells are appropriate to be granted by that deity. And of course how well that player is living up to the tenets of that religion.

Yeah, this how I handle it most of the time, as players (in general) tend not to stray to far from their character' religion. So where I will set an absolute on which spells a cleric cannot cast would be a good aligned cleric wishing to cast spells such as Cause Light Wounds for example.

I like Gygax' idea of having the character some how "earn" the spell, rather than it just being a flat reward for leveling up.

Yeah, spells weren't a "given" in the earlier editions (at least by the RAW). Magic-users needed to find new spells, even upon attaining a new class level, the magic-user still had to find new spells - nothing was free (the DM even chose what spells the newly made Magic-user received upon the character's creation). Clerics were held to the tenets of their faith, so those clerics not acting in accordance of their god, could have spells withheld from them until their god is satisfied the cleric has properly atoned.

I personally like (and continue to use) these rules regarding spells.

Of course there are those that ignored all of this and just gave whatever spells the player desired...

Saying Trump is unqualified to be president, is a little silly IMO. Sure he does not come from a political background, but that does not matter. The Constitution is set up in a way that any natural born citizen can aspire to and become president.

One can make the claim that modern politics makes it more difficult for a "political outsider" to become president, but as long as that person meets the requirements set up in Article II, Section 1 of the US Constitution, like it or not, that person is 100% qualified.

No person except a natural born citizen, or a citizen of the United States, at the time of the adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the office of President; neither shall any person be eligible to that office who shall not have attained to the age of thirty-five years, and been fourteen years a resident within the United States.

attempting to reduce roleplaying to two categories of games is overly simplistic.

There are a few here, like yourself, that when others speak of "new school vs. old school" bring up games systems other than D&D.

I wonder however, if when people bring up new vs. old, if they aren't talking about D&D specifically... For myself, that is precisely what I mean whenever I speak of old school vs. new school. I mean, I am aware that other game systems are out there, and I even play a few of them.

But D&D has always been my go-to game, and I know this to be true for many others as well, so my thoughts about gaming, tend to reflect that.

World maps impose limits on my imagination and that's a bad thing.

I was right there with you, up until this...

I can see not needing a world map as a player, but as a DM??

Without a world map, how does a DM determine what's over the next hill? Make it up? Okay, but what if the DM decides that over the next hill is a large metropolis? Yesterday it wasn't there, but poof... Today it all of a sudden is there!

...And out the window flies any semblance of realism the game world (no, not with the game's rules, just the setting the game takes place within) once had, because a city or any settlement really, has an effect upon the area that surrounds it; farming, trade, etc.

And that's just one example of why I believe that at least the DM needs a map of the game world.

Now I agree that some settings are far too small, and allow little room for everyone to co-exist in, but an infinite world (other planes of existence not withstanding) just shatters my ability to suspend my disbelief.

YMMV...

Verisimilitude doesn't mean consistency. Verisimilitude means appearance of realism.

It's more than that...

It's a Literary Device that allows us to suspend our disbelief in something that is other-wise far-fetched.

In Superman, the appearance of realism, is not Superman himself (obviously), but the world around him. The seemingly normal world surrounding Superman gives us a realistic context in which to identify with, and is thus the sole reason we can read about him and willingly suspend our disbelief.

That is what I mean by internal consistency, a consistency not within the rules or game mechanics, but a consistency (or realism if you prefer) within the context of the game's setting.

For example, in a world like The Forgotten Realms or World of Greyhawk, the realism is in the mundane; the flora, the fauna, the beautiful vistas... All of the little things that reflect our real world.

While realism can be found in the harsh deserts that make up a world like Dark Sun, the realism however, is much more apparent within the people that populate that world.

Despite the inhospitable world around them, the people of Dark Sun act and react in familiar ways to us. They act, well... Like real people; they act as we would expect real people to act, and that allows for a willing suspension of disbelief.

Sandbox GMs are always so proud of how different they are.

I'm not saying I'm any different. And I don't leave "flags and warning signs".

If the PCs for example ask if there are any ruins nearby, I'll have the locals say "yeah, there's a castle up yonder, but nobody goes near the place, it's haunted!". I leave any investigation about said castle up to the players; so if they just go off to it without first finding out what is supposedly haunting the place, I am not going to all of a sudden change what's haunting it because of their lack of forethought. If the castle's inhabitants (which I've already determined) are too powerful for them, so be it; they'll learn the hard way.

By that same token, if the PCs, in their wanderings, stumble upon a ruin and I know that the inhabitants are too powerful for them, if they decide to enter it, I'll let them... They either run from the place screaming with their tails tucked firmly betwixt their legs, or they die.

You don't do anything to make sure there are interesting things for PCs to do that won't kill them on sight?

I have plenty of other distractions within my campaigns other than combat to interest the PCs... Things like mysteries to be solved, political intrigues and the likes.

Verisimilitude is a trap.

All verisimilitude is, is the internal consistency within a given fiction. So of course one must first buy into that particular fiction in the first place, but not buying into the fiction does not mean it's automatically an argument over one preference or the other.

To use DC's universe as an example once again, one might prefer Batman over Superman (and thus argue the merits of one over the other), but both heroes exist within the same universe and both heroes are held to the same "laws" within that fictitious universe.

Action adventure genre isn't realistic, for exactly that reason. However good the physics engine is or how accurately the weapons are described.

But that's where verisimilitude comes into play...

Superman in the real world, cannot exist, but within the DC universe, he can because the rules of his universe allow for him to exist. At the same time, his universe is still familiar to us in the real world because despite the fact that superman is "faster than s speeding bullet" and "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound" the world around him works the same as our own.

And while I can't speak for other gamers, that is what I mean when I speak of "realism" in my D&D games; because despite the fact that dragons are flying around and wizards are lobbing fireballs, the world around them still acts and reacts in predicable ways.

I DM pretty much 100% of the time; this has been the case for the 30+ years that I've been gaming.

I've never "burned out" either, I really enjoy being the DM, and never seem to run out of inspiration for encounters or adventures.

possibly earlier.

Well, 2nd edition had two modules that fit that concept...

Both were for the Ravenloft campaign setting; the first is the "Castles Forlorn" boxed set and the second is "From the Shadows". Both involve a large extensive castle and going back in time to help the present day.

I never heard of the green covers.

In 2014, WotC re-printed the 3 core 2nd edition AD&D books, which were basically re-prints of the 1995 black cover books but they included all of the errata available up to the end of 2nd edition in 2000.

It's also pretty much a necessity when it comes to things like finding traps by describing how you're looking for them, since there's nothing other than player knowledge to rely on.

I'm willing to bet that is one of the reasons that the good Dr. of Deth (:-P) came up with the thief class in the first place...

I can understand not wanting to go back to such a way of playing, but for me, one of the major reasons I went back to an older edition was the newer edition's seemingly total reliance placed upon the numbers on a character sheet and the general attitude of "If it's not on the sheet, you cannot do it!".

I really want to try AD&D (or Basic) style rules again - see how they fit with my memories and how they address some of the issues I have with 3.x, but I've got no interest in the whole Old School ethos thing. It wasn't how we played back then and it doesn't interest me now.

Before entirely switching back to 2nd edition, I ran a couple of one shots with my players, mainly to see if it was merely nostalgia that was drawing me away from 3rd edition and Pathfinder. But I found that it was pretty much exactly as I remembered it being.

So for me, playing 2nd edition is not about joining the OSR movement, but about embracing not only the edition of D&D I loved, but the playstyle I enjoyed along with it (i.e. the "Old School Ethos" thing you spoke of).

Elf, I want to play a game with you. I feel like it would be one of the most awesome games I've ever played in. :)

I thank you. That's kind of you to say. :-)

I'm afraid that my style of DMing would not go over very well by today's standards. I am very much a DM of the past (if you catch my meaning).

I don't remember a lot of the old rules. I was surprised to see zero spells for a 1st level Cleric (without the wisdom bonus). Ouch! And especially since the Druid's 1st level spells are useless. We laughed about 'Predict Weather.'

No 1st level spells was a thing for Basic and it's various versions and clones. In 1st edition AD&D, clerics most certainly received a spell at 1st level (and of course more if their WIS score was high enough). As for the Druid's spell list, I can't speak of their list in S&W, but in 1st edition AD&D, the spell list is not that bad, considering.

And I must say, the ability to predict the weather, can be a very handy thing... For example, if the party will be traveling a mountain pass during the winter, knowing that a major snow storm or blizzard is coming could mean the difference between life or freezing to death...

Just sayin' :-)

Manual of Aurania.

Shameless plug! ;-P

But on a more serious note, I'd love find a copy of this.

I just wish there was an online resource for finding some of the articles. I often see references here to articles, which are of no use unless you have an attic full of back copies.

There is an online index to Dragon Magazine: HERE

It may not be as good as having an attic full of back copies, but it does list what issues each of the articles appeared in. :-)

A couple of honest questions here...

What does wanting to stop illegal (and that is THE key term here), illegal immigration have to do with racism?

And what does wanting to secure our borders with any kind of wall (be it an actual physical one or electronic one) have to do with racism as well?

I mean, most any country in the world will arrest and deport a person (at best) who crosses into their country illegally.

Yet it seems that there are those that appear to not want any restrictions at all placed on coming into ours, and say that it is a bad thing to want to know (via documentation) just who is coming in.

I've heard it said before when the right speaks on the topic of illegal immigration that this country was founded on immigration, totally ignoring that the person specifically said "illegal" immigration. I am sure there are those on the right that really do want to just totally close this country off and be an isolationist nation, but the vast majority of those on the right just want to stop those crossing into our country illegally; and if it takes a wall to do that (because nothing else seems to work), why is that a bad thing? Such a wall is not meant to stop immigration, just illegal immigration.

The last line of Melania's speech suggests that she might have been "Rick-Rolled":

"He will never give up. And most importantly, he will never let you down"

If you're going to plagiarize something... Why end it by at least partially plagiarizing Rick Astley at the same time??

I think someone was messing with her and "The Donald"!

in the worst-case situation, since wishes 'never' come true, the wishing person's parents never wish to have a child, thus the evoker ceases to exist and therefore the wish ceases to exist. Continuity resolved, and it serves as an out-of-the-box cautionary tale.

If this were to ever happen in a game, I can just see the Hate heaped upon the DM who dared to punish a player in such a fashion...

Talk about being careful what you wish for. I wish this party was over already...

Yeah, with such a nebulous phrasing of the wish in question (and with the assumption of this wish being of an earlier edition), I would twist it so that character making this wish was now cursed so that anything the character idly (or through the use of magic) "wishes" would not come true, and that the exact opposite might wind up happening (e.g. such as the above quoted "I wish this party was over already").

It was a classification of how you adventured/fought. Not your actual profession.

That is incorrect. Prior to 3rd edition, the classes were treated as the character's professions.

Here's an example of the language used from the introduction to the chapter on character classes in the 2nd edition PHB:

A character class is like a profession or career. It is what your character has worked and trained at during his younger years...

The character classes are divided into four groups according to general occupations: warrior, wizard, priest, and rogue...

Here is another example of the language used at the end of the chapter on character classes disusing the rules of "Dual-Classing":

Once he leaves a class he has finished his studies in it

Which meant he could no longer advance in levels in the old class.

So if classes were just how the character "adventured and fought", would it stand to reason that one should be able to continue advancing within every class the character has?

But see, the language used indicates that he had finished his studies in that particular field and could thus learn no more from it...

I realize to the modern gamer, this is hogwash, but it does illustrate that in those earlier editions, classes were treated as much more than just a set of skills.

And there are plenty of other examples of how class = profession/career spread throughout both the PHB and the DMG, and that is just 2nd edition; 1st edition also used such terms and language.

If I recall, in the original Drzzt stories, the main city had a huge stalactite...

Yeah, it was called The Narbondel, and at the beginning of each 24-hour cycle, A wizard would cast a spell on it that would cause it to heat up (originally however, the "heat" was only seen through infravision as the Dark Elf Trilogy of novels were written during the days of 2nd Edition AD&D).

I met him in the early summer of 1989. I regret not having the forethought of thanking him for the many years of enjoyment D&D has given me.

Is this the picture you are referring to?

Link: Dragon Magazine #345 (2006)

This thread has an Overwhelming Necromancy aura about it...

Reviving a 6 year old corpse of a thread is powerful necromancy indeed! ;-P

That's because Baron Lyran Evensong is nowhere in Barovia.

I'm referring to the entire product line.

Yeah, I was thinking that NPC may have been in the horrible 3e version of the original module, and then I recalled that he was in the 2e sourcebook, "Book of Crypts".

Which is why I deleted my post mere seconds before you responded to it.

Guess I wasn't fast enough... Oops! :-(