| | Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
|---|
| 121. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Can a Dungeon Master give away magical items in an adventure
and then later say that the items operate at reduced effectiveness
or have wholly new powers? | | It may be that the DM had planned ahead that certain magic
items would indeed change their abilities over time (a wand of
wonder, for instance, constantly does unpredictable things), but
often DMs alter magical items as a way of bringing the campaign
back into order if they find they’ve given away some powerful
items that are too tough to manage. This is not a good way
of handling the situation, since it does violate the spirit of the
rules, but it is one way to handle things. It would be better to set
up situations working within the rules than to arbitrarily say,
“Well, your +4 sword is now a +1 sword.” Players will accept
changes done within the rules better than if they feel (and rightly
so) that they are getting rooked. |
| 122. | DR058 | Dragon #58 | Can a dwarf use a long sword in one hand?
A dwarf is too short to use a bastard sword one-handed. Can
a dwarf use it two-handed, and if so, does he strike every other
round with it? | | Whether a dwarf can use or carry any sword longer than a
short sword is a matter of conjecture and contention. Certainly,
a dwarf is capable of lifting and swinging a long sword, a broad
sword, or a bastard sword. But the shortest of these weapons is
almost as tall as the average dwarf. This makes such weapons
unwieldy, even in the hands of a dwarf (or other diminutive
humanoid) with above average strength or dexterity. No dwarf
in his right mind would try to carry such a weapon around with
him, unless he enjoys being overly encumbered and likes wearing
his scabbard belt up around his shoulders. Any dwarf who
tries to take a long sword down the dungeon steps is probably
going to clank and clatter so much that he’ll be a walking lure
for wandering monsters. Other player characters aren’t going
to put up with this sort of situation for very long, if at all.
If a dwarf finds himself unarmed in the midst of melee and
there’s a long sword lying on the floor nearby, nothing’s to
prevent him from grabbing it and flailing away. But he isn’t
going to wield it well: For one thing, he can’t possibly be proficient
in the use of such a weapon. And in addition to the
customary penalty for non-proficiency, the DM might justifiably
tack on penalties to the weapon speed factor, its adjustment
against certain armor classes, and its damage figure. Even if a
dwarf is able to manipulate a long sword or broad sword and
score a hit despite all the penalties attached to the attempt, he
might be unable to bring the weapon to bear on a target with
any more effectiveness than if he were wielding a short sword
— and perhaps the damage figure would be adjusted even
lower (for instance, a maximum of 1-6 per hit against any size
opponent).
Whether or not a dwarf can use a long sword or a broad sword
with one hand, or a bastard sword with two hands, is a topic that
calls for more interpretation by the DM. If you choose to allow a
dwarf to employ a long sword with one hand, then you’ll have to
make a different set of penalties for one-handed or two-handed
use of the weapon, and make the one-handed penalties stiff
enough so that it’s highly advisable to use the weapon with both
hands if it is used at all. The penalties that might accrue to a
dwarf trying to use a bastard sword with both hands might be so
great as to make it mathematically impossible for the character
to score a hit — but that shouldn’t prohibit him from trying. He’ll
learn his lesson soon enough, if he survives that long.
In matters like this, where the rules provide no specific allowances
or prohibitions, logic and common sense must rule. It is
enough for a Dungeon Master to discourage the use of long
swords by dwarves by administering logical and sensible penalties
to the attempt, rather than issuing an outright proclamation
against such activity. Let players do what they want, as
long as they’re willing to pay the price... |
| 123. | DR032 | Dragon #32 | Can a god grant an elf the ability to become a
druid? | | No. A god or goddess can grant the ability for an elf to be
his or her priest or priestess, but he can’t bestow upon an elf druidical
powers. Druids get their powers from nature. Now, a god who might
take pity on your elf may change him or her into a human, but I doubt it.
You might also find a wish that will let you change into a human, but
other than that your elf is never going to be able to be a druid. |
| 124. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | Can a good creature such as a gold
dragon be convinced to join a party
of adventurers? | | Gold dragons generally have their own
business to mind and rarely join parties of
adventurers. If the party is trying to perform
a great good deed, however (such as
rescuing an important person, driving off
a particularly evil wizard or monster, or
other heroic and self-sacrificing task), a
gold dragon might be persuaded to join
the group, provided that: the dragon
thinks that the mission is important; at
least 90% of the PCs are of lawful alignment
(and none are chaotic); and, the
dragon is offered a generous share of any
treasure gained on the adventure. If the
dragon is very young, this would have to
be a share bigger than what is given any
particular PC; the older the dragon, the
more it would demand, so that a dragon of
adult age or older would have to be promised
the majority of the treasure. Apply
these same principles to requests for aid
from other good creatures. |
| 125. | DR053 | Dragon #53 | Can a human fighter split class into a monk if he has the
required abilities? | | Even though the answer to this question can easily be found in
the AD&D rules, it gives the sage an opportunity to emphasize
some points which a lot of players and DMs seem to have
misinterpreted. Assuming that “split class” means “become
multi-classed,” the answer is NO. Humans cannot be multiclassed
characters, period. And, since only humans can become
monks, no character can be a multi-classed monk. If “split
class” instead means “become a character with two classes,”
the answer is a qualified yes. Nothing in the rule books specifically
prohibits a character from taking up the monk class as a
second class, or temporarily abandoning monkish pursuits to
gain experience in a new class. However, a monk (or would-be
monk) who travels this path would effectively forsake all chance
of advancement to the higher levels of the monk class — and it
should probably be stipulated that no upper-level monk (8th or
higher) can decide to stop being a monk and take up a new class
in any event, because an unlawful act of that sort would seriously
harm the monkish organizational structure. The Players
Handbook says that “nearly any combination of, classes” is
possible, but points out that alignment restrictions will make
some switches impossible without being disqualified from the
former class; for instance, a monk (must be lawful) can never
decide to study as a druid (must be true neutral) without changing
alignment and losing his right to be a monk, or vice versa. |
| 126. | DR031 | Dragon #31 | Can a Magic Mouth spell be programmed to say
a spell? | | No. It states this clearly in the spell description, and I quote:
“It cannot speak magic spells.” |
| 127. | DR035 | Dragon #35 | Can a Magic-User cast spells while holding a
dagger, staff or wand in one hand? | | Yes, providing that he has two hands and the free one is
able to fulfill the somatic requirements. |
| 128. | DR035 | Dragon #35 | Can a Magic-user of an evil alignment cast a
Protection from Evil around himself to protect him from other
evil creatures? | | Sure, he can. Just because he is evil doesn’t mean he can’t
protect himself from others that are evil. Also, he can cast a Protection
from Good, which will keep out good as well as enchanted evil
creatures. |
| 129. | DR133 | Dragon #133 | Can a magic-user who is already at
his maximum spell level remove a
spell from his book in order to
research a new spell? | | I assume you mean maximum at that
spell level due to his intelligence. Dropping
a spell from a spell book is allowable.
Some campaigns even allow the magicuser
to exceed the intelligence limit as long
as the character is spending all that time
and money on spell research, though this
should be used only in campaigns in which
money is scarce. |
| 130. | DR117 | Dragon #117 | Can a monster or NPC trapped
within an Otiluke's resilient sphere
or an Otiluke's telekinetic sphere
cast any spells? If so, can a dispel
magic cast from inside the sphere
bring down the spell? | | Yes, spellcasting is possible while inside
the sphere. Though the spell effect will
not penetrate the sphere, the effect will
take place normally inside it. Therefore,
dispel magic cast from inside a sphere will
destroy it, assuming that the sphere’s
diameter does not exceed the area of
effect of the dispel magic. |
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