tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post6860870161571199853..comments2024-03-28T15:32:19.036-04:00Comments on Dungeon Fantastic: Lessons Observed Running AD&D (vs. GURPS)Peter Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-54547794728124896732019-11-13T18:34:15.924-05:002019-11-13T18:34:15.924-05:00Oh sure, and it would matter greatly in those case...Oh sure, and it would matter greatly in those cases if used. But it only applies in those cases - weapon-bearing foes vs. foes wearing specific armor types. But in many cases, it won't apply. I'm not a big fan of rules that make substantial changes in one area but don't apply broadly enough to matter in most or all cases.<br /><br />There was a Dragon article expanding it but it's not any easier to use in play. Maybe even less so.<br /><br />Still, you're not wrong in that if you use it, it really, really matters.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-64341633229711722962019-11-13T16:56:08.014-05:002019-11-13T16:56:08.014-05:00> Oh, and weapon speed and armor vs. weapon rul...> Oh, and weapon speed and armor vs. weapon rules that I don't use (and which are marginal in most cases anyway.)<br /><br />Complicating things further, they often won't apply anyway. Weapon length and speed factor are only used against other weapon-users, and weapons vs. armor only comes into play against armor (and explicitly doesn't against "natural" armor!)<br /><br />This means that they are fairly relevant in the early game where goblins and whatnot are walking around with spears and armor types, but the rules completely vanish whenever anything remotely monstrous comes into the picture (e.g. a dragon).<br /><br />For the few situations where they do come into play, however, they can be kind of handy for low-level players. Consider the humble Monster Manual Goblin, for instance. Most of them have short swords or spears, the former of which has a -2 penalty vs. AC3 when they have a THAC3 of 18, but some of them have military picks and get +2 to hit vs. plate. Most goblins only hit you on a 19 or 20, but then there's a couple that hit on a 16 and can really mess you up.<br /><br />On the other side of things, the Monk has <b><i>-7</i></b> to hit plate+shield and gets a +4 to hit unarmored opponents. This applies to everyone, and -7 is just enough to send a Normal Man into "cannot hit even on a 20" territory.<br /><br />As I said, however, it becomes fairly irrelevant for higher-level play unless you end up fighting a boatload of evil Fighters and Magic-Users. There are entire dungeon modules that are 100% inapplicable to this, since they're filled with liches, manticores, giants, and other special cases. If you're playing Against the Giants, the only important statistics are Space Required and Damage vs. Size L.Neveronhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06290575926119589773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-41714563564510724292019-11-13T16:11:44.384-05:002019-11-13T16:11:44.384-05:00The comparison is rarely Feign Death vs. Fireball....The comparison is rarely Feign Death vs. Fireball. It's more like Fly vs. Fireball. Knock vs. Stinking Cloud. Detect Magic vs. Sleep. It's tempting to take the fight-winners because fights are critical . . . but then you need to Fly, or open a door with Knock, or find something magical with Detect Magic . . . and you can't.Peter Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14246000382321978462noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-21526054773732505932019-11-13T10:27:37.041-05:002019-11-13T10:27:37.041-05:00There is a tradeoff there. The utility of a spell ...There is a tradeoff there. The utility of a spell is how useful it is in "just the right circumstances" times how often it is "just the right circumstances" plus how useful it is the rest of the time times how often it is NOT "just the right circumstances". For combat spells the "just the right circumstances" are about half the time while for spells like Feign Death it is probably 1-2% at best. Players have a gut feeling for this math and heavily favor the spells that have the larger utility overall.Alexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02295722892051701176noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7817710432110712270.post-53389821780183159612019-11-12T23:14:13.983-05:002019-11-12T23:14:13.983-05:00AD&D spell selection is also a question of wha...AD&D spell selection is also a question of what assortment the particular level offers. As I recall, 2nd and 4th levels had less impressive direct damage options, so it was easier to justify selecting a few "utility" type spells. 3rd level, though, has a pretty fierce contest among the obvious Lightning Bolt and Fireball, along with seriously useful stuff like Haste, Slow, and Fly. However, it's rare that anyone give up one of those slots for Feign Death, Suggestion, or Gust of Wind, however handy those might prove to be under just the right circumstances.Umbrielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07634806106155908828noreply@blogger.com