Kradlo's page

WotC hasn't declared an end to D&D minis, only an end to randomized packs. Plenty of players wanted minis for their PCs, without having to go through umpteen packs of kobolds and bugbears to find that elf ranger they wanted. The same applied to GMs that wanted specific monsters for their game, rather than basing their game on whatever minis were in the packs they bought.

So this benefits the players of D&D and the GMs. Yep, selling singles from random packs will go away, but the FLGS will do great business with GMs that want hordes of critters to throw at their players.

The L5R 3ER book is indeed rife with printing errors, but it did make needed changes to a number of Clan Schools and to certain mechanics, like dueling. The errata is being updated as we speak by Doji Tsukaede on the Alderac forum.

The LBS RPG looks pretty cool. I picked it up to supplement my L5R stuff, both for things coming into Rokugan from outside, and for the possibility of going beyond the borders of the Emerald Empire. One of the players in my campaign, Dan Comer, is one of the authors.

Oh, and I'm pretty jazzed - I won the L5R Fan Fiction contest from AEG. You can see it here: http://www.l5r.com/race-for-the-throne/leg-6-contest-winners/

I've played L5R RPG since its inception, and just started playing the CCG again after a hiatus of several years. I really like 3ER, and have just started a campaign for a group of Mantis PCs.

I also have every 1st and 2nd edition book, and have ordered Masters of Court to complete my 3E/3ER set. I also have all the OA/Rokugan d20 books, though some d10 players hated them.

For me, it's all good. Heck, I once joked about running L5R with HOL rules.

:D

Aye! And a loud "harrumph" to any that say otherwise!

:D

I rejoice in the triumphant return of the chainmail bikini! I like Clyde Caldwell's stuff.

:D

If your buddies are undead, channeling negative energy heals 'em right up quite nicely. Certainly this is less likely for PCs (but not unheard of), but certainly works for NPCs.

As for not being quite to good at healing the living? It's a trade-off for the ability to deal out mass damage to your living foes. Hey, and if you're evil, when your buddy whines for healing, tell him, "Hey, what have you done for me lately?"

:D

For my last 3.5 campaign, all classes got 2 extra skill points per level (8 more at first level). They got to round out their characters, and could dabble in a variety of skills. I've not heard a complaint from any of my players, and I think it worked just fine.

The 4E Lay on Hands is a minor action, which is equivalent to a swift action in PRPG. I'd go with either a swift action or allow multiple "charges" to be used at once - not both.

I note that the beta version shows that the DC for wizard school abilities is tied to Charisma. I'd strongly suggest changing that to Intelligence, which is the traditional wizard ability score. Charisma is more in the realm of sorcerers.

Any thoughts?

Hey, my namesake was a Dwarf cleric of Bast, chosen by the goddess herself! His priestly duties were to sample the physical pleasures of the world whenever he could, and to pet cats, so except for the cats, Kradlo didn't change a bit. In fact, he made nine player character converts!

Back to the topic, I'm in favor of Jess Door's solution, and I'd allow it both for healing himself, his allies, or for damaging undead.

My wife and I live in Byron Center, just south of Grand Rapids. We moved here two years ago from the East Bay area in California. It's nice to live where you can actually buy a house!

My wife and I saw it with my friend Rob, and we were howling with laughter. It's a great satire about Hollywood movie clichés, poking fun at directors, actors, producers, and everything associated with the movie biz.

For those concerned about Stiller as Tugg Speedman referring to "retards," the humor is derived from the character's inability to recognize how inappropriate that language is.

Robert Downey Jr. is hilarious as Kirk Lazarus, an Australian actor playing a black man in the film-within-the-film. The genuine black actor, Alpa Chino (say it out loud), isn't buying it for one minute.

See the movie, and have some fun. We certainly did.

:D

To heck with McCain's staffers - they're obviously incompetents looking for any mud to sling about, and they've decided that D&D is some kind of perjorative term. Honestly, neither McCain nor Obama have earned my vote, as both represent the failed system rather than the solution.

I'm part of the "Pro Bob Barr D&D crowd," and proud of it.

:D

Combat Expertise was a very useful feat in 3.x, both for lightly armored combatants (swashbucklers, rogues, bards, etc.), and for the Dwarven defender. The Pathfinder Beta version is a bad substitute. I'd strongly advise returning it to its original form.

If the original version of Power Attack was deemed too potent in 3.x, they could cap it the same way that Combat Expertise was: maximum -5 to attack for +5 damage (or +10 with a two-handed weapon), or base attack bonus, whichever was lower.

That would retain the versatility and choice factors from the 3.x version, while keeping it within an acceptable limit.

For a 16th level paladin, his channel positive energy ability will heal 7d6 damage for all living creatures in a 30' burst. That and his lay on hands ability combine for serious healing.

I don't see a real problem here, but I'd give consideration to allowing multiple uses of lay on hands simultaneously. That would need playtesting, since that 16th level paladin would heal 16 hp per use, and have 8 + Cha mod uses per day, enough to one-shot a lich or other major undead.

I'll probably go with the $4.95 subscription. It'll get me The Dragon magazine and Dungeon, as well as the Compendium. I don't think I need the other sections, so this should suffice for me.

I ran a 4E game last Saturday at the Meetup with six players (1st level characters). We had a ball, and only one fatality. The players enjoyed the encounter with the shadowhunter bats (I'd purposely made the ceiling too low for the bats to evade the PCs), and the final encounter was fun, though fatal for the Dwarf cleric. Seven goblins looked like a cakewalk, but when the Dwarf fell through the trapdoor into a 30' square room with an ochre jelly, the situation became dangerous.

The PCs worked together, and everyone had a good time, including the Dwarf player. They liked my homemade ochre jellies (you need two because of their split ability), and the players cheered when the halfling rogue shoved the sleep-charmed goblin hexer into the pit with the jelly.

I think this serves to show that the edition is secondary to the game. You can have fun with 4E, 3.5, Pathfinder RPG, GURPS, or whatever.

I note that you heal your level in hit points each time, and may use the ability 1/2 your level plus your Charisma modifier times each day. This is superior to the 3.5 version in that you gain more uses as you rise in level.

You don't have the option of dispensing mini heals, which were useful for stabilizing the dying, nor the all-at-once. It's a trade of less versatility for more overall healing, at least above 1st level. I think it's a good trade.

I started collecting The Dragon from issue #11, and was always a huge fan of Wormy (and What's New with Phil & Dixie). I've heard of Dave Trampier's withdrawal from the world, which saddens me. His talent is amazing.

I drove a cab for four years, and it's a weird life. I wish him well, and hope that someday he changes his mind and gives us more Wormy.

A quote from the article:

Fielder said officers had not arrested anyone for violating the curfew, only questioned people about why they were outside. Those without good answers or acting nervously get additional attention, Fielder said.

So the city council has declared a 24-hour curfew, i.e., declared that no citizen may be outside his home. Anyone outside is questioned, and those not giving "good answers" (what is a "good answer?") or acting nervously (being questioned at gunpoint might tend to make many people nervous) gets "additional attention." Sounds like "unreasonable search and seizure," and the courts will likely rule it so.

Another quote.

"As far as I'm concerned, at 3 o'clock in the morning, nobody has any business being on the street, except the law," Councilman Eugene "Red" Johnson said. "Anyone out at 3 o'clock shouldn't be out on the street, unless you're going to the hospital."

Sure sounds like people have no rights except what Councilman Johnson chooses to grant them. I wonder if he's ever bothered to read the Constitution over which he's trampling.

I remember the words of George Washington. "Government is not reason or eloquence; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous ally, and a fearful master."

Ume was just entering the common room when the Dragon introduced himself, and stepped forward half a step. "The pleasure is mine, Miromoto-san. My name is Matsu Ume, here to compete in the Topaz Championship on behalf of the Lion Clan." She bowed appropriately, not more and not less.

After the introduction, she seized the man up for a moment. Not too obviously, naturally. But his appearance meshed just too well with some of the common perceptions of the clan. Unconcerned with the physical world. Likely to forget the matter at hand over the principle. A small smile appeared on her face. "So, Miromoto-san, if i might hazard a guess, i would assume you are here to compete for the Topaz Championship."

Hanzo nods. "Hai, Ume-san, I have that honor."

Kradlo wrote:

The boneclaw, though, is a level 14 soldier, WAY out of our league. We could barely touch him, while he could hit on anything but a natural 1.

Regardless of edition, I like this part. It shows that your DM thinks of possibilities for encounters beyond what "should" be encountered.

That's assuming that the PCs recognize the creature as such. The Religion checks came as a 12 ("I think it's an ogre or something"), and another that recognized it as undead. Sure, it's a big, nasty-looking undead, but at level 7 the PCs are assumed to be heroes (it's the "heroic tier" after all), so they'd be expected to try to take it on.

The GM honestly didn't expect the PCs to attack the boneclaw, but we didn't know until after the game that it was a level 14 creature. We were going on character knowledge, not metagame.

My main problem with the game wasn't the GM. It was that most of the players spent the majority of the time complaining about 4E. Honestly, if they didn't want to play the game, they should have skipped it altogether. I told the GM that I'd be willing to give it another shot, but only if we're there to play. If they don't want to play 4E, then play 3.5 and stop griping. I'm less concerned about which edition I play than I am as to whether the players are there to play.

I don't know why he chose the boneclaw - maybe he liked the miniature. Oh, there were 5 characters; the wizard went the control route, and had no fire or radiant attacks. Supposedly he'd set up the encounters to handle eight level 7 characters, but three players didn't show for the game.

I'll be running a 4E game this Saturday at the Meetup, if there are enough players interested. I think I can balance the encounters a bit better than this, and will definitely include some roleplaying and skill challenges. As a GM, I prefer to have the PCs emerge bloody, battered, and bruised, but ultimately victorious.

Saturday's game went rather badly. Having been told that the group had a wizard and a warlock, I made a dragonborn paladin, because it sounded like they needed a front line combatant and a healer. I helped my friend Rob to create a human ranger, going with the two-sword style, figuring we'd need more melee capable people, since the wizard and warlock should have ranged/area effect damage covered.

As it turned out, the warlock player was absent, and we had two other players arrive, only then to begin creating their characters. They chose identical human fighters, and we were several rounds into the first encounter while they were still choosing their powers and possessions.

We had found a keep (actually a fairly large castle) with zombies walking the walls. My dragonborn paladin crashed through the front gate, which had been hastily repaired, only to land prone on the other side (Dex was his dump stat, after all).

Four mummies croaked, "Intruders! Attack!" Despite getting a natural 20 on my initiative, they still beat me (same init score, better Dex), and walked over to attempt to pummel the prone paladin. Good AC held up, and 4E makes it so standing up does not provoke OAs, but I needed help to face four mummies.

The fighters made their way in, first one and then the other a round later. We found that the mummies were regenerating their injuries, except for the one that my paladin was hitting with Holy Strike (radiant damage). As it turned out, no one else could deal either fire or radiant damage, so the mummies concentrated on me. With AC 25 (we were level 7), he was getting hit about once per round. He'd used one Lay on Hands to heal himself, but was saving the other in case one of the other PCs went down.

When another PC was bloodied, I was getting ready to use Invigorating Smite to heal myself and one of the bloodied fighters, when two mummies hit simultaneously, one with a crit. My paladin went down, unconscious and dying.

The GM had the mummies converge to make coup-de-grace attacks to finish off the paladin, rather than moving to fight the active combatants. While my helpless form was getting bludgeoned to death, the "boss" encounter showed up, a Boneclaw.

Our ranger chose to break off from the mummies to face the boneclaw single handed. He got a few attacks in, but got shredded in the process. When the ranger went down, the boneclaw picked him up and carried him towards the fray.

By this time, two of the mummies had finally fallen. The boneclaw commanded them to stop, and gave the (living) PCs a chance to retreat. Wisdom prevailed, and they dragged off their dead (me) and dying (ranger). Out of combat, the ranger rested and then used his healing surges to recover. The paladin's body was brought back for burial.

After the game, my friend and I discussed the game. The lack of teamwork had really put us at a disadvantage against the mummies, which should have been beatable. They're level 8 brutes, but there were only four of them, so that's around a level 7 encounter. The boneclaw, though, is a level 14 soldier, WAY out of our league. We could barely touch him, while he could hit on anything but a natural 1.

I can't say this was an indictment of the system. Bad dice rolls happen in any game (our die rolls were pretty bad that game), and teamwork is essential against tough opponents. Our fighters were only half interested in the game - one spent most of the game text messaging or reading a magazine. They'd not spent much time reading the PHB, so they didn't understand their abilities very well, and didn't really care.

Overall, it was something of a disappointment.

Mirumoto Hanzo is completed, pending GM review. All I need is an e-mail address to which to send him.

Off-topic, anyone here read Lone Wolf and Cub?

I had the full series, but had to part with it in one of my all-too-many moves. Neat manga. I also enjoy Blade of the Immortal.

I'm a huge fan of Shintaro Katsu - I have 20 of the Zatoichi films on VHS (I'll pick up the DVDs sometime). And I think it's high time I watched Chushingura again - the BEST version of the 47 Ronin story on film.

I've created the character. All I need now is an e-mail address to which to send it for review.

This is going to be fun!

:D

Revised 3rd edition is on its way. I'll be interested to see what changes they've made.

I've played L5R RPG since before it was published - I got to play with John Wick in L.A. before 1st edition was released. It's a great game system, and a wonderful setting for roleplaying.

Crab hands cost, please wait for that. If anyone has his book out, please feel free to answer the question: what is the cost of Crab Hands?

Crab Hands costs 8 points, but Crab characters may purchase this Advantage for 6 points.

If the GM would be so kind, I would love to play as Mirumoto Hanzo, bushi of the Dragon clan.

I'd be interested in joining. Standard creation rules?

I can play anything. How about a Mirumoto bushi?

I ran Into the Shadowhaunt on Worldwide Game Day twice. I was hampered by not having the rules in hand (I was waiting for my order from Amazon, of course).

The first run ended in a TPK. The party encountered the two animated statues (Level 2 Elite Brutes) which proceeded to pummel the PCs into hamburger helper. The second run ended with three dead PCs (those statues again) and two running for dear life out of the dungeon.

Once I received my books, I ran a game at the next D&D Meetup at GranLan. I'd set up a simple cavern run (with Master Maze), with the group being led by Ulli "the Bold," a blowhard NPC rogue that preferred to "lead from the rear." I wanted to ensure that the PCs would be the stars of the encounters.

A mixed bag of goblins (2 sharpshooters, 4 cutters, 4 warriors) was their first encounter. The sharpshooters got the drop on the Dwarf fighter as he entered the cavern, and their hand crossbows found their mark; the Dwarf was bloodied right off the bat.

Fortunately, 4E has Second Wind, which Dwarves get to use as a minor action. The Dwarf started slogging through a wall of goblins while the sharpshooters took potshots at him. Noted was the lack of penalties for shooting into melee and/or through your allies - one of my pet peeves, but I was running it straight for this game.

After the goblins were defeated (the sharpshooters legged it once the rest had fallen), the party started exploring the rest of the cavern. Two cavern chokers sprang out from concealment, and the party did more damage to the Dwarf with their attacks than the chokers did.

I have to say that 4E gives players loads of options, and many of the powers are designed to promote teamwork (quite certainly by design). I do like that 1st level characters aren't so fragile that one blow can kill them. This gives the players the chance to choose to run for it if they're losing a fight.

I'll be a player in a game this Saturday, playing a Dragonborn paladin. I'm looking forward to it.

:D

Jirel of Joiry definitely gets my vote. And as for Polgara, a quote from her comes to mind. "If he has been harmed, strong men will tremble at the memory of your fate for a thousand years to come." Now that's a threat!

Sarah Connor was awesome, and I like the new take on her in the TV series. Yep, in the beginning of T1 she was an ordinary girl, but she found her strength and overcame her unstoppable foe.

Red Sonja was always enjoyable, even if her armor had only marginal protective qualities. ;o)

Shkai'ra and Megan from S.M. Stirling and Shirley Meier were a great pair of strong female characters.

Elektra from Marvel Comics was a favorite from the start. How can you not like a badass ninja girl?

When I mention that I play roleplaying games, the most common response I get is, "Is that played on the computer?" I guess WoW and EverCrack have become more iconic than D&D.

I describe RPGs as being like a free-form play where you make up your own lines as you go along, and describe your actions rather than acting them out. This is good, because really jumping a flaming chasm can hurt!

I also tell them that roleplaying games have helped me with my characterization when I write.

That explanation seems to work well.

For years I've used hexes for outdoor movement, for the very reasons you mentioned. For underground stuff I still use squares for two reasons. One, it's easier to fit rectangular-style dungeon rooms and corridors into squares. Two, my Master Maze has 1" square grids cast into the floors.

I say go with what you prefer. Hexes can work just fine if you like them.

I made my mind known on the original thread from which this one was derived, and I'll reiterate: I like scantily clad females, and sensibly clad ones as well. And I've no problem with "damsels in distress," nor with a little role reversal (girls saving the guys).

Give me a little cheesecake, and put some beefcake in the illustrations as well for those that want it. And I wouldn't mind seeing some plus-sized females in the illustrations - variety is the spice of life, after all. Hasslefree put out a great miniature of a plus-sized warrior woman, Liberty, aka Libby. She's very sensibly attired, and armed with a battleaxe that means business. The armored version rocks as well, and there's a version of her as a barbarian (scantily clad, yet!) on the back of a saber-tooth tiger.

I'm all for females in powerful roles, whether in movies, fiction, real life, or RPGs. But don't be offended if I like 'em to show a little skin. Heck, if Conan and Tarzan can go around in leather loincloths, so can the women!

:D

Intelligent weapons have been a staple of sword and sorcery fantasy since Elric picked up Stormbringer (and maybe even before that). They've been a fun element in D&D, as they can provide many entertaining situations. A few examples that I've encountered come to mind.

The PC picks up a magic sword, rolls a check, gets a strange look on his face, and suddenly says, "Hi! I'm Tollathatharod, and this is my pet Elf!"

Rogla Goblinslayer, human fighter, had a mithril bastard sword with a hilt fashioned in the form of a beautiful woman named Melinda, which could speak. The sword was in love with Rogla, which made for some uncomfortable moments when a woman caught his eye. "Back off, b*tch, or I'll cut your t*ts off!"

A friend had a a mithril sword with a basket hilt that hated Orcs. If a single Orc was behind an army of Balrogs, the sword would tell the owner to go after the Orc. If the owner refused, the basket hilt would flow over his hand and up his forearm. "If you don't kill the Orc, I'm going to open up your veins and hold them open until you bleed to death."

I recall Foulmouth, a talking sword of great power with, as you might imagine, a colorful vocabulary. It tended to denigrate its owner whenever he missed with it, and upon many other occasions as well.

Read Knights of the Dinner Table and the tales of Carvin' Marvin - they'll have you in stitches.

:D

Man, now I have to search for my old Rafm Gug mini! Good to see another Lovecraftian monster make its way into D&D again.

:D

I've decided to step out from behind the GM screen and be a player for a while. I'm equally happy to play 3.5 or 4E (or L5R). I can play just about any race or class. My schedule is pretty much open until GVSU starts Aug 25th, then it's Friday nights or weekends.

Any openings out there?

I have no problem with scantily clad female adventurers, no more than I had with Tarzan depicted with a leopardskin loincloth or Conan with a short kilt or fur jockstrap. Heck, John Carter of Mars went around naked, as did his beloved Dejah Thoris.

But I also enjoy the sensibly clad adventurers depicted, of either gender. I've enjoyed seeing women portrayed as powerful and daring in fantasy art, whether or not they were wearing chainmail bikinis. Let the women sling swords and spells alongside their male counterparts with equal gusto.

And I've no problem with an ethnically diverse fantasy world, though I usually like at least a semi-plausible explanation for why diverse racial groups would be found together. I note that D&D 4E now depicts black halflings, and though Tolkien never indicated that hobbits came in other colors, I'll not worry too much if a fantasy version of Africa can develop dark-skinned hobbits along with dark-skinned humans.

The only thing that still gives me the willies is seeing Dwarf women depicted with beards.

:D

hogarth wrote:

As a previous poster put it: If you like rolling for hit points, why don't you roll for skill points, number of spell slots, number of feats, etc. as well?

If you roll ability score you are rolling number of skill points and number of spell slots thanks to ability modifiers.

The skill points and spell slots are fixed numbers plus ability modifiers. You are advocating random numbers plus ability modifiers. I would hope you can see the difference.

In any event, I've merely made my preferences known. Those that wish to play with random hit points are certainly welcome to do so, and I'll not say less of you for your choice.

Back in the old days, you rolled your attributes on 3d6 in order, chose your character class (Dwarf and Elf were classes originally!), and rolled your hit points, including your first hit die. That produced an even bell curve distribution of ability scores - in theory, anyway.

The results over time tended to produce a skewed curve, because the characters with lousy ability scores and hit points tended to die faster than those with better scores. Your long-term survival was strongly influenced by your initial luck with the dice.

Now I've no problem slinging dice in the game - it's part of the fun, though the Amber RPG showed you could still have fun without them. But I don't think that bad luck during character creation ought to cripple your character for life, and the same applies to randomly generating hit points. Certainly real life may deal us bad hands at random, but a game is supposed to be fair.

As GM, I give my players an array of attributes to distribute as they please, and fixed HP advancement. Both are generous, in part because I run a tough campaign. As a player, I'll play with anything, but prefer point allocation or fixed array, and often dread rolling for hit points.

Oh, and I've heard mention of NPCs and monsters with fixed stats - the main reason for that is to simplify the GM's task of generating encounters. When you've twenty gnolls attacking, keeping track of the attribute scores and hit points of each one separately is a royal pain in the hinder parts. Notable (named) NPCs get separate stat lists, but the rank and file are more quickly handled via the cookie cutter approach. If the PCs want to take the time to talk to one of the mooks, I can whip up a personality and backstory on the fly.

I had to part with my 1st and 2nd edition stuff (except Planescape and Dark Sun) in the last move. I parted with my 3.0 core books because my leather-bound 3.5 books supplanted them. I'm not moving again (bury me here!), and I'm not giving up my 3.5 books, though I did pick up the 4E Gift Set.

I'd face down rabid grizzly bears and rabid biker gangs before I'd face a pack of rabid lawyers.

No offense, but if you're not part of Paizo, don't offer answers. Let them answer my questions regarding this issue.

I have a bone to pick with you. When the Pathfinder Chronicles Gazeteer was supposed to be shipped (and wasn't), I had already been charged shipping for the item. I was promised that the item would be shipped with the next shipment with no shipping cost.

I see that it is listed as being shipped with this order, and I'm being charged shipping a second time for the same item.

This is NOT acceptable. Note the message from your customer service department last month.

Hi Thomas,

I apologize that I was not more clear! The Gazetteer will be shipped to you at no charge, with the intent that it will make up for the shipping charge that your original order incurred for the missing product.

Unfortunately, the problem with the Gazetteers was a bit larger than we originally thought, and the only way to make sure everyone receives their copy of the book in a timely manner is to send them with the next subscription shipment. We do apologize for this delay, and are striving to make sure the monthly shipment happens as soon as feasibly possible. If you have any further questions or concerns, please let me know. Thanks!

Sincerely,

Corey Young
Customer Service
Paizo Publishing, LLC
2700 Richards Rd Ste 201
Bellevue, WA 98005-4200

Sadly, no one seems to have brought a camera to the Game Day at GranLan. I brought enough Master Maze for two of the games. Erik ran with one set, I ran the other. Steve Schend didn't get the terrain to use, but I hear they lent him the GM Screen of DOOOOOM!!!

I cast envious eyes at the GM Screen, but having just dropped a bundle on Confrontation minis (the last of the metal ones), I know better than to say peep about getting the screen.

Now maybe if I can get Erik to wrestle me for it...

:o)

I ran the game twice at GranLan in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and we had fun, but I have to agree that WotC should have provided quick start rules. Like a lot of people, I'd had my books on preorder from Amazon, so many of the situations had to be adjudicated on 3.x rules (like being prone).

The adventure was pretty brutal - the animated statues were the real killers. The nasty combination is Knock Down Fist (+3 vs. Fort for 2d6+3 and knocked prone), Kick When Down (free Smashing Fist attack at +5 for 2d6+3 against a prone opponent at the end of the turn) and Keep Them Down (immediate reaction to a prone opponent standing up - Smashing Fist attack, which keeps them prone and ends their turn).

I had prone players everywhere getting pulped by the statues. My first run was a TPK. The second resulted in 3 dead PCs and 2 running for their lives out of the dungeon.

Still, there's a lot that we enjoyed, and I'm looking forward to getting my books.

I've GMed for Steven, and he's a fun guy.