The important part for any undead is a focus on the "rule of three". Why are they undead. What is their desire. How do they naturally expire. Zombies, skeletons, and ghouls are most often times made by necromancers, gods or very corrupt magical areas. Their desires are what their master bids or wonton destruction and death "mindless murder" being the key. They all expire when the magic or power that made them expires. Vampires liches are different in that they either choose or resolve that...
View full commentThe important part for any undead is a focus on the "rule of three". Why are they undead. What is their desire. How do they naturally expire. Zombies, skeletons, and ghouls are most often times made by necromancers, gods or very corrupt magical areas. Their desires are what their master bids or wonton destruction and death "mindless murder" being the key. They all expire when the magic or power that made them expires. Vampires liches are different in that they either choose or resolve that their existence is as such. They are intelligent in their desires and goals. Vampires will die without blood but other then that will continue for eternity. Liches will continue on until their souls are destroyed. Mummy's wraths and wraiths are the guardians and the plagues of areas. A mummy being created for protection. A wrath being created for destruction. A wraith being created for revenge. They all expire when their mission is completed.
As for the argument on energy drain. Health and hit points have always represented two things to me, blood in the body and physical damage taken. Energy drain with the draining component should not focus on restoring what these creatures care nothing about. They should bolster the vigor of the undead creature making a wrath even more angry and full of rage. With the example of Snow White, the drain allowed the queen to focus on her beauty and extending her life... A wrath might energy drain a particularly hearty guard or civilian to allow his muscles to sustain the wear and tear that killing hundreds of humans would cause to humanoid body.
If a Wight or Wraith kills a living being that being becomes a Wight or Wraith but it does NOT have the ability to create any more of its kind. AKA they are a lesser Wight or Wraith. It keeps the threat of being turned into something so horrible but stops the perpetuation craziness.
IMO : The most important is the rules, definely, but I just LOVE the drawings.... you may put a whole book just of them for me... LOL ... seriously, I love them... and DRAGONS.
if i can't read it, then i look at the pretty pictures then toss it aside. i need hard usable data to add to my game. fluff should only be used to augment a product, not overwhelm it. case in point the atlas of dragonlance, pretty, but useless.
I like a big dumb ogre as much as the next guy, but the occasional cunning ogre makes for great story telling. Someone has to lead the band/tribe. I am totally OK with ogre mages being a separate thing, but they should be a subspecies of ogre, related to onis but not 100% identical there either. Possibly born as ogres under great auspices.
View full commentI like a big dumb ogre as much as the next guy, but the occasional cunning ogre makes for great story telling. Someone has to lead the band/tribe.
I am totally OK with ogre mages being a separate thing, but they should be a subspecies of ogre, related to onis but not 100% identical there either. Possibly born as ogres under great auspices.
Ogre magi aren't that difficult if you make one slight tweak: they act like Sorcerers instead of Wizards. Their powers are innate and come from practice & natural skill, rather than education.
In my opinion, there are a few things the wrong with this gnoll; a) the little braids near the ear, need to go, this is, in a sense, a bipedal, humanoid hyena, so the ear hair, looks unnatural, b) they need to look dumb, but not like Quasimodo, the hunchback thing is weird and awkward, it needs to look hyena like, so have their back straighter, but give them sloping shoulders, c) their knees do not ALWAYS have to be bent, they are humanoids, so give them something that says 'feral' without...
View full commentIn my opinion, there are a few things the wrong with this gnoll; a) the little braids near the ear, need to go, this is, in a sense, a bipedal, humanoid hyena, so the ear hair, looks unnatural, b) they need to look dumb, but not like Quasimodo, the hunchback thing is weird and awkward, it needs to look hyena like, so have their back straighter, but give them sloping shoulders, c) their knees do not ALWAYS have to be bent, they are humanoids, so give them something that says 'feral' without saying 'unevolved' or 'underdeveloped', d) they need to be muscular, but not so bulky, they're hunters, not lumbering oafs, so their necks do not have to bee 4 feet in circumference, and lastly, e) their faces need to be a tad more humanoid, they should be distinctly hyena like, but not so much it looks like someone cut out a hyena head and stuck it on a body.
Orcs were originally chaotic evil (cf Holmes Basic) but became lawful evil in the first Monster Manual. It may very well have been a misprint because editing wasn't exactly a priority when TSR was rushing out its releases (actually nothing has changed - see page XX).
Ok, I have a few problems with this. I agree that if it doesn't feel like D&D then it is a failure, as let's face it D&D is a big enough phenomenon in the gaming world that it can't really be changed (kind of like Star Wars). My problems are that if the mechanics of the past are what worked, then why not used them? To me, fighters were much more creative and fun in 1e/2e than either 3e or 4e, though 4e wasn't too bad, they just felt like any other class with different trappings. My other issue...
View full commentOk, I have a few problems with this. I agree that if it doesn't feel like D&D then it is a failure, as let's face it D&D is a big enough phenomenon in the gaming world that it can't really be changed (kind of like Star Wars). My problems are that if the mechanics of the past are what worked, then why not used them? To me, fighters were much more creative and fun in 1e/2e than either 3e or 4e, though 4e wasn't too bad, they just felt like any other class with different trappings. My other issue is the experience at the table. Reading various fora there are more and more pbp, pbem, and other online connections being used to play. What I think they really mean is the experience at THEIR table, i.e. the Encounters/Lairs/tournament play style.
OK, now that I have read the article, I am even more convinced this new game is being even more marketing driven then 4e. They are looking for absolute answers to questions that are based upon peronal choices and openions. There is no set level were a campaign ends, that will far from group to group or camapign to campaign. I am currently starting a new camapign (in a Pathfinder/3.5 hybrid system) at 8th to 9th level, becase it fits the design for the campaign. When will it end, when the players...
View full commentOK, now that I have read the article, I am even more convinced this new game is being even more marketing driven then 4e. They are looking for absolute answers to questions that are based upon peronal choices and openions. There is no set level were a campaign ends, that will far from group to group or camapign to campaign. I am currently starting a new camapign (in a Pathfinder/3.5 hybrid system) at 8th to 9th level, becase it fits the design for the campaign. When will it end, when the players and myself decided it will.