Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 31 Jan 2002 to 1 Feb 2002 (#2002-32) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 02/02/2002, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 6 messages totalling 203 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. Is dragon breath magic? (3) 2. Beholders (3) ******************************************************************** The Other Worlds Homepage: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/OtherWorlds.asp The Mystara Homepage: http://www.dnd.starflung.com/ To unsubscribe, send email to LISTSERV@ORACLE.WIZARDS.COM with UNSUB MYSTARA-L in the body of the message. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 11:06:21 +0200 From: Ville V Lahde Subject: Re: Is dragon breath magic? On Thu, 31 Jan 2002, la Volpe wrote: > True. Not only, it doesn't offer protection against any physical attack > produced by magic. It makes more sense to me. I never understood why a > fireball couldn't harm someone immune to spells, when after all it's just the > conjuring of a huge mass of fire thrown at the enemy. The magic lies in the > conjuring, not in the physical object itself. To add my two farthings' worth, I always pictured the Fireball spell in the way that the "ball" that shoots out from the palm of the caster is a small orb of "concentrated" element of fire, held together by an enchantment. So, releasing the explosion would be a magical event. Thus Anti-Magic Shell would work against it. (One option of course is that it makes the explosion premature, when the "containing field" dissipates upon reaching the am-field.) In a meta-gaming level, it makes sense to me that a 6th level spell (which I consider to be very high magic) would work against the most common offensive spell in use. Inherent magic resistance of beings IS a whole another matter, though. Ville ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 02:21:25 -0700 From: Angelo Bertolli Subject: Re: Is dragon breath magic? the difference is in the words "spell-like effects" which don't imply = they're magical the other one doesn't include "spell-like effects" just things which are = really magical ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Paul George Dooley=20 Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 6:05 AM Subject: Re: Is dragon breath magic? I know that it doesn't clear up the matter completely but when you = add "An Immortal in Manifestation form is completely immune to all = mortal magic spells and spell like effects (such as dragon breath.)" WotI bk1 = p10, to "Breath weapons are not spells and cannot be turned or absorbed by devices or other protective spell effects except those that = specifically mention dragon breath" RC p170, it seems, well to me anyway, that it's = both magical and mundane. After all they had to make it clear that the = immortal immunity did include dragon breath. Then again it's your game so your = rules apply as usual. Paul ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 02:41:27 -0700 From: Angelo Bertolli Subject: Beholders speaking of Beholders... why do their eye-stalks work in the AM area? ----- Original Message -----=20 From: la Volpe=20 Sent: Thursday, January 31, 2002 10:50 AM Subject: Re: Is dragon breath magic? > So let me get this straight: IYC magic resistance/anti-magic offer = *no* > protection against Fireballs or other offensive fire spells at all = ??!!!! > True. Not only, it doesn't offer protection against any physical = attack produced by magic. It makes more sense to me. I never understood why a fireball couldn't harm someone immune to spells, when after all it's = just the conjuring of a huge mass of fire thrown at the enemy. The magic lies = in the conjuring, not in the physical object itself. It's like using a spell = to throw a boulder on the head of an enemy: why shouldn't the enemy be hit by = it if he has AM? There's no reason to. It is quite balanced if you apply the = rule to every similar situation. Obviously a creature like a beholder simply = prevents the spell from taking place because it has an anti-magic ray and the = conjuring can't take place. But a classical AD&D Magic Resistance cannot help in = any way. Iulius Sergius Scaevola Captain of the XXth Cohort Port Lucinius, Thyatis ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 16:16:56 -0000 From: Paul George Dooley Subject: Re: Beholders ----- Original Message ----- From: "Angelo Bertolli" To: Sent: Friday, February 01, 2002 9:41 AM Subject: [MYSTARA] Beholders speaking of Beholders... why do their eye-stalks work in the AM area? IMC they don't, but beholders can blink very quickly. :^) Paul ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 13:35:02 -0500 From: Dan Eustace Subject: Re: Beholders > speaking of Beholders... why do their eye-stalks work in the AM area? > > IMC they don't, but beholders can blink very quickly. :^) Actually, per the RC, the small eyes don't work in the AM ray. I allow the beholder to turn its head (basically, at the same speed you or I could) toward spell casters, which will cause the AM to disrupt the spell being cast, then turn away and use its eyes. I limit this to its forward field of vision within roughly 180 degrees. If it has spell casters on both sides it will likely get blasted by one of them. Or the beholder could keep turning its head around in circles, disrupting all of the spells, but would then be unable to use its smaller eyes (spinning too fast to target them accurately outside the AM). It works for MC and makes beholders pretty tough. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 1 Feb 2002 16:24:04 -0800 From: The Stalker Subject: Re: Is dragon breath magic? On Thu, 31 Jan 2002 23:27:22 -0700, Angelo Bertolli wrote: > Since they actually made a whole saving throw after a single monster's attacks (vs Dragon Breath) and since the game is presumably about Dragons to a large extent, I always figured that dragons were just special. > I always thought they just called it 'Dungeons & Dragons' because they needed something to fit, and that sounded cool. Actually, the game is rarely about dragons, at least not IMC (although they did meet Calor yesterday...), because dragons are just too tough for most adventurers! Then again, dragons should definitely be special! > Their breath isn't a magical attack, but it's no ordinary fire either. It can't be explained by intensity, it's almost a different kind of magic. (e.g. is the ghoul's drain attack actually magical?). > I would classify the various forms of special attacks of undead as forms of curses (vampirism comes to mind as a particularly strong curse, for example). > Anyway, I suggest taking a look at Dragonlance and seeing what they say about dragon breath. > Alas, I don't have the Dragonlance setting... - The Stalker ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 31 Jan 2002 to 1 Feb 2002 (#2002-32) **************************************************************