tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post1160933548624105807..comments2024-03-28T15:10:21.797-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Random Roll: DMG, p. 118James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31497746338907008662021-04-10T00:10:29.106-04:002021-04-10T00:10:29.106-04:00I had a mix of both. Characters that where situate...I had a mix of both. Characters that where situated in someone else world, and others that I used to hop from one campaign to another( mostly in congames ). I kinda liked it a little more to have a character go from game-to-game just because the PC's would develop (for better or worse) in more unexpected ways.Old Black Staffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15673828726570977353noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-85005479914062468022021-04-09T19:33:18.851-04:002021-04-09T19:33:18.851-04:00Gary's talk about non-standard games and rules...Gary's talk about non-standard games and rules was starting to gain momentum with the DMG and would continue in Dragon Magazine with him ultimately ripping on the APAs for all their variant rules and such and amateur game design.<br /><br />My high school gaming at MIT involved a fair bit of trade of PCs between campaigns. Once I got to college though, the practice stopped and each campaign was individual. Of course it also wasn't long before I wasn't running AD&D in college anyway, running RuneQuest or Cold Iron and other games.Frankhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15855679156477779666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33789157409544442452021-04-09T18:29:22.415-04:002021-04-09T18:29:22.415-04:00I think you're probably right that Gygax is ad...I think you're probably right that Gygax is advocating getting all the info about the non-standard item, even things that the player might not know. I still think he's going overboard here, though, in stating that you should never trust a player's word about this kind of thing. In the example that you gave, the DM is free to disallow the lightning maker, but there's no need to assume the player is lying about what it does, and no need to ask the other DM for a written statement to prove that the player isn't lying. The advice "Don't allow an item into your game if it would unbalance things" is sufficient to address the issue; there is no need to counsel distrust as well.John Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123235797335728124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36491172007792365532021-04-09T16:26:39.352-04:002021-04-09T16:26:39.352-04:00Hmm. I wonder what Gary would have thought of my ...Hmm. I wonder what Gary would have thought of my recent efforts at custom magic items? I should maybe get back to doing those on my blog, kind of fell out of the habit.<br /><br />https://sanctumreconditesage.blogspot.com/<br /><br />Opinions welcome if anyone else takes a look. :)Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47158426831237040062021-04-09T16:26:12.565-04:002021-04-09T16:26:12.565-04:00I can see why you take it that way, and plenty of ...I can see why you take it that way, and plenty of Gary's writings smack of distrust of players. However, I think it is more likely here that he considers it unlikely that the player knows all the details of the unique magic item. It may have charges, or a drawback, that the player is unaware of. So just accepting "well, I say the command word and it shoots a lightning bolt" would be unwise. Unless at-will lightning bolts fit your game. :) pixledrivenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02015997444412977693noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8682884797561519422021-04-09T16:23:57.733-04:002021-04-09T16:23:57.733-04:00Weirdly, I never once played a character that went...Weirdly, I never once played a character that went from one campaign world to another, even when it was the same DM running them, nor did I ever play with anyone who did. It certainly happened pretty often back in the 70s and 80s, I saw it happen at other tables. Just never participated in it myself, I'd just make a new PC rather than drag an old one along. Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-31142051561570346852021-04-09T16:20:54.708-04:002021-04-09T16:20:54.708-04:00...not going to unbalance the game, no matter wher......not going to unbalance the game, no matter where the PC obtains it from..."<br /><br />"Yeah, I just found it stuck in a boulder over there. Came right out when I tugged on it. Hey, why's everyone kneeling?" :)Dick McGeehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14521293874696659063noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-7844120776622721502021-04-09T13:36:04.466-04:002021-04-09T13:36:04.466-04:00While I certainly wouldn't call Gygax paranoid...While I certainly wouldn't call Gygax paranoid, this passage does suggest a rather unsettling distrust of players. He seems to assume that players habitually lie to gain an unfair advantage. Advice like " Never take a player's word for any item. Do not allow its use in your campaign unless you know his or her DM and get a full explanation in writing from that person which details the properties of the item" goes beyond what's necessary to prevent imbalance; after all, if the DM thinks an item is too powerful, he can simply disallow it. Gygax is saying that, no matter what the non-standard item is, you should assume the player is lying about it,and I find that insulting. The same attitude appears in the DMG section on monsters as player characters, where Gygax seems to assume that the only reason anyone would want to play a monster is to gain an unfair advantage. John Brinegarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12123235797335728124noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33152136064632707982021-04-09T12:33:33.968-04:002021-04-09T12:33:33.968-04:00''All such creations, however, must be mad...''All such creations, however, must be made with care. The items must be such as to not unbalance the game. They must not make one player character too strong [...]''. This reminds me to one GM I used to play with. He was accostumed to play very softly (characters never died and monsters almost never hit our PCs when they were very injured... Needless to say he always rolled behind the screen) and my 2nd level dwarf found a magicall mace that was a +3 mace, +4 vs undead. I was so freaking strong it was not funny, it was not 'balanced' as you say in the post and the game broke for me. Nirkhuzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01625430841723207402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-63061246284316704892021-04-09T12:25:51.944-04:002021-04-09T12:25:51.944-04:00Probably also has something to do with the standar...Probably also has something to do with the standardization Gygax wanted for 1st ed so that PCs could be used consistently across conventions.DominusCaveaVulpeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16317537974568062563noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-33071189807698120442021-04-09T11:45:32.059-04:002021-04-09T11:45:32.059-04:00You're almost certainly correct and I'm pr...You're almost certainly correct and I'm pretty sure Gygax's concern was mostly with <i>original</i> magic items rather than standard ones.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-10906678398338862452021-04-09T11:43:52.311-04:002021-04-09T11:43:52.311-04:00What Gary says certainly has merit, but it depends...What Gary says certainly has merit, but it depends greatly on both the player and the character he's brining into the game. A +1 sword is not going to unbalance a game, no matter were the PC obtain it from.Old Black Staffhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15673828726570977353noreply@blogger.com