Sage Advice Collection

Réponses 191 à 200 sur 680    ·   · 12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   ·  ·   
  Ref  Ouvrage  Question   Reponse 
 191DR058 Dragon #58 Could an elf or dwarf who has reached the highest level possible use an Ioun Stone to gain further levels?  No. Ioun Stones do not contain powerful enough magic. None of the six stones which have the power to increase ability scores can make them better than the mathematical maximum of 18. Although no similar limit is specified for the power of the pale green stone which “adds 1 level of experience,” it is unreasonable to assume that this stone can exceed the prescribed maximum (in this case, a maximum number of levels) when the others can’t. 
 192DR058 Dragon #58 Are there any alignment restrictions for dwarves? The Monster Manual says they are lawful good.  Many of the particulars of the Monster Manual description of dwarves are intended only to strictly apply to non-player character dwarves. Alignment is one of these particulars: Not all player character dwarves have to be lawful good, just like not all player character dwarves have to have just one hit die, and not all player character dwarves will be “Very” intelligent. No player character race is restricted as to what alignment a member of that race can be. The only restrictions placed on races concern what classes they can become — and some of those classes have alignment restrictions, but that’s a different matter. A player character dwarf can be a thief, an assassin, or a fighter, or certain combinations of those classes. If all dwarves had to be lawful good, no dwarf would be able to be a thief or assassin. Player character dwarves can theoretically be of any alignment, as long as it fits the rules for the class(es) they belong to. Non-player character dwarves, as described in the Monster Manual, are considered differently. NPC dwarves will be predominantly, if not exclusively, lawful good in alignment. Virtually all of them, except for leader types, will have no more than 1 hit die, and virtually all of them will be above average in intelligence. Also note that the MM makes no mention of dwarven thieves or assassins being encountered in a large group; all of the higher-level dwarves in a group of NPCs are either fighters or fighter/clerics. If you play NPC dwarves “by the book,” there can never be dwarven thieves or assassins, and if those character types are included in an adventure or a campaign, the Monster Manual information (at least with regard to alignment, armor and weaponry in this instance) will have to be “modified” accordingly. 
 193DR058 Dragon #58 What would be a reasonable spread of races and sub-races for adventurers and NPCs? For instance, what would be the chance of a PC dwarf being a mountain dwarf?  The chance of a player character dwarf being a mountain dwarf is 100% — if the player wants to be one, and if no circumstances of the campaign prohibit such a choice. This decision is one a player can make for his character, although the simple desire to be a mountain dwarf is sometimes not enough to guarantee that the character will be a viable member of a group of adventurers. If the player knows something about the DM’s campaign milieu beforehand, there may be obvious reasons why a mountain dwarf would not be a desirable character. If there are no mountainous areas in the DM’s world, for instance, where (if anywhere) can a mountain dwarf call “home”? In a world consisting of nothing but oceans, deserts, plains and forests, it might be hard to justify the existence of any type of dwarves. When the DM is deciding which races or sub-races his NPCs should be, he must take other things into account besides simple preference. First and foremost, for dwarves, the geography and topography of the environment will dictate whether a certain clan in a certain area is composed of hill dwarves, mountain dwarves, or maybe some hybrid of both. Other information gleaned from the rule books can be used to make things “fit” properly: For instance, if a band of halflings is located in close proximity to a clan of dwarves, it would be quite proper to designate them as stout halflings because of that sub-race’s known affinity for dwarves. There are no “percentages” for the chance of a dwarf being a mountain dwarf, or a halfling being a stout halfling, because no set of guidelines could be developed that would be appropriate to every type of campaign. 
 194DR058 Dragon #58 Do dwarves rise to the 7th or 8th level of clerical ability? The DEITIES & DEMIGODS™ Cyclopedia (p. 108) and the Monster Manual (p. 35) either state or imply that 7th is the maximum, but the Players Handbook (p. 14) says 8th.  In his general article on dwarves in this issue of DRAGON™ Magazine, Roger Moore suggests one logical answer to this problem: To resolve the discrepancy, it can be ruled that dwarven clerics with 18 wisdom can ascend to 8th level, while all others are limited to 7th level. In the final analysis, whether a campaign includes 8th-level dwarven clerics or not (regardless of wisdom score) is a matter of choice and circumstance. Perhaps, if your campaign was begun with a pre-generated band of dwarves that includes characters who have 7th-level clerical ability (as per the Monster Manual), you might allow the possibility of those characters rising to 8th level. But such an advancement, if it is even possible, would take decades of game time to achieve. According to the age determination charts in the Dungeon Masters Guide, dwarven clerics who are established as NPCs are already almost 300 years old. If a dwarf has spent, say, 200 years rising from 1st level to as high as 7th level in clerical ability, then the advancement from 7th to 8th level is certainly not going to come about “overnight.” 
 195DR058 Dragon #58 Why is the dwarven deity Moradin non-psionic while dwarves can be?  Again, Roger Moore tackled this problem in his article by suggesting that Moradin simply doesn’t let on that he has psionic powers, preferring to keep his thoughts to himself. Without assuming so much about what kind of a guy Moradin is, the question can also be approached in this fashion: Dwarves and halflings are the only characters besides humans who can possess psionic ability, and only dwarves and halflings of an “unusual” nature are eligible. “Unusual,” in this case, can be taken to include those dwarves and halflings who have a small amount of human blood (due to some racial intermixing at some time in the distant past), which affords them the opportunity to have human-like psionic ability. (Why aren’t psionics also possible for “unusual” gnomes, elves, half-elves, and half-orcs on the same basis? Because some factor which exists only in the biological makeups of dwarves and halflings makes the “passing on” of psionic potential possible.) Of course, any dwarf or halfling who is “unusual” in the genetic sense would also have to meet the standard qualifications for having psionics — intelligence, wisdom or charisma of 16 or higher, and so forth. So, to answer the question, based on those assumptions: Moradin isn’t psionic, just like the vast majority of dwarves are non-psionic, because the god and most of the mortals who worship him are full-blooded dwarves with no human blood in their background. 
 196DR058 Dragon #58 Concerning Moradin: “Worshiper’s Align” for him is listed as “Lawful good (dwarves).” Does this mean that only lawful good dwarves may worship him, or that all dwarves and any other lawful good character may worship him?  Well, it can mean both of those things (not at the same time), and a few others besides. It depends on the circumstances of the campaign. If Moradin is the only dwarven god in the DM’s pantheon, then dwarves don’t have much choice if they want (or feel a need) to worship a dwarven deity. Non-lawful, nongood dwarves, such as player character thieves and assassins, might have difficulty adhering to Moradin’s standards. However, if Moradin is the only dwarven god, and he knows he’s the only dwarven god, and if those dwarven thieves and assassins don’t have another acceptable deity to turn to, then Moradin might not look upon those dwarves with absolute disapproval, and could be expected to understand their plight. He is lawful good, after all, even if some dwarves might not be. In a campaign with a more fully developed dwarven pantheon (possibly including those gods mentioned in the DEITIES & DEMIGODS Cyclopedia, and others; see the article on the following pages), where dwarves of non-lawful, non-good alignments can worship a more “agreeable” deity, then it is unlikely that Moradin would want to attract, or have to put up with, any dwarves who aren’t lawful good. General guidelines for how to run the deities of a campaign are virtually impossible to set forth because of the vast number of variables involved. But it is probably safe to say that there are no foreseeable circumstances where a non-dwarf (even a lawful good non-dwarf) would worship Moradin. Likewise, the “right” to worship a certain non-human deity is generally limited to members of that particular race (with exceptions and additions as noted in the DDG book). But the prohibition can’t always work the other way: Dwarves, for instance, can certainly worship human or other non-dwarven deities, if that deity’s outlook, alignment, etc., are in accordance with the character’s. So, while not all dwarves must necessarily worship dwarven gods, all the worshipers of any dwarven god will be dwarves themselves.  
 197DR058 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... 
 198DR060 Dragon #60 In the Players Handbook, it is stated that elves and halfelves are 90% and 30% resistant to sleep and charm spells. What spells are considered charm spells?  Obviously, the only charm spells where the elves’ resistance makes a difference are those which have a chance (even a small one) of affecting them: The druid spell Charm Person or Mammal and the magic-user incantations Charm Person, Charm Monster, and Mass Charm. There are other charm spells, of course (Charm P/ants, for instance), which can’t affect elves or any other humanoids or creatures. Certain magic items can also charm, and since most of those magic items are described in terms that equate them to charm spells, it’s logical and reasonable to have elves’ and half-elves’ resistance apply to the effects of these items as well, even though the Players Handbook does specify that the resistance is to charm spells. These items include the Potion of Human Control, Philter of Love, Ring of Human Influence, Rod of Beguiling, Staff of Command, Eyes of Charming, and any magic sword with the Extraordinary Power of charm person. Note also that elves are resistant to the charming caused by a bard’s singing and playing, which according to the Players Handbook “does not negate any immunities” to such effects. 
 199DR060 Dragon #60 Why are elven thieves always children?  Anyone who has a relatively recent edition of the Dungeon Masters Guide will probably think this question doesn’t make sense. The latest edition of the DMG lists 100+5d6 as the starting age for player-character elven thieves (page 12). This puts them into the “young adult” range according to the Age Categories chart (page 13) for high elves — the only kind of elves who can be player characters. However, it wasn’t always so. Earlier editions of the DMG gave 50+5d6 as the starting age, which would indeed mean that all elven thieves would start their adventuring lives as “adolescents” of 55 to 80 years old. Fortunately, this inaccuracy was spotted and corrected in later editions; anyone with an old book can simply make the appropriate change in the text. 
 200DR060 Dragon #60 Suppose an elven fighter/magic-user in plate mail (AC3) casts a Shield spell on himself. Does this simply raise his armor class to 2, as the spell description indicates, or raise it 8 places (as from AC10 to AC2), to AC-5, with respect to hand-propelled missiles? If the former is the case, why doesn’t a Shield spell function at full effectiveness when cast by an armored magicuser?  The former is the case, and the Shield spell does indeed function at “full effectiveness.“ The spell description is specific and should be taken literally: a magical Shield will give protection equivalent to AC2, AC3 or AC4 (depending on the situation), regardless of what the spell-caster’s armor class was prior to the casting. It doesn’t make a lot of sense for a M-U who is already AC3 to “waste” a Shield spell on himself for the minimal benefit in armor class that the spell might offer. Of course, some of the spell’s other benefits (immunity to Magic Missiles, bonus to saving throws) might make it worthwhile for certain purposes. 
Réponses 191 à 200 sur 680    ·   · 12   13   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   ·  ·   
Rechercher    

Sortir