A question a week, answer the following week, until I get bored or forget. All questions from the 2ed AD&D Players Handbook, Dungeon Masters Guide, Monstrous Compendium Volume I, and Monstrous Compendium Volume II. Even setting aside 2ed is one of my least favorites, most the questions are troll piss. Rule math minutiae. Aspects of 2ed I find too stupid to endure. Quite a few that are common knowledge to any player these days. Mostly in regards to iconic monsters that were relatively new and unknown back in 1991.
First up last week's answer; When Kendor drinks a potion of speed, he can move twice as fast and perform twice as many actions as usual. What ill effect does he suffer?
DMG, page 144. He ages one year.
Age is a tough thing in RPGs. It's mostly doesn't add much (too little for the cost of tracking), unless it is dramatic. That is enough age to enfeeble or kill. Or, going other direction, make you a child or baby. Having to lug around the "baby paladin" looking for cure sounds like fun. Except for the paladin who is probably spending 90% of session being a passive observer. Used sparingly, a cool short-term effect (like a curse). Otherwise, meh.
Aging could be a less FU effect than Level Drain. But, I've been convinced that Level Drain should be a complete FU. It's good to have more axis some creatures that just are not worth messing with. See also rust monster. Even when you are powerful enough to defeat them. XP loss is one of the very, very few things that actually scares players. Undead should be scary. The corollary is that level draining undead should not be randomly encountered or at least have way to run away from them. When you create bad choices for players, you had best be sure they have the chance to choose.
Question (3rd lvl)
Who role-plays a PC's henchman, and who keeps track of that henchman's possessions and statistics.
I'm not sure if 2ed continues the AD&D distinction between hirelings (roughly employees) and henchmen (probably still payed, but more akin to followers, sidekicks, proteges).
I'd imagine the answer would be the DM (for all of it). Not sure how/why they'd put PCs in charge on an NPC.
ReplyDeleteRE: Aging
Premature aging is a great "penalty" type effect, especially around the 20-40 year range. 1E ghosts were remarkably interesting opponents because of this.
Also...always hard to raise someone who'd died of old age.
; )
Woof Woof.
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