tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post4629402916213479592..comments2024-01-14T05:19:08.074-06:00Comments on Troll and Flame: B2 Caves of Chaos Twelve Hour Marathon Part 2Norman J. Harman Jr.http://www.blogger.com/profile/01319655075997712313noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-29841877473739419482010-04-14T14:15:55.663-05:002010-04-14T14:15:55.663-05:00Great write-up--and nice pimping--of one of my old...Great write-up--and nice pimping--of one of my old time fav adventures. A shame I missed it. <br /><br />I particularly thought your sharing of your "stage notes" was interesting. It made me realize that with all the GM hints, strategies, and tips floating around that there is very little out there on the actual showmanship or stagecraft of presenting a game verbally. It would make for an interesting blog post in its own right to explore, no?Chris Kutalikhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01414743509426875792noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-17282796032657647032010-04-10T00:58:03.532-05:002010-04-10T00:58:03.532-05:00An awesome read, your B2 posts are very fun to pou...An awesome read, your B2 posts are very fun to pour over.<br /><br />LL+Advanced Edition Companion does expand the game and ease in a comfortable amount of detail.<br />Juggling LL/AEC, Barbarians of Lemuria (with a custom fantasy setting) and Pathfinder leaves one not only frazzled, but appreciative of these simpler systems. My head spins sometimes handling Pathfinder. BoL is even simpler, but there seems to be more immersion into the story that keeps the players running with it.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-48713028321606576082010-04-09T18:44:26.482-05:002010-04-09T18:44:26.482-05:00Amazing post! I love the notes to self on the insi...Amazing post! I love the notes to self on the inside of your screen. I should do that, too.christianhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09650456794111980661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-55837278557719829272010-04-09T15:20:19.111-05:002010-04-09T15:20:19.111-05:00@norm
Here's the text of the spell:
"Th...@norm<br /><br />Here's the text of the spell:<br /><br />"This spell makes a humanoid creature regard the caster as its<br />trusted friend and ally (treat the target's attitude as friendly)."<br /><br />A rules lawyer would probably say that strict adherence to this description would cause the spell to override and replace the disposition of the target with respect to the caster. Meaning it didn't matter how horny the Minotauress was (no pun intended), she wouldn't see the mage as a boy-toy, she would see him as "a trusted friend and ally". And her attitude would have been "friendly", not "molest-y".<br /><br />It's a fine line, true, and I may just have a different notion of "ruling not rule" than others.Paradigm Travelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13120082187896921402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-20197776127059100512010-04-09T14:22:35.343-05:002010-04-09T14:22:35.343-05:00There were two PC deaths, and I think using the ta...There were two PC deaths, and I think using the table prevented roughly 4-5 more. I think I took more chances, as far as staying longer in a fight. Mundy went down once or twice against the Minotauress before the party prevailed.<br /><br />Whether it "helps" or not depends, really, on whether you want a less lethal game. If you do, then it's a fun way to reduce mortality without sacrificing the sense of danger. A nice bonus, though, is it addresses the conundrum of having a fighter swinging his sword with full strength at 1 HP, but being stone dead at 0 HP. I think the table makes things at once more realistic, and also more flavorful.Paradigm Travelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13120082187896921402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-34114105754317132472010-04-09T14:08:25.939-05:002010-04-09T14:08:25.939-05:00@Flip But taking poor Onedias back to her lair to ...@Flip But taking poor Onedias back to her lair to ravage him goes beyond being friends, even<br /><br />You wouldn't know this but the Hackmaster version of Minotaur (which I used) was female and specifically had that attitude and rules for chance of "charming" minotauress without a spell. She was <b>hot to trot</b> so to speak. That boudoir description with chains, etc was straight from module, not my creation.<br /><br />But there was no specific rule (that I remember) about what happens if charmed. I considered what charm does, and what module said minotaur's "goals" and reaction to non-ugly male PC's were. Then made a ruling. But, I think this is a little closer to what DM's do in every RPG compared to what is usually meant by the "ruling not rule" phrase. But, ya know one man's pie is another man's circumference. <br /><br /><br />@JB<br />Death and Dismemberment table is great. I think it ads a lot of flavor and fun (one final die roll to save your character!). I'm totally sold on the idea of hitpoints being "don't get hit points" that is luck/fatigue/bruising/etc. And the first actual real wound happens when you reach 0 hitpoints. D&D table is like a wound table in that respect.<br /><br />It leads to scenes like the dwarf falling unconscious into the pool (Mundy proly would not have tried to save him if he were dead) and to the fighter's "2nd wind" (rolling boxcars regaining hitpoints) and coming back from "death" to defeat the Orc Chieftan.<br /><br />I love Death and Dismemberment. <br /><br />Did you see <a href="http://trollandflame.blogspot.com/2010/04/deadlier-death-and-dismemberment.html" rel="nofollow">this</a>, esp the comments by Odessy who plays "under" table and Trollsmyth who created and DM's with table.Norman J. Harman Jr.https://www.blogger.com/profile/01319655075997712313noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-4038859663540858872010-04-09T13:02:42.498-05:002010-04-09T13:02:42.498-05:00A couple observations:
-The otyugh is not a B/X/L...A couple observations:<br /><br />-The otyugh is not a B/X/LL monster. I am guessing you found it in the HackMaster B2 (HM being a re-creation of AD&D and the otyugh being straight from the Monster Manual). I know there's no otyugh in MY B2.<br /><br />- Your Alex-Mundy-Ooze anecdote: this is exactly the kind of way I used to DM D&D. Love it. It is also the kind of thing that would irritate my players to no end at the time, but would keep them talking about (and enjoying in retrospect) for years to come. It's okay to be a little hard now and again (jeez, the owl bear "pet" makes up for it!).<br /><br />- Did you find the Death & Dismemberment table really helped? I've never used this ("0" is dead, friends)...did it add to your game? Was it useful? Did it encourage the players to be more courageous?<br /><br />Thanks for sharing. B2 is a blast to play AND read about.<br />: )JBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08532311924539491087noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5179649506981851979.post-87984145874155251022010-04-09T12:06:00.259-05:002010-04-09T12:06:00.259-05:00I'm one of those people who would lean towards...I'm one of those people who would lean towards a more detailed system for a long campaign, at least from a player's point of view, though I haven't looked through the Advanced Companion yet. I completely agree, though, that for a one-shot or pick-up game, Labyrinth Lord rocks.<br /><br />I think another example of "Ruling not Rule" was the reaction of the Minotauress to being charmed. The text of the spell just says that the charmed creature regards the caster as a friend or trusted ally, and is treated as having a friendly attitude. But taking poor Onedias back to her lair to ravage him goes beyond being friends, even "friends with benefits".<br /><br />To me that's an example of how to keep the mechanical function of a spell from functioning mechanically. If magic is strange and mysterious and not wholly understood, then there are bound to be unforeseen interactions when other forces come into play, such a powerful yearning for companionship of the opposite sex. <br /><br />Of course, as the mage, it sucks to be the victim of that confluence of forces, but that's what you get for screwing around with magic. ;-)Paradigm Travelerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13120082187896921402noreply@blogger.com