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From: rick@uwmacc.UUCP (Captain Calvert)
Newsgroups: net.games.frp
Subject: Re: AD&D magic item competition: Potion of Nauseous Form
Message-ID: <386@uwmacc.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 10-Oct-84 19:08:27 EDT
Article-I.D.: uwmacc.386
Posted: Wed Oct 10 19:08:27 1984
Date-Received: Fri, 12-Oct-84 02:18:13 EDT
References: <532@nmtvax.UUCP> <18@sdamos.UUCP> <1553@nsc.UUCP>
Reply-To: rick@maccunix.UUCP (Rick Keir)
Distribution: na
Organization: UWisconsin-Madison Academic Comp Center
Lines: 55
Summary: 

[ save at +2 vs. line eater bugs]
There has been some debate of late concerning deadly magic items.
The ones posted were recommended for obnoxious paladins, overly
powerful magic users, etc.  I would say that these "lethal to
user" items are a very bad idea in general, for the following
reasons and with the following exceptions:
	(1)  Why is this PC so obnoxious?  Either you, the DM,
		 let him/her get the goodies in the first place that
		 have made them too powerful;  or else you didn't 
		 screen the work of other DMs enough in letting the PC
		 into your game.  Power levels of games differ a lot.
		 Locally, I have seen games where everyone walks around
		 with pet dragons, unicorns, powerful MU buddies who
		 teleport in to save them, etc.  Everyone in the game
		 is having a good time;  who am I to say that they can't
		 play that way?  But if one of those characters gets into
		 MY campaign, then my players and I have to live with my
		 decision.  The owner of the PC shouldn't be penalized for
		 the DM's inability to judge what is acceptable power.
	(2)  Who wastes their time building these useless items?
		 In most FRP systems, an item is an investment of someone's
		 time.  Finding these deathtrap things tends to destroy one's
		 ability to suspend disbelief.  (Some deathtraps are ok:  
		 an evil mage might very well have a booby-trapped copy
		 of his spellbook as a trap to discourage thieves.  But
		 many such items have no visible function except to be
		 bad news).
	(3)  A reasonable exception is for campaigns and/or scenarios
		 where the player has been warned that the danger rate 
		 will be noticeably higher than whatever the local standard 
		 is.  (I.e., I once played in a game where in 4 hours, the DM
		 killed permanently 20 out of 30 PCs (I lost all 3 of mine)
		 but no one minded because we knew the game would be the
	     "big shootout" of the campaign.).
A final note:  there seems to be a subcurrent of feeling that
PCs are only behaving "believably" when ultra-cautious.  
Most of my D&D characters behave like cowardly psychopaths,
favoring the quick shot from behind on unsuspecting & unarmed
foes.  So, when I play my Paladin, I play a character who has 
no conception of the meaning of the word fear (he's not even
sure how to spell it....).  If he charges a group of 100
goblin warriors, it is because I think my Paladin does brave/stupid
things like that.  (I thought the rest of the party would
take advantage of the diversion and run away -- for some
reason they followed me & we managed to win!  But this was
a side effect of experimental combat tables which heavily
favored plate armor, missile fire, and quick infliction
of casualties to breaking the morale of one's opponents.)
	Just some thoughts.
-- 
"Democracy means that some people rise to the top, and other people
rise to the bottom."  -- Unknown Philosophy 103 student, Fall 1975, UofI
Rick Keir -- MicroComputer Information Center, MACC
1210 West Dayton St/U Wisconsin Madison/Mad WI 53706
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