| | Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
|---|
| 261. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Some of the characters described by Gary Gygax in your magazine
have an attribute labeled CO. What is this? | | CO stands for Comeliness, a new attribute described by Gary
Gygax (in issue #67 of DRAGON magazine) to represent physical
beauty/handsomeness. Unlike other attributes such as
strength, comeliness has a range from –8 (for the ugliest half-orc)
to +25 (for the most beautiful elf). Scores of +10 to +13 are average.
The use of a comeliness attribute is up to the DM and the
players of an AD&D group. |
| 262. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | How can any character be able to take more physical damage
than an ancient huge red dragon? | | AD&D gaming is based on what is sometimes called “fantasy
realism.” In reality, none of us humans would have a chance
against a monster the size of a red dragon; however, AD&D gaming
is not reality. It reflects very well the kind of “fantasy realism
” found in myths, legends, tales, and modern fantasy literature,
wherein it is possible to be so lucky, gifted, and powerful
that one could even be tougher than a dragon. Hit points not
only reflect bodily damage; they also reflect combat skill, the
ability to sidestep an otherwise fatal blow, and the blessing of a
patron deity, as well as innate luck (and perhaps other attributes
of an intangible nature). Obviously, it cannot be argued that
even the toughest fighter in an AD&D game has more body mass
than a red dragon; however, it can be argued that a warrior,
especially a heroic warrior on the level of Beowulf, Roland, or
Conan, could be skilled enough to give a dragon a bad time in
combat. After all, it’s the essence of heroic fantasy — not humdrum
reality — that the game reflects. |
| 263. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Can half-ogres be barbarians? | | They can behave in a barbarous fashion, but cannot be of the
barbarian character class. They lack the dexterity and agility of
humans and cannot perform many of the barbarians’ basic skills.
Half-ogres could, however, be raised in barbarian tribes and be
considered members of such a tribe, though they would still be of
the fighter class. |
| 264. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Why do half-ogres have such low charismas? | | No one really trusts them. They often have their ogre parent’s
nastier habits, and many of them are chaotic evil. While they
might not look particularly ugly (though some of them do) and
might appear quite competent and powerful, social prejudice
and their own behavior tends to strongly limit their charismatic
effect toward other races. |
| 265. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | How do half-ogres feel about other humanoid creatures? | | Use the “Humanoid Racial Preferences Table” in the DMG;
half-ogres will feel about the same way as regular ogres do
toward other creatures. |
| 266. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Do half-ogre characters (as described in DRAGON Magazine
#73) count as “giant-class humanoids” for purposes of rangers’
attacks against them? | | No; half-ogres, like half-orcs, are not entirely “humanoid,”
and rangers do not get any bonuses against them like they do
against normal (full-blooded) ogres. |
| 267. | DR076 | Dragon #76 | Why are the ability scores for half-ogres rolled differently than
for other races? | | Certain of the ability scores for half-ogres are considerably
higher or lower than the human and demi-human racial norms.
The change in die-rolling the ability scores is intended to reflect
this difference. |
| 268. | DR078 | Dragon #78 | How often should a character check for possession of psionic
abilities? | | Once when the character first begins play; afterward, psionics
checks are made only when powerful magics or special circumstances
permit this to occur; see the next question. |
| 269. | DR078 | Dragon #78 | If a non-psionic character has his intelligence, wisdom, or charisma
increased by powerful magics (tomes, wishes, etc.), would
this allow for a new chance to become psionic? | | Yes. The benefits of a tome of clear thought, leadership and
influence, or understanding (which raise intelligence, wisdom,
and charisma respectively) automatically allow for a new chance
to become psionic. A wish spell, properly worded, would automatically
give a character psionic ability, as long as the recipient
has an intelligence, wisdom, or charisma score of at least 16. The
action of a deity (far rarer than even a wish or a magical tome)
would automatically give any character psionic ability, regardless
of his ability scores. Increases in ability scores which occur
naturally, such as through normal aging, would also allow for a
later check if the character was not already psionic.
As an example, consider the character described on p. 110 of
the Players Handbook, with Int 17, Wis 12, and Cha 17. Suppose
the player fails to roll 97 or higher on the character’s initial psionics
check, and the character later gains a point of intelligence
so that score is now 18. The player would then make a new check
for the character’s psionic potential, adding the additional bonus
for the extra point of intelligence to the dice roll, so that now a
result of 95 or higher is needed.
Also, it is possible for a character’s psionic strength to be
automatically increased, if an increase in an ability score raises
that score higher than 16. If the character in the above example
started with a charisma score of 16, and was determined to have
psionic ability, he would receive no “doubling” bonus on the
roll for psionic ability points, since only one of his ability scores
is higher than 16. But if a later event raised the character’s charisma
to 17, he would immediately benefit from the change by
having his psionic ability doubled. |
| 270. | DR078 | Dragon #78 | Can a character lose his psionic potential if he suffers a
decrease in one of the three important ability scores? | | It is possible for a character to be stripped of psionic ability by
the loss of one or more points of intelligence, wisdom, or charisma.
If the change leaves the character without a score of 16,
then the character fails to meet the minimum requirement for
psionic potential, and any psionic ability he once possessed is
now lost.
If a character suffers a decrease in one of the three important
ability scores, but still meets the minimum requirement (one
score of 16 or higher), he has not lost his psionic potential, but
will possibly suffer a decrease in his psionic strength point total.
If the ability score in question was formerly 13 or higher (allowing
a bonus to the psionic strength roll), then that bonus is lost
and must be subtracted from the character’s psionic strength. If a
character originally had scores of 16 or higher in two of the three
ability areas (permitting the doubling or quadrupling of the
number of strength points) and suffered a loss that brought one
of those scores below 16, then both the “doubling (or quadrupling)
bonus” and the single bonus point originally awarded for
that score must be subtracted from the character’s psionic
strength. |
· 
· 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 · 
· 