tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post5454726935429964..comments2024-03-28T13:22:07.685-04:00Comments on GROGNARDIA: Gamma World, Cover to Cover (Part IV)James Maliszewskihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comBlogger18125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-766189264906129332011-05-10T21:37:26.429-04:002011-05-10T21:37:26.429-04:00Well, I stand corrected (WRT the Legion of Gold re...Well, I stand corrected (WRT the Legion of Gold reference). I never had that module in my youth, and that is always the way we interpreted the "rules". For us, it was always the offspring of PSH's that suffered from mutation.<br /><br />FWIW (and I hate to do it), in "real life", radiation can't cause mutation in a current generation, only in subsequent generations.toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-87131015214466085262011-05-09T11:54:43.466-04:002011-05-09T11:54:43.466-04:00Zarcanthropus's example is why one should NEVE...Zarcanthropus's example is why one should NEVER underestimate the power of Charisma, nor relegate it to a "dump stat". Great yearn!<br /><br />About PSH and mutations: I have not seen anything about mutation immunity with PSH in 1st edition, and the Legion of Gold module even notes a NPC of a PSH family, who became a mutant form radiation exposure.<br /><br />By the way, I really like the DIY approach they took with this game. It leaves a lot of room for revision and interpretation.Malcadonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03111796978336546944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-80403670217302137962011-05-09T09:08:17.712-04:002011-05-09T09:08:17.712-04:00I suppose you could interpret the rules that way, ...<i>I suppose you could interpret the rules that way, but I don't think that's the intention. Nowhere does it say in the radiation section that PSHs are immune to acquiring mutations or defects per the table.</i><br /><br>External evidence suggests that the idea that PSH characters were immune to mutations did not arise until fairly late in the process that led to GW 2e. <i>Famine in Far-Go</i> presents several changes to the way PSH characters work, including increased CON, INT, and CHA, as well as 8-sided hit dice, but there's no mention of immunity to radiation. <br /><br />Speaking only for myself, I always assumed PSHs could become mutants with exposure to sufficiently high radiation. That happened several times in my old campaigns, including one where, as suggested above, a Knight of Genetic Purity PC became a mutant and thus a hated enemy of his former comrades.James Maliszewskihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00341941102398271464noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-60562112869533371712011-05-09T08:35:10.723-04:002011-05-09T08:35:10.723-04:00@toddroe - I suppose you could interpret the rules...@toddroe - I suppose you could interpret the rules that way, but I don't think that's the intention. Nowhere does it say in the radiation section that PSHs are immune to acquiring mutations or defects per the table. I (and I think most GW GMs) always took the definition of the PSH type in the character generation section to mean that they don't start with any mutations. Plus, what could be more fun and ironic than having a PC or NPC Knight of Genetic Purity get kicked out of the order for becoming a mutie :)?metamorphosissigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18163514061779555557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27946978960011255262011-05-09T08:06:57.790-04:002011-05-09T08:06:57.790-04:00@dhowarth333: It depends on how one interprets the...@dhowarth333: It depends on how one interprets the 1ed rules. While the explanation for the radiation matrix is not specific about who it does/doesn't affect, the PSH entry is specific about the lack of mutations (and not specific about it being an "at character generation only" sort of rule).toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-26154810784505670102011-05-09T07:24:28.003-04:002011-05-09T07:24:28.003-04:00Dexterity is also used to determine initiative in ...Dexterity is also used to determine initiative in combat - although only on the first round of combat (pg 7). After the first round, a d6 (+1 for Dex 17 or 18) determines first strike option; ties indicate simultaneous combat (pg 18). Metamorphosis Alpha simply used highest dexterity (pre-dating Holmes in this regard) for first strike throughout combat, with a die only for ties.Zenopus Archiveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14069501995927451558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-44993182483522472742011-05-09T05:22:29.215-04:002011-05-09T05:22:29.215-04:00The perception of danger and death in Gamma World ...The perception of danger and death in Gamma World was fostered by D&D in some ways for me and my friends back in the day. Because of the ways that the Basic and Expert sets described wilderness adventures in presentation. In a dungeon we were given a rate of risk equal to the depth of the dungeon in terms of random encounters and monster levels. While wilderness rules were given in context of advanced adventurers taking the next big step in their careers with the progression of box sets. In a dungeon you control your rate of descent and the levels of monsters you were likely to encounter. But, in the wilderness the encounter tables could flux greatly in monster difficulty and number appearing. So Gamma World just looked like you were being thrown in the fire with your club and crappy armor. Not to mention one Badger with a high tech weapon could really mess up your day. And gods forbid you survived figuring out how it worked once actually pried it out of his cold dead paws.<br /><br />I recall a Dragon article later in the 80’s called Sticks and Stones and Death Machines, which attempted to offer reasonable balance to the wildly differing encounters you could roll up on the charts of Gamma World. It centered on not changing the results but offering the characters rare glimpses of great beasts hunting or Death Machines setting in inactive rusted heaps on the plains. <br /> <br />But, the mutations you could encounter in the simple creatures are enough to give any hardened adventurer pause. There was no surprise that some mutations countered some of the more deadly ones. We played Gamma World a lot and enjoyed our many deaths. And no manner of power gaming saved us.fauxcryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13772555578908486849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-13554696543506640712011-05-09T02:41:46.250-04:002011-05-09T02:41:46.250-04:00"They are the pioneers, explorers, and tamers..."They are the pioneers, explorers, and tamers of the vast wilderness."<br /><br />This sounds very much like a Western to me.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-27755384268360438882011-05-09T02:38:22.077-04:002011-05-09T02:38:22.077-04:00@dhowarth333:
OK, thanks.@dhowarth333:<br /><br />OK, thanks.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-71345252662098506702011-05-09T02:36:47.446-04:002011-05-09T02:36:47.446-04:00"It is desirable that few, if any, of a playe..."It is desirable that few, if any, of a player character’s basic attributes be below average."<br /><br />I've said this before, but since players compare their characters to other player characters, player characters' attributes tend to be average no matter how high you make them.anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-53197342738048501932011-05-08T22:58:27.710-04:002011-05-08T22:58:27.710-04:00@toddroe As for PSH's, while they may seem wea...@toddroe <i>As for PSH's, while they may seem weak on paper, they do encourage creative play and are immune to developing those damnable mutational defects...</i><br /><br />Not in 1st edition. PSH's can "catch" mutations by being exposed to radiation.<br /><br />@D Collins <i>If a player tried to determine something like make an educated guess on how is foe would organize his forces, or figure out how a trap was rigged he/she/it would make a d20 or 3d6 roll vs. intelligence</i><br /><br />Wow, real old school there...metamorphosissigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18163514061779555557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-8651285517212881082011-05-08T22:49:23.520-04:002011-05-08T22:49:23.520-04:00Intelligence has more than one use... If a player ...Intelligence has more than one use... If a player tried to determine something like make an educated guess on how is foe would organize his forces, or figure out how a trap was rigged he/she/it would make a d20 or 3d6 roll vs. intelligenceGameDaddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15106807777418881710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-5070539084727299522011-05-08T22:46:44.313-04:002011-05-08T22:46:44.313-04:00Now that you mention it, James, the 4d6 drop metho...Now that you mention it, James, the 4d6 drop method HAD to come from this. I remember using this in GW and naturally using it in Holmes/Cook, then carrying it over into AD&D. I was therefore not surprised to see it as a method in the 1ed DMG. Good catch!<br /><br />As for PSH's, while they may seem weak on paper, they do encourage creative play and are immune to developing those damnable mutational defects...toddroehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05668825555921002430noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-56714818069652051242011-05-08T22:09:10.873-04:002011-05-08T22:09:10.873-04:00Not really. When a black ray gun can kill you dead...Not really. When a black ray gun can kill you dead no matter how many hit points you have, and other energy weapons do massive amounts of damage, one could argue intelligence is just as important (to figure out how to use them), dexterity (to aim true), or charisma (to talk the person aiming the black ray gun out of firing it).metamorphosissigmahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18163514061779555557noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-36839217701951163592011-05-08T20:05:10.197-04:002011-05-08T20:05:10.197-04:00Wouldn't this huge range make Constitution not...Wouldn't this huge range make Constitution not so much 'very important' as 'more important than every other attribute put together'?anarchisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05546197561922726279noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-83355130623717302432011-05-08T18:31:02.109-04:002011-05-08T18:31:02.109-04:00Great observation on the early appearance of the 4...Great observation on the early appearance of the 4d6-drop-low method.<br /><br />So an average character (Con 10) would roll 10d6 for hit points? Holy moly!!Deltahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00705402326320853684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-47930556915196020422011-05-08T18:09:51.014-04:002011-05-08T18:09:51.014-04:00The lack of a clear deliniation on the shortcoming...The lack of a clear deliniation on the shortcomings of mutant animals in terms of hands, biped ability, and vocal chords made me hijack the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles & Other Strangeness" system of uplifts and work them into a secondary random table when I cobbled together my houseruled gamma world campaign from 1st. and 2nd. edition. <br /><br />Worked pretty good, overall. I gave mutant animals potential for a couple more rolls on the mutation tables so that they could choose between my uplifts chart and the traditional physical mutations table. <br /><br />I've got it here if any readers might be interested: http://bigfella.com/newwest.dir/animute.htmlBigFellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03052419088140204154noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7487871339000666216.post-88285393581318038842011-05-08T17:39:37.711-04:002011-05-08T17:39:37.711-04:00Pure Strain Human is always a hard sell to a Gamma...Pure Strain Human is always a hard sell to a Gamma World player and never more so than in 1st edition. The best RPG campaign I've ever played in was a first ed game circa 1980. The other players thought I was nuts for playing a PSH. I enjoyed the challenge of having to rely on brain power versus mutations. I named my character Paladin for his sole advantage of a 17 Charisma.<br />He ended up with followers (the Merry Mutants) and several robots, eventually becoming lord of our village. As mutants and animals came and went he ended up owning all the artifacts in the campaign.<br />Weak character type indeed.Zarcanthropushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15779352383475388486noreply@blogger.com