| | Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
|---|
| 101. | DR119 | Dragon #119 | D&D® Immortals Set: If Time is the fourth dimension,
what do Immortals — fourdimensional
beings — look like? | | As the rules say again and again, Time is
not a dimension — it is a Sphere. To answer
the second half of your question,
what an Immortal looks like depends upon
who is looking. Humans can only perceive
three dimensions, so they are unaware of
an Immortals fourth dimension; the Immortal
looks like any other threedimensional
being. Immortals look like
four-dimensional creatures to other Immortals.
I can’t explain in this column
what four-dimensional solids look like;
perhaps a math or physics teacher can
help you. |
| 102. | DR079 | Dragon #79 | “Thrills and Chills” (issue #68) noted
that there would be assassins operating
during the Ice Age. How is this possible? | | Assassins could be thought of as a form
of commando warrior, used by various
tribes as scouts, spies, or advance assault
fighters who slay from ambush or by surprise.
Assassins could also perform their
usual sorts of tasks (getting rid of undesirable
tribesmen), at the direction of a
chieftain or other “boss.” |
| 103. | DR126 | Dragon #126 | I’ve been trying to locate information
on the swords Durandal and
Excalibur so that I can include them
in my campaign. I haven’t had much
luck. Will you help? | | Assigning game statistics to legendary
weapons is mostly guesswork. A Lake
Geneva campaign gives Durandal the
abilities of a long sword +4, defender
which cannot be broken. The DM’s reasoning
is that Durandal means “inflexible,”
and these abilities seem to fit the name.
As for Excalibur, this sword is listed in
Legends & Lore, page 18, as a lawful-good
sword of sharpness, +5. A brief explanation
of this sword follows under the heading
of King Arthur. For more details on
either weapon, refer to the descriptions of
each provided in Le Morte d’Arthur by Sir
Thomas Malory (for Excalibur) or Le Chanson
de Roland (for Durandal). |
| 104. | DR117 | Dragon #117 | Does the hat of difference also
give the wearer the power to become
more than one class? For example,
suppose a fighter puts on the
hat and becomes a magic-user. He
runs out of spells, then comes to a
wall and becomes a thief to climb it.
He escapes, only to find that he is in
front of a pit, so and becomes a barbarian
to jump it. Is there no limit
on the number of uses? | | Assuming that the character meets the
requirements of all those classes, the usage
you describe is perfectly correct.
There is no limit to the number of times a
character can change class. Experience is
accumulated in each of the classes for
activities performed while using the hat,
so bookkeeping can become a bit of a
chore for a character with several “personas.
” Remember that all restrictions for
each class apply normally, so your fighter
must have the time to memorize spells
from a spell book carried with him in
order to make proper use of a spellcaster
persona. Therefore, setting up the adventure
to use the spellcasting persona first is
a good plan, unless the character also has
a magic item that only mages can use. |
| 105. | DR132 | Dragon #132 | BATTLESYSTEM™: How fast will a forest burn? | | Assuming the the trees are very dry and
the wind is calm, a fire started by a single
figure stand begins as a ½”-diameter
circle and expands ½” per turn until
extinguished. If there is a light wind, the
fire starts as a rectangle ½” wide and 1”
long, aligned with the wind. Each turn
thereafter, the fire spreads 1” downwind
and ½" to either side. If the wind is
strong, the windward expansion is 2” per
turn. Forest fires can spread much more
slowly or quickly than this (damp, live
trees are almost fireproof, save in exceptionally
strong fires), but the foregoing is
sufficient for most game situations. If you
think a variant on these rules is in order,
decide on one before the game starts. |
| 106. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | How do you determine a character
’s hit points at 1st level? When a
character gains a level, how do you
determine his new hit points? | | At 1st level, roll the character’s hit die
and adjust for constitution (see the Basic
Set Players Manual, page 50, 1983 edition).
Some DMs allow 1st-level characters to
reroll the first hit die if 1 hp is rolled,
since 1 hp characters usually don’t survive
their first adventures. When a character
gains a level, he gets a new hit die (except
after “name” level). Simply roll the new
die, adjust for constitution, and add the
total to the character’s old hit points. |
| 107. | DR127 | Dragon #127 | BATTLESYSTEM™: Can magic spells be disrupted by
missile fire or melee in a
BATTLESYSTEM supplement as they
can be in a normal adventure? | | Attacks during the initial missile phase
will not disrupt spell-casting because spells
are cast later in the round. For missile fire
in the magic and missile phase, simply
make an initiative roll (this is separate
from the roll in the initiative phase); spellcasters
losing this roll have their spells
disrupted if they are struck by missile fire
(a single spell-caster that is with a unit is
immune to missile fire, like any other
hero). Spells are cast before melee, so a
unit cannot disrupt a spell by fighting the
spell-caster. Note, however, that another
hero can launch missiles or melee attacks
at a spell-caster and keep him occupied
until the duel is over. See page 18 of the
rulebook for more details. |
| 108. | DR117 | Dragon #117 | Page 188 of the Players Handbook
clearly states that “the bard gains
druidic powers as a druid of the
same level, with the exception of
druidic spells. . . .” What about the
new druidic hierophant powers
described in Unearthed Arcana? As
the bard class stands now, bards
would get poison immunity, longevity,
health, and shape-shifting at
16th level. At higher levels they
would gain the ability to travel
planes and summon elementals.
This does not seem to go along with
the spirit of the rules, since it takes
less experience points for a bard to
progress from 15th to 16th level
than it does for a druid. | | Bards are not druids; therefore, they
are not eligible for the hierophant disciplines.
Remember, a character can only
progress to Hierophant from the position
of Grand Druid, which is not a station that
should be open to bards, or to any character except a full druid. Therefore, bards
may never gain hierophant powers. |
| 109. | DR062 | Dragon #62 | Will a Clone spell alone restore a character to life when death
has occurred and the body has not been recovered? Is there a
limit to the number of times a Clone spell may restore a
character? | | Based on the spell description, there is nothing to prevent a
character from being “resurrected” by a Clone spell once or
more than once. The Players Handbook says that “if the original
and a duplicate exist at the same time, each knows of the
other’s existence.” This indicates that a clone can exist at a time
when the original person is no longer alive. A character with
foresight — and a good friend who is capable of casting the
Clone spell — could do worse than to leave a little of himself or
herself behind before going off on a perilous adventure.
Note that the flesh sample needed as the material component
of the spell must be obtained from the person to be cloned while
that person is alive in order for the pseudo-resurrection to be
effected: “The clone will become the person as he or she existed
at the time at which the flesh was taken,” which means that a
flesh sample from an already-dead person will yield only a
clone that is just as dead.
In order to properly monitor the chance for success of such a
cloning attempt, the DM may make certain stipulations (which
players may or may not be aware of). Assuming that some trace
of “life” must remain in the flesh sample in order for the spell to
work, a means of storing and preserving the sample(s) must be
devised and maintained. Flesh that is allowed to decay and/or
dry out could spoil the spell casting.
It might be difficult, if not virtually impossible, for two clones
of the same person to be created non-simultaneously: Since it
takes 2-8 months for a clone to grow after the spell is cast, and
at least some measurable amount of time thereafter for the first
clone to die, the flesh sample used for a second clone must
have been preserved for at least 2 months longer than the first
sample. There are only a few methods or devices which might
make preservation possible for such an extended time.
If a character dies and, subsequently, two clones of that
character come into existence at the same time, the two clones
would logically “each desire to do away with the other,” with the
results as described in the Clone spell description. One way or
the other, no two clones of the same character can coexist for
longer than one week, because the clone created most recently
would look upon the first-created clone as if he or she were the
original person. |
| 110. | DR119 | Dragon #119 | D&D® Immortals Set: Where can I find the abilities of an
Immortal’s various forms? Why
aren’t they all listed in one place? | | Basic abilities, by form, can be gleaned
from the Forms section on page 3 of the
Players’ Guide to Immortals and from
sections 2 and 3, on pages 8-21 of the same
book. They have been presented this way
so that a person new to Immortals play
can more easily convert a formerly mortal
character to newly acquired Immortal
status. A shorthand listing of the abilities
such as you have described might become
available if TSR, Inc., ever does an Immortals
DM’s screen, but there are currently
no plans for such a product. Finally, a look
through IM1, The Immortal Storm, by
Frank Mentzer, might help you grasp how
Immortals’ abilities change with their
forms. |
· 
· 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 · 
· 