Subject: MYSTARA-L Digest - 2 Feb 2003 to 3 Feb 2003 (#2003-35) From: Automatic digest processor Date: 04/02/2003, 19:00 To: Recipients of MYSTARA-L digests Reply-to: Mystara RPG Discussion There are 6 messages totalling 532 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. More thoughts on X10 2. Mystaran Giantskind as Charachters? (2) 3. Comments to the Revised Taymoran Timeline 4. Combat Stunts (2) ******************************************************************** 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: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 12:20:09 +0200 From: =?ISO-8859-1?Q?Ville_V_L=E4hde?= Subject: Re: More thoughts on X10 As far as I've understood it, the Nomad War has been already rewritten and incorpotated into the Wrath of the Immortals timeline. So, anyone wanting to use the WotI and PWA timeline must pretty much forget the X10 module or rewrite it to fit the war in WotI. I never liked the 1200 AC option, it is arbitrary and the thought that no major political changes take place in 200 years is laughable. I think there is just one way to use the module as it is: during 1000 AC, forgetting the later timelines of official products. It forms a separate campaign scheme. After the major political changes of 1000-1014 it would be hard to make another Nomad attack believable. Ville ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 12:09:55 +0100 From: Kid H Subject: Mystaran Giantskind as Charachters? I'm going to put Giant race as a possible choiche for my players ( like = Orks in the Thar Gaz. ). But first I would like to know something more about them. TnX KH ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 13:32:02 +0100 From: Giampaolo Agosta Subject: Re: Mystaran Giantskind as Charachters? Kid H wrote: > I'm going to put Giant race as a possible choiche for my players ( like Orks in the Thar Gaz. ). > But first I would like to know something more about them. IIRC, there are at least some giant PC options (perhaps the Sea Giants in "The Sea People"). There are fan-produced Giant classes, IIRC. The following entry from the Sentient Races list on the Vaults of Pandius gives some details about giantish settlements. Giant: There are many species of Giants on Mystara. The Hill, Stone, Frost, Cloud, and Storm types are known to exist commonly in various locales around the world; in addition Fire Giants live wherever there is volcanic heat or hot desert, and there is a subspecies of Aquatic Storm Giant (i.e. Sea Giant). In the forests of northern Davania, on the Isle of Dawn, and in various parts of Brun lives the mighty Athach. In Minaea there have been reported sighting of Firbolgs, and the occasional Verbeeg lives in the Black Mountains. Mountain Giants are found in Heldann, Norwold, and possibly elsewhere. Near Thothia there lives a subrace of red Stone Giants known as Hunakoi. The Hephaeston are listed as a kind of giant in the MMCA, but IMHO they are more akin to lesser titans and are likely the pet project of the Immortal whose name they bear. Nowhere on Mystara are there large communities of Giants; most live either as small family units or occasionally in nomadic bands. The one exception to this is Frosthome in Norwold, which contains large numbers of Frost Giants who occasionally raid the communities to the south. (also check the history of the ancient Giantish Kingdom of Gandhar). -- Giampaolo Agosta http://digilander.iol.it/agathokles ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 08:17:13 -0800 From: John Calvin Subject: Re: Comments to the Revised Taymoran Timeline >> > For those who wish to download the timelines (in Khoronus format) they are > TAY1, TAYG, TAYC, TUMA, and IER2. All can be found at: Good to see you're still working on that utility. Are you still at v1.1? Have you made progress on adapting it to accept Almanac style entries? << Heh, yeah I still work on it sporadically. You know how these things go. This Taymora discussion has stirred things up a bit, so I dove back into it. All of the timelines I put out recently are in 1.1 format, but the current version is now 2.0. It has been completely re-worked. It now consists of multiple screens. 1 = your "current timeline" - the timeline that you are actively working on. 2 = a workbench area where you can create new events and modify old ones (from your current timeline). 3 = a source timeline. You can pull events from other sources and incorporate them into your current timeline. I'm still not sure if one would want to see multiple sources loaded at once, or if there is only one source timeline active at any given time (which can be replaced by loading in a new one). This version will be able to create much cleaner timelines, because you will be able to include/exclude events on a "per event" basis, as opposed to a per source basis. You will also be able to merge similar events into a single event. The program will track all event sources and maintain complete records of previous event versions. That way you could take Gaz 4 (for example) and start modifying events to your hearts content. When someone else looks at it, they will know exactly what you changed, and how you changed it (and if you leave notes, they will know why you changed it). A very nice feature I think. As for Almanac style entries (I assume you mean entries listed by month and day) the new program can handle them. I'm still working on a scheme that will allow users to configure all of the acceptable eras (BC, AC, etc) as well as switch between different calendars (and dating schemes). For example one might want to view their timeline in the Thyatian calendar (the default) or switch to the Alpher one, or Rockhome one. Once I get that worked out to my satisfaction I'll post the new version. -John ===== Rule #85. I will not use any plan in which the final step is horribly complicated, e.g. "Align the 12 Stones of Power on the sacred altar then activate the medallion at the moment of total eclipse." Instead it will be more along the lines of "Push the button." from "A Guide to Becoming an Evil Overlord" by Peter Anspach __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Plus - Powerful. Affordable. Sign up now. http://mailplus.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 17:17:26 +0100 From: Jacob Skytte Subject: Combat Stunts The system is still untested, I have just finished it, and is probably = terribly imbalanced, but won't stop me from sharing. ;) Note that there = are a table in there, which will look really terrible, but you should be = able to sort it out. Jacob Skytte scythe@wanadoo.dk --- COMBAT STUNTS Which do you find most exciting: "I strike the goblin with my sword" or = "With my left hand I grab the edge of the goblin's shield, slamming it = into its jaw, and, while it's distracted, I stab it in the stomach with = my sword" or how about "I stab the goblin through the foot and, while it = is immobilized, I backhand it, sending it sprawling to the ground. Then = I retrieve my sword and run it through"? I like the latter choices, and I have always strived to use that kind of = descriptions of the result of hit rolls. Eventually, though, you run out = of steam and ideas, so I came up with this: Why not let the players = think up some moves? To encourage this I started giving flat out bonuses = to hit and damage if the player came up with something that sounded = really cool. That left me with just figuring what would happen if the = player missed. Naturally, the more outrageous the stunt, the worse the = consequences would be if it failed, but on the other hand a really cool = stunt would give more bonuses. Naturally, some stunts were so crazy that = I didn't know if I felt comfortable allowing them, but I didn't want to = lose the exciting battles that we had now developed. What I have come up with is a stunt system for running battles in OD&D, = where each character is assigned a Stunt Rating that is used to check if = a given stunt is possible or succeeds. While this system makes combat an even deadlier affair, I felt that it = was necessary to give bonuses the players could relate to, in order to = encourage them to come up with really cool moves during combat. STUNT RATING A character's Stunt Rating (SR) is determined by a number of factors: -Add together the character's modifiers for Strength and Dexterity. -Add a bonus for character class: +1 for Clerics +1 for Elves +2 for Fighters +2 for Dwarves +3 for Halflings +3 for Thieves +4 for Mystics -Add a bonus for Weapon Mastery with the weapon used: -5 for Unskilled +1 for Skilled +3 for Expert +5 for Master +8 for Grand Master -Add bonuses for the following Skills: +1 for Acting +1 for Bravery +1 for Intimidation +2 for Alertness +2 for Danger Sense +2 for Muscle +4 for Acrobatics The final tally gives the Chracter's Stunt Rating. Note that level = doesn't figure into the SR, except where it means that the character has = achieved greater Weapon Mastery or more Skills. This allows even = low-level characters to be fairly proficient at stunts. For intelligent monsters the SR can be easiest worked out as being equal = to the monster's HD, with the following bonuses for size: +3 for small (this is mainly to give the small, weak, humanoids - like = Kobolds - a respectable SR) +2 for medium +1 for large (the bigger they are, the less likely they are to do = anything but clobber the opponent) PERFORMING STUNTS Stunts are sorted into five difficulties, depending on Stunt Difficulty = (SD): SD Difficulty Max + to hit Max + to damage 1-6 Easy +1 +2 7-10 Medium +2 +3 11-14 Hard +3 +4 15-18 Extreme +3 +6 19+ Impossible +3 +10 Examples of stunts: Easy Simple stuff that sounds cool. Striking the opponent's weapons aside, = kicking/headbutting the opponent to distract him, leaping from higher = ground to strike, etc. Medium Moves that push the character's limits. Swinging on chandeliers, = throwing yourself at an opponent's legs to topple him, carving your = signature in an opponent, etc. Hard Stunts that require perfection to be executed properly. Doing cartwheels = across broken glass, jumping your own height to bring your weapon down = on the opponent's head, picking up opponents larger than you to skewer = them, etc. Extreme Actions that seem beyond the character's possible limits, but aren't = directly impossible. Splitting an armored man in two with a short sword, = stabbing an opponent while jumping off his shoulders to land on another, = fighting while doing handstands, etc. Impossible Anything involving super-human (or monstrous) actions. Running up/along = walls in a plate mail for a distance before striking, shaving your = opponent with your bare hands, wrapping your opponent's two-handed sword = around his throat, etc. Coming up with a cool-sounding stunt that fits in the proper category is = a large part of the fun. Describe your stunt and assign the number of = plusses to hit and damage you would like. A character may only attempt stunts that have a SD lower than their SR. = SD is calculated as double the total hit and damage bonuses, but is = automatically equal to the lowest SD of the proper difficulty, if = pushing the max +. Fx, if you want +4 to damage, your SD would be 8, but = since +4 to damage pushes the max + to damage of the medium difficulty, = the SD becomes 11 and thus hard. You could only attempt it if your SR is = at least 12. This naturally means that you're better off taking +1 to = hit and +4 to damage, for a total SD of 10, modified to 11 for pushing = the max + to damage. You can take a penalty as well, each -1 to to hit or damage reduces SD = by 1, and may reduce SD to a lower difficulty, though it isn't = calculated before assigning difficulty, and you still can't attempt the = stunt unless your SR is at least equal to SD before taking the penalty. = You can't take a bonus to the same stat that is taking a penalty. Fx, = taking +4 to damage puts you at SD 11, to reduce SD you could take = penalties to hit, -3 to hit would lower the SD to 8. You still couldn't = attempt the stunt unless your SR was at least 12, though, and you = couldn't take any plusses to hit while also taking a penalty. Note that if you accidentally modify your hit roll to the point where = you won't be able to hit your opponent, you will not even hit on a = natural hit roll of 20! When you have found the final SD, you make a Stunt Check to see if the = stunt succeeds. Roll 1d10 and add it to the SD. If the result is less = than or equal to the character's SR, the stunt succeeds, netting the = character the hit and damage bonuses. The check will always fail if a = natural 10 is rolled. If the stunt fails, it may have consequences, = depending on the difficulty of the stunt: Easy: No consequence Medium: Opponent's next attack gains a +2 bonus to hit Hard: Opponent's next attack gains a +4 bonus to hit and damage Extreme: Loses the attack, opponent gains +4 bonus to hit and damage = with next attack Impossible: Loses the attack, opponent's next attack automatically hits = for +6 damage If you succeed at the Stunt Check, but fail to hit your opponent, your = stunt is executed, but does no damage. If the stunt involved crazy = stuff, like tearing body parts off your opponent or what have you, = anything that would negatively affect an opponent doesn't occur. If you fail at the stunt, but still manage to hit your opponent, part of = the stunt may have been executed properly. Use common sense. If you fail at the stunt and also miss your opponent, the stunt simply = fails. If you fail at the stunt and lose your attack completely, something = disastrous has happened while executing the stunt. Use your imagination. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 3 Feb 2003 10:31:14 -0600 From: George Hrabovsky Subject: Re: Combat Stunts I like this idea. I think the implementation needs a little work, but that's just tweaking... George ----- Original Message ----- From: "Jacob Skytte" To: Sent: Monday, February 03, 2003 10:17 AM Subject: [MYSTARA] Combat Stunts The system is still untested, I have just finished it, and is probably terribly imbalanced, but won't stop me from sharing. ;) Note that there are a table in there, which will look really terrible, but you should be able to sort it out. Jacob Skytte scythe@wanadoo.dk --- COMBAT STUNTS Which do you find most exciting: "I strike the goblin with my sword" or "With my left hand I grab the edge of the goblin's shield, slamming it into its jaw, and, while it's distracted, I stab it in the stomach with my sword" or how about "I stab the goblin through the foot and, while it is immobilized, I backhand it, sending it sprawling to the ground. Then I retrieve my sword and run it through"? I like the latter choices, and I have always strived to use that kind of descriptions of the result of hit rolls. Eventually, though, you run out of steam and ideas, so I came up with this: Why not let the players think up some moves? To encourage this I started giving flat out bonuses to hit and damage if the player came up with something that sounded really cool. That left me with just figuring what would happen if the player missed. Naturally, the more outrageous the stunt, the worse the consequences would be if it failed, but on the other hand a really cool stunt would give more bonuses. Naturally, some stunts were so crazy that I didn't know if I felt comfortable allowing them, but I didn't want to lose the exciting battles that we had now developed. What I have come up with is a stunt system for running battles in OD&D, where each character is assigned a Stunt Rating that is used to check if a given stunt is possible or succeeds. While this system makes combat an even deadlier affair, I felt that it was necessary to give bonuses the players could relate to, in order to encourage them to come up with really cool moves during combat. STUNT RATING A character's Stunt Rating (SR) is determined by a number of factors: -Add together the character's modifiers for Strength and Dexterity. -Add a bonus for character class: +1 for Clerics +1 for Elves +2 for Fighters +2 for Dwarves +3 for Halflings +3 for Thieves +4 for Mystics -Add a bonus for Weapon Mastery with the weapon used: -5 for Unskilled +1 for Skilled +3 for Expert +5 for Master +8 for Grand Master -Add bonuses for the following Skills: +1 for Acting +1 for Bravery +1 for Intimidation +2 for Alertness +2 for Danger Sense +2 for Muscle +4 for Acrobatics The final tally gives the Chracter's Stunt Rating. Note that level doesn't figure into the SR, except where it means that the character has achieved greater Weapon Mastery or more Skills. This allows even low-level characters to be fairly proficient at stunts. For intelligent monsters the SR can be easiest worked out as being equal to the monster's HD, with the following bonuses for size: +3 for small (this is mainly to give the small, weak, humanoids - like Kobolds - a respectable SR) +2 for medium +1 for large (the bigger they are, the less likely they are to do anything but clobber the opponent) PERFORMING STUNTS Stunts are sorted into five difficulties, depending on Stunt Difficulty (SD): SD Difficulty Max + to hit Max + to damage 1-6 Easy +1 +2 7-10 Medium +2 +3 11-14 Hard +3 +4 15-18 Extreme +3 +6 19+ Impossible +3 +10 Examples of stunts: Easy Simple stuff that sounds cool. Striking the opponent's weapons aside, kicking/headbutting the opponent to distract him, leaping from higher ground to strike, etc. Medium Moves that push the character's limits. Swinging on chandeliers, throwing yourself at an opponent's legs to topple him, carving your signature in an opponent, etc. Hard Stunts that require perfection to be executed properly. Doing cartwheels across broken glass, jumping your own height to bring your weapon down on the opponent's head, picking up opponents larger than you to skewer them, etc. Extreme Actions that seem beyond the character's possible limits, but aren't directly impossible. Splitting an armored man in two with a short sword, stabbing an opponent while jumping off his shoulders to land on another, fighting while doing handstands, etc. Impossible Anything involving super-human (or monstrous) actions. Running up/along walls in a plate mail for a distance before striking, shaving your opponent with your bare hands, wrapping your opponent's two-handed sword around his throat, etc. Coming up with a cool-sounding stunt that fits in the proper category is a large part of the fun. Describe your stunt and assign the number of plusses to hit and damage you would like. A character may only attempt stunts that have a SD lower than their SR. SD is calculated as double the total hit and damage bonuses, but is automatically equal to the lowest SD of the proper difficulty, if pushing the max +. Fx, if you want +4 to damage, your SD would be 8, but since +4 to damage pushes the max + to damage of the medium difficulty, the SD becomes 11 and thus hard. You could only attempt it if your SR is at least 12. This naturally means that you're better off taking +1 to hit and +4 to damage, for a total SD of 10, modified to 11 for pushing the max + to damage. You can take a penalty as well, each -1 to to hit or damage reduces SD by 1, and may reduce SD to a lower difficulty, though it isn't calculated before assigning difficulty, and you still can't attempt the stunt unless your SR is at least equal to SD before taking the penalty. You can't take a bonus to the same stat that is taking a penalty. Fx, taking +4 to damage puts you at SD 11, to reduce SD you could take penalties to hit, -3 to hit would lower the SD to 8. You still couldn't attempt the stunt unless your SR was at least 12, though, and you couldn't take any plusses to hit while also taking a penalty. Note that if you accidentally modify your hit roll to the point where you won't be able to hit your opponent, you will not even hit on a natural hit roll of 20! When you have found the final SD, you make a Stunt Check to see if the stunt succeeds. Roll 1d10 and add it to the SD. If the result is less than or equal to the character's SR, the stunt succeeds, netting the character the hit and damage bonuses. The check will always fail if a natural 10 is rolled. If the stunt fails, it may have consequences, depending on the difficulty of the stunt: Easy: No consequence Medium: Opponent's next attack gains a +2 bonus to hit Hard: Opponent's next attack gains a +4 bonus to hit and damage Extreme: Loses the attack, opponent gains +4 bonus to hit and damage with next attack Impossible: Loses the attack, opponent's next attack automatically hits for +6 damage If you succeed at the Stunt Check, but fail to hit your opponent, your stunt is executed, but does no damage. If the stunt involved crazy stuff, like tearing body parts off your opponent or what have you, anything that would negatively affect an opponent doesn't occur. If you fail at the stunt, but still manage to hit your opponent, part of the stunt may have been executed properly. Use common sense. If you fail at the stunt and also miss your opponent, the stunt simply fails. If you fail at the stunt and lose your attack completely, something disastrous has happened while executing the stunt. Use your imagination. ******************************************************************** 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. ------------------------------ End of MYSTARA-L Digest - 2 Feb 2003 to 3 Feb 2003 (#2003-35) *************************************************************