Rax
Dicemaster
Posts: 2,263 
|
Post by Rax on Jul 31, 2019 11:32:18 GMT -8
Sure, that worked fine if you had access to both. The 2e MM only gives class and level limits, nothing else. I remember being quite bemused as to how half-orcs were expected to manage to be as strong as giants with no ability score adjustments given in the MM...  |
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Jul 31, 2019 11:44:53 GMT -8
Sure, that worked fine if you had access to both. The 2e MM only gives class and level limits, nothing else. I remember being quite bemused as to how half-orcs were expected to manage to be as strong as giants with no ability score adjustments given in the MM... True. Basically we looked the information up from 1e someone had a copy or the UA book and we all wrote it in our 2e PHB. When we couldn't remember we as I said kind of made up stats that sounded close to right usually close to the +1 Ate & Con, with the -2 Cha. Though my friend that always played half-orc pc's would make his Cha -3 he always wanted uglier pc's dunno why. |
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Jul 31, 2019 14:07:02 GMT -8
I came up with the name as a kid. It's a portmanteau of the names "David" and "Arkos." David being my real name, and Arkos was the name my dad was originally going to give me (he wanted a Greek name, but changed his mind at the last second). Since the 'Da' in 'David' is pronounced with a long a (at least it does in English, anyway), so it does in 'Daos,' too. At least, in my mind, anyway. But it rarely comes up nowadays, as all my games are text based. I remember I first discovered people usually mispronounce it years ago, back in my chatroom days, when another player jokingly wrote a little ditty about the game, and rhymed Daos with 'chaos' and I was like, "Wait, that doesn't work..."
Anyway, English is weird.
At least part of it is I'm very rarely a player. Even when I do get to play, nine out of ten times the game dies before we get very far. The most powerful character I've ever had was a cleric who hit level 3. That, and when I do play, I tend to seek out Dragonlance games, and half-orcs aren't playable in that setting.
That might be part of it, too. I've never played a monk, barbarian or assassin, either, come to think of it. First Edition was released before I was born, and by the time I came into the hobby, it had been long dead, so for the longest time, 2E was the only thing I knew at all.
I had a player who used to do that sort of thing once. He always wanted his scores as low as possible; all of his scores, not just CHA. He was the only person who would ask to reroll because he got rolls that were too high. I think he took the idea that 'good roleplayers don't care about high stats' too far, that he warped it to the point of believing that having poor stats automatically made him a good roleplayer. His favorite character, a hobgoblin fighter, I remember had an array of 14, 8, 12, 4, 5, and 5. Perhaps not coincidentally, his characters tended to die a lot.
Anyway, I finished up the Half-Orc episode yesterday, so here we go:
101 Dirty Orc Tricks - So true story, I've never read Dragon magazine before. When I first started D&D, I had never heard of it (and the internet was not what it is now). By the time I finally learned of its existence, it was around 2007, when they stopped publishing it. So yeah, I've never encountered an issue before.
Complete book of Humanoids - I do get a lot of use out of the book. As I've said before, in my own homebrew settings, most of the humanoid races are playable. In my past campaigns, I've had people play goblins, hobgoblins, kobolds, and minotaurs (that last one mostly in Dragonlance games). Gravity has a half-goblin in my Past Glory game right now. I've had NPC aarakocra (currently one in Octhania right now), goblins, half-ogres, and half-orcs, too. But the only race from that book I've played myself as a PC is the aarakocra (very briefly; never made it past level 1 before the game died). I just think they are neat.
By the way, in reference to the pug-faced kobold, while pugold is pretty good, I would have gone with PugPug, in reference to the infamous broken PunPun build in 3E using a kobold.
Gods of the Orcs - So this is going to sound weird, and I honestly don't remember anymore why this was the case, but in my original homebrew setting, there were no orc gods at all. I gave a god to just about every other humanoid race, but not orcs. Goblins had Shadowbite, god of darkness; Kobolds had Zokle, god of competition; Hobgoblins had D'lokka, goddess of war; bugbears had Noscan (god of the hunt) and Kamylle (goddess of storms). There was also a demon god, Kulak, the Soul Eater and sort of the big bad of the setting, but he was open to all races. So yeah, no orc gods. Hmm, maybe my original setting didn't even have orcs? I can't remember. I'm going through my old notes now, and I can't find any evidence that orcs or half-orcs were even playable or even existed. Maybe younger me thought they were too cliche or something?
In my current setting, most orcs worship Renos, god of strength, vengeance and war. He is known as the Great Wolf to them.
Role Playing a Half Orc - Well, never actually played a half-orc before, as I've mentioned. But I've NPC'd a couple. Zesk and Zedd are pretty similar, in backstory (heck, even their names are awfully similar, now that I look at them). Both are casters (an abjurer and a cleric of Tymora), both were raised by humans. Personality wise, Zedd was more boisterous; he laughed at everything, whereas Zesk is a bit more soft-spoken. Both were sort of subversions of the standard brutish, violent half-orc archetype, though. I think I was going for a Beast from X-Men sort of thing; someone who is large and scary looking, but actually quite gentle and intelligent. Maybe I just like going against the grain.
|
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 3, 2019 13:17:03 GMT -8
Going back in time to May, for the Druid episode.
Are weapons allowed to be carried in town? - For me, it sort of depends on the town in question. A frontier town is different from the capital city. A town where most people worship the god of peace will be different from a town where people worship the god of war. A Lawful town will be different from a Chaotic town. So basically, I take into account the alignment, demographics, size and culture of a town.
How to keep players interested? - One of the worst parts of online games, especially forum ones, is it's difficult to gauge a player's level of interest; you can't just look at their face and see that they're bored. Which is probably why most drop-outs are unannounced. There's very little communication, sadly. I ask for input after every session, but most people either don't answer or just assure me things are fine. (In fact, most people who wind up dropping out without saying anything will have earlier claimed things are just fine when I last asked for feedback). A big problem is that people don't seem to actually read any of the disclaimers I put up when I recruit for a game. For instance, I'll specify I'm recruiting for a high seas adventure game, with pirates and swashbucklers, and it will involve the party sailing from island to island in the tropics, but inevitably I'll have someone join up and play a mounted cavalryman or something, and then get bored because their horse spends the entire adventure in the hold. Or take my politics and intrigue game. No matter how many disclaimers I put up explaining that this is a game that is focused on roleplay, I'll have someone come in, roll up a character, then quit in boredom because 'there's too much talking and interacting with NPCs' (<-- an actual thing a player told me before quitting Gontoria).
Probably the weirdest one was a player I had in my Octhania game. She rolled up a character, introduced her to the party, then announced she was retiring to her cabin to sleep. Which was odd, as it was like 10 in the morning. So for two weeks she didn't post anything, because her character was sleeping while everyone else was, you know, playing the game. Then she suddenly announced my game was boring because 'nothing happens' and quit.
I do sometimes ask my players to give me goals for their characters. I don't demand it, though, anymore (I used to). I've since learned that if a player doesn't want to roleplay, you can't force it. Most of the time, though, players will make no effort to accomplish the goals they gave, if they gave any at all, or the goals are so vague that they can't really be completed.
Anyway, the best way to keep players interested is communicate with them, but they rarely (in my experience) give useful feedback, so it's usually just a guessing game.
How to spend the player's money - This overall hasn't been too much of a problem for me. Most of my games end fairly early on, around level 5-6, which is usually around the point too much money becomes a problem. But also, I have such terrible luck with rolling treasure, my players usually don't accumulate that much to begin with; or they just fail to find it (I'm often surprised how often players forget to loot bodies or search rooms for treasure).
But aside from things like living expenses, henchmen maintenance, spell research, tolls, taxes, tithes and just saving up for strongholds, there's also making masterwork equipment available to them (I usually price it as the standard price plus 200 GP). I guess if you really wanted to get crazy, you could even let them find a magic item shop. Charge through the nose for some simple items (say, like 100 GP for a potion of healing), and drain their coffers really quick that way.
What are druids? - I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but I've never actually played a druid before. I'm not really sure why. I guess I just feel like the cleric is superior in every way. Probably the only reason I'd choose to play a druid is if clerics were barred, or maybe the party already has one and I don't want to step on their toes too much. Also, I guess I'm not that much into nature, because I've only ever had one ranger and never played a barbarian, either.
Druids are also pretty rare in my games among PCs, although currently I've got two, which is kind of a record. Horizons is playing Ravarie, a Kagonesti (Wild Elf) Beastfriend in my Past Glory game and Gravity is playing Johannas Barnsley, a Human Sea Druid in my Octhania game. I also have Finbul Padner, a halfling druid in my Gontoria game that has become the henchman of Gravity's character, Lillian (Elf Bard).
Shambling Mound - Man, those things are dangerous! I've only used them twice that I can recall. In one of my favorite modules, Pod-Caverns of the Sinister Shroom, there's an encounter with a young one (weaker than found in the MM) that is guarding a chest. I've run that module a couple of times for different groups, and usually we come very close to a TPK whenever the party faces it. I also used one in one of my Cradle campaigns, and again, it came really close to killing a PC. That suffocation ability is quite deadly, and because it has so much resistance to different damage types, whittling down its HP before it can kill someone is a real challenge.
I'll listen to the second half later today.
|
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 3, 2019 13:42:10 GMT -8
To be perfectly honest the weapon thing as you said yeah it does vary on the type of town/city. But also like in Forgotten Realms some cities and towns are not dedicated to simply a single deity look at Selgaunt they have multiple churches and temples as well as clergies of various deities same with some of the other towns and cities in the FR lands. Others are similar to as yours are single deity worship heck some small villages likely have no town guard or major religion that weapons may well be fully allowed.
As for druids I have a friend i reintroduced to D&D after his wife passed almost a year ago and the guy is addicted to druids it's the only thing he will play and he to me appears to be fully obsessed with them. Shape Changing/shifting i find is becoming highly annoying in 5e with him as a player but could just be how he plays a druid. That's the only thing he really focuses on other than healing spells. If it were me I'd focus more on spells like entangle and other nature control type things as well as animal control/charming forget the whole transform into an animal bit.
At any rate this is just additional ranting i didn't have at the time of the recording for Druids. Doesn't surprise me that you haven't played one as you heard me say I only ever did like twice in 26 years of playing.
|
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 4, 2019 10:26:25 GMT -8
The shapechanging thing might be another reason I've never been drawn to druids. You don't even get it in 2E until 7th level, and I've never played in a game that high level before. At least clerics get Turn Undead right off the bat. But one of the druid's main class abilities isn't even unlocked until after most games end. (Unless you take that one kit.) I'm glad they fixed that in later editions.
Anyway, on to the rest of the episode:
Druid Spells - I don't have a whole lot of experience with druidic spells. But the henchman in my Gontoria game, Finbul, is partial to the Puffball spell. It is basically a much weaker version of Stinking Cloud, so is useful for crowd control. I also remember in one old game I had an NPC druid named Life Seed who used Charm Person or Mammal to get a dire wolf mount, and that was pretty cool.
Level Limitations - I've never run in or played in a game that made it to 12th level, so the odd level-based hierarchy of the druids has never come up before for me. But something I always wondered. Let's say Bob the Druid has enough XP to reach level 12, so he challenges Alice the Druid to take her position. He defeats her, and then becomes level 12, right? So what happens to Alice? Does she de-level back to level 11? Is that even a thing?
Complete Druid's Handbook - I've always been fond of this book. I like that it helps branch out druids so they aren't just about forests. In my Octhania game, as the game is based around a series of tropical islands, I've created a new branch, the Sea Druid, for that setting specifically. I also like the kits. As I said before, one of the players in my Past Glory game has the Beastfriend kit. And the Puffball spell I mentioned earlier is also from this book. (I am amused that one of the full color pictures in the book is of Goldmoon, who is a cleric, not a druid. But I guess the fact she is wearing leathers and is riding a pegasus makes her look like a druid.)
Ring of the Hierophant - Never used one in my games before, but now that I have two games with druids in them (three if you include NPCs), who knows? Finbul is only level 1, so way too weak for such a powerful item right now. But maybe Johannas or Ravarie could find such a thing.
If I did introduce it into my Octhania campaign, I'd probably modify it so you can only change into water or water-adjacent elementals (so ooze, steam, ice, salt), to better fit with the whole Sea Druid idea.
Shapechanging - Since shapechanging only becomes available at level 7, and most of my games don't make it that far, this isn't something I have a lot of experience with. Johannas in my Octhania campaign is level 7, so can shapechange, but he rarely uses it. Ravarie is still level 6. I think she gets that ability in another 6k XP or so.
Challenges of Playing the Druid - Well, as I've said, I've never actually played one. I've only had NPCs, and usually pretty low level ones. Currently, the only active one is Finbul Padner in my Gontoria game. He's a halfling, and the idea of his character is he's perpetually angry at the humans who have stolen his land, erased his culture, and exploited his people. He decided to become a druid partly as an act of rebellion, but also as an attempt to reconnect with his people's lost traditions. The sort of person he grows into will largely depend on the events of the game and the choices made by the PC he follows. Right now, though, he's basically the party's healer by default (as nobody else has access to healing magic right now; the rest of the party are a bard, enchanter, fighter, and transmuter).
|
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 4, 2019 11:59:12 GMT -8
That healing magic is a good point wich oddly enough makes me think of a book i am reading currently in the Sembia series there is a mage that has already twice used healing types of magic yet nowhere does it claim he is a cleric and a mage just a "mage" so perhaps I am missing something or maybe this book was actually published after 2nd edition though i think it was actually during 2e times that maybe there is a kit or something i have not yet discovered that allows mages to cast healing magic? That is an interesting concept to me anyway a healing mage then we don't have to always assume a cleric is the healer.
|
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 4, 2019 12:10:19 GMT -8
Not sure, never read those books. I do remember in Dragonlance, though, there were a couple of healing spells, but they weren't true healing. There was usually some sort of cost. Life Transfer, which transferred HP from the one person to another. And Timeheal, which reversed time on a body to undo a wound or wounds. Life TransferNecromancy Level: Sorcerer/wizard 4 Components: V, S Casting Time: 1 standard action Range: Touch Target: Living creatures touched Duration: Instantaneous/1 round; see text Saving Throw: Fortitude negates Spell Resistance: Yes This spell enables you to steal life from one living creature and transfer it into another’s body. On a successful melee touch attack, you deal 1d4 points of damage per two caster levels (maximum 10d4) and gain the same number of temporary hit points. Within one round, you must touch another living creature, transferring all the temporary hit points as healing energy. This energy cures the target of all damage up to the number of temporary hit points transferred (though it will not bestow additional or temporary hit points should the number of temporary hit points transferred exceed the creature’s current damage).
If you are unable to transfer the temporary hit points, or if you want to heal yourself, you heal only half the hit points you absorbed. TimehealTransmutation Level: Sorcerer/wizard 7 Components: V, S, M, XP Casting Time: 1 minute Range: Touch Target: Living creature touched Duration: Instantaneous Saving Throw: Special; see text Spell Resistance: Yes When this spell is cast upon a willing target, you cause the individual’s body to move backward in time to a period when he was in better health. Time is of the essence when the spell is cast because the greater amount of time that has passed, the more difficult the spell. You can timeheal the body in time 1 minute for every level of experience as an arcane spellcaster. Thus a 9th-level wizard can take the body of his target back in time by 9 minutes. For every minute the body reverses, the victim makes an involuntary Fortitude save with a cumulative –1 penalty (thus reverting a body back 9 minutes requires the target to make the Fortitude saving throw with a –9 penalty). If the saving throw is failed, the body fails to revert. If the target possesses Spell Resistance, the wizard must also overcome the target’s SR in order for the spell to take effect. This cannot be suppressed by the target. You can determine how many minutes backward you want the spell to effect (a 9th-level wizard can revert a body up to 9 minutes, no more).
If a target has been affected by a timeheal spell (whether successful or not), she cannot be affected by another timeheal spells until at least 24 hours have passed. Timeheal will not bring back a spirit from death, thus it is ineffective upon a character who has died (reached –10 hit points or less), been affected by death magic, or similar instant deatheffects.
Material Component: A small hourglass filled with powdered black pearls (worth at least 500 stl).
XP Cost: 100 XP per minute of time reverted. |
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 4, 2019 12:34:16 GMT -8
The healing used doesn't really sound like either of those the effect entirely removed a poison and healed the wounds but left the caster in a weakened state. So maybe it was a bit of both though it was not a necromancer casting it so hard to really say. Maybe the book was published after 3e or 3.5e was out. I still think it's an interesting concept i suppose it could have been a spell the author created there is information on how to create your own spells in more than one book for 2e.
|
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 4, 2019 12:39:19 GMT -8
Could be. Assuming this is the series you are referring to, the first book was published one month after 3E was officially released. (Series started in July of 2000, 3E was published in June of 2000.) |
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 4, 2019 12:42:05 GMT -8
Could be. Assuming this is the series you are referring to, the first book was published one month after 3E was officially released. (Series started in July of 2000, 3E was published in June of 2000.) Yes sir that's the series i am on the Sands one currently that's the one that had the mage removing poison and healing injuries. However since the actually spell names are not referred to in the text i have no idea what it is since i don't have anything to do with 3e. But i liked the idea and would love to adapt or apply it to a 2e setting even if i have to homebrew or house rule it. |
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 4, 2019 12:49:58 GMT -8
Do you remember the name of the mage? I might be able to find out their class and stats, if they are known.
|
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 4, 2019 13:06:06 GMT -8
Steorf is the mages name. Apparently his mother is like the Archmage (or close to that) for Selgaunt in Sembia.
|
|
|
|
Post by Daos on Aug 4, 2019 13:36:42 GMT -8
Ha, nope! Can't find a thing. I can find stats for just about every character in that book but him. Ah, well.
|
|
|
|
Post by GreyWolfVT on Aug 4, 2019 15:29:29 GMT -8
Ha, nope! Can't find a thing. I can find stats for just about every character in that book but him. Ah, well. Yeah I searched too and couldn't find anything either. |
|
