| Ref | Ouvrage | Question | | Reponse |
---|
571. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | When can ability-score points be
exchanged? | | You may only switch ability-score points
when you’re generating a character. Once
a character starts play, you have to leave
his ability scores as they are. You might, of
course, find certain magical spells or items
that allow you to alter your character’s
scores (or alter them without your consent!),
but this is up to your DM. |
572. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | My dictionary defines a crossbow
as a device for hurling rocks or arrows.
Is this correct? If so, why
can’t clerics use crossbows, since
rocks are blunt weapons? | | Your dictionary is correct. Crossbows
were sometimes used to hurl small rocks
and similar bulletlike projectiles, but this
was not very common because quarrels
had much better range and ability to penetrate
heavy armor. The only reason rocks
and such were used in warfare at all is
because they were cheaper and easier to
find than quarrels. If you want to use this
option in the D&D game, reduce the range
by one-third and the damage to 1-4 (light
crossbow) or 1-6 (heavy crossbow) when
using pellets or stones.
It might interest you to learn that blunt
arrows and quarrels were invented in the
late Stone Age and are still used today.
They kill birds and small game (like squirrels)
without mangling them and rendering
them inedible.
In any case, bows and crossbows are still
off-limits to clerics. Clerics are too busy
studying spells to have time to learn the
use of these weapons. This limitation is
also desirable from the point of view of
game balance. Keeping such missile weapons
out of the hands of clerics gives players
a reason for choosing fighters or
demi-humans. |
573. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | How long is a melee round? Exactly
how many times can a character
or creature attack during a
melee round? | | D&D game melee round is 10 seconds
long. A creature gets the number of attacks
listed in the “Attacks” row in its
description each round. A character may
make one attack or cast one spell each
round (except for high-level fighters and
demi-humans, as per the Companion Set). |
574. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | How do you determine how fast a
character can move? | | Movement for characters is given on the
Encumbered Movement Rates Table on
page 30 of the Basic Set Players Manual. A
character who is exploring a dungeon
normally moves a number of feet per turn
according to his encumbrance (see “Normal
Speed” column). If the character gets
into a fight, he moves fewer feet per
round (“Encounter Speed”). The character
may run at the rate given in the “Running
Speed” column, but he can’t map, fight,
cast spells, or do anything except run. |
575. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | What is the difference between
chain mail and plate mail armor? | | Chain mail consists of padding covered
by a mesh of steel links. The mesh protects
the entire body. Plate mail is padding
covered by light chain, with solid plates of
metal covering the torso, shoulders, and
limbs. Elbow and knee guards are also
found with plate mail. |
576. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | What are the abilities of the different
kinds of elves found in the D&D
game? | | There is only one kind of elf in the D&D
game, just like there is only one kind of
human. You might introduce racial subtypes
for all the races for the sake of variety;
I recommend that you keep any
differences superficial, so that any subtype
of each race still uses the same rules. |
577. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | I remember an article in DRAGON
Magazine that said elves make the
best archers of any fantasy race.
Why, then, don’t elves get some sort
of bonus when firing bows in the
D&D game? | | Opinions expressed in the DRAGON
Magazine are not official unless labeled as
such. The author of the article you read
was fully entitled to express his opinion
about the quality of elven archers, but that
does not affect the D&D game, however.
The author was probably referring to the
AD&D® game, in which elves are quite
different from those in the D&D game.
The reason elves in the D&D game don’t
have a special ability with bows is game
balance. Elves in the D&D game already
have a lot of abilities, such as infravision,
immunity to ghoul paralysis, and the ability
to cast magic-user spells while wearing
armor. Elves can also fight almost as well
as fighters. This is quite enough to put
them on a par with the other character
classes. |
578. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | What, exactly, is encumbrance? | | Encumbrance is simply the amount of
treasure and equipment a character can
carry. Encumbrance is measured in units
of weight equal to one coin (cn). The more
weight carried, the slower the character
moves. The table on page 30 of the Basic
Set Players Book gives character movement
rates at different encumbrances.
The tables on page 19 of the Expert Rulebook
gives weights in coins for various
equipment. If you are not using the Expert
Set, assume that each fully equipped PC
has normal (400 cn) encumbrance. |
579. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | When a character uses a wand of
magic detection or a wand of enemy
detection, who can see the glow
when a magical or unfriendly object
is revealed? How long does the glow
last? | | Any character who can see the object(s)
revealed can see the glow. If the view is
obstructed by a solid object (such as a
chest), not even the user can see the glow.
This means that a camouflaged creature
spotted with a wand of enemy detection
would appear as a glowing spot under the
camouflage. Anything spotted by a wand
glows for one round. |
580. | DR129 | Dragon #129 | Which monsters have infravision? | | All monsters, except normal animals and
creatures who don’t have eyes (such as
green slime), have infravision. Note that
eyeless creatures have ways other than
sight to detect prey and enemies, and they
function equally well in light or darkness. |