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Post by Darknight on Sept 17, 2010 10:06:47 GMT -5
I prefer the Corgi spell names - but they were the first ones I encountered. "Little Feets" does not, for example, really convey the idea that one moves faster.
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dekh
5th Level Troll
dekh by Grumlahk
Posts: 622
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Post by dekh on Sept 24, 2010 10:47:34 GMT -5
Take the time to have fun with the AD&D rules. Add, create, expand, and extrapolate. Don’t just let the game sit there, and don’t become a rules lawyer worrying about each piddly little detail. If you can’t figure out the answer, MAKE IT UP! And whatever you do, don’t fall into the trap of believing these rules are complete. They are not. You cannot sit back and let the rule book do everything for you. Take the time and effort to become not just a good DM, but a brilliant one The foreward to the 2nd Edition DMG - David "Zeb" Cook 2/9/89 Sounds like good advice to me.
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machfront
11th level Troll
Stalwart of the Trollbridge
"Let's go dark!"
Posts: 2,147
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Post by machfront on Sept 24, 2010 19:22:08 GMT -5
Indeed. "These rules are strictly fantasy. Those wargamers who lack imagination, those who don't care for Burroughs' Martian adventures where John Carter is groping through black pits, who feel no thrill upon reading Howard's Conan saga, who do not enjoy the de Camp and Pratt fantasies or Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser pitting their swords against evil sorceries will not be likely to find DUNGEONS & DRAGONS to their taste. But those whose imaginations know no bounds will find that these rules are the answer to their prayers. With this last bit of advice we invite you to read on and enjoy a "world" where the fantastic is fact and magic really works!" - E. Gary Gygax, 1 November 1973 (from the Forward to the original D&D, in Vol. 1, Men & Magic) From the introduction of the same: "These rules are as complete as possible within the limitations imposed by the space of three booklets. That is, they cover the major aspects of fantasy campaigns but still remain flexible. As with any other set of miniatures rules, they are guidelines to follow in designing your own fantastic-medieval campaign. They provide the framework around which you will build a game of simplicity or tremendous complexity - your time and imagination are about the only limiting factors, and the fact that you have purchased these rules tends to indicate that there is no lack of imagination - the fascination of the game will tend to make participants find more and more time." From the Afterword (Vol. 3, Underworld and Wilderness Adventures): "We have attempted to furnish an ample framework, and building should be both easy and fun. In this light, we urge you to refrain from writing for rule interpretations or the like unless you are absolutely at a loss, for everything herein is fantastic, and the best way is to decide how you would like it to be, and then make it just that way! On the other hand, we are not loathe to answer your questions, but why have us do any more of your imagining for you?"(emphasis mine) Introduction to Supplement II Blackmoor: "All of it is, of course, optional, for the premise of the whole game system is flexibility and personalization within the broad framework of the rules."Tim Kask, from the forward to Supplement III Eldritch Wizardry: "D&D was meant to be a free-wheeling game, only loosely bound by the parameters of the rules."From the Preface of the Dr. J. Eric Holmes' D&D Basic rules: ...This is absolutely necessary because the game is completely open-ended, is subject to modification, expansion, and interpretation according to the desires of the group participating, and is in general not bounded by the conventional limitations of other types of games." Tom Moldvay in the Introduction of the D&D Basic Rules (1981): "While the material in this booklet is referred to as rules, that is not really correct. Anything in this booklet (and other D&D booklets) should be thought of as changeable - anything, that is, that the Dungeon Master or referee thinks should be changed. This is not to say that everything in this booklet should be discarded! All of this material has been carefully thought out and playtested. However, if, after playing the rules as written for a while, you or your referee (the Dungeon Master) think that something should be changed, first think about how the changes will affect the game, and then go ahead. The purpose of these "rules" is to provide guidelines that enable you to play and have fun, so don't feel absolutely bound to them."and from the Afterword: "While it was not possible to cover everything that might happen in a game, the ideas here give a solid framework to build on."From the Preface to the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Player's Handbook (1978): "Similarly, even the most important material herein can be altered and bent to suit the needs of individual campaigns. Where possible, true guidelines have been laid down to provide the barest of frameworks for those areas of the campaign which should be the most unusual and unique. Read the work (or both works if you are a DM) through and decide for yourself what Advanced D&D really is."From it's Introduction: "This game is unlike chess in that the rules are not cut and dried. I many places they are guidelines and suggested methods only. This is part of the attraction of ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, and it is integral to the game."The Afterword of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, Dungeon Master's Guide (note that the following was written in all capital letters in the actual book): "It is the spirit of the game, not the letter of the rules, which is important. Never hold to the letter written, nor allow some barracks room lawyer to force quotations from the rule book upon you, if it goes against the obvious intent of the game. As you hew the line with respect to conformity to major systems and uniformity of play in general, also be certain the game is mastered by you and not by your players. Within the broad parameters given in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons Volumes, you are creator and final arbiter. By ordering things as they should be, the game as a whole first, your campaign next, and your participants thereafter, you will be playing Advanced Dungeons & Dragons as it was meant to be. May you find as much pleasure in doing so as the rest of us do!"I could quote more similar from the Mentzer edit of Basic and it's follow-up rules, the 1994 Classic Dungeons & Dragons Game, the Rules Cyclopedia and very likely more besides, but I think the above about covers it. ;D Now, if only people would stop thinking of D&D that thief skills are mundane skills or actions and stop thinking that hit points are wound points. 'Course, I also wish D&D fundamentalists would stop assuming after all these years, that T&T is a 'rip off', or that it's 'incomplete' in some form or fashion, that it is or has an "anti-Gygax attitude", and/or that it is "silly". Grrr. Heck, if me of all folks can figure out the above are not true about T&T, then so could anyone.
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